The 'High Shoulder' shot of dreams

[Rich Coyle]

memtb,
You didn't tell us the bullet.

 

[memtb]

Rich, It was the early '90's, using the original "X" bullet. They have improved dramatically since then. A 270 grain "X", from a .375 AI @ 2900 fps, just under 100 yards.....running elk! The elk expired, rather promptly! One petal broke off, hence the 95% retained weight.
We (wife and I) have used Barnes bullets ever since.....and have been very pleased! memtb

 

[shaughn]

The .375 TSXFB 270 Barnes works well on Cape Buffalo, Moose Elk and majority of African plains game, some are just too small/light for a middleweight bullet to work properly, though many lean towards the 300 as a dedicated Cape bullet.

 

[piute]

The high shoulder, low neck shot placement usually constitutes more meat loss than other "my preferred" aiming areas. To each their own!

 

[Canhunter35]

Last night I shot an old whitetail that was blading on his front points, big bodied deer. I ranged him at 501yds, dialed 9.5 Moa with my 6.5cm, held a 1/3 of the way down form his back or 2/3 up from his brisket, in line with his front leg. I put the bullet exactly where I aimed and he dropped instantly without even kicking or flapping his tail. He was completely dead when I reached him. It does not get better. I've shot a lot of deer right behind the front leg with great results, but they almost always jump and run 20feet before collapsing. Since reading Nate fosters articles on this website, I decided to follow his advice, definitely happy with the results. Like others have said though, broadside shots don't always present themselves and I've shot for the neck with great results in certain instances, especially front quartering.

Edited to add: I would not shoot higher than 2/3 up the shoulder from the brisket. If you want to save meat, shoot them behind the front leg

 

[MagnumManiac]

I hate to poo-poo what you're saying, BUT where you have indicated is NOT where a true 'high shoulder' shot is taken.
The high shoulder is where the shoulder blade/scapula bone is covering both the high lungs AND where the spine drops behind it.
Where you indicate is essentially the neck, where the spine is higher.
All of your info is pretty spot on, however, with a slight miss horizontally either left or right, you WILL hit either lungs (left in your diagram) or right into the spine. Both are killing shots.
The only problem I have encountered trying for a high shoulder shot was on an extremely steep uphill shot. I aimed where I wanted it to go, WRONG! The bullet hit above the shoulder bones/spine and passed clean through not hitting any vitals, BUT it did knock the deer down which gave me a second shot to take and kill the stag.
I am not proud of this, and it had me second guessing my abilities as a marksman and whether I should be using that shot.
Lots of deer hunters I know only ever shoot in the neck, this I have witnessed with differing results, some drop like pole-axed, others simply run off after dropping due to CNS shock but not a direct spine hit.

As has been stated since the invention of hunting, it's all about shot placement, shot placement and shot placement.
Even a spear is no good if you hit the animal in the back leg, you may slow it some, but it's still gonna outrun it's persuer.

Cheers.

 

[memtb]

The .375 TSXFB 270 Barnes works well on Cape Buffalo, Moose Elk and majority of African plains game, some are just too small/light for a middleweight bullet to work properly, though many lean towards the 300 as a dedicated Cape bullet.

While I haven't taken a "ton" of game with them....have made more than a few one-shot kills on deer and Pronghorn Antelope. Though I probably did not get complete expansion.....I did get complete penetration! memtb

 

[Ckgworks]

I think Nathan refers to the "autonomic plexus region".....I had marked up the original drawing, and than decided not to post it.....this shot has the same effect as a "high shoulder" and I wonder how many times an animal shot here is assumed or called a high shoulder hit. It's about where Canhunter describes....inline, or to front of leg, 1/2 to 2/3 up. As the original drawing shows you can (depending on the angle) slip a bullet in there without hitting bone or shoulder. It also works great for a quartering towards shot.

 

[johnnyk]

This is probably the shot I use most often for whitetails. I definitely believe in "disrupting the CNS". I use the lung/heart shot for various reasons but prefer to take out their running gear. I like head and neck shots too but neck shots only when the animal is facing me or leaving straight away. The one time I did a "Texas heart" shot it was with a 100gn TSX in a .25-06 Rem. The deer was leaving fast at 200yds but piled up as the sear broke.
So far this year, both deer were taken with HS shots. The first was 150yd using a 147gn ELD-M, 6.5X284 (3018fps) and the 603yd was 170gn Berger, .270 Allen Magnum (3300fps). Both very dead when I got to them.

 

[WildRose]

Very effective on elk also......if you have the proper bullet. My only elk kill with a "Texas Heart Shot".... a few inches to the left of desired entrance point (elks exit spot), destroyed the pelvis, continued forward through the diaphragm, left lung, exited at left foreleg pocket (armpit), reentered upper leg, continued thru upper leg, and stopped beneath the hide. That's a lot of penetration.....major bone (pelvis), 3 hide penetrations (total), and a lot of soft tissue. 95% weight retention on the bullet....with a lot of frontal area. This is the performance I expect from my bullets! memtb

The Texas heart shot when done right is extremely effective but it's always really messy. At anything over about 400yds there's also a high risk of just blowing off a ham or otherwise wounding them badly so it's a shot that should only be taken under ideal conditions.

I've piled up a few deer and a ton of coyotes and pigs with that shot.

 

[WildRose]

I hear a lot of high shoulder shooters say the aim point is 2/3 way up from the the bottom of the brisket. That seems about right in the drawing. That blue line is a small target though, especially on a relatively long range shot. When the shot is close, seems I never have time to adaquitly measure and aim like that.

As long as you're not high with the shot there's a lot of room for error because of the location of the spine forward and the vitals below and behind.

 

[WildRose]

I have used this shot a couple of times to good effect, but I'm still a lungs guy. Seems to me that it doesn't matter what caliber or what bullets are used if you take out the lungs they don't get to far away. And are usually dead when you get to them. That said when hunting in the mountains sometimes they can go just far enough to make recoveries difficult.

True but only if you get good expansion. If a bullet pencils through the lungs there's a good chance you won't recover it. Most of the deer I've had to track for people and two of the elk were hit that way with bullets that just didn't expand adequately.

 

[WildRose]

Wouldn't it be easier and more effective if you just used a lead core bullet and held for vitals instead of such a specific point of aim?

The more precise your aimpoint assuming your aimpoint is proper to start with the more room you have for error. Aim Small Miss Small isn't just a movie line.

I'm not a big fan of lead core bullets period unless they are bonded bullets so you get good, consistent penetration and expansion no matter what you hit.

 

[WildRose]

I have experienced this 2 times each Buck looked like it was slammed to the ground by the Hammer of Thor. The first time my brother was the closest to it after I shot and as he was approaching it it started to move. Later he said I saw it go down No Way your going anywhere. Well it did and the rest of the story is Monkeys and a Football!!
2nd time was Eastern Washington Mule Deer. 340 yards Bang legs come out and slams down. I stood up thinking what a shot and wow it went down hard. Well by the time I put my pack back on to head over to him. Up he comes. In disbelief he runs down the other ravine. Track him for 3 miles a little blood at first then less and less then as he crossed an open plateau nothing. The next year my friend got him he had a nice chunk of meat missing over the top of his spine.
Lesson Learned.

That's what happens when you miss high or start off aiming too high a lot of which I think is caused by the idea that it's "The High Shoulder Shot" when in reality the proper location is the mid to lower shoulder.