Neck shots (yellow) are risky. Aiming for the heart (green) fails if the hit is low, while shooting for the lungs (blue) results in trouble if the hit is back. Finn Aagaard’s aiming point (red) offers the safest shot. (Shutterstock)
November 05, 2024
By Richard Mann
The 8-point was standing under the feeder and a raccoon was dishing out corn as fast as the buck could eat it. He was only 69 yards off, but his chest was behind a big white oak tree. We watched him for 20 minutes, and finally something spooked him. He jumped out into the open, slightly quartering away. I whispered, “Shoot,” and my daughter pulled the trigger. The buck mule-kicked like he was heart shot, ran a tight circle, wobbled like a drunk, dropped and went still. When we got to where he’d piled up, there was nothing but blood. He was gone, and we never saw him again.
My daughter is a decent rifle shot. Just six months before shooting this whitetail buck, she’d completed her first African safari. In Africa, she’d taken a gemsbok, wildebeest and zebra, all with one shot each, and all three shots were more than 200 yards. So, what happened with the 8-point?
Based on all evidence, he should’ve been lying right where we saw him go down. The problem wasn’t the 150-grain AccuBond from my daughter’s .308 Winchester. The problem was shot placement. Although it looked like the buck was hit well, clearly he was not. I followed the blood trail for more than a quarter mile, and we enlisted a tracking dog that pushed it a bit farther the next day. Maybe she’ll get another chance at him this year.
Spend some time around a campfire at deer camp and an argument about shot placement is sure to happen. Some hunters like the double-lung shot, others a heart shot and some even swear by the neck shot. All can work, but what is the best shot placement to anchor a deer quickly and ethically? And where is the best place to aim to maximize your chances of this, while minimizing a situation like the one that happened with my daughter?
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PROFESSIONAL ADVICE These questions were answered long ago by an African professional hunter turned gun writer by the name of Finn Aagaard. When hunting was banned in Kenya in 1977, Aagaard gave up his safari business and moved his family to Texas, where they became American citizens. Aagaard began working as a hunting guide in Texas and came to the attention of some editors at gun and hunting magazines. When he passed in 2000, Aagaard was—and remains—one of the most trusted gun and hunting scribes to ever pen an article. This was mostly because Aagaard wrote from experience, and he had a lot of it.
African professional hunter Finn Aagaard (left) saw many animals shot during his life and career. His shot placement advice is derived from this vast experience. (Photo courtesy of Berit Aagaard) In his 1991 book, Aagaard’s Africa , the veteran hunter gave the following advice. I’ve been adhering to this guidance ever since I first read it about a decade after it was published. I even shared Aagaard’s advice in the 2006 book, Rifle Bullets for the Hunter: “When an animal is standing exactly broadside, one should bring the sights up the front leg until they are almost halfway up the chest and place the bullet there. It will pass through the shoulder muscles but just behind the actual shoulder joint, and quite likely in the angle formed by the upper leg bone and the shoulder blade, without striking either, though that depends on how the leg is being held at that moment. Alternatively, imagine that the animal has a grapefruit suspended in the center of its chest, above the front legs. Given that the bullet performs as intended, a shot that strikes that imaginary grapefruit will hit the center of the lungs or the upper chambers of the heart or the major blood vessels leading to and from it. Such a hit will totally disrupt the circulatory system and the beast, either African or American, will usually be down well within 50 steps.”
As a professional hunter, Aagaard saw more animals shot than most hunters ever will. Based on his extensive notes, which I’ve had the opportunity to review, he always conducted a detailed forensic-like examination after the kill in order to learn more about terminal bullet performance and shot placement. In short, Aagaard knew what the hell he was talking about.
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His shot placement advice is wise, but I think what’s equally important is that he didn’t distinguish between a deer and an elk, or a kudu and an impala. Through experience, Aagaard knew that regardless of the mammal, it simply should be shot in the same spot. I’ve found this to be—pardon the pun—spot on. Shoot any critter in this place, and if your bullet works, you’ll get your trophy.
PLAYING THE ODDS The advantage Aagaard’s spot has over the neck shot, heart shot or lung shot is that it puts the bullet in the middle of the important stuff. If you shoot low on an animal’s body to hit the heart, a lower hit won’t go well. There’s a similar problem with a lung shot. If the bullet hits a bit farther back, you’re going to have problems. As for the neck shot, there’s not a lot of important stuff in the neck to hit anyway. If you don’t break the spine or sever the carotid artery, you’ll track your deer just like I did my daughter’s last year. Aagaard’s advice directs you to put the bullet in the spot that allows for the most error, up and down and to either side. Few of us always make perfect shots, and following Aagaard’s recommendation, you’ll have more room for error. So, play the odds.
Whatever angle a big-game animal presents, aim at an imaginary grapefruit suspended mid-chest directly above the front legs. (Shutterstock) ALTERNATIVE ANGLES Deer or other game animals rarely give you that perfect broadside shot, which is why Aagaard suggested imagining a grapefruit suspended mid-body directly above the front legs. It’s your job as a hunter to aim so that you can direct your bullet to and through this grapefruit, no matter the shot angle that the animal provides. Sometimes this might be impossible, and sometimes it’s not a good idea to shoot if the beast is quartering severely. Passing these shots is what mature and experienced hunters do; you must wait until you can—for sure—pierce that grapefruit with your bullet. If you’re a fan of steeply quartering-away shots, always use a cartridge-bullet combo that reliably delivers very deep penetration.
I think this is what happened with my daughter and that buck last year. It was possibly my fault for not better schooling her on where to aim on an animal that was quartering away. I think she aimed at the “right” spot, but that spot was only the right spot had the buck been broadside. She did not envision the grapefruit. Don’t make the same mistake.
This article was featured in the October 2024 issue of Game & Fish magazine. Click to subscribe .
