What’s the consensus /k/? It seems like fudlore to me that headshots on animals are unethical. Speak your piece.
Deer Headshots: Ethical or not?
What’s the consensus /k/? It seems like fudlore to me that headshots on animals are unethical. Speak your piece.
I think headshots in general are unethical. that's why we're taught to shoot center of mass.
The likelihood that you miss the brain and cripple the jaw or the rest of the skull is too high.
Those things have tiny brains, that's why they're so retarded.
This. Plus you might ruin the antlers.
You don't eat antlers.
maybe not you
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Speak for yourself liberal
I don't think headshots are more unethical than any other shot. That said, plenty of people do fuck them up because they don't really understand where the brain is located within th e animal's head. It's common for idiots to aim too far forward and hit sinus cavity instead of brain. Also, the brain often presents a smaller target compared to the heart/lung area on a lot of game making it a more difficult shot to make. That's not a "headshot" problem though, that's a "moron doesn't know where to aim" problem and that can affect other shot types as well. IMHO anyone going hunting should study up on all the vitals and various shot angles that might present themsevles, there are situations where going for a headshot is stupid, there are other times when it's a great idea. What game, what angle, what weapon, from what position & type of rest, at what distance...all that should factor in to the hunter's decision on what shot, if any, to take. If the hunter is confident they can hit the brain and the angle is good? Yeah, go for it.
It’s less ethical and a more difficult target. If your shot is slightly off when aiming for the heart/lungs, it’s still going to be a fatal shot in the spine, liver, even a gut shot will kill the animal in a few hours max, and you’ll have a blood trail to follow if it doesn’t drop on the spot. Where as if you’re slightly off with a headshot, you’ll either miss completely, or hit it in the face which will guarantee a very slow death for the animal.
>It’s less ethical and a more difficult target.
to be clear, it's less ethical because* it is a more difficult shot.
I mean, if you're 30 yards away and shooting 00, by all means decapitate the deer, but if you're trying for a headshot w/.243 at 100+ yards, even if your rifle is sub MOA and you are Chris Kyle's twin brother, its difficult and has a much higher risk of maiming instead of killing
Rifle COM from range. cut windpipe or headshot to finish them off up close
I hunt pig though so idk what you do for deer. seems like a hard shot to make from a distance and like the other anon said you could just fuck it's jaw up and have it run off and die slowly over a few weeks.
Likely unethical.
I say 'likely' because there's a 1,000% if you ask local hunter Dicky Ray to point to where the brain is on a whitetail, he will, like most things in his life, fuck it up. Add to that the spatial reasoning required to compensate for the shooting angles usually encountered and the challenge presented by hitting a smaller-than-fist-sized target and you've got a recipe for an untrackable, face-shot critter.
If you're competent, it's usually fine. If you're using suitable equipment, it's usually fine, but the typical hunter is 0/2 on those, so it's not something that should really be encouraged.
>ruins shoulder mounts too
>shoot squirrels in head
>shoot coyotes in the head
>but dont you dare shoot that durr in the head
squirrels in head
A squirrel is so small that any rifle round (or any other round) that hits it in the body or head is going to instantly end it. If you want it for its meat not exactly much on there.
Like all carnivores, coyotes actually have fairly large brains for their skulls in a clear defined area. They're again small relative to rifle energy. And heart/lung is still a much bigger target and more generally recommended for pure culling, but lots of people actually want pelts so that's a consideration. Most these days are not after deer for anything but the meet/antlers.
>>deer
As other anons said much higher chance of an unethical shot on deer heads plus ruining points.
coyotes in the head
Who does that? I've only ever seen and dropped them myself with shots up by the shoulder.
It's all about relative size of the target area. On a squirrel the head shot presents about the same size as the heart/lungs. On a deer the brain is a much smaller target compared to the heart/lungs.
people shoot coyotes in the shoulder. the reason you can shoot a squirrel in the head is that it is so tiny compared to the destruction radius of a bullet that it is either a clean miss or a kill
I know people that cull deer usually go for headshots but that's a combination of skill and lack of fucks to give.
Another case of failure being immoral.
In woods and short lines of sight, sure.
I've taken about 20 deer over the years with a headshot. The "ethical" part is to not even attempt it unless the shot is 100% certain ... meaning, it has to be close enough and the gun I'm using has to be dialed in to the 1/2" for the range, and no other factors to fuck the shot over. No cover, no movement, the deer has to be utterly calm & certain there isn't a hunter drawing a bead on it.
I don't advocate it because it takes a trained marksman who also isn't a retard who is showboating. You don't attempt the shot unless it is the "best" shot available and you absolutely *KNOW* for a fact that it's perfect. Otherwise, pass on that animal or take a "better" shot to something like the lungs/heart.
I like head shots because they drop the animal where it's standing. I've had two or three take a leap, but they land dead within 10 or 15 feet. For me, it's been a perfect one-shot every time, and no meat ruined.
I've taken a couple Canada geese with a headshot, both times they were injured & I was putting them down (and they were still quite tasty). One with a .22 mag and the other with a .17 HMR. They flap around a lot, but don't move very far and they're dead as soon as they're hit. Just, birds (often) flap around a lot even if you remove their head completely.
I've taken a few squirrels with a .177 pellet to the head, but that was a long time ago and I don't have any need to shoot squirrels, or any other small animal that isn't for meat.
Although, I'll mention I took out a rabid raccoon two or three years back with a 12 ga, perfect between the eyes at about 5 or 6 feet, and straight down the spinal column into the chest. Wasn't my intention, but that was the shot that was offered when it came at me.
> tl;dr - highly ethical, if you're not a retard
Also, if you ever kill a deer & butcher it, take the head apart and study optimum shot placement. I did that about ten times before taking my first head shot on a deer. Very instructive.
Attempting headshots is unethical, not the act of hitting the deer in the brain.
I would headshot OP :3
Headshots are inconsistent. Even if a game animal is presenting a full broad side, its head will still be moving a lot.
Go high shoulder for a CNS hit to drop them every time. I used to go for the boiler room shot until watching this.
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High shoulder works like a DREAM.
This is what I use.
Also before head shooting look up prion disease.
anything but heart/double lung is unethical
Sometimes it's the only shot you get.