If you prepare to hunting the deer, shot placement is something you will see stressed again and again. It is very important. If you want to finish the game quickly, you should know how to find it.

The Spot
So where is that spot? Well, “the right spot” is a flexible concept. It depends on the angle of the deer as viewed by the hunter, how far the deer is from the hunter, whether or not the deer is calm, how solid a gun rest the hunter has available, and many other variables.

The traditional kill zone is still the hunter’s best bet. This zone includes the shoulder area, and behind it the heart and lungs. Viewed broadside, it is roughly centered on the rear of the shoulder. This gives the hunter the best chance at hitting vital organs and/or the shoulder. Depending on the size of the critter, you’re shooting at a zone that’s approximately the size of a supper plate.

It’s important to remember that the kill zone is not two-dimensional, like a flat paper target. If a deer is broadside, a shoulder or right-behind-the-shoulder shot is great. But if it’s quartering towards or away from you very much, you should adjust your aim. Picture your bullet’s destination in the center of the animal, and aim for that. Doing so may require the bullet to impact far back in the ribcage or in the neck/brisket area in order to penetrate to the heart/lung zone and effectively kill the deer.

Some Folks Disagree
Not all hunters agree that it’s best to aim for “the boilerworks,” but those with long experience and whom respect the game agree that this shot gives the greatest margin of error – and errors are easy to make. Yet some hunters go out of their way to try to place the bullet through the ribcage on a broadside deer for a lung-only shot, in an attempt to minimize meat damage. Still others shoot for the neck. Some others aim for the head. Any of these are killing shots if everything comes together, but they don’t offer the “room to miss” – while still making a solid hit – that the heart/lung/shoulder shot does.

Knock ’em Down
I like to see my deer fall dead. Where I place the shot – or try to place the shot – depends on many factors. If I have a nice calm deer standing not too far from me and I have a nice solid rest, a neck shot is a good one to take. On a moving deer and/or one that’s far away, it’s a low-percentage shot and I don’t like it. When I say low-percentage, I mean there’s a much smaller chance of hitting vitals in those conditions, vs. taking a shot at the “sweet spot.”