Spine Shots

[Big5]

I have made the shot on deer and bear when the situation lends itself to accurate placement. I hunt alone and I like to keep my recovery to a minimum, particularly when the animal is standing on the edge of a dense forest.
When the bullet hits usally and inch or two below the spine it causes huge trauma to bothe spine and the vitals in that area. All the animals have died instantly on the same spot where they dropped.

Meat damage is very minimal, I believe the less the animal runs the better the meat.

That said, 80% of my animals are hit in the vitals in the more traditional pie plate area. I do not take head or neck shots.

If a person can not make a clean kill shot they should not take the shot.

There are many highly effective shots that can be taken on game. Most of us know it depends on animal position, terrain, distance and of greatest importance the shooter's experience and confidence in making the shot.

As 'Slugs Away' points out . . . if you are not confident with making a clean kill shot then just don't take it.

 

[dory]

No ofence slug but i would not recomend a spine shot as first option .
The will not kill an animal as a rule , only drop it .
I once hit a deer in the spine just on dark and could not find it until morning .
It had crawled over 80 yards and was still alive when i found it .
What a miserable night the thing must have had .
No , not recommended as first option , go for the vitals or dont fire .

 

[Red Leg]

Wow. So you are talking spine - as in the back. I would never ever recommend such a shot - particularly on a bear. It is too easy to crease the spine, and one of these instantly dropped and dead bruins is going to snap out of it and take someone apart. Anatomy of African game would make such a shot even more difficult. Good luck. I'll pass.

 

[Scott Slough]

I am firmly on the no as a first shot. I have used it as a follow-up. The biggest problem with an intentional spine shot is actually identifying where the spine is ... the spine is in a different location for virtually every species.

 

[Slugs Away]

The spine and the vitals are not nessarilly exclusive in a shot.

Gentlmen we have to somewhat agree to differ, thank you all for your generous replies.

 

[Scott Slough]

... and every stance.

 

[billc]

Did screaming like a little girl help with your focus? Is that one of those fancy meditation techniques???

That was to make sure the giraffe ran away as pieter was there and scared. If I did not scream loud enough pieter was in the giraffes line of sight and could have been in danger.

 

[UKHunter]

A shot I personally would avoid. As his been said, you don't leave much room for error. If it is a shot you plan to use then be sure to know the anatomy of each species you plan to hunt.

I prefer to hit the vitals and try to break a shoulder in the process.

 

[ROCKET]

I have made the shot on deer and bear when the situation lends itself to accurate placement. I hunt alone and I like to keep my recovery to a minimum, particularly when the animal is standing on the edge of a dense forest.
When the bullet hits usally and inch or two below the spine it causes huge trauma to bothe spine and the vitals in that area. All the animals have died instantly on the same spot where they dropped.

Meat damage is very minimal, I believe the less the animal runs the better the meat.

That said, 80% of my animals are hit in the vitals in the more traditional pie plate area. I do not take head or neck shots.

If a person can not make a clean kill shot they should not take the shot.

I can see you know perfectly about you are talking.....I did those kind of shoot placement several times, mostly management killing.......difficult shots whe you can not see the vitals clearly......put the horizontal line of your scope in the back line of a deer and in the midle of the body......correct 3 inches lower you point of aim, pull the trigger and that it ´s all........having saying this.....I´m not sure if I would intent this shoot in a 15000 trophy fee cape buffalo........

 

[rookhawk]

I've done it many times and it works perfect until it doesn't work perfect.

Truth be told, most people heading to Africa overestimate and instead of getting a heart/lung they end up spine shooting the animal. For the first week on safari I'd hear the same advice from the PH..."aim lower, lower, lower:".

If you miss the heart/lung shot you spine the animal. However, if you miss the spine shot you shot over it's back and blew the shot altogether, or worse yet you grazed the animal so it will suffer and never be seen again and you've blown your tag or trophy fee.

 

[Dreamer]

Between the shoulder blade and the spine, usally makes them crumble on the spot. Saves on blood tracking.

What do you think?

I wouldn't advise it. Rather go for a heart/lung shot .

 

[Witold Krzyżanowski]

Wow. So you are talking spine - as in the back. I would never ever recommend such a shot - particularly on a bear. It is too easy to crease the spine, and one of these instantly dropped and dead bruins is going to snap out of it and take someone apart. Anatomy of African game would make such a shot even more difficult. Good luck. I'll pass.

I agre with Red Leg.
Witold

 

[K-man]

Great advice from all. I would tell those who want to use a spine shot
to be able to hit a 2 inch circle off of sticks at 100 yards 10 out of 10 times, then go hunting. You pay the trophy fees.

 

[JimP]

I never plan on taking a spine shot but have shot both North American deer and elk that ended up with a spine shot. But it was never planned. I have taken neck shots where I have had a solid rest and the range wasn't too long.

If you look at the anatomy of a animal there is too much to err on. There is nothing to mark or actually locate the spine on one, even in the neck. The only way to be sure of its location would be to take a shot from above the animal directly in the middle of the front legs. I have also seen a few of these kind of shots go awry when the animal recovers from the shock and gets away, leaving very little blood trail to follow.

Now if you take a double lung shot you will have a very good blood trail to follow if needed. A shot that is too high might hit the spine a little low and it may take out the heart. Plus a animal that doesn't have any lungs to breath with isn't going very far.

 

[Roan]

Personally I love the spine shot.

Its basically all I use, and its never failed me.

I only have experience with African game though, don't know what the internals of the American animals would be.

But if I had to pay in Dollars I would take the heart/lung shot just to be safe.

 

[James Cook]

interesting philosophy to spine shoot to save meat. the best meat in the house is near the spine - the tenderloin and back strap. i'd stay away from the "best meat" section and go for the high probability shot - the boiler room.

 

[Roan]

Its not a shot directly into the spine.

Its a high shoulder shot that breaks the spine.

 

[PaulT]

Its not a shot directly into the spine.

Its a high shoulder shot that breaks the spine.

Roan, I hope you don't mind me repeating your post but to me it has to be one the most valuable posts I've ever seen on these threads.

Like you, I have been employing the high shoulder (scapula)/spine shot for over three decades on all manner of game, large and small with perfect results.

Few realize that you don't have to minimize your placement when targeting the spine by shooting for the neck.

When you get to know where the spine travels in between the shoulders this shot-placement becomes routine.
Miss low and you still break the shoulders and rupture the top of the lungs, just be sure to not shoot too high.

When game is standing side on the edge of the scapula can often be seen in an outline on the outside of the skin. Hitting the top 2/3's of the shoulder bone with a properly constructed projectile will put game down where it is standing.

Excellent post Roan

 

[Bert the Turtle]

I aim for the connection between the heart and the great vessels. As far as I can determine, that is the shot with the largest margin of error. Doesn't matter if its a deer at 20 years from my window, or an expensive African animal. I have no issue with people who can do it taking a spine shot, but in my experience, I can't control the animal starting to take a step as I let off the shot and I just prefer to give myself as much leeway as possible. I also like to keep a large distance between me and the car in front of me, fill up my fuel tank before I'm on empty, and sit with my back to the wall whenever possible so maybe I'm just conservative.

 

[mrpoindexter]

It should be clarified that you guys are talking rifles ..... I don't recommend anyone trying this with an arrow . Arrows are designed to hemorrhage ...not break bone . Just my 2 cents.
Glen

I did it with a bushbuck using an arrow, but still had to follow up with a lung shot. At least he didn't run, but he broke my arrow and I lost the broadhead as well on the second shot as I pinned him to a tree. And he still fell in the mud.

I would not take a spine shot in the future unless I was in a tree stand and was using a 2 blade broadhead (on larger game), going through spine on the way to the heart and be able to get a lung if I was off to the side.