Double Lung Or Heart Shot For African Plains Game

Petrus Geldenhuys

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So lets see if there are any people who can narrow this one down.

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Fully agree with James!
 
Or one shoulder depending how they are standing. My PH told me to aim so I hit at least one shoulder. Worked quite well for me there and has always worked here in the states also.
 
I like through the shoulders myself.Heart or lungs will work for me.I think lungs are best for must as it gives the guys who dont practice enough a bigger area to hit.My biggest problem this last trip was I kept shooting high even telling mysself to shoot lower.All ended well with almost all animals going less then 75 yds or died right were they stood.
 
So long as it's one or the other or both, you're going to get him in the truck shortly enough.
 
James absolutely right. On the shoulder to hit lungs and top of the heart! Break them down so they can't go far. Even the dangerous game falls to this shot. My lioness took the first round of my 416 Ruger right through both shoulders shattering both. She never ran off after that shot.
 
The worst feeling you may ever have is watching an animal run away from you 3 or 4 times with its shoulder completely blown out and the leg sticking out at a 90 degree angle. Happened to me on a duiker. Hit what I thought was a perfect shot at 200 yds but was just an inch or so too low and too far forward. Little bugger could run well on just 3 legs, not so much without a lung or heart. The only animal I ever lost in 30+ years of hunting. (So far) I do agree with anchoring an animal, especially DG, but I think both lung/heart and shoulder should be hit if possible.
 
Well how about both.

Top of the heart and lungs.

Or through both shoulders and lungs.

Well that is certainly the best shot any hunter can ask for, but where would you aim to achieve this? String jump is always the issue here on the smaller game.
 
Lets use a Warthog or Blue Wildebeest where the heart is slightly lower and to the right as an example. I would always recommend the double lung shot as that is the safest shot.
 
You have to place the shot in the center (if broadside) of the shoulders....especially with a bow or light caliber if not, you gonna be walking a long time if the shot is a bit off...
There was a tool or toy it shined a laser on the body of the (plastic) animal from a type of gyro.
It pointed you where the vitals where no matter where you were "shooting" from.
Thought that was a goodie worked well could help a client or hunter picture where you would need to shoot from any angle. Easily said if you have been hunting a long time but try explain a heavily quartering away shot to a beginner it is quite special.

Shot Shot
 
A third of the body up from the bottom of the chest on the lower half of the shoulder is awfully good advice with regard to African PG and, particularly, buffalo. On target, the bullet will take out at least one shoulder and the plumbing in the top of the heart; a little low it will center the heart; and a little high it will take out both lungs. For American deer and elk, I prefer one third of the body down from the back bone and just behind the shoulder.
 
I like through the shoulders myself.Heart or lungs will work for me.I think lungs are best for must as it gives the guys who dont practice enough a bigger area to hit.My biggest problem this last trip was I kept shooting high even telling mysself to shoot lower.All ended well with almost all animals going less then 75 yds or died right were they stood.

I actually over did this and shot too low a couple of times. I took the heart shot too far... Next year I won't be as concerned and will be happy with lungs or shoulders. I got both animals as I broke legs, but not cleanly, and that bothered me. Overthinking and trying to get cute = bad for me!
 
James absolutely right. On the shoulder to hit lungs and top of the heart! Break them down so they can't go far. Even the dangerous game falls to this shot. My lioness took the first round of my 416 Ruger right through both shoulders shattering both. She never ran off after that shot.

I fully agree but another factor here imo is that the .416 is a very large caliber and it has more than enough power to shock an animal the size of a lioness. I would actually be surprised if a lioness sized animal would run at all after taking a shot from a .416 in the vitals or anywhere near them for that matter. So even if your shot was a bit off I would imagine it still probably would of dropped it due to the sheer damage caused by such a large and powerful caliber.

Speaking of dangerous game with elephant its a bit different imo because your shot has to be right on the mark because shoulder fired rifles even he biggest ones aren't capable of producing the energy required to shock something so big. Shot placement plus penetration is king (with everything- although huge calibers on smaller animals can offset this to an extent) especially with elephant.
 
Interesting Dragon N. I'm sure the shock wave does massive internal damage on the smaller animals. If you have ever seen a rifle being fired into a gell block then you have seen the shock wave move through and then bounce back, which on an animal causes lots of bleeding. In the case of my lioness I actually watched the skinning process all the way down to the meat being removed from the bones. The 416 shattered the shoulders of that animal and as you say nicked her lung because she was blowing blood through her nostrils. I'm sure you are correct with regards to the elephant.....shot placement rules.
 
I fully agree but another factor here imo is that the .416 is a very large caliber and it has more than enough power to shock an animal the size of a lioness. I would actually be surprised if a lioness sized animal would run at all after taking a shot from a .416 in the vitals or anywhere near them for that matter. So even if your shot was a bit off I would imagine it still probably would of dropped it due to the sheer damage caused by such a large and powerful caliber.

Speaking of dangerous game with elephant its a bit different imo because your shot has to be right on the mark because shoulder fired rifles even he biggest ones aren't capable of producing the energy required to shock something so big. Shot placement plus penetration is king (with everything- although huge calibers on smaller animals can offset this to an extent) especially with elephant.

I have never seen any animal much larger than a dyker impressed by "shock". The .375 makes such a fine PG rifle in large measure because it tends to punch through most such targets ensuring a easy blood trail for the trackers. I have seen any number animals with proportional near misses of the vital zone carry on for miles in a decidedly unshocked condition (a 160 lb deer shot with a 180 gr '06 is proportional to a lioness taking a 400 gr .416 - how many deer are lost every year to a bullet just behind the diaphram). To my mind, the value of a heavy caliber is that it does more damage when placed where it needs to go, it gives a slight margin of error when grazing the vital area, and it offers a greater likelihood of an exit wound.
 
For bow hunting I'll go for double lung shot, starving the brain of oxygen will let it pass out and eventually die, no matter how much adrenaline it pumps. Relatively larger target area as well.
 
http://www.ballisticstudies.com. If you read some of Nathan's thoughts on hydrostatic shock at certain velocities and the drop to the shot .

Reviewed some of my hunting notes and the guy seems to be right on the money with his ideas.

And of course Doctari is a must read on the subject.
 

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