I won't take it. From experience I know they are hard to track even when hit with a 300 Winchester.

 

i personally will take a front shot if the deer doesnt have me pinned, and is within 25 yards

 

ttt

 

My response would be no. Even if you're a good shot, you have a a good chance of wounding the deer. Unless you cut the wind pipe or catch and artery in the neck. And in the brisket area, there isn't much vitals to hit. Are you hunting on the ground or out of an elevated stand? Off the ground, and at a close range, your odds of a kill improve, but personally, I would hold out for a shot with better odds of making a clean, humane kill. But that's just me......:wink:

 

I don't have any personal experience nor have a I seen a deer hit with a frontal shot. My opinion from knowing the anatomy of the deer is that it is a marginal shot at best. There are too many ways that shot could go bad and end up with a wounded animal and/or a really hard tracking job. I have and will continue to wait for the deer to either present a broadside or quartering away shot. Just my opinion

 

yes i hunt on ground level i had a 5x5 at close range ,frontal ,didnt take the shot, not knowing if i should take the shot or not, i passed.,

 

not the throat but ill take the chest all day long at 25 yds,,if the brisket stops your arrow at 25 you need a better head.

 

I will say no if I can help it. If it is my only shot at close range(20 yards and in) I think I might take it. Though never had to take the shot yet. If I was in a treestand I would aim for high chest, on the ground middle chest. Its not my favorite shot but I have seen and heard it work so...

 

I dont. I will wait for a broadside or quartering away.

 

at 20 i killed my first elk with a frontal, my elkfreak buddy told me the swirl of hair on his chest, hit that and he's dead , well i hit him and he didnt go anywhere.

 

NO, not now, or ever no no no
will it kill them ? you bet ,but you won't find him!
I've seen them run over 3 miles with an arrow bured up to the fletch in the front neck.
I have tried this three times in the first 20 yrs. and recovered 0 some were found that winter or the next spring with my arrow ,but never in the area I shot them in. LORD only knows how long it took them to die.
I'll never do it again ,too risky

 

a guy i hunt with shot a buck right in the white patch of its neck and it went down fast.

i personally wont take a front shot with a bow. a shotgun if i have to i will.

 

i have taken this shot with a muzzleloader, and the deer ran about seventy yards easy track, but i dont think i would take it with a bow even at close range.

 

Well I personally don't know. Some people say don't because you need lots of KE and perfect shot placement and other people say it's better than broadside shots. I am really interested in this subject though. I am hopefully going guided elk hunting next year and from what I have been told most elk come straight in and don't allow broadside shots. I read one article that said the opening on an elk straight on is as big as a broadside deer. Right know I don't know who to believe.

 

looks like you have 2 choices...
believe the guys that take it and kill deer.......
or
the guys that don't take it and don't kill deer....

yeah i would rather have a perfect broadside shot,, but this is just as good under say 25-30 yds...

 

I did this for the first time ever this year and it worked great. However, I did not take the shot lightly. I had a great angle and was only slightly above the deer. Also I was using a 2" wide cutting b-head and I have good KE. Also the shot was only 20 yards (maybe even a little less, I didn't measue it). I got 18" of penetration and took out an artery in the neck, cut one lung in half, and destroyed the liver. The deer ran about 50 yards and piled up. Blood trail was amazing and could've been followed on a dead run.

This is my only experience with this shot and I wouldn't take it again unless everything were exactly perfect. It's not a shot for everyone, and shouldn't be taken unless you are confident in your ability to place the arrow perfectly.

 

If I see big bones at 20 yards and I know I'm not gonna get another shot. I would aim for the white patch right on his throat. The rage puts a 2 inch hole right through the middle of the neck, no way he's goin far.

 

I say no and that's from experience. Last year I was having a tough time finding a mature blacktail, late in the season I had a good buck walking down the ridge toward me. He stopped facing me, I've passed that shot many times but this time I got greedy. I put what appeard to be a perfect shot dead center on the chest, let me tell you it's tough to tell if the deer is slightly quartering. Well the arrow only got one lung and a piece of the liver, I tracked him for an hour and over a mile. I truely believe I would have never recovered that deer if I hadn't been hunting in the snow.

I will never attempt a frontal shot again,
****

 

ttt

 

Tough one. I think if you know how and where to put your arrow, go for it. I had this buck head on this year. He, and 4 Does, had me pegged. Ranged him at 67 yards, put my pin right in the left of his right arm, and nailed it. He stumbled 30 yards down to his death. Tore his heart apart, 1 lung cut open, and the insides looked like it came out of a blender.
The blood was easy to see, not that you needed blood to find him.
67 Yards
70lb 29" Mathews DXT-Gold Tip 7595 ProHunters+100Gr NAP Spitfire BH's (404 Gr. Total weight) 298 FPS

 

IMO don't take it. Nothing against those who do but I believe it's risky. So the question you must ask yourself is: is a risky shot what I want? The worst low a bow hunter can feel is losing game or giving it a slow death. No doubt it can work (so can alot of other type of shots) when done perfectly but I really think shots like that have the potential to give bow hunters a bad name. Sure it's tempting, I look at it more like respecting the game we are after and the game we play. Bow hunting to me is getting em close AND broadside. You will never regret a close broadside shot so wait for it!

 

I'll be honest. One of the does I shot Saturday was a frontal shot, and a long one at that. I'm sure the ethics police will be on me for this, but oh well. She was at 49 yards looking right at me. I shot her rightinthe throat, alittle offset to her left. The arrow penetrated all the way to my blazers. She ran about 80 yards with the best bloodtrail I've ever had with a bow shot. So, yeah if your confident in your shooting ability, go for it.

 

Frontal shots are just as good as any. I take them when presented :wink: Seen lots of deer killed with it and really good blood trails too

 

Thanks for all your input , im really confident in my shooting ability, next time i think i will take the shot....

 

Never shot one there myself, but my hunting buddy shot a big doe there last year with a 7mm mag. and it threw her onto her back stoned dead.

 

I have shot a couple, it works great!