I try and shoot high heart and low lungs if I can that way I take out all of the vital organs. I think if you take them all out the deer will go down faster. Deer are amazing creatures and can run along way with the most perfect shot made. Some just have a greater will too live. Sorry you couldnt find the buck nimhates.

 

Whichever one i can hit and kills the deer.

 

Well, I had my choice of spots...he stood perfectly broadside at 25yds, with no clue I was there. I was very relaxed, almost as simple as being at the range. I have no doubt whatsoever that the deer is dead...the thing that sucks is that he is not hanging in my garage as I write this. In a perfect world he would have run into a mowed field, or dropped where he stopped the first time....

 

Top of the heart, if he ducks, you got lungs...

 

x2...

 

yes and yes. i prefer my deer dead. Both will accomplish that. Shoot for what's offered.

 

I'd take the heart shot every time. Every deer I have heart shot never mad it farther than 40-50 yards. Double lungs take them down quickly but not as quickly as a heart shot.

 

I was going to say the other way around. lol....A good broadside double lung 2-3" straight above the elbow will put them down in about 10 seconds. I've seen heart shots go 100+ yards. It can depend on where in the lungs they are hit.

 

I have lost a buck as you have shooting for the heart. My buck went a mile and a half after I trailed him to his bed . Now I only shoot for the lungs , with no more problems. There is a good chance of missing the heart shooting low. QUOTE=Nimhates;1062153007]How far have you (from experience) seen a heart shot deer run vs. a double lung deer? In the last few years I have put my pin on the heart of a deer so that if it ducks, I get both lungs, if it doesn't I get the heart. On opening day, I heart shot a doe....down inside of 60 yds, but not much of a blood trail at all. Saw her fall, so no issue. On the second Saturday, I aimed at the heart of another doe, she ducked, I got top of heart and both lungs....down in 50-65 yds.

Yesterday, I aimed at the heart of a very nice buck...as he left I could see the blood stain on his fur right at the heart....he stopped at 40 yds and I could see the blood....he bled quite well for a minute....then turkeys began to drop from trees, spooked him and he ran up and over a hill into a CRP field with grass taller than me. I have the hunting rights to this land, but not permission to cut the CRP....good blood all the way to the high grass, then 40+ acres of this crap. We grid searched for 6 hrs without luck. I have seen heart shot bucks run an amazingly long way....we lost blood at about 200yds from the shot. I am now forced to wait for the birds to begin to do their thing an I am sick!!!!

I would like some other guys opinions on aiming at the heart vs. aiming for double lung....[/QUOTE]

 

Either,no preference the outcome is the same.

 

I have shot deer with a 300 win mag at less than 100 yards and when cleaning, found the biggest piece of what used to be the heart to be no bigger than a nickel. And have seen deer with no heart left run flat out 300 yards before falling over. And that is with 3080 ft lbs of energy going right through the heart- 100 times more than most hunting arrows. Amazing animals.

Get a dog.

 

i have had that happen with my .270 win before too!

i shot a doe last year with a rage 2 blade right dead in the heard and she went a goo150-175 before she went down

 

I always aim at the heart now because if they jump the string I'll catch both lungs and if they don't I take out the pumping station. I use to aim for the lungs but had a buck duck at the shot one time and hit him high and never did have a blood trail (bled internally I guess until everything filled up). I grid searched for that buck for 3 solid days and never found him. I helped a buddy track a buck he had shot high last year and the blood trail was incredible for about a mile and then it ran out. I figured he stopped bleeding because he had nothing left in him to pump out so we searched the area around last blood for several hours with no luck. I have no doubt in both cases we had dead deer it just seems like a high hit deers legs keep moving long after the blood trails end.

 

I'll take lung shot. Average travel distance for me is less and better blood trails.

 

double lung for me. how far can a deer run with a hole punched in both lungs? not far as I've never had one make it more than 50yds.

i must say i've never have a heart only shot and i would have to imagine they can run a while if both lungs are still functioning.

 

They can run a long way with both lungs punctured. i have personally seen one go over 400 yards on a double lung hit. Some deer just have an amazing will to survive. There was a thread here a couple of days ago about a perfect double lung hit on a buck that went over 450 yards.

 

I blew a buck's offside lung out with a .270wsm two years ago. That dude had blood and steam pouring out of him and still took forever to realize he was dead. They have a tenacious grasp on life.

I don't mean any offense when I say, maybe you should hang up the bow until your tracking skills have improved. If you know what you're looking for a deer sized animal would leave a pretty obvious trail through vegetation that high.

 

Dude sometimes there can be 50 deer trails through a CRP field if there is no blood how would you know which one that the deer took. How do you know the OP doesnt have great tracking skills. He grid searched the whole field so it sounds like he did the right thing to me. Some people never cease to amaze me at there harshness when they do not read the whole post.

 

Double lung for me also. All of my double lungs hits are down within 100 yds max. All of the deer I have heart shot seemed to get a huge burst of energy and run for several hundred yards. For example, I center punched the heart of a nice 8-pt several years ago at the edge of a soybean plot. I watched the deer run about 170 yards across the field and enter the woods by the creek. He made it another 60 yards or so in the woods before expiring...so total distance about 230 yards. When I field dressed him, I pulled the heart out and found a perfect 2" slice through the middle made by my Rage 2-blade. I never would have thought he could have made it that far with that kind of shot. On a side note, he did bleed well the entire run. Since then, I aim right at the top edge of the heart to ensure I take out both lungs as well.

 

I go for this one....

Id rather miss low than high

 

Id rather miss low than high

Holy cow - is that a deer heart?

 

Lungs are a larger area than the heart. Plus you can get lungs at many angles. I dont try to decide which organ i am trying to hit. It never has crossed my mind before a shot. I try to aim right behind the scapula on a broadside shot. On other angles i try to get my arrow behind the shoulder and through the kill zone, lungs heart whatever. They can duck, jump, step forward or you can flat out make a bad shot. Aiming at a specific organ is kinda moot point. btw most of my deer drop within sight....

 

lungs

 

Put a Spitfire through the heart of a doe opening afternoon, she went 150yrds. I shot a doe through the lungs that morning, went a total of 30yrds with blood everywhere.

I prefer lungs

 

If you hit the heart directly, he'll usually go farther than a lung shot deer, but I've not seen one make it 200+ yards. Not saying that it's not possible. I think there's a chance that you didn't hit the heart, but missed low. He'll bleed, but he'll live.

 

Guess which one I prefer! Lol!

 

I prefer lungs because of a better blood trail. Twice I've cut the top of the heart off so no blood's pumping and there's little to no blood trail except for the initial spray. Neither went far but one took forever to find because of the complete lack of a blood trail.

 

i prefer heartshots if at all possible. knocking on wood when i say I've never(up to this point)had one drop out of sight with a heartshot. all have dropped(up to this point)within 100yds of a double lung hit. all with plenty of blood. IF the deer makes it out of sight, i get to my arrow as quickly and quietly as possible to determine shot placement and what to do next. ive been fortunate enough in my 15+ years of bowhunting to lose only 2 deer. and those 2 deer went into off limits to me areas. it pisses me off when landowners wont let a guy recover their deer.

 

I prefer dbl lung, heart shot's you have to hug that shoulder.

 

Either, you didn't find him because he got spooked, after they get scared like that they can run and run and run.

 

Double lung. They seem to fall quicker for me.

 

I try not to over think it.

Middle chest - double lung.