Taking Vital Shots

It is critical that you educate yourself about the game you’re hunting. Understanding your quarry also will enhance your hunting experience.

Understanding Game Anatomy

An ethical hunter always wants to inflict a minimal amount of suffering on an animal. Knowing game habitat and anatomy are essential to placing a shot for a clean kill.

• Knowing your quarry may be necessary to taking legal game. For example, you may need to determine a game bird’s gender on sight or quickly recognize protected species as they move into firing range. If you hunt where white-tailed and mule deer occupy the same area, you’ll need to know how to identify both.
• The most effective shots are delivered to an animal’s vital organs—heart and lungs. In large game animals, these organs lie in the chest cavity behind the front shoulder. A lung shot is the most effective shot for big game.
• The area of the vital organs also contains major blood vessels and arteries. A shot in this area causes considerable bleeding. If the animal doesn’t die immediately and tries to flee, it will leave a blood trail that’s easy to track.

• Aside from being a good marksman, the key to a clean kill is patience. Hunters should limit shots to the vital organs only. If you do not have a clear shot to the vital organs, wait until you do.

It’s difficult to hit a vital area on an animal that is running or moving straight away from you. Rather than risk crippling the animal or ruining meat, wait for a better shot.