Why headshots

[ignisuti]

O.P., I'm 100% with you...
If I'm confident in my shot, I'll take a headshot as a measure of mercy. Otherwise, I go for the vitals and pray for a swift kill bleedout if I'm off by an inch.

 

[Hard2hurt223]

For me shooting ground hogs possums skunks even with my 50 Texan 460 grain slugs at 860 fps. It doesn't kill all the time unless you get a head or neck spine shot. Subsonic doesn't kill anything like powder burners at 2500fps up. A possums skunk and ground hogs have all ate big huge .510 slugs and crawled away. I have some pretty good videos taken with my sightmark wraith to verify. My Big texan is cool and quiet. But as far as killing power if its not a head neck break the spine shot recovery of game is extremely difficult. Also minimal meat damage .510 hole in out no bleeding. My results of using my 510 Texan the last three years..

I understand why you might think that 510 cal probably pushing 800 fpe would be the most effective but when your projectile zips through an animal like it's not even there it's not dumping it's energy and killing very quickly if I can make a recommendation watch 68 whisky slug design over caliber and another good one is their ethics video both really explain a lot as well as all of their videos

 

[Filnez]

It pays to study some anatomical shots of small game to see where the brain actually is, there's quite a bit of head that isn't brain cavity. Even a .22 long rifle in the wrong place is no guarantee. I've messed up before and wounded game too. Head and body shots.

 

[AmosBurton]

I discovered I like eating squirrel so I go for a head shot to avoid damaging meat. The upside is generally you either hit or miss. And a .25cal pellet to the noggin seems to cause enough damage to kill squirrelzilla no matter what.
Do I always get a head shot? No. In fact 2 of the 3 I've gotten were body shots where I was aiming at the head. One shot needed a bit of hold over and the other some hold under but both were within range to not change my POA and still get a kill.
I believe my .25 pellet gun kills squirrels more effectively than my .22lr. I think the .22 has too much energy/speed to do much unless you get the perfect shot in the vitals or brain, not my experience with the pellet gun.

 

[aklonewolf]

I don't understand why cries headshot so much I understand with a lower power gun without hollow points that's the only spot to shoot but for the higher power guys (35 fpe plus) why not take a vitals shot people say headshot is the most humane way to kill and I agree if and only if you hit where your aiming if you miss right around that area or the animal moves it's head then you could hit whatever your shooting at in the ear nose skim the skull or shoot it in the jaw or mouth ( which I have done before luckily it was close range and I was able to make a quick follow-up shot) but vitals on the other hand is a much bigger target that can't move so quickly and will kill the animal just as dead as a headshot it just takes a second longer I take my fair share of headshots to but only when I'm 100 percent sure of my range wind and that the animal isn't going to move other than that I aim for the vitals so just curious of everyone's thoughts rant over.....for now

All that I shoot is hart lung shots. It anchors the little tree rats. Maybe 2% flop around but that hart lung shot does the trick.

 

[jt-outta-cali]

Sigh, I shot one twice in each side of the torso today around 9yards, I heard both smacks. With a 22cal. it still jump to another branch and turned its back to me. In one last ditch attempt I shot it in the back and it flopped into the neighbors yard. Laid there for a few minutes and disappeared

Head shots are king

 

[sasquatch]

Headshot (a good one) is instant death with the right power. That's why

 

[Dr. Kralenstein]

I've shot squirrels in the face on upward tree shots and blown their noses or jaws off and had them run off. That's a crappy feeling for me and a horrible way to die for them. I do vitals now if I take those shots, head shots if I have a flatter angle to shoot at like in my yard where I have a shooting station for them. They sure are tough sometimes and run off. However they're dumb enough to come back if they survive and I just shoot them again.

 

[HogKiller]

It pays to study some anatomical shots of small game to see where the brain actually is, there's quite a bit of head that isn't brain cavity. Even a .22 long rifle in the wrong place is no guarantee. I've messed up before and wounded game too. Head and body shots.

I will guarantee you that a .17 HMR will remove the head, body shots, well it guts them. But we're talking pellet guns, not thermo nuclear rimfires.

 

[karl_h]

I will guarantee you that a .17 HMR will remove the head, body shots, well it guts them. But we're talking pellet guns, not thermo nuclear rimfires.

I shoot CCI A17 out of my 17hmr. The only critters I've shot with it that I got an exit are most but not all long (90-120 yards) range body shot squirrels(massive exit), one smaller rabbit I wanted to eat, and one of the skunks I shot that was really a small skunk. Everything else I've shot with it the bullet does not exit, does a heck of a lot of damage dumping all that energy inside a pest. Instant kill on every body shot I took with it on squirrels, skunks, 1 rabbit(never again), and ground hogs. I shot a few milk jugs trying to capture a bullet around 120 yards with no luck. It doesn't go through 1 jug, but that jug splits and sprays the water violently enough I never found any pieces of the bullet, I found one plastic tip doing that, nothing else.

 

[HogKiller]

I shoot CCI A17 out of my 17hmr. The only critters I've shot with it that I got an exit are most but not all long (90-120 yards) range body shot squirrels(massive exit), one smaller rabbit I wanted to eat, and one of the skunks I shot that was really a small skunk. Everything else I've shot with it the bullet does not exit, does a heck of a lot of damage dumping all that energy inside a pest. Instant kill on every body shot I took with it on squirrels, skunks, 1 rabbit(never again), and ground hogs. I shot a few milk jugs trying to capture a bullet around 120 yards with no luck. It doesn't go through 1 jug, but that jug splits and sprays the water violently enough I never found any pieces of the bullet, I found one plastic tip doing that, nothing else.

 

[Airgun-hobbyist]

 

[Airgun-hobbyist]

 

[Nomadic Pirate 66]

People trust me, been using the Lowneck/High shoulder shot on mongoose for a decade and a half and it's fail proof, much easier shot then a brain shot ( that part of the body doesn't move quite as much as the head )

the low/neck/high shoulder shot will anchor them on the spot, just study your anathomy and try it out, you'll love it.

 

[Dr. Kralenstein]

People trust me, been using the Lowneck/High shoulder shot on mongoose for a decade and a half and it's fail proof, much easier shot then a brain shot ( that part of the body doesn't move quite as much as the head )

the low/neck/high shoulder shot will anchor them on the spot, just study your anathomy and try it out, you'll love it.

I've been using a neck/chest shot on squirrels lately. When they're eating and facing me, I basically shoot threw the pecan and into their throat area. Figure if I go high I hit their head, I go low I hit their heart. If it stays on center, it severs the spine. Usually just drops them without any dancing.

 

[Hard2hurt223]

People trust me, been using the Lowneck/High shoulder shot on mongoose for a decade and a half and it's fail proof, much easier shot then a brain shot ( that part of the body doesn't move quite as much as the head )

the low/neck/high shoulder shot will anchor them on the spot, just study your anathomy and try it out, you'll love it.

I couldn't agree more but somehow the only ethical shot is the head sounds like a bunch of baloney to me

 

[Nomadic Pirate 66]

I couldn't agree more but somehow the only ethical shot is the head sounds like a bunch of baloney to me

If you place the shot in the right place they are all ethical.

Placing it in the right spot and more so knowing where that spot is...... IS the key.

The perfect Heart/Lung shot is just as good as the perfect brain shot, difference is the Brain shot will drop it there, the Hear/lung shot will take some time to take effect.

It's all about the hunter, did you get close enough to make it a more efficient shot ?
do you have the patience to wait for the perfect shot ?
do you actually know the anathomy ?
do you know your quarry and how they move ?

 

[Ezana4CE]

@AirArcher66 Good points. However,I have anchored more than a few squirrels with double lung shots. Never hit the heart. Probably knocked out a number of main arteries. I’ve starched several with brian shots and made a lot of them do the headbanger boogie. All shooting .25 caliber. Brain shots with a .22 Prod seem to take longer to die in my limited experience there.

Hell, I’ve watched a raccoon take a polymag between the eyes from 10 yards away, growl, and run of into the brush. I tried to track him and found no blood. I followed the raccoon into the brush. Then after I walked past it he ran the other way into a thicket, but would not take to a tree and I lost it. Ultimately judging it’s behavior and lack of blood I think the pellet bounced off it’s head. Shot placement, the correct power plant, and the right projectile are key elements working in conjunction with one another. .

 

[Nomadic Pirate 66]

I've shot 2 Boars with Airbolts and a ton with longbows and even the perfect Heart/lung shot has them running a bit before running out of gas,...and arrows do sooooo much damage, so much more then any airgun bullet can do.

Love it when I place the .177 pellet from a 10.5 FPE springer in the right chest spot on a dove and it just drops there,...never gets old, always amazes me.


Here is the power of the right brain shot:

Benjamin Discovery .177 shooting the H&N Baracuda

 

[Hard2hurt223]

I've shot 2 Boars with Airbolts and a ton with longbows and even the perfect Heart/lung shot has them running a bit before running out of gas,...and arrows do sooooo much damage, so much more then any airgun bullet can do.

Love it when I place the .177 pellet from a 10.5 FPE springer in the right chest spot on a dove and it just drops there,...never gets old, always amazes me.


Here is the power of the right brain shot:

Benjamin Discovery .177 shooting the H&N Baracuda

Dang that is awesome nice shot on that hog that is definitely on my bucket list of airgun hunts