The drop shot

[hauscaliber]

I shoot deer right under me. The angle has to be right and you have to know anatomy well to get into the center of the thoracic cavity which takes out major arteries and possibly the heart. One lung is no bueno for sure.

I'm bringing this old thread back cause I'm going to be hunting a thick area where I could be faced with this shot angle. Curious to know where you would aim on a shot like this. As of right now I would let the deer walk if i didn't get a better shot angle. But I'd be curious to hear if others have had success.

 

[slonstdy]

I aim where I need to so my arrow takes out the heart, or the major blood vessels above it. If it doesn't get the heart I at least get a lung and an exit hole at the lowest point on the animal. I've been successful taking this shot on a few deer and a black bear and they all were easy to follow short blood trails. I keep one of my deer targets at the base of the tree I practice from so the drop shot to me is just as comfortable as a 20 yard broadside shot..

 

[DB4x4]

Nobody mentioned the biggest flaw of the straight down spine shot...

... Even if it works, you'll likely ruin a big piece of backstrap.

 

[Weldabeast]

13 wrap noose on the end of ur rappel rope

 

[krub6b]

I'd aim for exit in the off side arm pit and would want my entrance to be on the near side of the spine, as far down the deer as possible, inside 5 yards that's gonna be real tricky to accomplish IMO. inside 10 seems like a slam dunk but getting bent at the waist enough to keep your anchor point correct on a steep angle shot is also a factor, lots of people, including myself, hit high on close range/straight down shots due to dropping their bow arm to get the pin where they want it

 

[Iron_llama]

I might - might - try it with a sturdy single-bevel like a Grizzly or Cutthroat, aiming for an exit between the sternum and the armpit. If it went down I'd put another into it as insurance. I wouldn't try it with a 3-blade or anything where the blade is screwed to the ferrule.

At the risk of sounding like an Ashby / RF evangelist, don't even contemplate this shot if you haven't optimized your arrows to 650gr+, EFOC, etc. Deliberately taking a spine shot without an arrow system optimized for heavy bone seems reckless and unethical; and even with such a setup seems ill-advised at best.

I've taken that shot with a rifle on a two-year-old doe. Missed the spine, the bullet trashed one lung and a foreleg and came to rest by the elbow - no exit wound or blood; if I hadn't seen it go down I probably would not have recovered it. Frankly I'd rather take a frontal shot than a spine shot.

 

[raisins]

Do you go for the spine and hope to drop them or go for vitals and risk only one lung?

Sent from my HTC6545LVW using Tapatalk

For me a drop shot is simply a shot at around 6 o clock from the tree. For me, what you are talking about is just a shot in a deer very close to the tree.

The best thing to do is wait for a better shot. If that isn't happening for you, then I would miss the spine and envision a marble sitting right on top of the heart where all the blood vessels emerge and try to hit that marble. Shooting the spine on purpose is not advised because if you center a vertebrae then you will likely just stick an arrow in the bone. Most shots that drop deer go between the vertebrae. I don't care what you are shooting, no arrow will consistently penetrate heavy bone (humerus, socket of the scapula, femur, or vertebrae body). That's what rifles are for.

I've seen people shooting very powerful crossbows center a vertebrae and the deer runs off with a carbon arrow sticking out like a flag pole. Hopefully the deer could snap it off and recover. If a modern crossbow shooting over 400 fps and a small fixed blade head get stucks like that, then no arrow from a compound can be counted on in this scenario.

 

[DroptineKrazy]

I've shot a couple of deer pretty much straight under the tree and have never had a problem. I always (no matter the shot angle) aim for the top of the heart. You have to remember to aim for where you want the exit hole not where you want to hit. The 1st buck I shot like that ran about 40 yards and stopped to look around like "What the hell just happened" then just flipped upside down. The second one bolted for about 70 yards and died mid stride and ended up with one antler buried in the mud out in a salt marsh. I retrieved both my arrows where the deer was standing when it was shot.

 

[woodsdog2]

Whistle loud and that'll scare it off enough to give you a flatter shot angle. Course, it might just take off completely. Let if go by and try a slight quartering away shot aiming for the offhand leg. Should enter far enough behind to drive down through the boiler room.

 

[wyetterp]

If it's really something you may often be presented with & the only option, start shooting a 700-800+grain arrow. You'd pin 'em to the ground no problem. If you're shooting light & fast to medium arrows, I wouldn't even consider it.

As mentioned before you have to know the anatomy & best to let them get a few steps out first.

I can shoot tighter groups at 80 yards then I can do a truly straight down shot. I'd suggest practice.

 

[hauscaliber]

If it's really something you may often be presented with & the only option, start shooting a 700-800+grain arrow. You'd pin 'em to the ground no problem. If you're shooting light & fast to medium arrows, I wouldn't even consider it.

As mentioned before you have to know the anatomy & best to let them get a few steps out first.

I can shoot tighter groups at 80 yards then I can do a truly straight down shot. I'd suggest practice.

My arrow setup is close to 600 grains. Decent but not something I'd go after a spine with. I'm gonna practice shooting more vertical this weekend to gauge my abilities to aim for a angled heart shot.

 

[raisins]

My arrow setup is close to 600 grains. Decent but not something I'd go after a spine with. I'm gonna practice shooting more vertical this weekend to gauge my abilities to aim for a angled heart shot.

I'd use a 3D target.