shot placement with minimal meat loss?

[lilshootergirl]

2 years ago I shot a cow at 400 yards 6 " below the back, behind the shoulder, lost a lot of meat. What's the best place and how fast will it put a bull down. I'm using a 308 with 180 grain spbt game king by Sierra. I would love to hear everyone's appinion on this. Front and side and quarter to and from!

[Lefty]

Ive have had frontal rifle shots mess up the gut on deer ,.. just a mess But they drop fast. Ive had 2 frontal shots on my bull elk. both times bullets were found beside the gut ( no mess)
If game is going up a steep hill side a back shot is good( go for the heart)
Rifle hunting we were always taught to shoot just behind the crease looking for that nice double lung shot. Ive never considered a profile neck or spine shot

Rifle hunting I taught my daughter to shoot the crease on the low side,.. you generally get to watch them drop, and you loose some meat but never the animal.
Im planning on switching rifle loads to all Barnes copper loads,.. no splintering of the bullet like a jacketed lead bullet.
I havent shot any of the Seirra bullets in a long time,.. well a few hundred rounds of 110gn bt in .30 for coyote fun.
Knowing animal anatomy is important and you and your gun . There was a time I was comfortable taking many shots under 600 yards on anything depending on conditions,
I would hesitant any shots over 250 on a frontal, quarter to and from conditions would need to be right

My dad worried about loosing meat . Me; I want the animal down, top of the heart, loosing some should meat isnt a great loss. If there isnt lead in it I cook it for dog treats generally a small amount 2-7 lbs

[Indian Summer]

Yes! There's quite a bit of space between the hair on top of an elk's back and the bottom of the sine and backstraps. It' easy to hit high and ruin meat. So assuming you weren't to far forward just aim lower. About 1/3 of the way up from the brisket. Ideally a quartering away shot allows you to aim even further back while still angling the bullet forward up into the chest cavity. To me that is the ultimate killing and non-meat wasting shot and I wait for it if I can.

[saddlesore]

Although I am a big fan of Sierra BT Game King, They do have a tendency to rip up a little meat. Try a tougher bullet like a, 180gr RN, Nosler Partition, or step up to a 200 gr Sierra. Watch Shooter Pro Shop.com and you can many times find Blems for 1/2 or 1/3 the cost. I am no fan of Barnes bullets.

As for bullet placement, I always go for a double lung, a few inches back from the shoulder crease to miss the scapula, Hunting for meat and not ruining it a person might have to pass on more shots than when hunting for horns. At my age,I usually hunt cows although I have shot two bulls in the last two years because I had an either sex tag. My opinion only and everyone has one, but when hunting cows,or meat,I see no reason to take a shot that will waste meat. I know taking home a half elk is better than no elk, but by being more shot selective and hunting smart ,you can take a whole elk home every time.

If you try a quartering shot and only hit one lung, they can go a far piece that way. A center double lung and they rarely go more than 60-80 yards. Any animal takes about ten seconds to die and they all use that ten seconds differently. The only true way to get bang flops is to take out the CNS. That usually entails meat loss unless it is a head or neck shot.

[Swede]

I would shoot for the center of the chest cavity, but avoid a Texas heart shot.

[lilshootergirl]

Saddlesore' what's a CNS shot? I think when I shot that cow it angled through the shoulder, didn't think she was going down so I shot her hind leg in half, there was a nasty deep draw I didn't want to haul her out of it! Thanks guys great info for this green horn lady, I'm wanting not to loose any elk and I'm pretty calm when I shoot, just wanted to know the quick kill shot! I love shooting!!!

[saddlesore]

CNS.Central Nervous System. Head,neck, spine