Hunting isn’t only a fulfilling sport for riflemen who partake in the hunt for the trophy; it’s also an efficient way to provide food for your family. Many civilizations that have occupied our continent have relied on herds of deer to provide nourishment for their loved ones.
One particular civilization, the Native American Indian tribes, made it a point to fulfill two goals during and after their hunt. They were sure to use every part of the animal after it was killed. They were also mindful about taking the animal down in the most painless way possible. Presently, the best hunters are still aware of these two very important dynamics of hunting.
Both of these practices have one very crucial element in common. To understand how each part of the animal is efficiently used and ensure it’s killed in the most humane way possible, you must be familiar with the deer anatomy.
What Is The Best Place to Shoot On a Deer Anatomy?
During the excitement of the hunt, it can be easy to lose sight of the best place to wound a deer during your shot. However, failure to mind this important dynamic can result in the animal suffering and a loss in the meat quality. The meat may become inedible entirely if the animal is wounded in the wrong spot.
The worst thing a deer hunter can do is kill the animal and lose the entirety of the carcass to spoilage. With this in mind, what is the best spot on deer anatomy to wound the animal?
The ultimate goal is to take the animal down with one clean, well-placed shot. Let’s examine the areas that normally result in a humane kill.
A Heart Shot On the Deer Anatomy
A well-placed shot through the heart of a deer is normally a fatal wound. While fatal for a deer, the heart shot normally will not result in a very easy-to-follow blood trail. Hunters rely on blood trails to track the wounded animal after the shot is taken.
One would think a shot in the heart would result in a high volume of blood emanating from the wound. However, the blood pressure decreases, and the trail a deer hunter hopes for is not normally produced.
It’s important to remember that you should use a higher caliber bullet whenever possible when you take a heart shot. This ensures the shell penetrates the shoulder blade and leads to a clean kill. However, using a higher-caliber bullet can lead to a more severe wound that can produce inedible meat after your kill.
Using a broadhead bullet can be the best way to go about taking a heart shot. This normally ensures the lungs are punctured as well, leading to the deer dropping faster and a better quality blood trail.
A Neck Shot On the Whitetail Deer Anatomy
The purpose of taking a neck shot is to sever the spinal cord of the deer. This results in an instant death which is normally painless and considered one of the most humane.
A shot in the neck normally leads to the least amount of damage to the meat of the animal. However, the animal may lead the hunter for a very long distance when the spine is not severed. Sometimes it’s even possible for the animal to survive.
The largest benefit to a neck shot is the blood trail it leaves behind. Tracking a deer after a neck shot is normally incredibly easy for a hunter.
The Lung Shot On a Whitetail Deer Anatomy
Shooting a deer through the lungs will make it difficult for the animal to breathe, preventing it from running too far after the shot. However, a pass-through shot can lead to a difficult time finding the animal after the fact.
When the lungs are grazed or clipped, the deer can continue trekking through the woods for a substantial distance. The key to a successful lung shot is the placement of the bullet.
It would be best if you aimed for the center of the lung area. This normally will lead to the animal suffocating to death before they can make it very long distance. A lung shot that is placed too far to the rear of the animal can pierce the liver or other organs, leading to a slower, inhumane death.
You don’t want to make the mistake of hitting the stomach. A gut shot deer is one of the worst outcomes. This will rupture major blood vessels and lead to dark red blood all throughout the meat. Avoid this and any type of liver shot.
The Head Shot On a Whitetail Deer Anatomy
A deer shot in the head is the most painless way for the animal to die. This kills the deer instantly, and there’s no issue of meat spoilage throughout the animal’s body.
It’s important to note that taking a headshot requires a highly precise sharpshooter. The head is an extremely small target, and the bullet must be well-placed. Failing to hit the deer directly in the brain can lead to the unnecessary suffering of the animal and perhaps even losing the deer during the tracking process. A misplaced shot to the brain will warrant little-to-no blood trail, making it nearly impossible to recover the animal. You want to make sure the deer hit the ground after landing the shot to the deer’s brain. Be sure to use bullets that will pierce the thick bone of the skull.
The right shot to the head will never require a follow up shot, and will always render the deer dead instantly. This is no doubt the most ethical shot for whitetail bucks.
Understanding the Rest of the Deer’s Anatomy
If you want to become an efficient hunter, it’s important to understand exactly how the anatomy of a deer works. This gives you the edge when you’re in the natural habitat of the deer, as you can predict the animal’s patterns and certain markings they leave in the wild.
Antlers
The antlers of a deer are very useful after the animal has been processed and consumed. Some hunters use the antlers to remember the occasion where they harvested the animal. Others will use the antlers to lure more deer in the future.
A whitetail’s antlers are made of live tissue that is made of bone material. The antlers of a deer are actually the fastest growing tissue on the entire body of the animal.
A deer’s antlers are covered in a spongy substance known as velvet. This velvet plays a vital role in the development of the antlers. The material contains live blood vessels that promote the growth of the antlers.
During the shedding process, deer rub their antlers on the base of trees to remove the old velvet. You can track deer in the wild by looking for these markings on the trees. After the breeding season is over, male deer will shed their antlers entirely. This normally happens in the late winter.
Legs
It’s hard to understand the type of speed deer operate with if you’re unfamiliar with how their legs work. Being familiar with this part of their body can assist you when it comes to judging speed and leading the animal before taking a shot.
Whitetail deer can run up to 40 mph in short bursts. When they use their hooves, they can pivot, shift, and stop on a dime when they need to avoid obstacles. For the size of these animals, their range of motion is incredible.
Bucks possess a torsal gland on the inside of their back legs. These torsal glands emanate a pungent odor that is unique to each buck specifically. Male deer will purposely urinate on the torsal glands in order to strengthen the scent of the odor.
Afterward, they will make a pawing motion on the ground they urinated in. These marks are known as scrapes and are a key indication that fully mature bucks are in the area. Hunters look for these scrapes regularly when they are tracking a fresh target.
Interestingly, the buck will return to the area to check these scrapes periodically. Checking on these areas will alert the buck to female deer that are possibly in the area since doe are attracted to these scrapes. Alternatively, competing bucks will also be alerted to these scrapes. These notify them that there is an imposing male in their breeding territory.
The Deer Digestive System
Some may argue that it isn’t necessary to understand the digestive system of a deer, as it may not be important in tracking the animal. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Understanding the digestive system allows you to track the animal’s scat, which can alert you to the size and age of deer in the area.
A whitetail’s digestive system is made up of several complex parts. This system includes a unique four-chambered stomach. These are the areas of their incredibly rare belly.
· The rumen
· The reticulum
· The omasum
· The abomasum
Because deer constantly stay on the move, this stomach allows them to eat incredibly large amounts of food in a very short period of time. This makes it possible for the animal to go long periods between feedings.
Their chambered stomach also allows the deer to obtain as much nutrition as possible from the food they eat since their meals are few and far between. The food is broken down so efficiently that a whitetail deer will defecate up to fourteen times in a single day.
Let’s examine this animal’s one-of-a-kind digestive process.
1. The animal chews their food and swallows it, where it is passed to the first stomach. This “first” stomach of a deer is known as the rumen.
2. The vegetation that deer consume contains high amounts of cellulose. Bacteria break down this cellulose in the animal’s digestive tract. The rumen alone cannot break down this plant material enough to obtain all of the vitamins and nutrients it offers.
3. The deer will regurgitate the food and chew it again later. This allows it to be broken down a second time. Sometimes this is known as “chewing its cud” and is somewhat similar to how a cow consumes its food. The plant matter both of these species consume is fairly similar, hence the similar digestion process.
4. After the second chewing, the food moves to the reticulum. After 16-24 hours, the food passes to the omasum after being strained by the reticulum.
5. The omasum absorbs all of the water that the food has to offer. This prevents dehydration in the animal and is why their scat is normally very dry.
6. Finally, the food passes to the abomasum, where acids will fully break the rest of the food down before it passes onto the intestines.
Understanding the anatomy of a deer is vital to becoming a top-notch hunter. An expert rifleman will understand how to use markings produced by different parts of the deer body to better track his target.
The most important thing to keep in mind is what portion of the body to target your shot. It’s important to avoid any unnecessary suffering of these extremely useful animals that have provided for generations of families.
