In this program, you are asked to make a heart-lung shot which is not only 100 percent fatal but also relatively easy to make. Any other shot such as a head or neck shot has too great a chance of wounding the animal. Making a one-shot kill requires knowledge, skill and the right equipment , and as you will likely experience things don’t always go as planned. Bottom line, though, it is all about shot placement. While it is important to select an appropriate caliber, accuracy matters more than fire power. As Craig Boddington renowned hunter and marksman puts it: “…if you don't put your bullet in the right place it doesn't matter how much power you have available; you will wound your game, and you may not be able to recover it.” Keep this in mind:

Heart & Double Lung Shot

(This next paragraph was adapted from Alaska Department of Fish and Game)

The best heart-lung shot placement is when the animal is broadside to the hunter. On a broadside shot, place the horizontal crosshairs about 1/3 of the distance from the bottom of the chest (the belly) to the top of the back. Place the vertical crosshair directly behind the front leg. This heart-lung shot will likely puncture both lungs with the following advantages:

1. When an animal is hit in the heart/lung area, a quick death is certain because an animal cannot function with a loss of both lungs and heart. If the bullet exits, the animal will probably leave a visible blood trail.
2. The heart-lung area is likely to remain stationary. Because an animal’s head and neck frequently move it is more difficult to accurately place a shot in those areas.
3. A heart-lung shot minimizes a loss of meat if the bullet enters and exits through the ribs.

Christopher Batin, Alaska hunter and guide, talks about how a heart-lung shot “will still strike the lung and take out the heart. A high shot will hit rib bones, spine and tough connective tissue, putting the animal down quickly. We have a margin of error with this shot, which is what makes it so effective. A heart-lung shot ruins little meat, and allows the animal to bleed immediately.”

Christopher Batin also stresses not to hit the shoulder (blade and muscle): “during the thrill of the chase, we can easily identify the outline of a shoulder, and unfortunately, it is all too easy to focus the crosshairs on the shoulder rather than the obscure body lines that mark the heart-lung area. Commit this to memory now: a shoulder shot isn't the same as a heart/lung shot. The shoulder is one of the toughest areas to send a bullet through.”

As you prepare for your hunt, take a look at animals standing in different positions and angles and then ask yourself: How would I place a heart-lung shot? By practicing this way without actually pulling the trigger, your mind begins to think about shot placement. When you are in the field hunting, use every possible opportunity to think through shot placement. As you watch animals with your binoculars (never use your scope for glassing), think carefully about where you would place your shot—even for those animals you don’t intend to shoot.

Here are a few final suggestions by Christopher Batin that might be useful:

• It’s important that we know our shooting limitations. Practice with one gun and be real comfortable shooting it.
• Shoot a variety of loads and see which bullet performs best in your rifle and at the ranges you typically shoot game.
• Practice year round.
• Prior to the hunting season, practice trigger squeeze and the mechanics of marksmanship, which is as much a mental activity as it is physical training and coordination.
• And finally, remember that you decide the shot. It’s your decision to shoot or not to shoot.

In addition to this information, I recommend you review your hunter education student manual especially chapter eight Making the Shot and Afterwards (PDF 584 KB).