The First Shot: Heart and Double Lung
The first shot always goes for the vitals: the heart and double lung.
Why We Always Load Another Round
These are tough scenes. Lots of big bucks run over the hills and are never retrieved. A buck that's wounded or gut shot can go for miles before the blood trail is lost. So after the first shot, always rack another round. A second shot is almost always fired.
The Follow-Up Shot
If the buck is walking or quartering away, the follow-up shot doesn't have to be extremely accurate. On a trophy-size deer, where the risk is losing the buck, the follow-up is placed anywhere you can hit him. Many times that's right up the rear as he crosses a hill. A Texas heart shot is better than a lost buck.
Ethical Hunting: Every Wounded Animal Gets Put Down
Ethical hunting requires a wounded animal to be put down, whatever it takes, whether the guide takes the shot or the hunter does.