Deer are ruminant animals from the Cervidae family that walk on four limbs; two front limbs and two hind limbs and widely found in the forests in Europe, North America, and Asia. These places are the predominant places deer can be found, but some animals that look like deer can also be found in Africa alongside other forest animals like hyenas, zebras, monkeys and other games.
They are not known to be aggressive which makes them prey for wild animals especially the lions and tigers, and they are a good sport for hunters albeit very hard to kill if your precision and experience as a hunter are not top-notch.
The best and easiest way to kill a deer is via a rifle but an experienced hunter, one good with a crossbow, can shoot down a deer from a reasonable distance and in the right place. Killing a deer with a crossbow can be a tad difficult especially when you don’t know where to hit it to effectively bring it down which brings me to the topic of discussion.
When hunting for a deer with a crossbow, there are things to consider; things like distance, and one of the most important things, the anatomy of a deer. When you know the anatomy of what you’re shooting at, it makes your sport easier and quicker because you’d know the right place to hit. Lastly, the efficiency or proficiency in your shot or knowing the right shot to shoot at the right distance.
Best Parts of the Deer’s Body to Hit
When you want to take a good shot at a deer, that is, to hit it and get it down with your first shot, it is dependent on where you shoot your shot; where you hit it and the best place to hit a deer with a crossbow, making sure it gets down by that single shot is to aim for its heart and lung region.
This kind of shot aimed for its heart and lung area would leave the animal just a few minutes before it finally dies and you have yourself some meat in the freezer for a bountiful dinner. It’s kind of an old traditional style of shooting a deer with a crossbow but it promises the best, deadliest and greatest shot when you hit your target.
Yes, you have it now; the best place to shoot a deer with a crossbow is not the head, not the neck—if it was to be with a rifle, then the neck or a headshot would be ideal, but the arrow of the crossbow might hit the head and the skull would make it hard to penetrate the head of the deer—but where the heart or the lungs are located.
However, even after you’ve understood the anatomy of a deer and that the best place to shoot a deer is along with the heart and lung region when shooting a deer with a crossbow, distance plays an important role. You wouldn’t shoot a deer using a crossbow with a distance that’s fitting for a rifle; the hit might not be fatal like that of a gun, hence, making you lose your game.
You wouldn’t also be in say at point A distance and use same aiming style when you’re at point B distance, it won’t work; you might just chase your target away with a missed and careless shot, and there’s nothing as frustrating to a hunter like shooting and missing your target or shooting and not hitting your target at the right place. It sure hurts a lot.
So, it all comes down to a whole lot of calculations. Like when you are aiming for a deer from a distance of 20 yards, your aim ought to be lower because the crossbow arrow has an upward trajectory. When the distance between you and the deer you are aiming for is 30 yards, the crossbow arrow will point directly at the end of the body of the deer or in the middle which will mean you need to aim a bit higher than when you are aiming from 20 yards distance. It’s now obvious that the longer the distance, the higher the aim because higher aims make up a downward trajectory. Like, if a deer is 40 yards from you, you should aim higher than when you’re 30 yards close or 20 yards closer to the deer.
Of course, it all requires an ample dose of practice and experience to know when to aim higher and take a shot and where to aim lower, and the force required in order to hit the deer in the right place which is along the region where the heart and the lungs are located.
Some might want to ask where the heart and lungs are located. Well, it’s a very valid question to ask and the answer is as simple as the question is. The heart and the lungs of a deer are located in the chest cavity just like most animals; under the rib cage that protects the heart and the lungs from pressure coming from the outside.
So, in essence, the best place to shoot a deer with a crossbow and get it down with a single, well-timed and conscious shot that’s done with lots of precision and expertise in the chest.
So, when next you go out for a hunt and you see a deer or group of deer idling around or taking a lick of water from the stream or pond or lake, and you have a crossbow with you instead of a gun, don’t feel sad.
Just take your position where you won’t be easily spotted by it or them, but you can see it or them vividly which includes the chest cavity, aim for it; the chest and take the shot in accordance to the distance you are from it or them and voila, you have earned yourself a full dead deer for reward.
However, do know that it all requires tons of practice to perfect the skill.
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