Ptaylor wrote: Back from my first week of hunting for the 2014 fall season. Had a blast and made 4 stalks 3 of which got me in close, but got busted drawing or waiting to draw on 2 of them. One of them I was really close, 7 yards; however, he was strongly quartering towards me and only presented his scapula and humerus. As we were watching each other I was thinking about one of the books about Ishi. There were photographs of him butchering a buck he killed, by shooting it through the neck with his arrow.

Has anyone purposely killed an animal shooting through the neck (with bow and arrow obviously)? Does anyone think it could be an ethical shot?

Two ways to think about this…if you are an ethical hunter, and there is no doubt in my mind you are based on your concern about this issue, do you not strive for high kill, low maim percentage shots? By that definition, though a neck shot may seem questionable, it may not be given your skill level and the shot presented…we all make this decision at the time it presents itself. I would suggest that while some may disagree, a neck shot presents a much better chance of a kill than a maim. Certainly, it’s a small target, but a hit that’s not lethal will likely be a clean wound that will heal quickly (assuming sharp, clean broad heads). Personally, it’s not one I’ve taken simply due to the fact I’ve not been presented with a neck shot that wasn’t moving about and I’m good enough but I’m not that good!