Farther back the spine runs just under the backline, and if you hit it you will immobilize the animal--but these shots are usually lucky accidents that didn't go exactly where they were intended! I simply can't imagine trying to spine-shoot an unwounded animal any farther back than the shoulders. The target is small, and if you miss your mark a wounded animal is a certain result.

Now, shooting for the spine where the neck joins the body, or taking a fairly high shoulder shot with the intent of hitting the spine can be a sound option. But the exact placement of the spine between the shoulders varies tremendously among the varieties of game, so unless you know exactly what you're doing this is actually a very risky shot. Sable antelope, for instance, appear to have massive shoulders. This is because the spine dips very far down in the body and, at the shoulders, has big dorsal projections that form sort of a hump at the shoulders. Shoot into that hump and you may knock a sable down for a short time--but he'll be back up before you get to him, and if you don't shoot again quickly you will almost certainly lose him.

Under most circumstances I don't consider a spine shot into the body as a shot at all. There is one exception, and that's in the fairly rare situation where you're above an animal and shooting down with the animal facing either straight toward or straight away from you. Obviously the spine lies centered between the shoulders, and you can angle your shot so it will pass through the spine and on down into the chest cavity. This is not an easy shot, but it is exceptionally deadly and easy to visualize--and in steep country it might well be a better shot than you're going to get if you wait until the animal turns.

THE HEART SHOT
The classic, standard killing shots that most hunters seek, me included, are the lung shot and the heart shot. Most of us have our preferences, but either--if properly placed with a bullet that penetrates--is absolutely 100 percent fatal in short order, and on all animals. The lung shot offers the largest target; the heart shot, except on unusual angles, has the advantage of requiring heavy bone to be broken enroute to the heart. Let's look at the heart shot first.

On all four-legged game in the world the heart lies low in the center of the chest between the front legs. The mistake that most people make is shooting a bit too high, but this isn't all bad. A heart shot that is too high will wreck the major blood vessels leading to the heart and will also hit the lungs and be just as fatal as if you'd centered the heart. The risks with a heart shot are shooting too low (you may break a front leg), too far forward (all you'll hit is brisket), or too far back (maybe catching the bottom of the lungs).

The author took this Colorado bull with a .30-06, plenty of gun for elk but not necessarily for all acceptable shots. Size of game, distance, shot angle and bullet selection will dictate which shots are too risky.

To do it right, from a broadside presentation divide the animal into horizontal thirds. Now, find the front foreleg. Just come straight up the centerline of that foreleg into the middle of the bottom horizontal third and you will hit the heart--or close enough to it that the animal won't know the difference. You will also break the near shoulder on the way in, and if your bullet is tough enough you may break the opposite shoulder on the way out.

A heart shot alone will usually not knock an animal down; a last frantic run of 50 to as much as 100 yards isn't unusual--especially if the angle is such that one or both shoulders isn't broken. I like the heart shot on tough game, especially game that is potentially dangerous like bears and the big bovines. But the shoulder must be penetrated, so as the game gets bigger bullet selection becomes ever more important. You simply cannot take a shoulder/heart shot unless you are absolutely certain that your cartridge has sufficient power and your bullet is of tough enough construction to absolutely guarantee penetration.

THE LUNG SHOT
Many hunters prefer the lung shot to the heart shot, and under many circumstances I'm one of them. The lung shot is a larger target with a greater margin for error, and as angles change it can be much easier to visualize. It also destroys much less edible meat, which is important to me. The lung shot is not less deadly than the heart shot, and in fact it can drop the animal even more quickly--but this depends on luck. If the animal has just exhaled, then a shot with an expanding bullet that really messes up both lungs may well drop an animal in its tracks. If the animal has just inhaled and is full of oxygen, then a final run of 50 or 60 yards is very normal.

For the lung shot divide a broadside animal's body into horizontal thirds once more. Now find the backline of the foreleg. Follow this line up into the bottom half of the middle third. This will more or less center the lungs on almost all game animals, and usually offers the greatest margin for error. Depending on the animal, you can hit a bit high, a bit low, a bit forward, or even a bit rear and you still have a fatal lung shot.

There are a couple of exceptions. With bears and especially pigs the lungs lie a bit farther forward than with most horned and antlered game. You can, and you should, use exactly the same shot placement--but don't slip much farther to the rear or you'll be too far back. A perfectly fatal broadside lung shot on a deer will be a shot just behind the diaphragm on a wild pig. The lung shot isn't nearly as demanding of a bullet because there is relatively little resistance; the most you are likely to encounter is a rib, and if you aren't shooting a bullet that will break and penetrate a rib and stay straight you don't have enough bullet for the game you're hunting