dhv wrote:No mate, cant spotlight deer in NSW unless you are the landholder in which case the regulations don't apply.
I have no argument that some skilled shooters can reliably pull off headshots, and I have no argument that a headshot is humane.
My discomfort over posts such as this is that many less skilled people read it and believe it to be normal, resulting in deer running around with jaws shot off and the like.
I have personally witnessed a fallow buck carry a good hit from a 30/06 @ 100m and require a 2nd shot to put it down, so whilst they may go down MOST of the time, you should arm yourself to ensure they go down ALL the time.
It's the same with "long range hunting". Some can achieve it consistently, but for every one of those there are a dozens more where ambition exceeds ability.
As a hunter (as opposed to a shooter) the whole point is to get closer. The stalk is more important than the shot.
As Clint says "A mans gots to know his limitations" if you are new to something I'd suggest you learn as much about it before attempting to do it, I'd suggest the reason the Fallow didn't go down after being hit with a 30/06 had more to do with being over gunned using a heavy pill that's designed to penetrate heavy solid animals and possible poor shot placement, as for the stalk being more important that the shot, well not so sure about that side of it, end of the day good shot placement will see the animal put down humanely a poor shot placement will often result in an injured/lost animal regardless of the cal used.
Shot placement is key to successfully and humanely dispatching any animal and I guess that comes from practice and a good understanding of ones equipment and their skill level.
Sadly many unskilled hunters just aim for the biggest part of the body to compensate for their lack of skills in the belief that it will still kill the animal, often that is not the case sadly.