Head-On Shots: Are They Ever Okay for Whitetail Bowhunters?

You should know that compared to any of my bowhunting friends, I’m the most conservative when it comes to shot selection. And as a group, my four closest bowhunting buddies and I are supremely conservative shooters when compared to the vast majority of bowhunters.

Fact: We’re all in our mid-50s, each has been bowhunting for at least 30 years, and not one of us has ever attempted a 30-yard bow shot on a whitetail. I’ll do the math for you: That’s more than 150 years of bowhunting experience as a group, and no one has taken a shot of 30 yards or more. I seriously doubt if your hunting group is as conservative when it comes to overall shot selection.

I mention this fact because there is one shot I will take that many bowhunters will pass — head-on.

When Head-On Archery Shots Are Acceptable

I’ve killed a handful of whitetails with head-on shots, and the important point is each of these shots were taken from the ground and at close range — 15 yards and less.

Understand that I’m not looking specifically for this shot angle, and prefer a broadside or slightly quartering-away shot whenever possible. And while I’d never take a quartering-toward shot because I don’t want to hit the near front leg bone or attached shoulder bone/blade, a head-on shot avoids these barriers.

The reason a head-on shot from the ground at close range is deadly is your arrow passes through one lung and then ultimately the diaphragm and liver. Single lung hits from a treestand are notoriously iffy when it comes to the outcome; some deer die, some don’t, and it’s anyone’s guess how such a deer might behave after arrow impact; i.e. some deer bed quickly, some keep traveling, etc.

As I said, the reason a head-on shot from the ground is deadly is because the single lung is combined with the diaphragm and liver. Such a hit isn’t survivable.

In my experience, a head-on deer hit in the base of the neck with an arrow flee quickly, much as they do when hit elsewhere, and die quickly. Most often I can hear the deer crash off in the brush and then the sound stops abruptly. No whitetail I’ve taken with a head-on shot has run more than 60 yards.

What about blood trails? The first time I took a head-on shot and watched a mature doe charge off the tiny food plot and into thick cover, I was worried about trying to follow a minimal blood trail. After all, I knew I had an entrance hole but no exit hole, which is usually a recipe for hard-to-follow blood trails. This wasn’t the case.

With only an entrance hole, the blood trail for this mature doe — and every subsequent head-on shot whitetail in my career — has been easy to follow. True, you won’t have blood on both sides of the deer’s path, as you would with a double-lung, full-pass-through shot, but the blood is still very heavy, and it’s deposited on the ground in a line.

Where to Aim

When a deer is perfectly head-on or very close to it, the leg bone and shoulder blade is out of play, provided you hit the deer near the center of its chest — between the legs, at the base of the neck. Don’t aim for the heart, that’s too low from the ground and head-on. The heart is screened by a deer’s sternum, and you want your arrow to enter the body cavity over the sternum. Hitting the sternum could also deflect your arrow downward, which would be bad.

As I stated earlier, I take this shot only from the ground, and the distance has to be no more than 15 yards. I know that a deer could still jump the string (drop lower to the ground to begin running) in this scenario, and an arrow can never outrace the speed of sound and a whitetail’s reaction, but my chances for a lethal hit go up significantly if I’m shooting at a deer at 12 yards vs. 22 yards. To date, I haven’t had a deer react (that I’ve noticed) when taken head-on from the ground at 15 yards and less.

Arrow and Broadhead Choice

Because the key to killing a deer with a head-on shot is having your arrow pass deeply into a deer’s body, it’s imperative that you choice an appropriate arrow and broadhead combo. I depend on a tough, cut-on-contact broadhead such as a G5 Montec, Magnus Stinger Buzzcut, Muzzy One, NAP HellRazor, Swhacker Razor 253, Wasp SharpShooter and others. I prefer a 125-grain head. A heavyweight arrow helps with penetration, too, and just as important is having high FOC (forward of center); that’s a topic for a future article. In my quiver for 2020 are Easton Full Metal Jackets (FMJ).

In my opinion, it’s a mistake to attempt a head-on shot with a lightweight arrow and a mechanical broadhead that opens to 2 inches. Such a setup will penetrate one lung but might stop before slicing through the diaphragm and liver.

Final Thoughts

If you bowhunt from a treestand only, nothing in this article pertains to you. Don’t shoot at a head-on deer, regardless of shot distance, from an elevated position because your arrow won’t combine a single lung with the diaphragm and liver. Head-on shots are quickly lethal when taken from the ground, at close range, when a bowhunter is using a scary-sharp cut-on-contact broadhead with a heavyweight arrow.