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When it comes to deer shot placement with a bow, there are three shot angles we want to talk about:
- Quartering to
- Broadside
- Quartering Away
Quartering to
Quartering to is when the deer is facing in your direction, not 100% straight toward you, not 100% broadside either, but angled enough to give you a shot through one of the front shoulders. The first disadvantage of this angle is that it has the smallest margin of error. In other words, you have the smallest target area where you will be able to make an effective shot. Secondly, your arrow will need to punch through considerable bone and muscle before it can reach vital organs (and therefore you'll want to consider the pound pressure of your bow before deciding to make this shot). The big advantage to a quartering to shot, however, is that if your shot lands correctly, you will almost certainly hit the heart, the lungs, or both.
Broadside
Broadside is when a deer is perpendicular to you, facing either off to your left, or off to your right. In this position, one entire side of the deer is exposed. The main advantage here is that you have the largest margin for error with this shot angle because it's the largest exposure of vitals and the largest possible surface area where your shot is likely to be effective. For this reason, most newer hunters won't take a shot unless it is at the broadside angle. In fact, there are some hunters who go their entire careers where that is the only angle they're looking for and the only shot they will take. If your shot is a little too far forward or a little too far back, you could still hit liver and recover the animal.
Quartering away
Similar to quartering to, quartering away is when the deer is facing away from you, but not 100% directly away, not 100% broadside. It falls more into that 45-degree angle away from you so that a large section of the heart and lungs is exposed without having to punch through any bone if you make the shot just right. That, of course, is the big advantage here: potentially both the heart and lungs in one shot and, unlike the quartering to, potentially zero bone resistance. This is what makes it our favorite shot angle. The main disadvantage is that the margin of error is smaller than that of broadside.
A truly good shot placement at any of these angles can make for a short track, but if you're new to bow hunting deer, that should help give you a sense of how the different angles might affect your chances. Good luck this coming deer season!
--Midwest Whitetail
