Where to Shoot a Deer with a Bow
Clean, ethical kills come down to one thing: putting the arrow through the heart-lung vitals. Here's exactly where to aim on a whitetail — and where not to — plus a free simulator to practice it on any angle.
The broadside shot
A broadside deer offers the biggest, cleanest window to the vitals. Aim for the lower third of the chest, straight up the back edge of the front leg. That line drives the arrow through both lungs and clips the top of the heart — a double-lung hit that drops blood pressure fast and leaves a heavy blood trail.
Aim too high and you slip into the "dead zone" — the gap between the top of the lungs and the spine that looks like a hit but isn't. Aim too far forward and you catch the heavy shoulder blade, which can stop an arrow cold.
The quartering-away shot
Quartering-away is the money shot. With the deer angled away, aim to drive the arrow forward through the ribs toward the off-side front shoulder. The near-side ribs are thin, the angle opens both lungs, and even a shot a little far back still catches the liver and one lung.
The shot to pass: quartering-to
When a deer faces toward you, the near shoulder blade and leg bone armor the vitals. Most bow setups won't punch through, and the result is a wounded animal. It's the classic shot to let walk — wait for it to turn.
Practice it — free, on any angle
Reading a diagram is one thing; making the shot under a real angle, with the right pin, is another. Our free archery shot simulator flies every arrow with true physics and shows you exactly what you hit — broadside, quartering, uphill, or down.