Brain or spine?

[porkycrook 466]

I have a question for the forum and it is.

 

Well after watching lots and lots of rat shooting (one of my few pleasures), i have noticed that a lot of the brain shot rats jump and bounce around like crazy. But a lot of shots that have been placed behind the head cutting the spine the rats dies with less movement. Although the rat may well take longer to die, they die with a lot less jumping about.

 

So what are your thoughts on it, head or spine?

 

 

Thankyou for taking time to read.

 

Roger

[Daz 7 563]

With .177 Cal head shot only for Me but with the Big Boy .25 Cal and at 19.91 gr weight ~ head, Spine, Heart, it Doesn't Matter their Dead Period :laugh:

 

atvb Daz 7.

[milegajo 595]

Shot placement consideration must vanish when you wield a .303! Good slogan for Daystate - "Don't matter where you hit em..."

[Grayling 56]

Hiya Roger , I would never purposely go for a spine shot, EVER, it does happen though but its never a clean kill, in fact in my experience a hit in the spines always needs a quick follow up shot to finnish the job. I would go for a head shot when possible or the boiler house (chest/lungs/heart) certainly on Squirrels and Rats. I do try and get Woodpigeons between the shoulder blades (again when in a position to do so) as this seems to shut them down instantantly and head shots on Pigeons is never easy (but not impossible) because they seldom keep their bonce still long enough. On Rabbits I do try for the head as I've seen them cover a fair bit of distance from a lungs/heart shot with an air rifle before dropping dead (they're already dead, they just don't know it). This does not tend to be the case in my experience with a rimfire though. Different species, different considerations.

 

I'm sure there'll be other points of view which is why I answer you post before reading the answers afterwards .

[Phantom 631]

Like with bunnies Roger, if they are hit in the head (large brain area called the cerebrum) then their nervous system gets crosswired and they kick and flap about, but essentially they are dead Even better if hit in the head by a .22 as this makes a much greater sized hole and damages more of the grey matter, but they can still flap or kick about, same be said with a .38 through the head with a catty

 

Now if you can accurately take out or lets say decimate the little brain (cerabellum) towards the rear of the head under the ear, the animal will drop like a lead balloon. The cerabellum is the part of the brain responsible for autonomous life functions such as breathing, heart pumping etc...

Take out the spine in the neck and the animal will fall almost instantly but as the link to the brain is severed, nerve impulses can not travel to the body and so no life functions can carry on.

Now shoot a rat through the spine behind its lungs/shoulder area and that rat will loose function of the rear end but it may still be able to drag itself away using its front legs to die seconds or even hours later (again a bigger hole means more blood loss and more kinetic shock transfere so in theory a quicker death will result from the same shot delivered with a smaller faster moving pellet).

 

Tony

 

ps this is in no way trying to ignite the smaller versus larger debate as we all know any pellet in the right spot does the job

[Mawders 595]

Yeah but .22 does it better!

 

Sorry couldn't help myself.

 

;-)

[Grayling 56]

With .177 Cal head shot only for Me but with the Big Boy .25 Cal and at 19.91 gr weight ~ head, Spine, Heart, it Doesn't Matter their Dead Period :laugh:

 

atvb Daz 7.

T

 

Thats true Daz, the shock to the system of a .25 does tend to shut them down in either head or boiler house. Still don't think even a .25 kills with a spine shot though mate. Unless the wound trauma was such that the shock did the job. Not used a .25 for a long long time though Daz, whereas you have, so maybe wrong I'm wrong but again in my experience spine shots regardless of full bore, rimfire or air rifle just don't do it. It does drop the target but does not kill it.

[ftm 3,357]

i try head shots every time always have done if in doubt i just leave em out i dont always hit tho and then curse myself why"i didnt take a body shot " but theres always tomorrow lads -billy

[porkycrook 466]

I always go for head shots if possible on any quarry but i never film myself. I asked the question because as i said watching videos and noticed that a lot of shots not hitting brain but the rat just stopped (no punn) dead. I know that some members are recieving a lot of grief over their videos, some from fellow members and as most who post videos the anti's. So i was asking the question, i know it's not ideal not to kill our quarry as quick as possible but if a spine shot gives the appearence of a clean kill then would that not be the shot to take?

[Malt 379]

Jesus lads, you're talking about rats not bloody deer! You hit em anywhere from the ribcage to the head (with a .22) and they're a gonna.. Who cares if they flip about after a clean headshot, they're already dead whether they know it or not!

[Phantom 631]

I guess it's up to the shooter really. A spine shot may look good if its taken across the neck, but a spinal shot is a nit hit ans miss really, a slight miss will simply cause a wounding, even if it drops the creature. But the animal may suffer a prolonged death. Which we must always strive to avoid. A clean kill, even if it jumps or flaps for a few seconds until the electrical nervous signals diminishes is in my own view a better option Roger

[Deker 3,478]

I always go for head shots if possible on any quarry but i never film myself. I asked the question because as i said watching videos and noticed that a lot of shots not hitting brain but the rat just stopped (no punn) dead. I know that some members are recieving a lot of grief over their videos, some from fellow members and as most who post videos the anti's. So i was asking the question, i know it's not ideal not to kill our quarry as quick as possible but if a spine shot gives the appearence of a clean kill then would that not be the shot to take?

 

Appearance and reality may well be different, many animals including rabbits, fox and deer etc will often twitch for a while after a well placed head shot. Rabbits are notorious for leaping about all over the place without a head! Many will tell you Deer will commonly run all round the countryside after a heart shot, but not with a headshot!

 

The simple reason being you have disrupted the nerve systems and erratic electrical signals are being blasted all over the body, they are dead.

[ghillies 209]

head and spine is the same thing really...the brain stem lol.

 

i've heard .22 this .177 not that over and over but i find .177 far better on body shots than .22, but, i sjhoot .177 amd have for donkies years. what i did notise about .22 was ooooo what a drama impact it is lolol.(that and a lot more runners on bod shots with .22,so much so i wont do it in .22).

 

could be me here but for shooting something shouldnt you be looking at one bif kill zone, i.e. not just the head or just the hearts ect as discribed in the glad mags...head, follow its spine down there's organs attached to that head spine..thats where the lead hits lol.

 

there three spots that drop a rat nicely other than the head.. hard as they are the spinal fat bit of flesh seems to be a week spot in the fabled hard ass critter.(and the heart is lower than you'd think, the kneck regions when your looking at its 'kill zone' also drop it nicely too...)

[Probuk 93]

Jesus lads, you're talking about rats not bloody deer! You hit em anywhere from the ribcage to the head (with a .22) and they're a gonna.. Who cares if they flip about after a clean headshot, they're already dead whether they know it or not!

I second that.. I use a lamp with red filter and 9 times out of 10 the rats on the move seconds after putting the light on it...if i have to I take the moving target I aim between the head and chest. If it stays still I go for the eye or between the eyes as there lit up and easy to see. I shot 15 this evening and less than half of them stayed still long enough for me to deside where I was going to stick the pellet, 177 using Bisly Magnums...However there brown bread now..just the way i like them.

 

Marty

Edited November 26, 2012 by Probuk

[porkycrook 466]

Jesus lads, you're talking about rats not bloody deer! You hit em anywhere from the ribcage to the head (with a .22) and they're a gonna.. Who cares if they flip about after a clean headshot, they're already dead whether they know it or not!

Jesus lads, you're talking about rats not bloody deer! You hit em anywhere from the ribcage to the head (with a .22) and they're a gonna.. Who cares if they flip about after a clean headshot, they're already dead whether they know it or not!

I second that.. I use a lamp with red filter and 9 times out of 10 the rats on the move seconds after putting the light on it...if i have to I take the moving target I aim between the head and chest. If it stays still I go for the eye or between the eyes as there lit up and easy to see. I shot 15 this evening and less than half of them stayed still long enough for me to deside where I was going to stick the pellet, 177 using Bisly Magnums...However there brown bread now..just the way i like them.

 

Marty

 

So it appears that not every member of this forum are either not getting grief over posted videos, or worse are not cared how shooting is preceived by the anti's. As always with everything today, a small number of people will cause changes to be made. As Scotland are finding out at the moment, the "anti's" are pushing to have every air-gun to be licenced. So after lord knows how long Scotland has had air-weapons they now need to be licenced. Our shooting magazines are now being put on top shelves along with smutty magazines, why after all this time.

 

If we don't police ourselves then i can envisage it getting so hard to get an air-weapon, that this form of shooting will be lost. So i know its only a rat, but i along with lots more think that our quarry needs to be treated with RESPECT.

Edited November 27, 2012 by porkycrook