#why so many gamo tags

[erekuri]

Joker Game icons I edited from official art

Enjoy ♡

[reblogthiscrapkay]

The Myth of Persephone in “The Narcissus And The Pomegranate”

Instead of a retelling of the myth, today we talk literary analysis!

Chapter one is an introduction to the Hymn of Demeter and this book itself. I read the Hymn a while ago and expressed my thoughts, which you can find by searching The Persephone Project tag so I won’t explain that.

Chapter two is about looking at the myth as a means of establishing Zeus as head of a Greek pantheon of gods. It analyzes the diction and the narrative aspects to conclude that one of the primary purposes of the myth was this elevation of Zeus due to patriarchal standards of the time. The reason why Zeus would even need to be elevated is that the idea of worshiping Demeter and Persephone independently was common at the time and that Persephone might actually have been worshiped even longer than Demeter but sometimes as a goddess of a different name who represented both the underworld and fertility and the duel nature of life and death before being placed subordinate to Demeter. However, although it does place Zeus as an authority by having him be the one who arranged the marriage and being the one who Persephone calls out for when she’s being taken underground (something I previously pointed out as being kind of weird), the myth also makes it seem like Zeus had no idea about the pomegranate thing while Demeter does. It also talks about Persephone’s retelling of her story when she gets back to Demeter and how she shifts the narrative and how the two goddesses have the longest speeches in the story, implying authority.

Chapter three looks at the myth with psychoanalysis and specifically the object relations theory. This is all about the idea of coming of age for a girl by following the example of the mother and then separating from her while still looking to her as an example of how to form her own womanhood. This is emphasized by how Persephone starts the story hanging with her friends away from her mother. It also talks about the narcissus being called a “toy” and how Persephone goes to pluck it as a sign of her choosing her maturity, which is then completed in a sexual maturity way by eating the seed, which is not really shown to be unwilling or willing but she later has a “me thinks the lady doth protest too much” moment when she insists to her mother that it was by force. This gives Seph a lot of agency in choosing her fate even if she didn’t technically go to the Underworld willingly. It also compares Seph to Demophon and how after losing Seph, Demeter becomes an old woman (her daughter growing up makes her old, get it) and then tries to basically replace her with Demo since her daughter has “died” but she can try to make him immortal.

Chapter four looks at the myth through anthropology and different rituals and coming of age rites that used the Hymn (the Eleusinian Mysteries obviously, the Haloa, and the Thesmophoria). Ultimately the author concluded that while there are some similar elements and stages, they don’t fully add up with what we know about ancient history. It talks a bit about how Persephone doesn’t start the story with her mother but with her friends, putting her already in a liminal state between childhood and adulthood. It also talks about how a lot of the similar rituals of the time that weren’t coming-of-age focused on fertility but Persephone doesn’t ever become pregnant and doesn’t even stay in her husband’s home as one would expect from a marriage ritual (although it does emphasize that sex did happen since they are on a bed and she eats the seed but that marriage is actually kind of ambiguous unless it’s supposed to be implied by the sex).

Chapter five looks at the myth as a hieros gamos, a “sacred marriage” rite common in a lot of early religions (I actually know of it best through the modern Wicca representation but even when I first heard about the Wicca version, I was like, “hey, this is kind of like Hades and Persephone”). The idea is that the coupling of an earth goddess (both above and below) and her kind of useless male consort brings about the fertility of the earth and people. It does mention that this coupling is usually on earth and not underground but that this speaks to the duel nature of nature and death in the Hymn (also cool is how many modern interpretations have them actually coupling in her garden instead like “Hadestown” and Allison Shaw’s comic; it’s more traditional). It mentions how Demeter and Persephone were once probably one goddess and Kore and Persephone were the two split ideas and how Zeus and Hades were one god of different aspects but then split into two gods (I’ve read about this before with Orphic tradition). Even Poseidon was part of this as water leads to vegetation. All these cults got smushed together and altered. Apparently, like with the Wicca idea, the god is usually the subordinate who has a coming of age and the sacred marriage to a powerful goddess but that patriarchy lead to this role being given to Persephone. It also compared the hieros gamos of Seph to one of Demeter and Poseidon (the one with horse rape and Desponia) and talked about cults where the marriage was between Kore and Plouton, a grain god who’s name is very similar to Pluto. There’s a cool footnote where the author notes how another author saw Persephone’s lack of offspring as a result of her being a goddess of death but the author contests that she is a goddess of the dead, not death and that her role is that of receiver and caretaker, not the bringer of death. This was a really interesting chapter to me as it heavily discusses the evolution of myth over time.

Chapter six discusses potential earlier ideas that would eventually be shaped into the Hymn. It again brings up the idea of Persephone as a Bronze age goddess without Demeter or the idea that Demeter as mother was a different aspect of Persephone who is also a maiden in one aspect (citing Homer mentioning her without Demeter and as just Underworld Queen). It discusses the ambiguity of who actually is responsible for the earth’s fertility, addressing that in the Hymn it’s Demeter and that Persephone only brings about the seasons and specifically mentions flowers, not things like food (although she probably did both in earlier history). There were a lot of things in this chapter mentioned before just in a more focused form. One of the new ideas was in an Orphic tradition version, Demeter went into the Underworld herself to get Persephone. It is also suggested that the part of the Hymn where Demeter goes to Eleusis, which doesn’t really have anything to do with the main narrative, was an effort to include rituals that were already present there and establish Demeter as an authority there over Persephone (known as Kore/Thea).

Chapter seven talks about the linguistic history. It discusses when the Greeks started speaking Greek and mentions how Persephone’s name is older, not Greek, and not really understood. It discusses how her previously common adjective as “dread/awesome” is dropped for the Hymn to only describe her as young and beautiful while Demeter is given more power-based descriptions in addition to her appearance. It breaks these words into list form in Appendix B, which I find helpful. It then discusses Demeter’s name, which is Greek,  with the first syllable either being connected to earth or water and the other two being mother and it talks about the name Hades, which is usually seen as Greek and translated just “unseen one” but there is some debate. It ends with a  lot more discussion of Demeter.

Chapter eight discusses archaeological evidence to find the source of Demeter and her joining with Persephone before the Hymn was written. The book discusses early Persephone concepts in a cup found at Phaistos in Crete from 1900 BCE (and other Minoan goddess concepts), frescos at Akrotiri in Santorini a few hundreds years BCE, and 9th century BCE art in Arkhanes Crete but there’s no indication of names or of any worship of Demeter or Persephone specifically and together until the fifth century BCE. Then the book looks at grain goddess ideas in Mycenae dating back to the 13th century BCE and potential art of paired goddesses who could be early ideas of Dem and Seph. Then it looks at Sicily where Persephone, the life and death goddess of another name, was heavily worshiped independently from the third millennium BCE (and the island was seen as a wedding gift from Zeus). Then it goes to mainland Greece to talk about Eleusis (I enjoyed a mention of clay pomegranates at Eleusis) and Corinth (and some ambiguous two women figures from there). Ultimately, a lot of the results are very interesting but also very speculative because how could we know?

Chapter nine mostly sums up a lot of points in the book in regards to the formation of the myth and its history.

Overall, this was a really interesting read! I don’t know how accessible it is to people who don’t have a large background in this stuff so I’m not sure if I’d recommend it but it’s probably a solid read if you like the myth, archaeology, anthropology, or any of the other things it talks about.

[zatsy]

Tag Game

I was tagged by @snailing-along!

Rule: answer the ten questions, and then make 10 new questions and tag ten people to answer them.

1. If you could be any fantasy creature right now, what would it be?

Demon. Demons don’t have to worry about grades, only tormenting the living.

2. Favorite color

Pink and red. I used to hate pink because hhhh girl bad, but I’ve since grown up and realized it’s the best color.

3. Where would your dream home be located and why?

Somewhere in a forest. I love big trees and moss.

4. Fave movie rn?

The Shape of Water. Absolutely bombastic movie, I cri everytim

5. What were your fave cartoons to watch as a child?

The Powerpuff Girls, Ed, Edd, n’ Eddy, SpongeBob, The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, Pokemon, and Scooby Doo. I spent a lot of time in front of a TV as a kid.

6. Cats or dogs?

Both of them are objectively good, but I prefer cats because they’re the calmer of the two.

7. How would u describe your personal fashion taste?

Punk/grunge with cartoon/anime elements. I’m into flannel, but I own so many graphic shirts with cartoons and anime that I have no choice to incorporate them.

8. Do you have any pets? If so how many?

Uhhhhh yeah. At the moment, we have 13 cats (Ink, Panda, Gamo, Silver, Jelly, Mack, Ducky, Drew, Cameron, Poe, Taco, and Nox) and 2 dogs (Oxnard and Zoe). We operate as a foster home, though, so not all of them are permanent additions.

9. Do you believe in soulmates?

Not really. I don’t think there’s a “perfect person” for everyone. I believe in compatibility, but everyone has different life experiences and outlooks, so the only way you’re going to find someone who agrees with you 100% on all topics is if you look in a mirror.

10. What’s your favorite season?

Autumn. The heat of summer is awful, and the chill of winter is awful, so I like seasons where the chance of mid-level temperatures is feasible. Also, I really like boots.

I’m not going to tag anybody, but feel free to do it anyway!

[lovehaswonangelnumbers]

New Post has been published on https://lovehaswonangelnumbers.org/twin-soul-ascension-report-saturn-goes-direct-important-message-for-the-divine-feminine/

Twin Soul Ascension Report ~ Saturn Goes Direct, Important Message for The Divine Feminine

Twin Soul Ascension Report ~ Saturn Goes Direct, Important Message for The Divine Feminine

By matahariji

Dearest brothers and sisters,

Greetings of the most high. We come forward now in this sacred moment of your time on the wings of the highly Potent and extremely auspicious equinox Gateway.

So many shifts are occurring for many of the 144000 first wave of Ascension Pioneers with regards to Saturn now stationing direct on its ecliptic path in the heavens, as well as us all collectively moving through the somewhat heavy intensity of the 9:9 portal.

Please know that for many of you who this message is specifically for, so much density and dross has been cleared from your energetic system and indeed from your timelines in this last coming few weeks after the intense light influx of the Lions Gate, many of you are reporting getting surges of bliss in their kundalini energy, as well as heightened crown chakra activation, tears of love, remembrance and alignment with source consciousness is occurring for many many first wavers at the moment.

It is very challenging for us to explain in human language what is occurring on an energetic level but we will do our best. In recent months, what has recently transpired is an unprecedented level of toxicity which has been laying dormant within the collective consciousness for eons, has now been entirely cleared from the Earth and indeed your own personal etheric fields. This is the reason why so many of you have been so challenged in the last few weeks and have felt pressure from practically every single area of your life, please know that this pressure is what is forming the tenacity and power that you as a lightworker must fully embody inorder to take your role as a leader in this ascension trajectory.

Many many divine unions are aligning now in this current energetic gateway, and this is largely due to the diligence and commitment so many of you have shown with regards to profound levels of courage in facing your shadow selves in order to alchemize these aspects and bring them back home to the Golden vibration of your Christed self.

We would like to take a moment now to speak specifically to the Divine feminines who are vibrationally drawn to these words. Please know beloved sisters that the time has come for you to fully take responsibility for your role as a spiritual leader in the realm of sexuality and entering and inviting your divine beloved into the sacred contract of the hieros gamos.

Beloveds, there is not a soul alive who has not been sexually traumatised by patriarchy. As sensitive Souls we are infinitely connected to all of the abuse that occurs whether that is happening on the other side of the world or indeed next door to our home, we are all connected, and all of us are carrying quite extensive levels of trauma in our sacred sexuality regions.

We are sending out this message to the Divine feminine that it is time now for you to step up as the spiritual leader with your divine masculine taking on your responsibility and indeed your duty as the spiritually Awakened one, to take your divine masculines hand and lead him into a sacred Space that has been created in order to assist him to heal and cleanse his sexuality template and sexual organs.

The time of waiting for the Divine masculine to take the lead in sexual healing has now finally completed and many many divine feminine are Awakening to the promise that they made to their divine masculines to initiate this level of spiritual Atonement and the profound healing.that ensues from that.

It is important that all of you who are reading these words understand that the current energetics are deeply supporting this, and this is a very strong call out to all the Divine feminines reading these words to step up now as the leaders, willing to take on this responsibility as medicine women, as priestesses as sacred healers. 

Please know that as soon as you commit to this path of leadership and responsibility the universe will send you a vibrational match that you have made soul contract to work with and heal at this time.

It is very important that the Divine feminines reading these words fully embrace healing their own sexuality,  connecting with their own yoni and sexuality space and fully activating the frequency of the rainbow rose in their womb space.

The rainbow rose is symbolic of one’s connection to one’s multidimensional sexuality and when we invoke this symbol we invoke the vibratory frequencies of our galactic over-self who holds the purity of our sexuality template entirely free of all 3d distortions.  

Please know that in this current energetic climate, this is the most Potent tool for the divine feminine to work with,  that she may cleanse and purify her personal womb space and clear all last residues of violation and trauma stored there on a personal, ancestral, karmic and collective level.

There is no way that the Divine feminine can step forward as a Medicine Woman, priestess sexuality healer, towards the Divine masculine, unless she has activated these codes of sacred sexuality and wholeness within her own field. but please know divine feminine that as soon as you step on the path of healing your own sexuality and upgrading your own womb space,  very very quickly the universe will send you divine masculines or indeed Divine partners to practice this ancient art of sexuality Atonement and healing.

The energies are now building up for the equinox gateway please know that it is so important that all of us on the Ascension path come together in our Ascension groups on powerful and potent portal date such as this in Order to harness the potent frequencies that are pouring into the Earth on this date. (please see below for full details on how to book onto the equinox transmission) 

Please know that in this transmission we will be working specifically with activating our 6th dimensional diamond Lightbody, again we will be working with our arcturian brothers and sisters who are the overseers of this particular planetary Ascension, they will be assisting us to go back to the time-line whereby our DNA was manipulated and diminished from its original 12 strands diamond form and placed into a 2 Strand side-by-side form. To do this work in an awakened group setting, exponentially increases the potency and acceleration of this work, and all those who come forward to be part of this transmission will receive an auspiciously powerful upgrade with regards to their own personal evolutionary trajectory.

Please see below for full details on how to book onto the Sisterhood of the rainbow Rose online initiation ceremony this work is so important for these times in terms of preparing and empowering Awakened divine feminines to step up as the spiritual leaders and healers that mother Father God created them to be 

in love and eternal light jenji and the white wolf tribe

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[straplessmermaidweddingdress]

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[ancient-myth-daily]

oh yeah whoops i forgot about that! 😳 heracles’ timeline is so messed up because theres so many different versions, i usually like to make my posts follow a specific chronology though!  I suppose Ladon just... didn’t attack Perseus for some reason?  Because the dragon lives in the garden and guards it and is killed by Heracles... but it’s not mentioned at all when Perseus goes there.  So weird, why couldn’t those ancient poets coordinate their myths???

as for Hera’s feelings on Perseus I’ve never seen anything on her thoughts one way or the other!  he was one of Zeus’ bastard children though it seems one of his more tolerated ones.  There was a temple of Hera built in Mycenae in classical times.  The Mycenaeans had a kind of hieros gamos cult for Zeus and Hera, and she was a guardian of the cities in that region.  In Ovid’s version she did not preside over their wedding; Perseus made three shrines to each Zeus, Athena, and Hermes, and then Eros and Hymen waved some torches around.  

i really cant justify athena’s behavior in regards to medusa... it’s a nice theory that athena discovered that gorgon blood can heal people and then wanted her dead to do that, but like... she made the gorgons??  so she would probably know that already, i dont know.  she just really hated medusa i guess, and it was literally not medusa’s fault aT ALL that athena’s temple got desecrated... classic victim blaming.  it just leaves a sour taste in my mouth.  but again, i cant blame perseus for that because he probably had no idea about the backstory of some mythic monster.  

also, about your tag! though it’s true that hermes had both male and female lovers, i can’t find a source that says perseus and hermes were ever lovers.  maybe you are thinking of Pollux?  that’s another P name.  Pollux of the Gemini and Hermes were lovers according to Photius.  if you have a link to a source that ships hermes and perseus i’d love to see it!! :)  Hermes was Perseus’ patron though and I love thinking of them as best friends.  

Perseus Part Four: Fulfilling the Prophecy

read the other Perseus parts here

After Perseus wedded Andromeda, he journeyed back to Seriphos to present the boon Medusa’s head to King Polydectes.  In Perseus’ long absence, Polydectes had kept pursuing his mother Danaë against her will, threatening her, abusing her, and maybe even raping her.  As a result, when Perseus returned, Danaë and her consort Dictys had hidden themselves away in a temple.  

Perseus was outraged as he went to meet with the seedy King, and when Polydectes saw him he did not believe that Perseus had accomplished the difficult quest.  Perseus removed Medusa’s head from his kibisis as proof, and as he did so he (intentionally) turned Polydectes to stone.  Perseus left the kingdom of Seriphos to be ruled by his step-father Dictys, who was the brother of Polydectes anyway.  

After making sure his mother was okay, Perseus returned the magical items he had borrowed for his quest and gave Medusa’s head as a gift to Athena, who set it upon her shield.  I pretty much hate Athena in the Medusa myth, due to Medusa’s origin story, but I can’t really blame Perseus for gifting it to her seeing as she probably would have sent some divine revenge if he hadnt.  

Perseus then heard about some Athletic Games being held in Larissa, a city in Thessaly, and being an athletic lad who just invented the discus he naturally wanted to compete.  As he was showing off his this new discus thing, some old guy accidentally stepped into the flight path of the heavy object and was killed. As it turned out, the old man was Acrisius - none other than Perseus’ grandfather who had locked his daughter in a tower after the Oracle of Delphi predicted that his grandson would kill him, and then after Perseus’ birth set them both adrift in a crate.  

The oracle was fulfilled.  Acrisius had been killed by his grandson, completely accidentally, by a discus of all things.  

After the prophecy was fulfilled, Perseus basically did whatever he wanted.  He and Andromeda had a bunch of kids, and he was faithful to her unlike so many Greek heroes to their girlfriends, and Perseus also went on to found the kingdom of Mycenae after he either dropped his hat or found a mushroom in its future location.  

There is no myth about the death of Perseus or Andromeda, so you can assume that they lived happily ever after as king and queen of Mycenae.  Through their children one of their descendants was the great hero Heracles.  

[thecoroutfitters]

Deer is one of the most commonly hunted animals within the United States. For good reason too, they’re the smallest and least elusive of the large game animals and the tags usually aren’t going to break the bank.

It’s not quite as simple as sitting in a stand waiting for them to walk under you though, many of those who oppose hunting have no idea just how much goes into properly filling the freezer with venison.

So let’s talk a little about some of the lesser known practices that can help you bag a buck.

Hunting Variations and Deer

There are, essentially, three types of deer hunting which are used. You don’t just walk into the woods with a rifle and find a deer, the way many people imagine.

The most common, undoubtedly, is that of blind hunting. It’s mostly used by rifle hunters and is the “good-ol-boy’s” favored method. If you’ve got access to the land for it, you’ll build a box blind in the off-season.

One of the main things people forget is that it is not the blind which needs to be hidden. It’s the movement within the blind while you’re lining up the shot. Ideally, you should have built it large enough you can rest your rifle and sandbag or bipod as you prefer without the barrel protruding. This is obvious to all but the most obvious of hunters, of course.

The second big thing which can go wrong with a blind is not painting the interior. You need an interior color which can hide you, because you’ll stick out like crazy moving against a plain wooden interior. If you wear old olive drab BDUs while hunting? Go with OD green and you can’t go wrong.

From here, you’ll need to be still and quiet and as long as you’ve set up in the right area you’ll be in good hands.

Stand hunting is often favored by bow hunters. In this case, you’ll find that safe construction of a stand and the ability to remain still for an extended period is your best friend. When it comes to this kind of hunting, your ability to choose a proper shooting lane is your best friend.

Stalk-and-spot hunting isn’t commonly used by many, rifle or bow. This will entail you moving very, very slowly through the woods. Remaining behind cover. Your glass will be your best friend in this case.

Did we mention moving slowly? Because a step every fifteen to thirty seconds isn’t uncommon once you’re in the right area. For bow hunters this is even more essential, due to the limited range of their weapon.

It’s an extremely difficult form of hunting to master. No hunting is really just walking into the woods with a weapon, but extremely rewarding. If you’re a complete novice to hunting, you may wish to try with less wary prey than deer, many of us started with small, fast game like rabbits and ground fowl before even attempting to move on to larger game.

Deer, in particular, are notoriously difficult to hunt in this way and success isn’t guaranteed for anyone but the virtual master.

3 Second SEAL Test Will Tell You If You’ll Survive A SHTF Situation

Deer Behavior

Deer are commonly seen as peaceful, kind of docile animals.

This is a huge misconception in hunting season. A doe or buck that gets even an inkling of a human being can be gone before you can blink. While the does with young you see in more urban areas aren’t super human shy, during the hunting season in areas where you are allowed they are extremely alert.

Sight

The senses of deer are very finely tuned, but often in quite different ways than people assume.

The primary difference between being “sharp” and being different, however, lies within their sight. Their eyes see in a completely different spectrum than humans, many people think their cheap woodland camo is going to keep them hidden well.

It will… from other humans. Certain dyes used in manufacturing clothing are actually ultraviolet reactive, and it’s common for this to be seen in much of the “hunting” gear you see at large. Always test your camo.

Use a black light, if it fluoresces then you may as well be glowing to the animals while you’re hunting. This is especially important when you’re hunting from within a blind.

There are products available to kill the optical brightening of these dyes, and they can be found readily online, so test and treat your gear.

Deer vision, apart from this remarkable quality is still not great, but here’s the thing… they lack visual acuity. Movement sense and their field of vision is actually still remarkable, but they’re not as “sharp” as humans which makes it a bit easier to hide your human form.

Smell

Their hearing and sense of smell, on the other hand, are remarkable. A deer can smell you from half a mile away, they also process smells much differently than we do.

This is why it’s so important to cover your scent trail in any way possible. One of the best is simply to make sure that you go through the usuals of covering your scent.

Thankfully, in most areas this isn’t as large of an advantage as you might imagine. Deer are wary, but no one would be bagging them if they bolted at the first sign of human scent. Do your best using the traditional methods and you should be fine.

Hearing

Deer hearing actually isn’t much better than a humans. They just tend to be more wary than a human, after all… you’re a big predator. If you hear a stick crack, you’re not likely to jump while out in the woods unless you’re already aware there’s a bigger predator in the area.

Deer, on the other hand, are constantly on the look-out for their predators.

They do have one distinct advantage however: their directional hearing is much better than ours. They can hear slightly higher on the scale than humans. A noise you’re likely to barely notice, a knife being slid slowly out of a sheath or a quietly moved bolt on a rifle, is enough to set most deer off.

What all of this sensory information really brings us to is one thing, however.

Awareness

Humans live in noisy environments. Even the best of us aren’t likely to be spooked by a slightly off noise. A trained human might be able to discern something really off, around us. A knife clicking open, a pistol being cocked, or quickening foot steps behind us, but even the average “aware” person isn’t going to immediately react to this.

Deer, on the other hand, aren’t just being hunted by us. They live their lives surrounded by predators in an environment with predictable noises. This means that the slightest thing off makes a deer wary, and something being really off will set them running.

Keeping this in mind, in addition to the sensory information above, is your key to understanding their behavior.

Basic Scouting

Most hunters with private land have a fairly predictable method. You make a blind, you plant food plots around the area in order to ensure that you attract deer, and then you’ll spend some time waiting in a blind during deer season.

When you’re on public land, or land which is improperly prepared things are different. Even if you’re not going for proper spot-and-stalk style hunting you still need to know where to set up your pop-up or temporary stand.

This means locating animal trails, water sources, and likely food sources for the animals in question. You’ll likely be spending a good amount of time in the woods even in the off-season in a new area.

Frankly, some of us get bored doing this after five or six trips. Grab a decent Gamo and bag some rabbits or tree squirrels if they’re in season while you’re doing it if you find it too boring, but keep in mind you’re learning their habits not just small game hunting.

You need to know not just habits, but also shooting lanes if you’re a rifle hunter.

Making the Kill

Shooting lanes are possibly the most important part of your making the kill. Look, if you’re not competent enough to hit the deer in the first place, you should be at the range and not in the woods.

A shooting lane means an area where you’ll have the distance a deer can’t quite detect you without obstruction. Don’t trust “brush guns”, I’ve seen .45-70 rounds deflect by up to six inches from hitting light bushes. If your area is too densely overgrown, then you may have to make some or rely on shooting from height.

Once you have a few established shooting lanes, whether from your blind or stand, it’s time to discuss the actual kill shot.

The Best Place to Shoot a Deer

There is always going to be debate about this aspect. The obvious goal is always one-shot one-kill. However, there’s a certain level of marksmanship which will go into each and every shot that you’ll make.

At less than 150 yards a competent rifleman, shooting at a still deer, can be taken in the head. This offers the best chance of the deer dropping either instantly or within five to ten feet. There three accepted ways to do this:

Brain shots are very hard to pull off. You basically fire between the tear ducts, instantly destroying the animal’s brain.

Secondly, by shooting behind the eyes you can instantly destroy most of the brain, usually dropping the animal almost instantly.

Lastly, a shot into the top four pieces of the spine, just below the base of the skull has much of the same effect.

 Of course, not all hunters are expert riflemen, and I wouldn’t imply you need to be. The other commonly accepted shot is the “double-shoulder” shot. You are trying to shoot through the actual shoulder blade of the deer in question. This shot is usually done with a fairly large round, a .308 or .30-06 for example. In this case, the shot will generally lodge in the opposite shoulder blade, in effect this snaps the deer’s spine.

The typical “heart-lung” shot is perfectly viable as well. In this case you shoot through the front of the torso in the “boiler-room” area. This is perfectly viable, hard to miss, and with luck will drop the deer quickly enough you won’t have to give much chase.

As far as pros and cons go, it’s a pretty easy break down:

Head shots are an instant kill.A near miss can damage the jaw or miss the deer entirely, it’s only recommended for expert riflemen.

The shoulder shot is a big kill, and fairly easy to make. It does, however, damage a lot of meat since you’ll need to use a high caliber round to do it effectively.

The heart/lung shot is a reliable kill. It is not, however, always a fast kill and if only a single lung is damaged the deer may escape and even recover.

With a bow, you are nearly always best off taking the shot in a way that it goes through the heart and lungs. Arrows cause considerable tissue damage but lack the concussive force for a high shoulder kill and the probability of a head shot being both viable and accurate enough for it to matter is too risky to make it an ethical shot for anything but a chance encounter at fifteen yards or less with a powerful bow.

Common Mistakes

There are a lot of common mistakes that inexperienced hunters make, and to be honest most of them are drawn from misconceptions that people who’ve rarely been in the field make.

Not wearing blaze orange in deer season, especially on public land, is asking for trouble. Some hunters don’t follow safety rules, and taking a bullet wound is not worth the risk. Vests and hats should be a minimum, jackets are better.

Making tons of noise is also something common. Not just the obvious talking. Tighten knife sheathes in multiple areas to avoid “slapping.” Look for softer outer clothing to avoid scraping noises as well. Secure your pack as well as possible and if you must lean on something, then be careful getting off and on it in order to make sure you don’t make any “scraping” noises.

Always be aware of your surroundings.

And above all, this is the most common mistake I see people make: examine every piece of a failed hunt. Observe the routes you moved, the gear you used, and always question each and every possible misstep you made.

In many ways, a failed hunt can make you better at hunting than one where you got lucky. That is what truly separates a good hunter from a failed one: the ability to analyze your mistakes. Hunting is an art, it is skill, and it is a constant learning process.

Learning to be a Better Hunter

Always learn about your quarry. Always sharpen your skills. Always examine your mistakes.

If you do all of these, you will find yourself progressing at a rate you never thought possible. You will fill tags season after season.

If you don’t, well, it’s no shame to just spend a couple of days in the woods with friends but don’t expect as much success as those who are constantly trying to better their skills.

Either way, happy hunting!

This article has been written as a guest author for Survivopedia by Kevin Steffey, the founder of Deer Hunting Field. 

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