The carcases of 230 wild, culled red deer (Cervus elaphus) were examined for the presence of bullet wounds and permanent wound tracts in order to determine the prevalence and significance of wounds involving the head, legs or carcase trunk. Head wounds were found in 17 (7.4%) of the carcases and were classified into two groups: 9 carcases (3.9%) where the marksman was considered to have specifically targeted the head in order to effect the cull and 8 carcases (3.5%) where the head wound was considered to result from a "coup de grace" shot to dispatch a previously wounded animal. These findings suggest that deer managers in Scotland only occasionally cull red deer with a "head shot" and so are adhering to recommendations to avoid such shots. The analysis of the data collected from the carcase truck in combination with data collected in a previous study allows the refinement of a previously reported effect: the initial wound tracts in all deer appear to have lower mean terminal probabilities than subsequent wound tracts, and this effect is exacerbated during the rut.