ORIGINAL: game4lunch
I disagree with all you "hold it high . . . hold it low" guys. YOU SHOULD ALWAYS PUT YOUR FIRST SHOT ON THE KILL ZONE! Especially at 200 yards. Any modern day caliber has the balistics neccessary and would still be puttin' the shot within' a paper plate uphill or down, especially at 200 yards! You stand a greater chance of missing by creating the uncertainty in your mind by asking, "how much to hold down . . . or up?"
I also am a strong proponent of the high shoulder shot INSTEAD of the "heart/lung" shot. This spot is straight up the front leg, 1/3 down the body from the withers. Puts animals down immediately at any distance.Very ethical kill.Ruins no more meat than a heart/lung.
I do agree that physics dictates bullet trajectoriesWILL get altered depending on raised elevation or lowered elevation, but not enough to start moving your crosshairs around. If you're that uncertain of the shot, you probably shoudn't take it.
I heard what I consider a very wise comment from an older and wiser man than I: "Always hold on meat the first shot". If your gun is sighted in normally (1-2 inches high at 100 yards) this should hold true out to normal shooting ranges.
That said, my brother missed a buck because he held too high on a steep downhill shot of about 300 yards. Of course, he may have flinched, but I still feel to this day, if he had held low on the body (say for a heart shot about 15% up the chest) he would have killed that deer. I think his subconscious told him to hold slightly above the middle of the body since it was about 300 yards.
Therefore, I feel that if you always hold on "meat", and the angle is steep, if you hold low on the body, you will be ok because the bullet will go above where your crosshairs are.