I like the lower 3rd where the heart and lungs sit on a broadside, as well as the 1/4 away through the upper lungs and scapula on the opposite side. Though as mentioned the higher vitals leaves less blood on the ground but I haven't ever had a real long track job when the scapula and both lungs are hit. When hunting with the smokepole and getting a hit, I don't sit and reload instead I keep my eye on where I saw the animal last and walk to that point immediately, once there I reload and listen. Ihavenever lost an animal with a ML, knock on wood!

Weakest one was a mule deer buck at 50 yards or so, past 1/4 away by the time I got the bead on him, shot felt good and heard the whap of a hit. However never found a spec of blood at the hit area but did find clumps of hair, little further found some pin sized blood on some branches and then nothing so I just picked where I thought he might go but nothing. I stopped to re-evaluate and spun where I saw him piled up only 20 yards from where I was, he maybe went 75 yards total. The bullet entered in at the diaphram took out the liver, lung and scapula but didn't exit. Entrance hole was completely plugged, cavity filled with blood, the only blood being dropped was from his nose and/or mouth. As I walked backout I noticed blood up high on the branches of the path he took, still spotty but had I been looking more up then straight down I may have seen it??