I find the word " Irresponsible" a bit strong. I say good on him if he can pull off the shot in the heat of the moment. I tend to play it safe on close in shots where time is limited and take the shot in the bigger body mass area of the chest and neck base.
The first shot blew out the back of the skull, there was massive damage. Have taken plenty of sucessful head shots, the most memorable being a side on, that caused the antlers to collapse either side of the ears, before the animal hit the deck.
Have also had a situation where I shot a yearling front on mid chest with a .308 180 grain. The animal leapt up a 10 foot bank and ran 100 metres before stopping, and only then dropped when a second shot through the neck poleaxed it. When I gutted it, the heart and lugs were totally pulped.
I don' t knock head and neck shots if you' re competant to take them.
When I was meat hunting (Commercial recovery) a premium was paid for head and neck shots, as less meat is spoiled, so you got good at taking them.