I am new to the forum, and have read this whole post. It is excellent. Just a few notes though. I really feel there is such a thing as a " non-lethal" shot placement below the backbone and above the vitals. We have harvested deer during rifle hunting with wounds that we know we wounded during archery season. I have 4 brothers and a dad who are avid hunters, plus an Uncle and numerous friends who hunt alot. We have seen this a couple of times.

ASnother point, any gut shot is a kill shot, you just need to wait along time and be a good tracker.

Another good kill shot (though highly unadvised) is in the hind quarters. We have successfully harvested 4 deer this way and never had to track them far. This was years ago before we thought about ethics and sportsmanship. But it is a fact.