My guess is you have never seen a neck shot fail. I have. If you don't get the spine and just clip the windpipe or esophagus than you have a wounded animal that can and will go a long way. As you say, you're new to hunting. Most experienced hunters go for the heart/lung/chest area because it is a bigger target and if you put a bullet anywhere in it you will drop the animal. Neck and head shots are iffy at best.

I base the above on experience with 91 deer, 25 elk, 2 black bear, 14 pronghorns, 5 bison, a bighorn sheep, a stone sheep, a mountain goat and who knows how many wild hogs.