Unless I'm purely hunting for meat (only on an occaisional doe hunt), I always aim for the point of the shoulder. See, I like to do all my hunting before I pull the trigger (I happen to be color blind so blood on the ground does not stand out--I have to look for "wet brown" that is out of place). I've never had an elk or a deer take a step shot through the point of the shoulder. Granted, I inevitably loose a few pounds of meat, but for me, the trade off is a good one. Most of my shooting is with a muzzleoader with barnes expander bullets, or a 300wby or 340wby with partitions. I think these help keep the meat loss down somewhat. When trophy hunting, I know I'm using enough gun and a tough enough bullet to make any angled shot on deer (elk are another matter--even with the 340wby). We all have an obligation to kill quickly and to not waste an animal. Having said that, IMO, there isn't a right or wrong answer here.