I remember watching a Wensel video and he discussed the lower and upper limits of the ideal shooting range to help prevent string jumping, but to still have a reasonable shot. If anyone saw this video and can remember what the numbers were, that may be helpful.

I think he may have said 25-40 yards as the best range. Now his advice is no doubt loaded with debate since he's an expert shooter who nails whitetails on the run with a longbow and most of us are only comfortable with stationary shots at less than 30 yards in hunting situations. The point he was trying to make was that at greater than 25 yards the noise is far enough away that the deer will probably not jump. Take it with a grain of salt.

As for where to aim, I've also missed close shots after taking aim on the middle of the deer's vitals. Personally, I wouldn't hold any lower than the lower extremity of that vital area - what would translate as the bottom of the 8 ring on a 3D target.