RE: Head Shots on Deer.......
The head/neck shot is a small target and in a deer is also the one that moves the most or quickest without notice..thus making the margin of error even smaller. Having been witness to botched head and neck shot is just simply one I will not consider even though my ability or weapon may dictate it as a possibilty. If you take out the lungs, you have taken out the ability to breath/live and this is a dead animal for sure! The lungs put blood on the dirt so tracking should be a non-issue.
I am not sure where we started to go the way of needing instant gradification of an animal dropping on the spot in hunting. Is it video's, more hunting pressure, less hunting lands, lazy, loss of woodsman skills, etc??? A deer that must be dragged 100 yards out of the ruhbarb is not a huge feat for most hunters but some make it to be! I guess maybe it is because I hunt bigger game, where even dropping them within a short distance is a daunting task where the animal can weigh as much as 1000lbs, so much so even a large 300 lbs buck making 100 yards scamper seems pretty meager to me.
The little extra loss of meat of a lung shot is eqaully no excuse IMO.
If the deer or any game doesn't give me a vital region shot I let them walk and say thanks for the opportunity, personally this is just part of hunting to me and I can go home with a clear mind that I made the right choice.