i guess i did miss your point then, the quickest, least painful, and most lethal, would probably be a head shot. i've killed hogs with a 22 right in the top of the head, they expire very quickly and what i would think would be the least painful (they would probably not know what is going on) they quiver a little bit and pee and deficate and it's over in less the 5-7 seconds. now back to the deer, when shooting a deer thru the lungs 99 out of 100 times i believe you should get a pass thru, i have seen and heard deer that after they where shot running 10-15 seconds later, but i have also shot them and they just stand there or walk/run a few yards within sight. shot a doe once around a white oak she ran 10 yards and came back and started eating again, i'm thinking what the heck but i can see my bloody arrow stuck in the ground, she puts her nose down and i see blood dripping from here nose, i knew i had made a good shoot, in 10-20 seconds she gets a little wobble(sp) then she decides its time to go, she takes off running and is hitting trees and saplings she finally falls over for the last time about 40-45 yards away and kicks a few times and thats it. my point is dead is dead but if a deer presents a good broadside shot, why would you want to shoot in an area (the neck) that is very un-forgiving and can also move and make that area smaller quicker, when you can shoot at an area (lungs) that is very forgiving and 2-6" inches of movement there and your still in the kill zone. as far as tracking i'd rather track a lung/liver shot deer than one with its windpipe blown out. i've done both i've got a friend that likes to take neck shots with a rifle and he has lost more deer in a couple of years than i have my whole life, and the guy is a decent shot, but it, imo is a poor choice of shots