There we go! Those last two posts make a lot of scense. Thanks guys!

I try for the center of the lungs right where all the main veins and such run. On a downward angle hit you will hit high on one and low on the other, the best of both worlds if you ask me!!

I'd rather have a lower hit. Although the cavity MAY fill faster with a higher hit, I believe there will be more blood on the ground with a lower hit.

I don't think it is possible for a deer to drown in it's own blood when shot through both lungs. As I understand biology, it is impossible to breath once both lungs have been compromised. Once both lungs have been punctured it is no longer able to maintain negative air pressure and the lungs cannot expand. The animal suffocates. I think the key is getting both lungs. The benefit of getting a lower shot is more blood on the ground rather than inside the cavity. Anyone feel free to correct my biology if I have it wrong but that is my understanding of how it works.

Unless you are shooting from the ground, one lung will probably be a high hit and the other a relatively low hit. That being said, there are two factors that compromise the lungs - one being blood in the bronchii and alveoli (small terminal air sacs where respiration occurs) and the other being the puncture of the lung itself which causes air to leak outside of the lung into the chest cavity, causing tension on the adjacent lung and lung collapse. I would suspect that the latter is more important in causing the deer to bed down/die immediately, however I don't know if anyone has ever studied this.

I nailed a doe a few weeks back and I thought I had hit her way too high (at least higher than normal for me). She ended up piling up about forty yards away. Not the greatest blood trail, but it was still very good; it just didn't look like it'd been poured out of a bucket like I'm used to.

I am impressed! I am not a good enough shot to decide. I go for the center, vertically, to give me most room for error.

I know high lung is better with a rifle - the shock to the spine knocks 'em down, even when you don't directly hit spine, then the lung wounds kill quickly.

Next time you dress a deer notice that the lungs are much thicker up high than they are down low in the chest. The more lungs you cut the faster the heart has to pump blood to try and make up for the loss in blood pressure which causes the blood to leave the animals veins and arteries faster which deprives the brain of oxygen faster. It has nothing to do with drowning or the body cavity filling up with blood.

The deer will actually pass out up to a minute or so before its heart stops beating and it is actually is dead.

However, if the deer ran 200 yards I highly doubt that he actually got a double lung hit. I'd be willing to bet that the animal was only shot through one lung. A T.V. hunter would never make up something to cover his butt with millions of people would he.

High Lung or Low lung= dead deer either way. That being said I don't mind tracking an extra 50 yds, I think its fun. As long as the deer didn't suffer for long I'm happy! I aim low to prevent spine shots and ducked strings. 200yds IMO is not hard to follow.

IMO same difference, just need to hit both lungs!!!!