best shot placement
 

I am pretty new to hunting in a way. My dad took me when I was younger but he really wasn't much of a hunter. Therefor he didn't really teach me a whole lot. I've really gotten back into deer hunting the last couple of years and have learned a lot through reading and on this site. When I do get lucky enough to take a deer , I aim for the heart and lungs. Is there any other spot that will drop a deer on the spot and make it a quick kill or does some just drop and some run for a few yards? Just curious. I would really like to take a deer quick and as painless as possible. Last year I dropped him quick but year before I had one run a few hundred yards. I did wait a couple of hours on both deer before approaching them. I also hunt with a shotgun. Thanks.

What caliber gun are you shooting? I have seen (on video) a lot of deer hit with high powered rifles that drop instantly. Here in Indiana we can't hunt high powered rifles so it's either shotguns or muzzle loaders. I have shot many deer with both and have never dropped one with a heart or lung shot. Only twice have I dropped a deer. One was quartering toward me and the shot hit right on the shoulder and then came out a little further back on the other side. That deer dropped but only because of the damage to it's shoulder. It took a second slug to kill it. The other was a buck I shot last year with my Encore ML. After the first shot the deer ran a little ways and laid down in some weeds. A few minutes later after I reloaded it stood back up and I shot again. After the smoke cleared I went and found the deer right were it had dropped. My second shot had hit it's spine.
I know a lot of people take neck shots to drop deer but I have never liked to do that. I just take the typical shoulder area shot and track them a short distance

I'm shooting a Benelli 12 gauge pump. The one that dropped on the spot was really close. He was only 5 yards away. I'm sure that may have had something to do with it. The main reason that I'm asking this is because I hunt a very small area and I don't want it to run on someone else's land.

The neck right in front of the shoulder is a good shot especially with a slug, also good place for buckshot, 9 out 10 it gets the spine.

If a deer is within 60 or so yards, standing still, I shoot for the neck about 6 inches below the jaw line. If the deer is a little further or is is a little late I'll shoot just behind the shoulder line.

What I've always done and instructed my son to do is envision a basketball nestled between the front shoulders and aim dead center just below the 1/2 way mark. This will either drop a deer either in its tracks or it wont go very far. And it works for any angle the deer is standing.