The shoulder shot will drop them like a rock. You may not get an exit but the trauma to the shoulder and the shock wave shreds lungs and shocks the spinal cord paralyzing the animal from the neck down. I think they are dead before they hit the ground.
every one i have hit there the tracking was for inches

Another non-recommendation for the Shoulder shot
 

" It ruins a lot of meat"


To date, I haven't heard an expert hunter mention that, who has ever butchered a deer or butchered a deer that was shot in the shoulder.
Butchers know deer are not beef cattle. And a lot of hunters wouldn't have a clue what the previous sentence means.

As far as placement I think you still have a large enough area to hit, look at this anatomy. if you aim for the shoulder and are off a little you will spine it if high, low through lungs or heart, right you are still lungs and left windpipe and arteries.
all lethal

neck shot
 

if it is a doe and it is getting late at night, i will most likely shoot them in the neck so i dont have to track them. as long as you hit the esophagus they will drop right in their tracks (aim right below the white patch on their neck). my dad and i shot two does last year like that and both dropped right over. If it is a large buck, you might not want to shoot in the neck for fear of messing up cape if you are gonna mount though.

I shot a doe on opening morning this year using Hornady XTP 240 grains with 100 grains of pellets. I hit right in the shoulder. She walked in a big circle basically crippled dragging her front end and then hopped into the woods. We never did find the deer or even any blood. I began researching the muzzle loader section of this forum and found others have had the same problem. Some of these bullets are not designed to go as fast as they new in lines are shooting them (they are basically a hand gun round). The round hits shoulder and disintegrates. I switched to Barnes bullets and have had much better luck on the next two does I killed. If you want to use a shoulder shot make sure you have a bullet that will hold up. Many people told me the jacket seperates on the hornady's and they don't preform.

I'd say the shoulder shot is a decent shot, its a pretty big area, too low you hit the lungs/heart, to high you hit the spine/neck. I shot a deer through the shoulder with a hollow point 295 powerbelt with 100 grains powders. It destroyed the shoulder, lungs and travled through the neck(d/t the angle) and stopped right under the skin. Considering that was with a muzzleloader, I'd say a shoulder shot would be ok and I don't know of anyone who has had a problem with it. It definatly drops them in there tracks, but double lung is ALWAYs a sure thing, so choose what your comfortable with, just note you will lose alot of shoulder meat on a shoulder shot and I know this because I butcher my own deer.

DID THE SAME THING THIS YEAR. 155 POUND DOE. FELL OVER DEAD. BOTH SHOULDERS BROKE DRT. dAMN CAPS lock!

Shoulder shots aren't risky. With a deer facing your right, If you shoot high you hit spine, shoot low, you hit lungs, shoot left you hit lungs, shoot low left you hit heart. Reverse it if its facing the other way. its just a lung shot with insurance. and the fall over. The blood trail is almost a foot long in some instances.

just put a shoulder shot on a doe sunday and she dropped in her tracks... without even passing through her vitals they where mush from the impact... safe bet as far as im concerned

Saturday was our last day of muzzleloader season here in WV and I was fortunate enough to harvest a big doe. I was near the top of a ridge and she was bedded down about 90 yards below me and I opted for the shoulder shot. I rested my Knight across an old uprooted pine an aimed high center shoulder and squeezed the trigger. She never got up out of her bed. When I field dressed her, I could see the damage to the lungs and her chest cavity was full of blood.Later that day, I skinned her out and you could plainly see why she never moved. The 45 cal. 260 grain Speer jacketed hollow point hit high shoulder on the entry, taking out the bottom of the spine and exited low shoulder on the opposite side. I was using 85 grains of 777. The center shoulder has always been my choice whether I'm using my .270 or my muzzleloader and I always get the same results.

Im with ya kyslayer. I hit one high just back of shoulder (Maybe 1/4 " or so) and dropped her in her tracks. The lungs were gone and very little damage to the meat. Shot with .243 95 grain Fusions at 150 yards. Complete pass thru.