Several of my early deer were UBER close when I shot them. Neck shots may have been the ticket, but I shot for heart/lungs. Funny that I never had an exit with 243 or 257R and 100gr bullets. Nothing went more than a few feet.
Now if I intentionally plan for woods distances, I bring a 44 lever, and still shoot for the crease. 44 bullets on meat deer can nearly remove the opposite leg for you, once you remove the hide...
I've got some decent-shooting cast bullets loaded for my '06 that I plan to try on game, shots 200 and in, and the lung shot isn't going to cut it, given the mild speeds/expansion. Thus the attempt to find another POA that breaks bones w/o making a mess of the butchering, but still gives me a bit of leg room for shooter error. Obviously, If I was confident in my ability to consistently hit it, the base of the skull would be the switch-flipper.
The other fly in this ointment is that the mythical elk, and even very many deer, aren't showing up where they were, and I've yet to find many of them anywhere near hunting season the last couple years. Thanks, wolves. What a great plan that reintroduction was.
