It seemed to be an ethical shot to me, other than he took forever to pull the trigger, and the buck was already nervous and starting to move, and he ended up hit well outside of the "bread basket". A couple inches lower, and that buck wasn't moving, though. Shooter error? Dope error? Can't say. There are larger issues here, obviously.
Which one said, "Smoked him", the shooter, or the spotter? Idiot. That shot clipped the top of the spine, obviously. And it was truly a rookie mistake to get up and off the gun. These guys shouldn't be taking 650 yd shots if they don't know how to do it, meaning that you don't get off the rifle or the animal for several minutes after the animal is "down". Just like a close-up shot, where you keep the animal in sight as you approach it to make sure it shows no signs of life, and you are ready for a follow-up at any time.
How frustrating, when that buck gets back up and just stands there. The shooter and the spotter should have been ready to put another shot into the deer, and perhaps be ready with an on-the-fly adjustment to POA. These guys dropped the ball, all the way around. They were more concerned about "getting the footage" than getting the animal in an ethical fashion. Turn off the fuucking camera and pay attention, schittheads!
