Dan,
Thanks!
I am not exactly a non-fan of neck shots, but in most animals they depend very much on hitting the spine. In many of our deer the spine is a very small part of the neck, especially with a big buck during the rut. Consequently you can aim for where you THINK the spine is, but may not hit it. Have also seen some relatively tough cup-and-core bullets not break the spine. One was 150-grain Hornady Spire Point pre-Interlock that was shot into the neck of a 300-pound mule deer buck as a finisher. I found it expanded but resting against the spine.
In my experience the most reliable neck shots, with animals with relatively long necks, either standing directly facing or away, where centering the neck also centers the spine. The other is with pigs, which have short necks, with the spine pretty much centered between the shoulders and the skull--and the major blood vessels pretty much right alongside.
Have also done very well on "softer" game, such as deer, with the Core-Lokt and Power Point and rib shots, even at modest muzzle velocities. One of the more interesting was a mule deer doe, weighing perhaps 140 pounds live weight, shot with a .30-40 Krag and a 180 Power Point at around 2400 fps. The bullet landed in the ribs as the doe stood broadside, right behind the shoulder. At the shot the deer took off running--and ran right into a big tree maybe 20 yards away, obviously dead on its feet!
