The problem with taking out the running gear is that if you end up with a three legged deer they can cover a lot more ground than a lung shot or heart shot deer on a death run.
A lung shot deer normally leaves a Helen Keller blood trail.
Unless you are using a small caliber.
Some of our woods goes for miles in each direction.
We also have timber wolves and it is best to find the deer before it gets dark. Otherwise they will chew some of it up.
More than is damaged by a Ballistic Tip!
There also two legged wolves who will try to tag your deer if they get to it first. It is good to damage enough meat so that the deer doesn't travel very far after being shot!
My son shot his deer with a 120 gr Ballistic Tip @ 3300 fps
from his 7mm Magnum. It worked so well I used it to fill my tag the next weekend.
Jack O' Connor was the one who advised hunters to take out both lungs because it is a big target and very easy to find the deer because of the blood trail caused by an exit wound spraying blood. It works for me. YMMV
whelennut
