In my opinion, when speaking in broad terms of the "shoulder" to describe a specific part of game anatomy, such as with a deer, we don't always agree as to what is the shoulder. The shoulder at times is written to describe a single specific bone such as the scapula, at times it describes a specific joint, at times it describes all the bone within that region from the neck to lower leg, and at times it describes the entire front quarter of the animal, including all flesh and muscle, from the neck to lower leg. This area described as a "shoulder" can be very specific and small, or it can be very broad and large covering an entire region of the deer anatomy.
As a longtime selfbow/longbow hunter using very primitive tackle, I tend to have very limited range of shot presentations, compared to a rifle, when it comes to reliable through the vitals penetration. As a result, I tend to visualise the exact placement of the heart and I aim for the imaginary exit that will place the arrow on a path over the heart to the exit. When rifle shooting, I do the same, with the exception the rifle gives me far greater options in both shot presentations and in distance. As a result, I find that having the shot placement through and over the heart, while leaving the heart intact, to have the best overall outcome. The heart is too big a chunk of good meat to waste
I've experienced a number of low heart shots where the animal traveled several times farther compared to what I've experienced when shot over the heart. If any of you guys have experienced having the wind knocked out of you in sports, or from having lugs go flat from an injury, you cannot go too far, you'll go down quick. Flip side, we have a training film where the bad guy loses his heart from a pistol shot during hand to hand combat which was captured on a security camera. The guy kept his lungs but his heart was destroyed. That guy put up one heck of a fight while dead on his feet, at one point he ran a fair distance before finally falling dead from lack of oxygen. I'm of the opinion that game animals are no different; CNS or lose both lungs and they tend to go down quick, no CNS but a fatal wound while keeping one or both lungs, then they can go a good ways.
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