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Interesting. Another reason to study anatomy carefully before hunting. It's also an argument for a head/neck shot.
There have been some interesting discussions of the advantages and disadvantages of head/neck shots on deer. One of the moderators, possibly Rich Lucibella, has argued against head shots on ethical grounds. Sooner or later the deer's going to lift it's head, or turn and look the other way, just as you squeeze off the round. The hunter will have to track a horribly injured animal with a shattered jaw, or some other gruesome injury that isn't even quickly disabling, much less quickly fatal.
This seems a good argument to me, but it applies best to shots taken at the head or the top of the neck. Perhaps a fast bullet is best aimed at the base of the neck, where the spine emerges from between the shoulders. That's a point of reference that isn't going to move much with a quick flick of the head, and it's in close proximity to the windpipe. The big muscles on the sides of the neck would suffer major damage, but that's not a bad thing; that's enough resistance to start bullet expansion, in a typical bullet that you'd use for deer, in most calibers that are appropriate. (I think .... this is still speculation predicated on reading only, on my part.) You get an expanded bullet diameter and more energy transfer. Would anyone bother saving the large muscles on the sides of the neck anyway?
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