Wow, look where this thread went. I'm going to reiterate. CNS shots are extremely effective. In all honesty, I've maakw CNS shots pretty regularly. Simply put, the animal is dead before it hits the ground. It's pretty close to the same for heart shots, and I've made plenty of those too. But, those are very small targets; and such small targets are well outside most people's ability. Thus I do not recommend CNS or heart shots.
A couple years ago, I was parked just off a dirt road, watching this area (a travel route for deer). 2 spike bucks were bedded about 200 yards apart, but they were almost impossible to spot (with good glass/spikes are not legal). 2 guys drove up and stopped about 40 yards past me. They got out and spooked one of the bucks. Long story short, one of the guys shoot at the bucks, about a 100 yard shot; not once, but twice, after I told them they were not legal bucks. The guy, fortunate for him, missed both shots, and the bucks finally ran off. Unfortunately, from what I've seen, such shooting appears typical. Simply put, people need to spend much more time at the range practicing field shooting, not bench rest shooting, just to get reasonably proficient. Thus my reasoning for never recommending a CNS or heart shot. The odds of missing are simply much to high for the average shooter, even for the better than average shooter.
Form brought of the difference between a jaw shot and a leg shot. I think he left the difference to be deduced, as if you've done enough hunting, you've seen the difference. There isn't an animal alive that will survive a bullet blown up jaw. Where as surviving a leg being shot, is not uncommon. I've seen more than my share of 3 leggeded animals running around the woods.
Maybe my math isn't that good?
