When i started hunting in the 70's, we were in an area with maybe 20% success and you might see 1 animal during a 9-day season. If it was a legal animal, you took whatever shot you could get and angle the bullet into an anchor or kill shot. Preferred shot was high shoulder, the less it moved the better cause it would usually run downhill into the thickest stuff around.
Rifle hunting - Say critter is 100 yds away, looking at you/me, antsy getting ready to bolt - can see one eye, half a head and a big antler, couple trees, the rear half of guts + butt end. Is it a hunting story about the big one that got away or are you quartering that animal? My guess is that most guys would be telling a story around campfire that night. A few would be packing out meat.