We all miss, and as mrbb said, better a clean miss than a wounded deer that is never recovered. We have almost all had this happen and it makes you sick. I'd rather miss cleanly any day.

The first deer I killed was with a spine shot. I admit it was not intentional though. I shot this deer at 7 yards and didn't know to aim low at that distance then, I do now. Plus I'm sure my hard breathing and shaking hand pulled the shot some.

I'm confident in my shooting but I don't take spine shots either. Not saying that it is wrong for those that choose to do so. I like my deer broadside and try for a double lung shot. I like this shot because it does leave a little room for error.