If you punch a bullet through the shoulder (or other) bones, hundreds of little pieces of bone are blasted into other tissue. If that “other tissue” includes heart, lungs or liver, that beast is not going very far.

P. O. Acklet described this phenomenon decades ago. It still applies until further notice.

Another factor to consider is that at “up-close-and-personal ranges (less than 25 yards, the bullet is still precessing and has not settled down . The sudden transition from air to a somewhat denser medium WILL radically destabilize the bullet causing it ti enter “meat-space” at a different angle and sometimes start to “tumble” even as expansion starts; another reason for odd terminal ballistic behaviors.

Whacking feral pigs that have a thick coating of dried mud on the bullet impact area is another interesting situation.

Well-chosen bullet placement is still the key to minimiseng the effect of all these variables..

Practise!

Practise shooting from awkward positions. Practice “snap” shhtong, practice on “obscured” targets. A hundred round expended in practice is peanuts compared to losing a “poorly-shot” deer in the weeds or not even being sure you even hit one.

I’ve only ever bagged a couple of “hat-racks” in my lifetime; all were “surprise” encounters and a very short (less than 30 yards) range, (hence the “snap-shooting” practice.)

They generally don’t stand around while you “get your eye in”.