[50cal Smokepole]

Not if you want a trophy!
A well placed shot behind the shoulder with a good round (high sectional density, terminal performance, etc.) will often drop a whitetail where they stand. I don't advocate head shots. Too small of a target and too much of a chance of wounding an animal. Save the head shots for small game.

[Joisey]

I don’t think I am going to care about trophies if I have to go hunting it will be because our currency is worthless and the food stores are empty./p

Besides, how many antler racks can you possibly mount in one house?

[jenk]

I don’t advocate head shots either, there is the problem of shooting it’s jaw off and massive pain and prolonged horrible death as the animal cannot eat and dies of starvation. If the buck is a trophy, obviously you would shoot for a lung shot. I have never had gamey venison except when it was not cleaned and processed properly. I do all that myself so I don’t have to guess.

[Roccus]

No trophy hunter here. No matter how you cook ‘em, ya still can’t eat the horns. All my deer are for the freezer only. Never shot a buck more than a button. All the rest are does or fawns. Where I hunt, I don’t bother with shots over 100yds. so the wounding problem has never arisen for me.