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Shot placement is the key to deer dropping where they stand. Heart and lung shots rarely result in drop and die. Central nervous system hits bring deer down hard.

My go to deer rifle for 40 years was a Mossberg in 7MM Remington Mag. Every deer I hit dropped in its tracks except one. The one exception was when I had a faulty scope with trajectory compensator. I hit that one in the hindquarter and it ran off and died. Had to track it but I did find it. Season before last I had to sideline my old 7MM because of a scope problem. I hit the deer in the neck when I aimed at the upper shoulder. My next in line rifle is a Savage in 300 Winchester Short Magnum. I dropped two does, both neck shots at the base of the head. Both dropped where they stood.

My choice of calibers may seem big, but I like having a hunting cartridge and rifle that I can use for really big animals if I need to. Shot placement and confidence in your equipment will minimize meat loss.

A .243 will drop most Texas deer with well placed shots, but really, go big and increase your odds. Google where to shoot deer for most effective kills.