My granduncle on my mother's side of the family always went for a neck shot, and he was a prolific slayer of deer.
I was lucky enough to go out with him once when I was a young teen, just to tag along. He had a Remington in .270 Winchester, and boy, he sure was a crack shot with it. He was intimately familiar with the area that we were hunting, and sure enough, he was able to locate a deer and get us in close to it.
If pulled off correctly, a neck shot is devastating, and drops the animal instantly. The key to success is to get yourself into a position where you can take an accurate shot at a still animal. And that means getting in close range. I would certainly never recommend a neck shot for a long range shot.
Really, a big part of hunting evolves stalking an animal, in order to get within effective range.
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