And there is the truth of it.
Working ER/ICU for 4 decades, half of it in the New Orleans area, I've seen the end results of way too many GSW's,
Sometimes the heart and solid head wounds were brought to us to pronounce, sometimes they to some degree survived, sometimes the Coroner pronounced them in the field.
Human beings are tough, very resilient, unpredictable. But like what Hambo said, those are very effective shots.
There's no magic, just placement and penetration, often enough.
To that point this is not uncommon.
Or more extreme case:
So basically assume center mass has a higher probability of hitting something vital and likely don’t take more time trying to pinpoint the aorta. If you have that kind of time, then spine or head is a less variable anatomic target.
"THE ONLY RELIABLE WAY TO STOP THE AGGRESSION OF A FEARLESS ASSAILANT IS TO DISRUPT HIS VITAL BODY STRUCTURES. This fact has proven itself both on the military and urban battlefields. It should come as no surprise to any experienced hunter.
"THE HEART, MAJOR BLOOD VESSELS, AND UPPER PART OF THE SPINE ARE THE VITAL STRUCTURES OF THE TORSO."
--Fackler, Martin L., M.D., "Police Handgun Ammunition Selection", Wound Ballistics Review, Fall 92, pp. 32 - 37.
Click here to read Fackler's paper (pp. 32-37)
As Jeff Cooper said of big game hunting, it is not like the safari movies, where one shot rings out and the charging beast drops at Bwana's feet, the idea is that a hard hit will cause a period of discombobulation, which you use to shoot him again.
Code Name: JET STREAM