I thought that the first shot missed him completely and the second clipped his backpack or hit his machete (were there sparks?). It's something I would have to watch again, I think at the time I was more concerned about someone sitting nearby who kept breaking wind

Anyway, it was a good movie (I'm a sucker for post-apocalyptic films - The Road was similar but MUCH better) and fortunately subtext only really bothers me if it's too heavy-handed which this wasn't.