A good hitthrough the boiler room will result in a dead deer in a manner of seconds not hours. Usually the deer won't get out of your sight or if you can't see very far you will likely hear the crash in the distance. If the deer is alivean hourafter you shoot it, you got a bad hit not a good one.
Sylvan, I shot one last week that I watched run off 60 yards and bed down. He layed there for 10 minutes before getting up and walking a few yards and standing there for 5 minutes. The deer made it another 75 yards from there so I feel safe in saying the deer was alive for at least 20 minutes. I found the deer the nexy morning and the "autopsy" confirmed that I caught the back of both lungs. The shot wasn't perfect. It was a little far back but it did get both lungs and the deer lived for 15 minutes that I can absolutely attest to and probably longer.
have never, with almost 40 bow kills to my credit, seen a lung shot (single or double)deer "walk off" into a thicket or whatever within 100 yards of the shot. Even the single lung shot deer I have taken have bolted, ran, trotted etc. for some distance if they didn't expire right away.
I have actually shot a few that didn't run off after the shot. I shot one a couple of years back and hit him irhgt behind the shoulders with a perfect double lung shot. He took a couple of steps and then looked back to see what "stung" him and I could see where I had hit him so I just hung my bow up. The deer stood there for a minute or so looking and then turned to walk off. As he turned to walk off I could see that he was bleeding a stream the literally looked like someone running a water hose. That deer walked about 10 yards and laid down. He layed there with his head up for about 10 minutes before expiring and that was one of if not the best shots that I have ever made on a deer.
Also, in hunting camp last week I saw pictures of a deer that had been killed that had been shot the day before in the shoulder and the arrow just hit the shoulder blade or bone and turned and went down his leg. Well the next day the guys buddy shot the deer while he was chasing does. He made a double lung shot (which I saw pictures of and talked to the landowners son who confirmed this when gutting). The guys watied 30 mintues or so and started tracking and jumped the deer and the deer wound up making it several hundred yards and living for another hour or so where the landowners son and the 2 guys found him dead. Now I wasn't there, I only say the pics but the landowners son is a pretty quiet and straight up guy and I have never had any reason to question anything that he has told me but I have to admit that I was a little skeptical until 2 days later when my deer pulled a similar feat after taking and arrow through both lungs.
PS - I have seen deer go a long long long long..........ways on a one lung shot and I tend to believe that some of them survive them as well.