RE: how deer die
To answer the question pertaining to blade sharpness in my experience I have seen many impaled objects the patient has a greater chance of survival the less sharp the object is. The reason being is that dull objects tend to push hard organs such as the heart, liver, spleen, and even some arteries out of the way instead of penetrating them. Also blade sharpness helps reduce inflicted pain on the animal, the more you penetrate the more it bleed the quicker you die, the less you suffer.