I used to believe this however, deer are amazing and can survive against the odds. In the book Tracking Dogs for finding Wounded Game by John Jeanenney, They talk of a study done in NY where they did a control doe hunt and performed autopsys on the deer. One doe had scare tissue on her lungs and both sides of her ribs...not all shots through the body cavity mean death. Odds say yes, but stranger things have happened.