Well I certainly don't mean to mislead anyone with my story, I'll be the first to admit that I was extremely suprised that the deer had survived such a shot. Under normal circumstances, it would be nearly impossible not to nick the top of at least one lung if the arrow enters the upper chest cavity.
For the record I guess I'd say this: If you place an arrow behind the front shoulder and within the lower 3/5's of the deerand get a pass through shot of the chest cavity, I would expect to recover that deer. I will also say this: As a general rule, the abovemembersare correct when they say there is normally no void in the chest cavity between the lungs and upper chest wall. My incident is a very rare exeception, not the rule.
I saw him chasing does once morefour days before I actually harvested him, and in that short time he showed no signs of being a wounded deer. The OP's description of his deer's behavior with an arrowlodged thru his back shows exactly how hardy these animals can be. A mature buck with jacked up testosterone levels during the rut is truly a survival machine!