Good to see a nice outcome from this story! Sometimes your eyes tell your brain what it wants to hear which is why you may have thought you hit him lower than you did. If you get a chance, post a picture of the entrance wound after you have him caped. It would be interesting to see the penetration.

Its a good feeling to know that a deer you thought was lost and dead somewhere was still moving and able to be harvested. You learned a lesson and quatering shots and the deer was able to have another week of staying fresh before he went to the freezer. Now you just have to convince your cousin that if it wasn't for you slowing him down he never would have shot him! LOL!