I think the major point here is that we should always be thinking that if we cut a deer with an arrow, it will die. Yes, statistically it might live but we can' t assume that it will. It is safer and more honest to assume that it will not. Whenever I talk to people that have lost deer, they will almost always end up by saying that the deer will live. It' s a defense mechanism in our own mind. It might be days or it might be weeks but the animal is going to die. Anecdotes about seeing the same deer the next year or next month are probably the exception, not the rule. That' s why shot placement is so vital, especially to bowhunters.