I always wait 30 minutes before going after a shot deer, with the exception of one that I watched run 20 yds & drop dead. Since it took me an hour to find the blood trail I wasn't anywhere near where the deer could hear/see me until almost 2 hrs after shooting him. My guess is if he got up and ran 2 hrs after getting shot then he probably lived for quite a while longer. We covered all of our property to the north and west, as well as most of it to the east & south. I just can't believe at 20yds I didn't hit a vital organ. This is my 5th year hunting with my .243 & 100grn Nosler Partitions, this combo has never failed me, perhaps its time for an upgrade? Guess we'll see what happens when I shoot a doe in January...

There wasn't enough time to get a 2nd shot off, he was out of site before I could get reloaded