hm very funny you say that, cause there are spots that if you miss the lungs, you will give them a slow death too.

Listen here troll, i never said anything about a headshot. People can get buck fever and make bad shots because of it, if you dont, then why are you even hunting?

If you haven't seen him since the incident, there's a good chance those " wild wolves " in Indiana got him.

Actually, have to agree with the antler shoot, from the thrashing description. Enough temporary shock to the nervous system to cause such a reaction.

Odd to say the least. I've NEVER seen a deer hit(hit, not graze)with a slug that didn't bleed.

I'm not implying anything, I just think that in this situation that it was definately not a good hit.

CSIMAN08,I was just asking and was only going by what you had said.I get buck fever everytime i see anydeer whether it be a booner or a doe,but i can honestly say that i have never gotten so shaken up that i would miss a deers vitals enough to hit its antlers.It just sounded like he was takeing a headshot.My apologies to you if i have offended you! BTW,im no troll,I have been here alot longer than you!!

We take 15 or so guest a year on our farms and kill 45-50 each year...You would be amazed at the stories we hear as to why folks hit/miss/lose deer...
Some guys get so excited that they have no idea where the deer was, which way he ran, the angle of the shot, etc...It's both funny and kinda pitiful...A few years back one fellow hit a buck "huge buck" at least a 20 inch spread...Ended up being a 7 pointer with about a 12 inch spread, I would have let him walk....

Anyway, your buddy hit him with a 20 gauge slug...What was the range???
Was he hunting over a field or in the woods??? Was the deer facing, quartering away, broadside??? Was the deer moving or standing still and if moving was it right to left or left to right??? Has he checked the sight in on the gun since this happened???

Until you find the deer there is no way to know...

I just blurted out troll because i knew somebody would throw in a head shot comment and start saying how unethical and horrible it was.....my apologies

The buck was broadside in a field at 60-70 yards, and he had a slug barrel.

Has he shot the gun since to see where it is hitting???

My guess it that the deer was actually slightly quartering away and he hit him "in the shoulder" with the bullet actually hitting a little too far forward and not going into the chest cavity, but knocking him down only to have him recover...I've seen this a time or two with some of our hunters, with another hunter killing the deer a week or two later and finding that he was wounded...

These slight angles can be tricky, with most hunters not realizing that they need to aim for where the bullet will exit, not enter...It can also be compounded with shots inside 100 yards if the hunter doesn't take a rest...

You'll never know what actually happened unless you or one of your group shoot the deer and find evidence of it being shot previously.

But, my guess is the same as some others, the slug probably hit high in the shoulder/loin area. The typical reaction is the deer drops, then thrashes, then gets up and runs off. There would be some blood and hair left behind, but not a bloodtrail like your friend was expecting and he may have overlooked it.

I have done this myself. I did find blood to follow for about 150-200 yds., then nothing. I read a book by John Trout (I think) on trailing wounded deer, and this is the exact reaction he describes for deer hit in the loin area.