The craziest things
 

I was sitting in my stand and a small racked buck comes out. I look him over and I swore I saw a green spot on his neck. Since he is mililing around, the spot comes and goes. I get out my Binoculars and low and behold, he has a crossbow bolt in his neck. The green was the fletchings. It’s not all the way through and there was no evidence of an open wound. He moved around normally and it didn’t seem to bother him. I let him walk.

Fast forward to yesterday, I shot a doe and was in the process of taking the back straps when I feel like I hit something metallic. I dug a little more and found a 100g fixed broadhead The broadhead was perfectly preserved. There were no external signs of a previous wound. I would have to guess it was from last year atleast.

Crazy stuff

Interesting to have two experiences like that. I've only heard stories like yours, Never actually experienced it even once. The closest thing for me is catching as several fish that had lures in them, previously foul-hooked in all instances.

as I stated in other posts, I have found dozens of deer that had previous wounds and projectiles in them from broadheads to bullets, managed one property that EVERY deer we killed(about 25) in a short period, ALL had at least one in them/
Like it or not there are a lot of deer and critters that shot at and don't die, be in hunting or cheaters out of season shooting at therm, heck, its NOT that unknown for farmers to deliberately WOUND deer to get them off there crops, and there hopes are they run off and die, rather than trying to kill them , as if they do that it turns into work for them! to procerss/report them!
Known Countless farmers that carried guns in tractors just for this , sad, but its true!
Having also worked at a butcher shop off and on for a few decades, and working with a taxidermist skinning and butchering game, again, I have found a LOT of bullets and broadheads over the decades, so its really NOT that uncommon, and in some places its way more common that others!

NOW< as for actually seeing wounded game in the field while hunting, I have also encountered this on many occasions, and I have always done my best to end any wounded animals suffering
from being on a rather costly deer hunt in Alberta Canada,(as well as many other places, sucks to loose a tag, but there is the right and wrong way to be ethical IMO) had a wounded smaller buck show up, I would NOT have shot other wise,
but I killed it,, cost me a very costly tag too, but , I felt it was the right thing to do, as even if an animal seems OK< with a wound or injury, odds are many times there NOT, gangrene can set in, and or infections can happen, making a SLOW And sad way for an animal to die!SO< IMO<
when we hunters encounter things as this and can LEGALLY end its suffering, its the RIGHT thing to do and the as far as I am concerned the ethical thing to do to!

I took a picture of a Mulie once. When I loaded it on my laptop I could see an arrow shaft without any fletching sticking out of his shoulder. He seemed to get around fine.

Seems to be a lot of bad shots out there!

Unlike mrbb I've only encountered this a couple times. The last time was a broadhead stuck in the shoulder blade of a bear that was killed by a former camp member. The wound wasn't that old and probably from the bear archery season about 10 days prior.
Now I have found several dead deer during scouting/hiking treks with arrows in them or either arrow or bullet wounds.

Two years ago I shot a doe during early muzzleloader season. While processing her I found 26 OO pellets in her on the left side, but I honestly couldn't tell that she had been shot previously from the way she moved and acted.

Oddly, Ive never found a slug or broadhead that wasn't mine(or whoever shot and killed it) in a deer and Ive processed to many to keep track. I have found broadheads in hogs. My neighbor shot a monster 36 pointer when I was a kid and I remember he had several old slugs in his legs.

Now that Ive started hunting public land I suspect that will change soon enough.