Wingbone

This has been my experience. I was going to say that a lung-shot deer will live about 5-10 seconds. I've missed hitting ribs and watched the deer stand there for that length of time and drop dead. Usually, though, they run. However far they run in that length of time is how far you have to track them.

Oldtimr

I made a shot yesterday I am not proud of, a doe came running down a steep wooded hill moved by two of the guys I was hunting with. It stopped on a grass path about 40 yards away across a ravine that my stand is next to. It was behind some brush and small dead sapling's that were leaning almost horizontally. I could not see the whole deer but I could see the right shoulder. My shot was further front than I wanted and the deer took off with the front leg flopping and then ran back up the steep wooded hill it came down till it the flat and then turned broadside straight in front of my stand between two trees broadside looking back down the hill. It was about 130 yards from me but I had a clear shot and I took it. At the shot it ran. I got out of my stand and crossed the ravine to the spot where I shot. It did not look good, there was not much blood. I started tracking the blood drops to the spot where the deer ran up the wooded hill side and the blood got a little better but not much. I tracked to the flat and found where the deer was standing when I fired my second shot and there was a nice big circle of blood, I went about 10 more yards following good blood , went around a tree and there it was laying.. My second shot was where the first one should have been. The next thing I knew my brother in law walked up to me, he was one of the guys trying to move deer and helped my drag the deer down the steep hill to the road where I gutted her. When I opened up the diaphragm and reached into the chest cavity there was about a gallon of blood in it and I grabbed the heart and it was not fastened, I had shot off the top of the heart with the second shot. The deer would have died a long painful death if I had not taken the 2nd shot because I shot off the femur bone just behind the socket. I have hunted for over 60 years and have taken a lot of deer and this was the first deer that I ever fired more than one shot at . This deer was also the first game I took with my .270 that I bought about 6 months ago and the rifle I am taking to CO next Oct for Pronghorn.

Bocajnala

Sometimes it happens that way. Sounds like you have an impressive record of putting good shots into critters, I wouldn't beat yourself up too much on it.

Learn what you can and move on. You "cleaned it up" with that second shot.

That .270 is a perfect pronghorn choice.

-Jake

bronko22000

A shot like that placement I'd be surprised if it lasted longer than a minute. Likely a lot less. That had to be another deer snorting. Congratulations to your Pop for a good shot on a nice doe.