Shot a nice buck this afternoon. Dropped on the spot. Thought I hit it mid shoulder. Laid down about 5 mins then popped up and ran out of the field. Looked around 2 hours and tracked pin drop blood around 50-75 yards. Dead deer?

Nope. He’s alive. Shot him high shoulder or forward. Temporary shock to the CNS and nothing vital.

Not saying it hurts to have a dog Come check it out but as a tracker I have to agree with Matt. Those types of shots are about 99% unrecoverable

Yep

Welcome to the club!! It’s happens a lot. Happened to my buddy last season.

I stay off the shoulder if at all possible. If you aim shoulder long enough it’s going to happen.

Mbrock is correct he ain't dead shot through the tenderloin. A tracking could maybe have run him down and bayed up but you would have to get on it quick

Gun caliber and ammo/ grain?

Hornady eldx .308 165gr

The old back whack

Just an FYI JohnMark, always keep crosshairs on a deer that drops immediately for several minutes preparing for a follow up shot. If they move or lift their head send it.

Sorry man - Hear lot of stories about them getting up after laying there

My best friend in high school shot one 6 times - said deer stood up in back of truck after they loaded him - started stabbing him - he killed it - was a funny story way he told it - your title heading made me think of that old story

This ^^^^^........you're also more likely to leg shoot one.

After this year, I’ll never doubt what a deer can survive

This is what happens when you aim for a baseball sized target on the high shoulder instead of the basketball sized target right behind the shoulder...

This one was back whacked twice with a 7 mag………The hunter’s cousin killed it two weeks later in the same field.

I bet that dude was smelling ripe

Not to high jack, but I wanted the expert opinion from Matt and others. A few years ago I went from shooting behind the shoulder to now I aim right up the front leg and half way up the body cavity. I have seen really good results, most are DRT or run very little. My question is, is this a risky shot or are you saying farther up the shoulder is risky?

He gone. My wife did this in Texas a few weeks ago and after the deer got up and ran we knew we were in trouble. So we went and got the dogs and they ran that deer about 2 miles in a matter of minutes. The buck burned the dogs going across a 400 acre wheat field and it was game over, dogs gave up