One tough doe!!

Friday evening I decided to sit in a treestand in Allegheny County looking to fill my 2B tag and top off the freezer. I hunt hunted this stand quite a bit in the early season but saw more bucks than does from it and never got a shot at a doe. Come late season, this spot seems to hold more does in bigger groups so I gave it a go on the frigid 12 degree evening.
 
The action began quick when I spotted a 15 inch 6 point I was quite familiar with and a doe about 150 yards away. They never fed my way. At 3:15, I had 3 does and a 13 inch 8 point come strolling past at 30 yards but behind a bunch of honeysuckle. 15 minutes later the same 8 point came past at 15 yards without the does.
 
Near the end of shooting time, crunching from behind me caught my attention and 3 does were headed my way. The lead one came through my shooting lane at 20 yards and I stopped her for the shot. The shot felt good and she only went about 40 yards before stopping to sway back and forth, then down she went. I thought I smoked her. After waiting 15 minutes I began to lower my bow and her head came up, she stood up and walked way. My hear sank. I thought she was stone dead. I climbed down to get my arrow. There was dark blood covering all of it and some blood in the snow but there was a faint smell of gut on the shaft. I began to think liver, so I backed out for the night with the very cold temps and let her go till morning, knowing the meat would be fine.
 
I got back in there this morning at first light and found her about 40 yards from her first bed. I can't believe she gout up after 15 minutes and walked off after seeing the shot. You can see the entrance in the picture. The arrow entered there and exited liver and slight gut on the other side. I have no idea how she made it as long as she did but I am quite sure she died soon after I left. When I cleaned her out she was cold inside.
 
Man, she was tough!! Taken with the CamX crossbow, Black Eagle arrows and a 3 blade Swhacker.

Nice deer. They can be tough. I have a similar story with a muzzle loader shot. I never did find that deer.
 
BH

Congrats Gene.
All I got was a case of pneumonia and the flu.   Spent 2 days in the hospital.  Didn't get out yet.

Huh..... hell? No deer is "tough" because it doesn't die from a bad shot. They suffer!!!

Does that make a deer tough??

I'm not calling anyone out because a shot went awry. I know various reasons may cause a perfectly placed shot to go bad. It happens but never the less, the deer didn't stay down or slowly bleed out because it was tough.

I'm sure dpms would have called the shot back if he could have unforrtunately, that's not possible.

Merely giving the benefit of the doubt dpms.

So is it the deer or the person?

I've had a similar occurance. Mostly because I broke my #1 rule no matter what do not get down for a half hour after the shot. She probably was in shock and would of expired in the initial fall down spot if you had waited. The shot was good in my opinion. Just a little more patience.

Good move on waiting DPMS. The right choice.
 
Did the straight down thing ONCE and hit a buck right through the boiler room with a blood red arrow stuck in the ground where he had stood below my tree.( I know yours wasn't a shot like that but the reference about waiting is herein)
He hopped off bout 45 yards and went down.
Took him 37 minutes to die.
Longest 37 of my life.
Every time I tried to get down and go over to finish the job he would look at me and start moving around.
Had to stay put.
Through the boiler but only a one lung hit.
Had I got him up and running no telling how far he could have gone in 37 minutes.
 
A tough choice to wait till morning- but the right choice.