This is the way!!!I’ve been shooting mule deer since 1980. My usual shot is through the chest behind the shoulder. Sometimes the angle will put the exit through the off side shoulder. I’ve only seen a couple that dropped right there…. Most hump up at the shot and then run until they pass out. A variety of bullets used.
Even in open country they can be hard to find after they fall. I’ve learned to pay very very close attention to locating exactly where they were shot, which direction they run, and how to do a grid search. I’ll say to myself “OK, he was standing in front of that bush with the weird horizontal branch with the yellow leaves on it, next to that clump of sage shaped like a (whatever).” Then I’ll watch that spot like a hawk while I walk over there, so I don’t get confused and walk to the wrong spot. If I don’t see it right away, I’ll place a tape marker at the spot and start walking in a widening zig zag from that spot in the direction that he ran. I’ve been lucky and never lost an animal.