Not trying to sound like a buthead here....But it sounds like ya'll need more time on the range and less time trying to shoot at running deer...A 20 gauge slug should knock the living heck out a deer if hit in the vitals and should go no more than 100 yards at BEST...My daughter shot most all her deer with a 20 gauge and Most all of them dropped in thier tracks!! I dont think any went more than 30 yards to my recollection. She never shoots at a running deer cuzz she knows Id smack her HARD in the head for it. Too many ways to mess up like that for one...And its simply too easy to get a deer to stop for a couple seconds. Gut shot deer are hard to trail because the guts clot the wound up and leave little to no blood. If allowed in your state and you continue with this mode of hunting, I would concider investing in a tracking dog NOT A DEER CHASER but a TRACKER for wounded deer. Several states allow this as long as the dog is leashed and under control, NOT HOUNDING. You owe it to the deer to give it every possible effort to recover them. But personally I would rather see them invest in LEARNING HOW TO SHOOT and stop guttin them. Just my lil old opinion and Im sure there will be many agreeing with me on that.

Yes i do agree that they need some more practice, their both shooting smoothbores and they have spent some time on the range but without the slug barrle you just cant get pinpoint accuracy. My brother thinks that the buck he shot at was hit in the upper leg below the body. He's really upset with it all becouse he can afford a new gun yet but he cant stand not being out in the woods.

If he hit the buck where he says he did then do you think he will make it through the winter?

Its according to if it stopped bleeding...If it was a broken bone...What kind of predetors there are in your area so hard to say....Deer are tough animals but thier key defence is ability to get the heck outta dodge quick..Plus deer are highly suseptible(spelling) to infections with injury. I didnt see the hit so I dont know. There are some new designs out there now for slugs in smooth bores that greatly increase thier accuracy. Also what kind of 20 gauge is it? Single shot? Pump? Rifled barrles for them are actually getting inexpencive nowadays and it sounds to me like it would be something he should save up for. He may not be able to "stand" not being in the woods but he should not be there without the ability to cleanly take game...Its owed to the deer...Sorry if that sounds harsh but I have ran into MANY hurt deer in my time and I hate having to use a tag on a deer to put it out of its misery when its got puss running all through it and unusable meat but I will in a second to help the poor thing out of its misery. Just my opinion

You can kill a deer out to 75 yards with pinpoint accuracy (and some practice) through a smooth bore with these sights
http://www.truglosights.com/content/prod_long_gun_sights/pro_series_magn...

ask yourself,do I chance this shot and chase this deer forever and go home w/nothing or do I wait for the right shot and walk up to my dead deer and have someone take my picture!

that somewhat makes me mad. sorry but if you do not know how to shoot at a running deer and make a vital hit do not shoot at a running deer.my dad taught me how to do it and neither he nor i have shot at a running deer and not recovered it.
the gun really has nothing to do with it.

but i did have some great luk this gun season got a hoss monday morning. it in gwh-strikes again

gwh....Shooting at a running deer is something that cannot be taught...Yes you can learn how to lead one...But a deer can turn a full 90 degrees before your brain can signal your finger to let off the trigger!!! If you hit them all well and fine but rest assured my friend...Its luck not skill doing it...One day if you continue shooting at running deer you too will be wondering where that deer went to because you gut hit it... Whistle loud...Yelp....all kinds of ways to make a deer stop in its tracks to locate the danger for just a second or too...Its ALWAYS better to let it go if you cant stop it and hunt another day than to risk a running shot...As ive said 100 times....you OWE IT TO THE DEER!!!

what i really meant to say is that i learned when i should and when i shouldnt take a shot.

4 shot deer that we couldnt find = irresponsible

Plain and simple, these guys have no business in the woods until they learn a little respect for their quarry!

4 deer shot and not recoverd is indeed a bad thing, but before ya slam these guys,think for a second.May be they're young,when I was younger I did things a little dif. than I do now,not to mention I had a Dad that thought rolling down the truck window was hunting.I don't think my Dad ever had the respect for deer that I do.I take pride in being a self taught ethical hunter and have taught my sons the right way.We've all made mistakes when we were younger and it's the willingness to correct and learn from them..that helps us mature.Thanks.