Stupid a... -head shot a deer in the back leg in the morning with a .410. He insisted the gun was plenty powerfull. We didnt. We had that poor deer around all day. Either seeing her or her blood. We were so disgusted we were half sick. We finally kicked her up in a patch of cat tails at almost dark. She got out in a cut beanfield, up down up down, way out there. We wound up mortaring .12 gauge slugs in arcs until we finally killed her. It was such a disgusting spectacle we never forgot it.
Sometimes we have to fix stupid mistakes. We feel responsible and do our best. If we hadn't gotten her there's no telling how long she'd have suffered.