Well, that's a hella good tracking work. I know that area well and it gets dry from the low humidity and the wind in a hurry. Blood seems to vanish in a few hours in this dusty dry habitat.
Finding that deer that far away is a testament to your determination. Few folks continue on after a couple hundred yards assuming a non lethal hit. Fewer yet make it to 1/4 mile and beyond 600 yards, even I begin to wonder about the outcome!
You have good gear and got a pass through, tell us about the hit because a double lung is a 100-150 yards max, Heart shots are even less distance. So the distance he went means a single lung or no lung. What was it that caused the slow bleed out? Do you know?
You should be proud that you were relentless in your tracking!
The deer was quartering towards me a bit, and the shot was an inch or two back from where it should have been even if it was 100% broadside. I believe the arrow probably clipped the liver and did not get the lungs/heart.
