I also find it hard to believe a deer or antelope running very far with 2 broken shoulders.
Have you seen many antelope taken?
My family used to
average 28 tags filled per year (up to 5 tags per person, with 5-8 hunters). And, even after the limits were reduced to 2 tags per person, we usually still bagged 8-12 animals per year. I've seen more antelope tags filled than most people will see over the course of their entire lives. And, since some of the hunters are more of the "shoot
at them"-type than "shoot for a kill"-type, unfortunately, that means that I've seen a fair number of bad shots, slow deaths, and the use of ammunition that turned out to perform sub-par.
Overall, I consider antelope to be an easy kill. Their heart and lungs are
huge in comparison to other big game, and they're fairly 'soft' targets. But, if you don't hit one right (through bad luck or ineptitude), they will put up one helluva fight ... at up to 55 mph.
They're like elk. They refuse to acknowledge that they're supposed to be gentlemanly and lay down to die on the battlefield like a good little deer. Rather, they will keep fighting and fighting until their brains cease to get enough oxygen.
Broken bones mean almost nothing. Even if an animal can do 45-55 mph in prime condition and you wound it severely... it doesn't matter much if it can still manage to outrun you while injured.
If they can make the limb do
anything that results in useful movement, then they keep doing it until they're: A) dead, B) paralyzed, or C) exhausted enough that they collapse.
In 2008, I watched an antelope blow brain matter out the side of her face with every breath, while still making 15-20 mph with an exploded left femur and no pelvis or right ball socket to speak of. And she took another three(!) shots to the head to kill.
In 2009, I watched an antelope that took an explosive bullet to the left hip run at 45+ mph for 1/4 mile (wrong bullet + bad shot), before he realized that his leg wasn't working. And, even after being hit twice more, he took off at 25+ mph with broken shoulders. Once he was
finally down for the count, he still required a coup de grâce to the base of the skull.
In 2010 I watched an antelope cover half a mile at 15+ mph with a broken shoulder and no rear feet (another one one with
both hooves blown off between the knees and ankles). She climbed ditch banks, zigged and zagged through sagebrush, jumped over obstacles, and sprinted down an old jeep trail. She didn't stop until a well-placed and opportune shot with a .358" 200 gr bullet blew a hole through her chest the size of Arkansas.
I could go on for days with similar stores. But there's no point. This isn't the right place for that, and it's a waste of my time if you already think I'm a liar.
Those animals simply refused to admit that it was their time to die. It happens in every species, but I've never seen a will to live, or simply to
fight, as strong as that in so many elk and antelope.
They aren't domestic like whitetails, or stupid like Mulies. They're wild - and crazy.