meat- if you were too high you can miss the vitals even with a decent shot. My dad hit one hit in NM 2 years ago that atleast gave us a decent blood trail but was hit high. I guess there is a dead zone there below the spine and above the lungs and heart. The guys we talked to down there said that almost every bull they shoot has either broadheads or balls in it from the blackpowder season which is pretty sad.
good luck finding him, but my guess is that if by this point you have not found him, and you havent found where the ravens have found him, he is still living and out there somewhere.