I did that one time.

I didn't kill a healthy deer though. I wounded one in a flooded cutover one time. Clipped it across the back hip and went in to find it after dark. When I found it, it was wounded, but very much alive, We literally fought to the death in hip-deep water and I was eventually able to cut its throat with my knife.

Win play show that story is true. It was the 2nd biggest buck I had ever killed. Live weight 185 lbs. If it was healthy, it could have killed me. It almost did so anyway.

I was literally yelling like Braveheart into the darkness as we wrestled around in the water, mud and blood. it was grunting and braying like a mule and I was stabbing it as hard as I could as many times as I could get the blade in it.