Nord....Sorry to read what happened, especially when it involved your son. Sometimes it's hard enougn to see deer in NH, never mind shoot one. I was out bow hunting in NH and didn't see any youth hunters.....maybe the weather had something to do with it.

I don't know what to add about your question. My feeling is either she was not hit hard or she was and was pushed too much. Hard to say. I knowfrom experience to sometimes expect the unexpected. I have tracked deer that I was sure I would find (and I did this verrrrry slowly) and never recoved the deer. Other times, the blood sign etc was very little and I had little hope of finding that deer. Only to be pleasantly suprised that he was never far away.

Tell you son that you guys did all you could to recover his deer but sometimes things just don't work out. The main thing is you both put in the time and effort. We owe it to the animal.

Good luck the rest of the season. Hope you both shoot a big one!