Where the buck was bedded, there was blood not 5' on the same trail....none on the ground but in on a stem off the ground. There was no blood from that point to the bed, past the bed, or anywhere else beyond the bed.
Rob, I am not accusing you of not putting 100% effort into finding your deer, but I can onlyoffer advicefrom your own words. I also have been hunting for a bit, and have had the fortune to have bloodtrailed more than a few deer. The 1 point that really throws flags up, and trust me I have seen this in the field! is how can a deer leave a drop of blood 5' from from a bed your friend thinks he saw the buck, but not leave 1 single drop in that bed? In my experience, that means that the deer with 2 holes, as you had a complete pass through, was probably hit real high and didn't bed down. If they bed, the tilting of the deer will leave a drop on the ground side. (he was dropping blood just 5' back) I am NOT saying that deer may not be alive still, as I agree that deer are tough animals and can survive an off shot, but I think your deer probably kept walking. I have trailed deer hit similarly to yours (from your description) and have had blood trails of 1/4 to 1/2 mile before finding the deer or their first bed. I also disagree with your point that the arrow could not provide new and helpful information. Finding the arrow is crucial, in my opinion.
I feel for you that the deer is lost, but 2 other things that you may have done or what others in your shoes could do is come back around midnight and listen for coyotes, and look for the turkey vultures/crows a day or 2 later. Not seeing/hearing anything can sometimes ease the guilt a bit. Good luck with the rest of your season, and I do believe you put honest effort into finding the deer.