Bottom line the way I see it is if one can sit here and tell me you've done nothing wrong or even flat out stupid in the woods then I'd be inclined to call you a liar. Maybe some of you have perfected hunting to where it's no longer even hunting. I certainly have not. Now granted, setting trail on a deer only 30 minutes after a known bad shot is rather doltish for even a rookie, but for a hunter with some experience is just flat out mind blowing to do such a thing. (I'm sure you have picked up on that by now.)

This is my 25th season in the woods and have taken 20+ deer over the years. Some of those were easy, some weren't so easy. I found a deer the next morning by going to the crows. I've found deer with dogs. I found a deer by crawling on my hands and knees through the snow following only tracks and no blood (among thousands of other deer tracks). I've made bad shots and worse, bad decisions. I've also lost deer and it's a feeling that makes me sick and haunts me the entire season. Being a bow hunter comes at a price - the price of putting in time to be a proficient shot, putting in time to learn everything you can about the game you hunt, putting in the time to learn deer behavior and their habitat to figure out where they're going after being hit, and being a good bow hunter in most cases certainly comes at the price of sacrificing time to look for your game.

It's hard to say either way if this deer is alive or not but you have no choice but to go look for him.