Thanks a lot for the opinions guys. I'm getting off early today to do some more tracking. It rained all morning so blood is a non-issue, but I'm going to do some grid searches with the landowner and his dogs.

Someone asked: Will I take this shot again? I don't think so. Although it is a shot that I practice, I just don't think it's a high-percentage shot. I should have made it, but in the heat of the moment...you know.

I'm a 3rd year bowhunter, and passed a shot on a nice buck earlier this year as he trotted/ walked across me broadside. I just didn't want to take a shot that I wasn't sure I could make.

I now realize why people pass on marginal shots. Wounding an animal feels 10 times worse than not getting a shot or making a clean miss (both of which have happened to me).