It bothers me too. But I also remember my first deer hunt........ I miss hitthe deer and found small amounts of blood. I walked out and waited for help. My brother-in-law came shortly...... we found him and I neededto finish him off. Did I feel bad?...... YES. Did I do it again?......NOPE!
I also look back to what I learned from the experience. Shot placement, tracking and yes scouting. That deer brought me through the thickest stuff and showed me all sorts of heavy trails. I consider myself a good shot but just missed my mark..... I was getting 8"groups at 400m and this deer was at 230m. Since then my longest shot has been 130m, give or take, and most have been under 50. I now hunt not shoot.
What bothers me is people who go out year after year and make the same mistakes..... never making rules for themselves or limits to follow. Its called ETHICS...... too bad its something you can't teach[:-].
I came across a situation just like this a couple of days ago.I saw 3 bald eagles sitting on a limb across a clear-cut. I know for a fact (in this area) an eagle will not sit over a gut-pile. I considered it scouting. Walked into the clear-cut and 150m away from the rd lay a regal buck. A big 4x4, eaten all the way to the shoulders. I couldn't see a bullet wound in the shoulders or neck so figured it to be gut shot and not tracked......... [:@][:'(]or shot at night and the people didn't have time to track[:'(].