I had a similar situation this fall when my ex-g/f gutshot a goat on the last day of the season. We could see the goat in the cliffs below us but I couldn't get a second shot at it where it was bedded. The dilemna was that I would normally have just backed out and come back the next day but the next day was after the season and we wouldn't be able to shoot the animal if it happened to still be alive. I stalked down the cliff (in peril of my life!) to try and get another shot into the animal but just ended up pushing her out of her bed. My only way off the mountain at that point was to keep pushing her in hope of getting another shot but I was unable to before I got to another ridge where I could climb out. We then left and came back the next day (w/o bows) and were unable to find her. Wendy went back the third day and located her but the birds had pretty much destroyed the upper half and the lower half had spoiled and frozen to the cliff. She packed it out, but it was no good. I continually ask myself if I did the right thing by going down and trying to get a second arrow in the animal? I can say that I took the brunt of the blame for the bad outcome of that situation for a long time... even if I wasn't the one that took the crap shot. Hindsight is 20/20 but knowing what I did at the time, I'd say that I'd do it the same again. If it hadn't been the last day of the season though, I would have just backed out and we probably would have shown up the next morning (with our bows) to find her expired in her bed. Who knows?

Given the above, and the original scenario dictates that it's dark now so there will be no second shot opportunity, I guess I'd come back the next day (unarmed) and hope for the best.