I definetly don't want to bust your chops, because you don't deserve it. Sometimes stuff happens that is either not your fault, or is just a personal mistake. Becoming a better hunter means learning from these experiences.

As far as a gut shot, how long did you wait? With guts or intestines, your best bet is to back out and come back SEVERAL (like 8) hours later and begin the search. 9 out of 10 times a gutshot animal will bed down and bleed to death not too far from where they were shot. They'll also head to the nearest water to bed down. Did you find any blood or anything?