You know, I think some of you guys may be right - it might have been a cougar .
I've been hunting for about 45 years and this is the second time that something got at my deer. About 10 years ago I shot a 4 pt in the evening and waited until the next morning to follow it up. Both hind qtrs. had softball sized chunks taken out of them. I don't know what that was. But I do know that a coyote will clear the area in human presence. This critter was circling us in the dark. We could hear him moving through the brush.