Back to the original question, in the case of a believed marginal hit, choosing between:

[blockquote]Tracking soon enough that I might jump the deer, OR
Waiting long enough that I'm confident the meat will expire...
[/blockquote]
For a doe, I'll take the chance on jumping it because meat is the motivation. Worst case scenario is that I end up with no meat which is the same end result as the other option. Best case scenario, I've got some venison in the freezer. (I realize the question was originally about a buck but thought I'd answer both ways.)

For a buck, I'm waiting for it to expire. I'll tag it, dress it, register it and save the antlers. The rest will be disposed of since I'm not confident of the meat's safety and/or flavor. Here's why: I'm to the stage that I won't shoot a buck unless I'm interested in the antlers. Three reasons: does are better eating, locally the WI DNR is serious about herd reduction, and the local deer population is way out of whack. If meat were the higher priority, I'd just go ahead and take a doe.