The first and foremost thing to be concerned about after shooting a deer is giving yourself the best possible chance of recovering the animal.

If you jump the gun because of the heat andbump the buck to the next county never to be found again then what's the difference? You didn't get the meat and the deer you shot wasn't recovered. If you play it out like youshould according to shot placement and the bloodtrail, you may lose the meat becaue of the time you are forced to wait, but at least you recovered your deer.