Another lesson here is not only the way in which he approached recovery, but the fact that he was a "lone wolf" in his decision. All throughout that afternoon and evening, countless members here, even some of the most knowlegeable and well-respected, (not that their advice was ill-founded at all, not implying anything like that) urged him that his deer was dead and to go get it. But, he knew the situation best, and knew his strategy of playing it conservatively was the best decision. As I remember, when he found it the next morning, evidence showed it had not been dead the entire night, meaning he could have made recovery harder at best, or lost the deer at worst, had he listened to everyone and gone that afternoon.

Sometimes it pays to trust your experience, at least when you have as much as he does

Jon