I don't have any beef with the idea of "when in doubt, back out" as you put it. That's not my point.

My point is that if you are activating that clause just about every time you arrow a deer, as appears to be the case on hunting shows I have seen, then you need to re-assess your shot selection, shooting abilities, or your ethics.

I could phrase it as a question: What percentage of the time do you think an ethical hunter - onewho shoots competently and shows proper selectivity on shots - will need to back out and wait over night?