It depends. If I see the animal go down, and "die", I wait 30 minutes. Depending on the hit, I vary. If I think it is a good hit, I wait 45-60 minutes and get down slowly to check the arrow if it is available. If I even have a doubt that it was a bad hit, I wait 2-3 hours before getting down or backing out before reassessing the situation by examining the arrow or blood trail that may or may not be present. I can tell you one thing, the longer I have hunted, the longer I am waiting after the shot. So I would say I average right around 1 hour.