I helped find a friends deer one year, about 24 hours later after the shot, got into some real thick stuff, hands and knees, little blood but finally found it. It was really bloated and half the deer was spoiled. Does that mean the other half isn't spoiled ? We cut it up and the other half was fine, no smell, so the sure fire method is your sense of smell. If it doesn't have the right color like normal and just doesn't smell right, toss it. Better to err on safe side.