I hunt in Illinois and most of the time during deer season it gets cool enough at night to keep the meat good. But if you live in NC and it is hot, say over 45 degrees at night, I' m not sure I would eat the meat. It is a tough call to leave it, because like you said, you want to make sure it is dead. But depending on the shot, sometimes it is better to keep it running. If it is a gut shot, then those are the ones you want them to lay down and die, but sometimes for a single lung you might want to keep pushing it. It is obviously a judgment call, but my advice would be, if it is hotter then 45 degrees and it is out all night and morning, I probably wouldn' t eat the meat. But that is just me, other guys may have a different opinion. Good luck!