First off I have been Bow hunting for the past 23 years now and I have never wounded a deer one. Secondly, the furthest I have had a deer run off was approximatly 1/2 a mile which I still found her within 45 min of shooting. Thirdly, I have killed well over 50+ deer and all but the one that I mentioned earlier in this post, has died within 30 yards of where I have shot each of them. All with a Bow. If you don't put in the time to practice shooting, time in the woods, being able to control your nerves when a deer approaches, then you will be more likely to make mistakes. You stated that you lost 3 deer, do you know how many deer are hit by cars, and trucks only to wonder off into the woods after an accident and die? It's a staggering number here in Ohio. You can invest $10,000.00 in all of your hunting gear if you want to or can afford too, but if you don't use it properly, don't spend the time and effort into tuning everything including yourself, then it does't matter what you spend on it. It's not a dollar figure you need to be concerned about, it's you personally that you need to look at. Look, I don't know you from the man in the moon, I'm not trying to attack you, just simply saying that based on your comments you probably have not spent much time in the woods hunting, and you probably have not spent much time practicing with your equipment either. Hell, my first 7 years in the woods I didn't kill or shoot a single thing. The people that got me into Bow hunting didn't know that much themselves let alone try to teach me. But i fell in love with it, studied, practiced and spent mass amounts of time in the deer woods that got me where I am today. Not bragging by any stretch, but my typical deer season I get 5-6 deer a year. I have people here on this website that ask me for help here in Ohio, like advice and my opinion. I take more deer on public hunting land than most do on private land. I have my best friend Darrel whom I also work with, has only been Bow hunting 3 years now, killing deer every year. But he has spent time in the woods, has read everything he could, watched shows and DVD's and flat out listened and learned and is a deer killing machine now. So here is my advice to you. Take all the time that you can and practice with your Bow and anything else you use while hunting. Read, study, watch and learn. Rome wasn't built in a day, neither will your hunting skills. It takes time, practice and a willingness to learn. Good luck and sorry about my rambling.