Hard to say not knowing.

First thing I must do is applaud your decision to back off. Can't recall how many times an ol' buddy of mine use to pre-maturely go after his deer and pressed them for a loooooooooong time until they expired. Had he waited, I bet most of them would have still been in their first bed, but because he pressed too fast, he would jump them... and chased them!

I am a little worried about the lack of sign for an alleged heart shot. The heart shots I've gotten had them squirting like it was a faucet. Don't know if you saw the shot go in or not, but sounds like you hit below the heart in front towards the lower chest and in front of the leg. This is a vital hit, but may not show as much as a blood trail. This area is tough due to the sternum which could explain the lack of penetration.

As for the crashing, when you go back, I'd check there first thing to save some time if you know the EXACT spot or you'd be blindly searching. If you are uncertain, wouldn't hurt just to start from the last blood you saw and work from there.

Some well hit deer have been known to go a long ways, but if there's blood, there's always good hope. If you lose blood, mark the last spot and double check for more. If you find no more, start to pattern search and stay away from wondering aimlessly. It saves time and is more thorough.

Are you planning to go out tonight or wait 'til morning? Let us know how it goes.

iSnipe