charlie and cwlks -So what your say is don' t go hunting the evening post if you can' t guarantee you' ll recover the deer that night. First off the deer was shot at 7 pm he tracked it for a while assuming he waited 1/2-1hour that would make it 8 o' clock he didn' t find it so either the deer lived a little longer or he would still have to come back the next day 7am, 12 hours gone since the shot. I agree about the flies and the abdominal juices, but the flies do not buzz around in the dark. This is why I said you would lose some of the meat. His nose should be his guide. But there is no way I am going to just say forget about it its no good. Now if he finds the animal at 7 am -9 am, guts it and goes home too butcher it this will take approx 3 -5hrs now were down to 15-17 hours before butchering takes place. Sorry I cut it so close with 18-24 hrs. This has happened to me and the meat was fine,though like I said I lost a little. But he should not just turn his computer on and read your post and say the heck with it. You have to give it some kind of effort, well maybe not all of us so I just speak for myself. Also when in doubt put a piece in the fry pan and taste it.