Originally Posted by
Horacio
So long as you did everything possible to retrieve the deer.....it happens. It is and should be a sick feeling to lose a deer but sometimes you can't help it. 30-45 min should be fine, to be honest but know when to back off when you can't find him and give it some time. Most of the time, they'll run a bit and go down and waiting hours is a little bit of overkill.
Grayish material? Could be liver....if it were a gutshot, there should be a noticable odor.
If you can't find him that day, try again the next morning.
I'm sorry for your loss, though. If you hunt enough, its bound to happen. You can zero your firearm in and practice your heart out and still bump it climbing a tree of something, as an example. You can be a great shot and still pull one, get buck fever, any number of things. The main thing is to exhaust all methods and effort to recover the deer.
I'm going back out after church today and give it one last try. The meat will be no good but I would still love to find him for the record. We had some rain last night and temps are pleasant. If I see buzzards or smell him I will zero in on that spot and hopefully find him. I will call DNR and get permission to take the antlers and tag him if I have to. If I could have found him it would have wraped up my season on a high note. Got 3 Does in the freezer. Thanks for your comments.