not good.....the flinter is hung up for the early season....its going to kill me but im not going back out....i lost one saturday...shot it at 2pm tracked till dark and over 2 hours today......nothing....i found blood hair and a small bone fragment at the impact sight...then a few tiny tiny drops here and there for 30 yds or so...then NOTHING...i circle and gridded it all....then i was walking out to go get dad if he was still up( stayed up to take me that morn and went home to goto bed bacuse he had to work night turn again that night...i know i have a great dad)..and was coming out and found more blood...tiny specks here and there..followed it down a deer highway and lost it...started gridding and circling and found 3 small spots of blood about the size of my fist...all within a few foot of eachother...it was a ton of blood compared to what i found on the whole trail....i got excited and though forsure id find her around there....cirlce gridded and busted the whole thicket all around for hours...looked in the creek looked in the springs looked in every log jam....heck i even found a deer someone must have shot and couldnt find in the thicket.....it was just bones but i bet it was shot....i looked for over 6 hours...i have blisters on my feet and am sore as can be busting that brush and humping over logs that long...she just simlply didnt bleed....the blood was bright red...i thought it was a good lung hit....but she went over 150 yards from impact sight to the big spots of blood i found...i was shooting 50 cal 295gr copper jacketed powerbelts...the range was 35-40yrds....my gun was shooting a bit low and sometimes right and the deer was quartering away..so i aimed just right of the shoulder bone and a little above the center so it hits right behind the shoulder and plows through the second shoulder...but it didnt work out that way....i had my friend stand ther today and i sat in my spot...yesterday it was dark and grey out and the forst canopy is thick there making it very dark...i couldnt see the sticks and brush in my way....just the deer and waht looked like a perfect lane...if i would seen it i would never shot....today it was sunny and alot of leaves fell over the night and my friends like how the he!! did you see the deer!?!?! and i was like your right.....i didnt notice.....i feel horrible...i did all i could...i learned a ton though and will try not to make the same mistakes again....you can read all my stories on the deer hunting forum under " sick" i have alot of detailed posts under there about my days of looking and what i learned and the whole story ect if you care......it was a great story...just didnt end like a fairytale....unfortunently....but i learned...and im not taking the muzzleloader back out until the snow falls....i just dont think its the right thing to do.....a little snow will help me track....ive never really tracked...so i need a bit of help....i learned alot over the last 2 days....i shoulda waited before looking and everything....but i was never taught that...and only read it about bow hunting....but im chaning my ways.....sorry to let you guys down....maybe the late season ill bag one for ya....its going to kill me not to hunt this week..weather is nice every one of my days off too....and i have most of the week off.....looks like ill be squirrel hunting or shooting the flinter.......good luck....congrats on the deer those who did bag one