My first deer I was lucky. I was hunting by myself. Finally after many years, I shot a spike. He went down immediately. I didn't feel like chasing him, like all the internet stories. So I fired 3 more shots at him, just to make sure he wasn't running away. I missed every follow up shot as my hands were trembling. But the deer was dead on the 1st shot.
3 local guys come over to see if I got a bear, because I unloaded my magazine. My hands were shaking. It was obvious I never killed anything before. I told them it's my 1st deer, and I don't know WTF I'm doing. 1 guy was nice enough to give me a lesson, and he practically field dressed the entire deer. He reached up and cut the diaphragm. He reached up and cut the tube. He was covered in blood, and I was clean. I thanked him, and they walked off.
Now I'm dragging up hill by myself, and I snap off a spike. So I'm disgusted, but mounting it anyway. Along comes another local guy who saw me struggling, and he carried the deer to the top of the hill. I offered him money, and he refused.
So hunting on state land was my savior. If no one was around, I'd probably still be gutting & dragging up hill.
And the taxidermist was good enough to fix the spike for no charge !!