I shot a nice buck on 11/8, at 11:00 am. I thought he went 100 yards and piled up, but when I tracked him an hour later, he jumped out of his bed. I decided to wait until the next day to finish tracking. I looked all day Sunday, he got in an area covered with water, and there was no blood trail. I couldn' t miss work on Monday, and the meat was going to be bad anyway, but I then took a sick day and found him. I had hit him in the liver, he went about 150 yards and bedded, then went another 350 yards after I jumped him. I' m still sick about it.
My answer is no, I don' t count it on my " total" . I took the antlers, but didn' t check the deer. I won' t " mount" the antlers, or display them. I pick up every buck skull or shed antler I find, and threw this one in with them. Something to admire and look at occasionaly, but not a bowhunting trophy. Just my opinion, to each his own.