Keep your head up Rush. Sometimes bad hits happen and from your post it's clear you know why. Store that bit of imformation in the back of your head and I doubt that you'll make the same mistake again. The important part of hunting isn't killing animals. IMO it's what you learn and take away from it that really counts. I lost one about 7 years ago now and I often think of him when I'm in the woods. The shot I took was a good one and to this day I don't really know what whent wrong. All I know is I screwed something up and didn't recover the animal. I take that bit of information with me now every time I hit the woods. I look at every shooting situation a little diffrently and I believe that I am a more ethical hunter because of the buck I lost. It may sound corney but I'll never forget how I felt for the week after I took the shot. I spent the better part of the week searching from where I lost the blood trail to no avail.

Get out there and search but keep your head up in the process. Take what you can from the situation and you'll become a better hunter for it.

I wish you the best of luck in your search!