No I wouldn't hunt with them again. And if any of them ask why, I'd tell them in a matter of fact way, because just what you said. It's important first of all to stay within the law and hunt during legal hours and only ethical to shot if there is visibility and light to track the deer if it doesn't immediately go down, buts wounded.
Of course, the final thing is a hunt needs to be responsible and one ofmany ways to demonstrate that is to exhaust every avenue possible to find and retrieve an animal one has shot.

I agree with Steve F ---- Why didn't your friend go look for the deer himself ? Did he need someone to hold his hand ? He was just an unethical as the others for not attempting to recover the shot deer .

I would have been on my hands and knees with a mini mag between my teeth, or a head lamp. If I knew I had made the shot, or even felt that the shot was good, that deer would be mine - period. If theytried to stop me, that would have been the end of it right there. Once you put an arrow or bullet in an animal, it's on!

Why would he need their advice on tracking the buck? I wouldn't have needed any of their help in finding it..he should've just looked for it himself.

He says the deer ran into an area that he was totally unfamiliar with. In fact they got lost in there the night before. His thing was that some of the other guys are well familiar with the area and refused to lift a finger. If I would've been there I probably would've gone even if I wasn't all that familiar with the area. And the guy who's supposed to be his friend discouraged everyone else by saying he made a poor shot.

Getting lost at night and getting lost in the daylight are 2 totally different things. The next day he should have went back (with a compass!) and tageed his trail in so he could easily find his way back out (hopefully with his "huge" deer). Not just that it was a said "huge" deer, but any deer shot, you are obliged as an ethicalsportsman to try to locate it. Doing otherwise may even be a violation of game laws depending on where this was.

As a first timer I think there may be some other "unseen" (or told) reasons why no one wanted to go into the deep woods to blood trail & search. You said it was BIG woodsand very easy to get lost in. I kinda suspect that the members feel that these woods hold the deer and didn't want anyone in there spooking them. Maybe he could have came in from a different way and kinda did a drive towards them. This would have been much more possible if compasses and/or GPS had been utilized with a map (should always have a map when new to an area - thay are readily available).

Or do you believe they were going to go search later just for the rack?

I would hunt with them again. I would have map(s) and atleast a compass. I don't think it sounds likethere's any need to get in an uproar. No one actually said, "NO! You can't go back in there." - just no one wanted to go with him. Depending on tags in pocket he could have used it as a stalking opportunity while blood trailing.

I would have.