Good luck scribbler, I have a feeling youll find him.

Good luck and you did the right thing by backing off.

You say you hit the deer 4" above the belly. If you shot from a treestand, and depending upon how high up you were, that COULD only be a grazing hit. I can't see how the arrow did not pass through, unless it also hit the offside front leg. Things are not always as they appear. You may have a better hit than you think.

Leaving the deer overnight was the best thing to do. Give it your best effort in the AM. I have seen good hits not leave much blood, so don't be discouraged. Put the time in to really scour the area. Don't discount tiny spots of cover in open areas. Wounded deer like to be able to see what is approaching.

Used the Primos blood tracker light last night. It is useless IMO. Green light did turn blood black and the red light caused the blood to appear more red. The combo of the two seemed to work the best, but I still prefer a bright white light.

My Dewalt rechargable worked much better. BTW - found the deer.

Sorry for being off subject.

We searched for three hours following a minature droplet trail of blood that ended. I mad huge circles in the woods and looked through the CRP field NOTHINGGG, the deer still has my arrow in it but WHERE THE HECK IS HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.

keep an eye on the birds for the next few days. They will find it for you.