I think many of us who have bow hunted for years have experienced things that didn't work out. Learning from our failures is what makes us better hunters.

Anywhere there is a moving part, there's room for failure. I always say that I'd shoot my compound without the cams rolling back when I drew if I could ) Here we are coming up on prime time and my friend was frantically running around from shop to shop trying to find a new rest because his drop away broke in half when he was practicing last weekend. His 2nd drop-away failure in a few years. I've taken as many as 7 or 8 deer with the same Thunderhead 100 fixed before losing it or hitting a rock. I will stick with things that don't open or drop, just me.

No fan of mechanical broadheads here either!

5" will do the job, one lung should be popped and that deer is going down. BUT did you push him when you were looking for blood? If you pushed him, he could be a half mile away. I know it's hard not to look, but it something every hunter has to learn; if he's not down in sight, back-out, let him bed down and bleed out. I'd come back with a at least one dog of any kind and start looking. He's dead, it's just where?