HuntingNet.com Forums - never give up

just a quick story i wanted share with everyone....this is NOT a monster buck story but i think it will help someone out there this season. A friend of mine moved onto an 800 acre farm that we started hunting just last year after harvesting a few nice deer we decided this yr that we had too many older bucks with small racks that needed to be taken out this year. So anyways this past monday i was muzzleloader hunting when an older age buck stepped out of the clear cut i decided to take him. Not knowing how hard he was hit because of all the smoke in my face(LOL).....i gave him a 2 hours before going in after him. When we approached where i had shot there was no blood ....no hair ....nothing...So we proceded on up the ridge where i last spotted him...still no blood or anything....I knew I hit this deer but now was beginning to wonder...so shortly after we crested the ridge I spotted him laying beside some fallen timber....Folks this deer had no blood trail ...no indication of being hit....There was a clean exit wound from the .50 cal. that passed through him. He bled out beside the tree where he chose to lay down. I guess what im saying is never give up....most folks after walking several hundred yards with no sign at all of hit would probably blew it off as a clean miss. Please Dont your harvest may be just over the next ridge.......for those who care He weighed 182 pounds and estimated to be 4-5 yrs old with a 4 point rack with a 15 in spread......