Got hair but no blood?

[lostbackpacker]

Yeah but if that deer died yesterday morning somewhere what good would it do me to find it now?

respect to the life you took. 

[N7XW]

Yeah but if that deer died yesterday morning somewhere what good would it do me to find it now?

Only you can answer that. I'd say closeure......notch your tag, take the horns.....tag your deer. However, that is your call just like its your call on how and how long you look for it.

[sakoshooter]

I looked hard for 4 days and finally found a buck I'd shot a few years back thanx to the ravens. I tagged it, saved the horns and believe it or not - the backstraps. It was right at freezing or below all that week. The hind quarters weren't any good. I did the right thing in my mind.

[Goldeneye]

Yeah but if that deer died yesterday morning somewhere what good would it do me to find it now?

Only you can answer that. I'd say closeure......notch your tag, take the horns.....tag your deer. However, that is your call just like its your call on how and how long you look for it.

I agree with H20, only you can say when you have closure to this.  It won't take long and you will be able to smell him if he's down.  As Sako said, the scavenger birds will start working the body as well.

[lokidog]

Yeah but if that deer died yesterday morning somewhere what good would it do me to find it now?

Only you can answer that. I'd say closeure......notch your tag, take the horns.....tag your deer. However, that is your call just like its your call on how and how long you look for it.

   Be the ethical thing to do.....   

[singleshot12]

Thanks for all your comments guys Most definitely would notch my tag if i found his carcuss. I searched some more today with even wider circles with no luck. I'm almost positive now I only creased his hide. I'll keep hunting the area and hopefully find him alive again.

[brew]

Sounds like an unethical shot with too small of a bullet.....    but it seemed fitting....   

Hope the deer's Ok and that you just pulled the shot creasing his brisket.

wow...you must know more about the story than the rest of us to call it an "unethical shot"  i always thought ethics were the limitations you placed on yourself and if you exceeded them then it would be "unethical"....nothing in the original post told me the hunter had only shot slugs out to 40 yards accurately so anything beyond that range would be a reach....saying that a 20 ga slug fired from a gun at 60 yards at a "slightly quartering away" deer in the clear is unethical and too small of a bullet is assinine if you don't know all the facts.....sorry to say but it seemed fitting

[singleshot12]

never mind Loki he's just trying to get me back for ribbing him about him shooting hand fed pet deer

[hillbilli]

yeah.. unethical shot with too small a bullet.. I've seen a few deer in my time that took a freezer nap on account of 20ga slugs. It's what i started deer hunting with, and I never had a deer shrug off that .62 caliber, 315gr lead at 1600fps.. and I know I was just shooting whitetails, and usually broadside shots-but I dont recall ever not having an exit wound.. yep- too small a  round indeed.

[lokidog]

OK, y'all.  I've shot plenty of deer with a 20 ga as well.  I was making a point, that I think Singleshot got, regarding postings on other threads about ethics, and that

ethics were the limitations you placed on yourself and if you exceeded them then it would be "unethical

was well said by Brew.

[singleshot12]

Blacktail hunting can drive a guy crazy, I wouldn't reconmend it to anyone. I think this is my last year hunting these sneaky little bastages

[Tiger1358]

Blacktail hunting can drive a guy crazy, I wouldn't reconmend it to anyone. I think this is my last year hunting these sneaky little bastages

That's why it's called hunting. Not everybody can do that.... Don't give up ,a lot of hunters experience that once in a while....just take another 20 gauge slug and go get another blacktail. If you're not confident in your shot, you will fail again and again. Good luck and DON'T GIVE UP!