Marcb, as “dopes” go, the advice you got above is the advice you need. I wish I could say I never lost a deer. The one that comes to mind that I fret over was with a rifle, too. My dog found it weeks later a quarter mile away from the shot under a blow down. Your heart is in the right place and that’s the kind of hunter we need. Keep hunting, keep learning. The day we stop learning we’re in big trouble. Sign me, Dope2.