Unfortunately, I have had animals that I did not recover. I did however try as hard as humanly possible to find them. Even then, it made me sick to my stomach and I felt terrible. Losing an animal that you know you have hit fatally is a terrible thing and something I try very hard to avoid.
A few years ago, I made what I thought was a good shot on a doe. I followed the sparse blood trail for a while and since it was evening, I had to make the decision to continue trailing the animal and possibly risk pushing her further or to let her lay down and recover her in the morning. I went with option A and upon picking up the trail in the morning, I found her about a 100 yards away. Sadly, the coyotes had done got to her and had cleaned the back half of the carcass to the bone. I felt bad about not forging on ahead the previous evening. Sometimes things happen. Not following up and trying hard to recover the animal is not one of them.
Jeff
A few years ago, I made what I thought was a good shot on a doe. I followed the sparse blood trail for a while and since it was evening, I had to make the decision to continue trailing the animal and possibly risk pushing her further or to let her lay down and recover her in the morning. I went with option A and upon picking up the trail in the morning, I found her about a 100 yards away. Sadly, the coyotes had done got to her and had cleaned the back half of the carcass to the bone. I felt bad about not forging on ahead the previous evening. Sometimes things happen. Not following up and trying hard to recover the animal is not one of them.
Jeff