Ok I shoot a doe. Its a bad hit. I wait an hour, its dark and I look an hour I find some blood but no deer. I decide to return tomorrow.
I'm gonna hunt till 10 am then look for the doe unless I shoot another deer. Is this right to you guys ? Or do I owe it to the deer I already have shot to find it ? What say you ?

I'd be looking at first light

You should always make an attempt to recover the animal. The problem we have down here with this warm weather is if you let one lay over night the meat will be ruined. This leads a lot of folks to just blow off looking for a doe because there's no rack and the meat is no good.

Personally, if there's a chance I can recover the doe and save the meat, I'd start looking at daylight. If I know the meat is ruined, I will probably hunt and look afterwards even if I shoot another.

I don't think there is ever a reason not to make a concerted effort to find a deer you shot. What difference does it make if you shoot another deer the next morning? You have 2 to track instead of one?

I'd personally look as soon as I got up for the doe...jlbuc does make a good point only if it is cold enough for the meat not to waste, but if it's as warm as it's been, the meat would spoil if I hunted then looked

^^

She could still be alive when/if you find her

I always put in as much effort as I can looking. Last year hiked around a mile plus radius looking for a doe. With no luck and very little blood after a while and about 4 hrs+ of looking we called it. Yet I went back first light looking for another 2 hours just to double check.

My theory is I put in a lot of time hunting so I can put in that time also looking for the animal.

I had someone call and want me to come track a marginally shot buck late one morning. They said that they had shot it around 9:45 and this was around noon. I told them I would be glad to come out and track it but I wanted to give it a few hours first and track it that afternoon. I told them if we didn’t give it a little time then we would likely just jump the deer alive and run it on someone’s else’s property, etc…..They said they needed me to come out right then because they wanted to get back in the stand and hunt that afternoon. I said no and they ended up just pretty much saying nevermind since I wouldn’t come out right then. That seemed kind of stoopid and wrong to me to be more concerned about trying to shoot another one rather than dealing with the one you’ve already wounded. It is what is though I guess.

The reason I posted this is because a guy shot a doe and only searched an hour. He intended to hunt the next morning then look. I think I owe it to the animal not to waste it. Everytime I have lost one it tore me up.(DAMN MECHANICALS) If he hits another with a marginal shot he will have two he can't find. A good bowhunter seaches hard for EVERY deer. yeah sometimes its not possible. They jump into water and sink or leave your property. We can't control everything. You just have to make the best shot you can and give them time to bleed out. Hunt Safe

I read all responses to threads to see how the tone of conversation is going, with that said, you said what I wanted to say, but with one exception "A good hunter searches" not just a bowhunter.