That deer may not die, or it may just take a long while for him to go septic. That looks like liver blood on the arrow, and you may have just clipped it. The liver will bleed like crazy even if its just nicked.

If the dogs weren't interested/successful, I'd be really surprised if he is dead in that general area. I don't know how you feel about it, but I've found one where all I got were the antlers, and I when I did, I really wished that the buck had just lived or I had missed. Anyway, good luck and I hope you get the outcome that you're hoping for.


"The kill is the satisfying, indeed essential, conclusion to a successful hunt. But, I take no pleasure in the act itself. One does not hunt in order to kill, but kills in order to have hunted. - Finn Aagard