Reasonable effort was not made to keep the animal in edible condition.

Something needs to be done on this forum with the rude azz people. This is supposed to be a friendly place and for the most part it's not.

Sorry, but that was a terrible decision to not go look for him an hour or 2 afterwards. You don't push a deer that is questionably hit & runs off. A deer that you have put a couple of good shots into & you know is hit good, you always go look for it after a few hours. Then if you don't find it, you call in trackers. Too bad your lazy-[censored] hunting buddies wouldn't help you go look for him, but the responsibility is all on you.

What you don't do is exactly what you did.

1). After the shot, let him lay there 30/45 minutes or longer, with your rifle ready to shoot again
2). Load more than 2 rounds in your dang rifle
3). Go look for the damned deer
4). Have the phone number to reputable trackers handy, & use it in these circumstances

I would like to know what caliber/load/bullet your using. If it's .223 or other marginal set up, that makes you even more wrong, IMO.

Hunters who did what you did, don't deserve to shoot another deer
You just wasted a good deer. Be glad your not on my lease, or you'd be hunting a new place immediately.