IMO this is a great example of poor shot placement. A larger caliber may have gotten you a smidgen more meat and bone, but probably nothing more. Heart lung broadside or quartering away and patience waiting for that shot is the way to go.

hunt mornings/midday; skip evening hunts. hard to find what you can't see.

good advice for any deer ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ i always have a watch with me to keep up with the time. 30 minutes can
seem like 3 hours after you've shot a deer. plus, something else shootable may show up in the interim

^ ^ ^ ^ also i'd rather skin & butcher during the daylight hours. the few i've
done at night always turn out more raggedy than the daylight butchered animals

I have killed many a deer with a 243. Probably more lucky than good but I have never lost a deer with that gun. I have heard a bunch of horror story's with big guns. Simply said shot placement is very vital. I have list deer with different guns before. Maybe little bit complacent about my shot with a bigger caliber?

Shoot them with a .50 cal and apparently if you miss you will still kill them.

Focus on double lung and they will not go far. I've seen shoulder shot deer go for a half mile with almost no blood and have to be finished off. If you miss the spine and they still have 1 good shoulder, they can go a long ways. A double lung shot deer isn't going far, and you won't waste any of that delicious shoulder roast.

Don't be afraid to get down low to the ground when looking.

Have seen a bunch of deer die in the briars in Louisiana. Sometimes while standing up you can't see what is on the ground 5 ft from you. Actually lay down and look under the briars and often times you can see 10-20 yards. Although no clue what your cover looks like.

But like someone else mentioned above if it is THAT thick, you may not find blood on the ground, look a few feet off the ground. Range where they went into the brush from your blind before you get down. Then when you are where you think the deer was, range the blind.