If you can't find the game, both before and after the shot(s), it doesn't matter what you carry.
My deer rifles run from an iron-sighted savage 99 30/30 that I can barely squeeze 3 MOA out of, to Remington and Kimber scoped bolt actions that can go sub 1 MOA with right ammo. Been hunting whitetails for 40 yrs and never missed because of the rifle/sights.
I don't even hunt with the most accurate loads out of my .308 Kimber Montana. It likes 150 gr stuff the best, but I prefer to hunt with 165 gr. So I give up .75 MOA for about 1.5 MOA. The deer haven't noticed, but I get better blood trails.
Most of my hunting is in the western adirondacks that has been periodically logged from the 1800s right up to today, so everything from 100 yr old plus mature forest to fresh cut areas, with every stage of brushy re-growth in between. No 500 yd shots! Not very many 100 yd shots.
I do miss reliable hunting season snow. Used to be a whole lot easier to see and track deer when you had a little fresh snow every now and then. But a good blood trail on dry leaves will work.
