I've lost a few coyotes. It always bothered me to loose one but if you shoot at game sooner or later shots go wrong. Like any bird hunter I know I've lost bird, both upland and waterfowl, despite concerted efforts to retrieve them.
The only big game I think I lost was a mule deer buck. I was considerably younger and my wife and I felt under the gun to fill our tags for the meat. I took a last day of the season low percentage long shot on a buck far too far away. He kicked at the shot and ran off. I don't know to this day if I shot under him or if I hit him. I scoured the area for blood or hair. I never found blood or hair. He ran off apparently uninjured. I played that shot over and over in my mind and still don't know if I hit him but concerned that I might have.
We didn't fill our tags that year and we still made it through the winter just fine. Lot of hamburger that year. I did make the personal decision to limit my shots at unwounded game to 300 yards. I've kept that personal limit for the last 20 years and haven't lost any big game, or coyotes, since.
Mart
