Morning, Mudman,
I've got exactly the same problem and have given up trying to follow blood trails because of it.
What type of deer do you stalk and what type of ground are they on?
I stalk mainly roe in conifer plantations and if they don't drop on the spot it can time consuming finding them.
After waiting 5 minutes or so and on the basis I cant see the deer lying, I go to where it was was when I fired. I check for a hit mark by looking for hair - not a problem if the roe was still in its winter coat.
If I can't see obvious signs of blood where the hair is, I wipe my hand across the grass to try and find the blood to enable me to find if it's lung shot or whatever.
If I have hit it I then try and carry out a systematic search of the area, bearing in mind the followoing points which a friend who has shot well over a thousand roe gave me to try and help me recover shot deer.
1. Usually a shot roe will run downhill rather than uphill.
2. A shot roe will usually take the line of least resistance bearing in mind its height, not yours.
3 Sometimes it is possible to follow the path the deer took through the trees by the hair snagged on the low branches but not always.
If I know I've hit the deer I don't leave till I find it no matter how long it takes and will come back in the morning if necessary.
That 's one of the reasons I prefer stalking in the morning. I don't have to worry about failling light.
If you think you have only wounded the deer and know a follow up with a dog is needed then don't mess up the trail for the dog by tramping all over it.
I did look at electronic game finders (a different post on this forum) to try and get round the problem but after surfing the net found that even the most up to date version got mixed reviews so have put on hold my next toy purchase.
Nick