Chris,
I too have shot at deer and they haven't dropped immediately - I have asked this question on many occasion and have come to the conclusion that:
1) Most deer will run after a shot in the boiler room, and this can easily be 100 yds, and mostly will run in the direction they are pointing. If their adrenalin is up - rutting or are alert to your presence they almost certainly will run.
2) With the above in mind I only take shots at beasts that are in the open. If close to cover then make sure they are facing away. Clearly mark in you minds eye where the beast is standing.
3) make sure there is solid backstop for you shot, also consider the surroundings - can you take a safe shot if need to shoot again.
4) A reload should be part of your firing sequence, and when practicing go bang, reload. - 22rf and rabbits is very good practice.
5) If you have any doubt as to your bullet strike, shoot again immediately. To be honest unless the beast is obviously going down, shoot again. As to not being able to see bullet strike, most rifles have enough recoil that you can't see the bullet strike, but if you have a lowish power scope (6x max) you can see through the scope the reaction of the animal. Its for this reason I don't like powerful scopes - yes you can make your shot slightly more accurate, but you can't see what the animal does with scope cranked up to 10 or 12 power.
6) After the shot, or follow up shot - do nothing for at least ten to 15 minutes. But clearly mark again where the beast was standing. If the beast is wounded and you move too early you run a big risk of pushing it on again.
7) I don't have a dog and my tactics for follow up are:
a) before moving study the ground carefully - in which direction did the beast run, are there any clear patches of cover.
b) mark my firing position with a stick, handkerchief or whatever - useful if you have to retrace you steps.
c) stalk quietly towards where the beast was standing. Mark the position where he was standing.
d) before crushing everything with your size tens carefully scan the surrounding area. Look for ay hair, droplets of blood etc - usually not ver much.
e) now to tracking - look for any signs of grass being knocked aside aong the line in which you think the deer took. If you get down low you often can see this.
f) move slowly from sign to sign. If it is well hit, the blood trail starts after 20 yards and gets heavier. I have taken 20 minutes to cover a few yards.
g) If the beast has gone into a thick piece of cover, I tend to circle around it looking for any sign of it coming out the other side.
If it has gone into a thick piece of cover and obvioulsy not come out the other side, mark the entry point and then back away and leave it for another half hour at least.
Chances are the deer is stone dead and actually died very quickly after the shot. If it is lieing in there wounded you don't want to push it out as you will risk never finding it and it is probably more humane to leave it quietly to stiffen up.
Quietly go into the thick stuff and retrieve your deer.