Thanks WPR. I also have never found dead deer not recovered by hunters. I'm sure it does happen, but like you said, no where NEAR what groups like PETA try to say. But trith is, if they were honest, people would say "So? Not 100% of shots can be perfect" and PETA would not get their desired results. So they lie.
Hunters pay for the vast majority of expenses the Department of Natural Resources has. We pay for land to be left as "natural" for animals. We pay for water and marshes for waterfowl. We pay for everything! Yet all we ask is for the right to hunt for all the money we pay. If i sat down and figured out what that venison cost me per pound, i'd cry! But it's the whole expierience. Not just the killing of an animal. I didn't get a deer last year. Never even took a shot. But i had a great time! I spent 40 hours out in the woods. Saw 4 deer the whole time. My brother in law was between me and 2 of them. So i never raised my rifle. 2 were on the dead run and i only saw them for about 2 seconds. Never got to raise my rifle. But it was fun being out there, with the possibility at least.
Non hunters will probably not understand that.