Yes. If you saw the buck you were after, and you did not kill it, that can be considered a failure.

If you wanted to kill a 150 or better and you did not do it, that can be a failure.It is.

I think what you are saying is when asked "So did you do any good this season" you hate it when they tell you about all of the pass-ups etc etc and why dontthey just say, "No, but there is next season, and he is still out there". Man, that is boring. We alll like stories.