robbcayman, Just because you didn't kill him doesn't mean you made a mistake of any kind. You have to have luck to kill a deer with a bow. Getting 60 yards from a mature buck is a feat on its own. Killing one is a near improbability. That is why it is so satisfying when it all actually comes together. You'll get there. Just know that you will have many more encounters like that than ones where you actually kill the buck. And after years and years, you will look back at those encounters just as fondly as the kills. That is what makes one a bowhunter in the end.