Corey - I've been in the same situation as you. And like you did not take the shot when I had the chance. In my case I passed on one of the largest bucks I had ever seen in the wild. I had a monster buck come in. I was in my stand, nice and warm. I had my shooting sticks with me and the rifle in them.I wasnot nervous, excited, (well maybe a little), and new I could make the shot. The problem was, all I could see was his head because he was on the other side of a brush pile. I had my Renegade .54 caliber loaded with a roundball trained on his head, and when he turned to the side a little I was going to shoot him through his ears. Then I got worried I'd knock that monster rack off and I wanted this one on the wall. So I waited... and waited... and waited. Finally he turned around and putting his back to a large Balsam tree walked off and over the hill.

It was one of those cases where I wanted a wall hanger instead of a freezer full of meat. I later talked to my friend who is a taxidermist and he told me, "I could have put the horns back on him for you. Next time shoot him through the ears." Although I thought about that shot many times and I still think I did the right thing.