This has probably been said already but I thought I'd chime in.

Would of you taken the frontal? Did I do the right thing? First question...yes. Second question...yes.

I'm not an old hunter, but I've been hunting 18 years. Every year I get better. Every year I see more deer. And every year I get a little less jittery when they do come around. You never know when the monster will walk by. Will you be ready? Will the situaiton be right? Practice, practice practice. As others have suggested, shoot that gun (shoot all of your guns) until it is an extension of yourself.Practice shootingfrom your stand. Know your yardage. Know your blind spots. Practice shooting off hand. The frontal shot has more tissue to penetrate but the vitals are all there behind the brisket. Practice so the next time you see that buck (and he's not giving you another option) you can just pull and fire like an instinct.

The majority of my hunting life (16/18 years)I've been a poor hunter. I used to shoot my gunthe month before the season to check my sights and then it was hunting season, then it went into the case for 11 months. I've missed many deer due to anxiety. I've missed others because I wasn't ready for when they arirved. I've even been woken up by deer waking by. I share this because since getting a muzzleloader everything changed for me. I go to the range often. I know what it's capable of and not capable of. I no longer flinch when I shoot because I know what to expect. And after all of this practice I cannot stomach the thought of sleeping in my stand.

But I missed a chance at a buck two weeks ago for similar reasons as yours. I turned my head in my stand to see a buck walking straight towards me at 50 yards. He busted me when I turned my head but eventually he put his head back down on the trail.I'm not yet very comfortable shooting off hand, especially with buck fever,so I tried to use my railing as a rest. This took some maneuvering and by the time I got my eye to the scope he was gone. In this case he was giving me that same frontal option. Did I do the right thing? I say yes, because I'm not comfortable off hand with a buck at 50 yards when there's another option (like a rest). But I learned a valuable lesson. Back to the range, without the sandbags. And hopefully next time I'm in that sort of situation I am better prepared for it. I'm willing to bet that the next time you see a buck under that apple tree you'll be better prepared as well. Tom