Thanksgiving morning we received about 3-4" of snow. It was now the sixth day of our rifle season. My time on stand was not producing the sightings I had hoped it would. So I decided to try and make something out of nothing. I planned on finding a good track to follow. With the fresh snow, I traveled to one of my favorite shed hunting spots and started to search for a fresh track. About ten minutes into my hike a doe jumped out. Not far behind her was a very nice buck, followed by another doe. I had my scope cranked down to 4 power so it didn't take long to find the buck in my sights. First shot was high, and zinged the top portion of the base of the neck. I opened up the bolt and loaded a second shell. My next shot was a clear miss. Three seconds later, the buck was gone and back onto private property. Tracked him for a mile as a crow flies (according to the plat book). Very few drops of blood. Finally came upon a bed three hours later, and found just drops of blood where the base of the neck would be. I had always liked my chances of shooting any buck that dared to come into view during shooting hours during rifle season. I have since been humbled and realized that offhand shots at moving deer are not as "easy" as I had thought. If I don't get him with muzzleloader, then maybe next year. The notch in his right ear should be recognizeable.