i understand. you play with the cards you are dealt. i had some of the same thoughts this year. this was the first year i didn't pick up my gun during rifle season. walked right past it and grabbed my bow threw my orange on and went to the stand.
Then the whole time i'm on the stand i'm thinking. what if that big one we've been waiting for comes in at 60 yards and stops?
Then i began to wonder if i was just worried about the kill and not the hunt. its very possible with that last thought. Its at that point i'm forced back to why i do what I do. There is no place in the world i'd rather be at that point in time. I love it. and just having an encounter with a deer is a good note.
I can honestly say that since I started letting deer walk and not shooting everything that came by I have learned loads more than before. If i dont even think about grabbing my bow i watch the mannerisms more. body language, the way they entered, the time.