I think that sometimes some people do just get "lucky." But I heard a saying that I live by. "It takes a lot of skill to get lucky." It usually is the people who put in the most time and effort who seem to be the most lucky.
If all things are equal with the land, (public vs private, same region, no high fences...) than deer don't get to the 160 class by being stupid. Deer that old are very smart so I think that there are alot of variables that might have allowed the other guy to get closer to the 160 that maybe kept it from getting close to you. A few examples are: amount of time and scouting put in, scent control and camo patterns, stand placements, playing the wind, food plots, time of day entering and exiting stands, skill using calls or rattling... There are a ton of variables that might cause your neighbor to get the 160 but not you even though the same deer might be walking through both your properties.
P.S. High fence and 100% guided hunts are no measure of skill at all. Only a measure of a checkbook, so those don't count when discussing skill.
Last edited by phil_pick; 11-17-2010 at 08:58 PM.