There is no comparison for me.Killing a monster buck is better than anything.Jumping monster bucks is the absolute worst.Not being able to get a shot off or even point my rifle because of safety reasons is not a big deal to me, neither is passing them up. I only point me gun at an animal I want to kill, have proper shot placement on, and it is safe to do so.Over the years I have seen only a few walking through timber that would not offer me a clear shot on the vitals and didn't even raise my gun. Those gave me a sick feeling about not getting them,but that's not passing up, that's just wanting to shoot them, but knowing better.My heart sinks, but I know I did the right thing.
The one that still hurts is the one monster I blew my knee out going after.After I twisted my ankle crossing a creek I still pushed after it.
Was maybe 500 yrds away from it and I had to let it walk cause I
couldn't go any further.I had 2 mountains to climb to get back to camp luckily I had tensor bandages on me and taped it up.I hunted the next couple of days but couldn't get back to that mountain I was limited to where I could go.But it was the climb down that mountain with all my gear on wrecked my knee.It took some time and plenty of physio to heal.That one I wish I had back. I will never forget that one walking away.I know I did the right thing, but I honestly could have cared less about getting another monster if I got that one, cause I highly doubt I will ever see an animal with that size of a rack again in
my life.