It happens. About 4 years ago I killed one that came in late. It was a single deer just before legal shooting hours were over in thick woods. I knew it was a deer and assumed it to be the 8 pointer I had seen about 45 minutes earlier. It dropped in it' s tracks and turned out to be a 75 pound button buck. I hated that I had killed it but that was some of the best meat I' ve ever had.