The year was 2000 ..... Kansas whitetail hunting. I watched a 160 class 10 pointer for over 2 hours in a thicket 40 yards away. At dark, he came in on a scrape line and was at one point 25 yards, quartering to me. I knew I'd get a better shot and waited .... and a frisky doe ran through and back into the thicket he went. []

In retrospect, I should have punched that bad boy through both lungs - I knew I could make the shot but madea critical error and hesitated. I looked a gift fish in the mouth and didn't take it - lesson learned on the larget whitetail I've ever had within shooting distance