I was wondering if anyone else has ever regretted killing a certain deer, and why? Last year onOct 10,right at dark I saw this buck approach, and I thought his tines were much longer than they were, so I shot him.He ran maybe 20 yrds into the thicket and died. I waited maybe 15 mins then went and found him. It was a perfect double lunger, I was happy with that, but I wasn't happy with the size of his rack. I thought he was a good bit bigger than he really was![:@]
As soon as I saw him I said to myself, this is what you just gave up your whole Pabuck season/tag for. Honestly, I was mad as hell at myself for shooting this buck! It was only Oct 10th, and the rut was still 2-3 weeks away! I knew I'd see a much better onein the next two weeks without a doubt! It was a done deal though!! I was thinking of all the time I'd miss sitting in my stand waiting for a "good" buck to come by. But no, I was done buck hunting for the year already. I was honestly a bit depressedabout it. Lesson learned, the hard way!
Although I was proud of the bowkill itself, I learned acouple ofgood lessons from this. The main one being, don't judge a buckwhenyou haveless than proper light, morning or evening. It was a long deer season because of this![&o]
Anyway, do any of you guys have any similar regets as far as taking a deer you wish you didn't?

I can see where a seasoned hunter like yourself would feel that way, but hey...any deer with a bow is a success and a buck so much the better. I guess we're lucky here in MD that we can get 2 bucks so it may not have been so much of a disappointment.
Question: Did you see better bucks during the rest of the season? Anything you'd be satisfied with?

Back in 2006 I killed a button buck and I have regretted that. I would like to have that one back if I could.

Yes I regret shooting the 1st buck to come by for far too many years.It was such ahard habit to break.What was worst was passing on a buck, only to panic and shoot it the 2nd time around.[&:][:@]

Im not a trophy hunter, and I feel blessed with any deer. But I understand that for someone who has taken a lot of big deer, their priorities change down the road. Everyone is a different kind of hunter and thats ok

Yes, I saw a couple that were bigger (not what I really wanted), but I really didn't spend as much time in the woods as I would have if I was still waiting for a buck. I just put a little time in to get another doe.

Most of the books on your desk, are on my desk!

Even the 1973 edition of WHITETAIL (Fundamentalsand Fine Points for the Hunter) by George Mattis? That was one of my very first deer hunting books. It even has a sewn cover.

Yeh, I shot a 6 pt opening day at day break one year and not 1 hr later a 120-125" 8 pt came in at 40 yds and saw the 6 pt laying dead and he freaked out and took off!!

That and also another one of my favorites is that one you have there on Trout Fishing by Joe Brooks.