Final part- Nov. 7, 2007 I'm sitting in the same stand Ben missed the monster in and watching several small bucks chase does all around me. All of a sudden I hear this grunt and look right to see a pig chasing a doe right at my opening. He chased that doe for over an hour and a half but would not present me a good shot. Not wanting to wound this beast, or any other deer, I even passed on a 12 yard shot while he walked past me. 1998 played over in my head all over again. The deer walked off without a shot. 11-8-07-due to south winds I had to hunt the stand up the hill from the one I saw the buck at. About 0845 I sat with binos in hand and watched the massive buck walk right under that bottom stand and stop in my opening. That evening I was able to hunt that bottom stand and at about 1645 a doe came from the thicket. I got ready and heard the familiar grunt. Here comes my big buck. After a short standoff with the doe, the buck stopped broadside at about 16 yards. When he looked downhill I turned and instincts set in. The arrow shot true and everything felt good when that cedar slammed into his ribs. I knew this was a good shot but no blood to find. We decided that without an exit wound we better let him go until morning. The longest night of my life. The next morning we found my deer within 150 yards of the stand. It wasn't the deer that most excited me. It was the fact that 3 of my buddies were with me to experience my best day afield. I don't care if I ever get another buck on the wall.This was the first deer I shot at with traditional equipment since that 1998 miss.
Topic: 180 miss, here's my story (Read 1421 times)
