he got bigger after i let him walk, now im sick!!

MtnOyster

WKR
Joined
May 2, 2017
Messages
388
Location
Kentucky
man...............ive put several deer in the freezer over the years and I'm pretty good at judging one, age, rack score, etc, etc been putting em down with a string and stick now for over 2 decades but yesterday evening the buck I been hunting gave me a short opportunity at 25 yds perfectly broadside and I let him walk................................man did I screw up!! from the side (his right ) he just didn't look all that great, rack didn't look like it came forward very far looked like he had good mass and good height but after he got out further and got turned where I could actually see both sides I wanted to take my harness and wrap around my neck and jump!! he was a brute with a drop tine on his left side prolly 8 inches long with a kicker off of it I couldn't see when broadside earlier and this deers mass was enough to make you sick!! let this be a lesson kids, even veterans like myself can screw up judging one on the hoof every now and then and with one day left to go before the opening morning of gun season gonna be interesting to see if I get another chance this evening, I watched him rub 2 trees break branches off one and make 2 scrapes around the bean field I hunted yesterday he kinda gave chase to a doe but not much, hopefully he'll be back this afternoon. will post pics if he shows up.
 

Vids

WKR
Joined
Jul 3, 2012
Messages
593
Location
Littleton, CO
Been there, done that. Not on something that nice, but usually with letting smaller bucks go early in the hunt and then getting skunked. You can't beat yourself up too bad, if it doesn't feel right at the time I don't pull the trigger. Sometimes that bites you in the ass, sometimes it works out perfectly. Hopefully you get another crack at him.
 
Joined
Dec 28, 2015
Messages
848
Been there. Let one walk right at dark a few years ago during muzzleloader. Light was fading and I could tell he was tall but couldn't get a good read on his mass or beams. I only had one tag left and still had 1 month to hunt so I let him go. Buddy shot him two days later, ended up being a 135" buck!
 
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MtnOyster

MtnOyster

WKR
Joined
May 2, 2017
Messages
388
Location
Kentucky
didn't get to go this evening..................................hope one of my kids gets him in the morning. opening day of gun season.
 
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