When you shoot the wrong buck...

[Life by the Horns]

Don't know if any of you have been here, but a few years ago, I spotted a tremendous buck with a huge body that I immediately knew was the one I wanted to kill. Unfortunately, the next day I spotted a couple of the smaller bucks he had been traveling with and got my wires crossed, thinking the bigger of those two bucks was the one I was after. I memorized that buck's rack configuration, and when I eventually ended got my shot the next day, I didn't even notice that the original big buck I was seen, walked right by the smaller buck I was getting ready to shoot. I remember in my mind thinking that I should do a quick scan of the group of the whole group just to make sure there wasn't perhaps a bigger buck I but I remember thinking "there's no reason, I've been looking at this buck for a couple days and I know exactly which one he is"... Only after I got home and reviewed the footage I realize the big boy had walked right past the buck I ended up shooting and I had screwed up. Just a great lesson to never be overly convinced of what you think you know. Hopefully you guys enjoy it, and don't make the same mistake!

 

[caddiscrazy]

I was spot and stalk bowhunting whitetails a few years back and had a similar thing happen. I watched two bucks dogging a doe all over the opposite mountain from me most of a morning. I was tucked in above a logging road when I heard them running below me. The doe zipped past and I drew my bow. When the first buck (which had been the bigger one) stopped in an opening, I released. Walking up on the basket racked eight I couldn’t believe what had done. I was pretty upset with myself because it was the first of three days I had planned on this piece of public. I then had to tell myself that I shouldn’t feel disappointed looking at an animal that I killed. It was a good lesson in honoring the life I took no matter what the headgear looked like. The pack out gave me plenty of time to talk this out in my head haha.