This Year's Big Buck
This buck was taken by my brother-in-law. He measured 178 B&C. I blew an opportunity to shoot him earlier in the day, because I was too busy focussing on three does. I had already passed on close to two dozen does and 8-point bucks, looking for the big boy on opening day. For some unknown reason, I got a severe case of brain damage and raised my rifle to get a better look at the last doe, rather than waiting patiently for the big buck to follow. A typical rookie hunting mistake, but this is after 44 years of hunting experience. No excuses. When I finally saw the buck, he was off to my right. He saw me first, while I was preoccupied with the does, wheeled around and was gone before I could swing the rifle to bear. I was sick about it, but I'm glad my brother-in-law got him. Oh, well. It's like my dad said, "Don't worry about it. You can't shoot 'em all."