The one that got away

[Robert Rowland]

I bet a lot of you like to fish just like me, so here is a "One that got away story"
My wife, kids, and neighbors had been telling me of a big buck roaming the area for a couple of years, but I could never spot him. Then on opening day of rifle season he showed himself to me twice, but without a shot opportunity. He was truly a rare deer for these parts. Midweek, a guy that lives 2 miles South of me was reading the paper and drinking coffee in his living room when he spotted the big buck in his yard. He snuck out the back door and shot him around the corner of the house. 14 points on a wide and tall rack. I wanted to choke the guy for shooting MY deer. Now I'm just happy for him. I just hope I can see another like him some day.
What is your "One that got away" story?

[msbadger]

This is mine.......
I got true buck fever just once...I had decided to shoot a nice doe and drew on her at ten yrds...waiting for her to take just a couple of more step when I heard a noise to my right....I glanced over to see a 11pt buck with 12 in brow tines! My God it was the biggest deer I'd EVER seen and this is what happened...my knees started to wobble and my breathing was out of control ...then I lost all muscle control and watched in horror as the arrow I was pointing at the doe just left my bow to thankfully fly just under her chin....causing both deer to startle and jump a mere 5yrds....Mind you still in shooting range but I was 16ft up in a tree with my EYEs! shaking back and forth like a cartoon charactor and in my minds eye the top of my head opened up and blue stars were shooting out....I kept repeating to my self look up look up and don't drop that bow...Thank the heavens that I never climb with out strapping in for I was a hairs breath away from passing out.....I saw that buck again...2weeks later in a photo at the local gun shop a guy arrowed him 1 mile from our place ...the brow tines were11.65 inches long.....I went to the doctors and was put on high blood pressure meds...I now get excited but never the fever...of course I've never seen a deer that big again[;)]
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[Sailfish]

Mine is a fish story.
We were fishing a small tourny in the Keys in late May.
Grand prize was a week stay at a house in the Keys with direct access to the ocean.
 
Seas were a solid 6' but rollers with 6 second period. Easy enough to fish, just be careful if you have to turn around.
 
We're blind trolling getting into a few small schoolies here and there. I always keep a line waaaaaaay back with the rod above my head in the rocket launcher.
 
We're trolling a long time with no action, just trying to keep the boat heading into the waves correctly.
I happen to look up at my "long" rod, and I am almost being spooled!!!!! I had 350 yards of power pro, with 150 of mono backing, and I was into the mono! I forgot to put the "clicker" on (mistake number 1), so I never heard it.
 
I grabbed the rod, had my friend take wheel. I couldn't gain any line on him. I tightened the drag some (2nd mistake), he was still taking line! I couldn't run the boat and quarter him because of the waves, so we tried to ease in reverse not a wise decision on a 23' CC, but it was working.
 
After 10 minutes of this ,and another tightening of the drag (mistake3 ) I finally see color at about 50 yards!. It's a slob of a bull dolphin(easily a 50#) with a huge cow right alongside of him.
My buddy says "There's color what is it!???!?!" I said cockily, "That right there is a week in the Keys!" (final mistake).
 
The boat went down into a swell and then up a wave which momentarily caused the line to go slack, for a mere 1/2 second.
 
The fish didn't even rush to get away, they just slowly swam off along with my once in a lifetime mount.

[EatDeer]

It happens to the best of us...they always see me trying to get that second arrow nocked! I've had a load of tom turkeys get away by the hair of thier chinny chin chins! The thing to remember is your learning every time it happens, and thier is always another big one next year to taunt you! Unless a 12 yearold girl down the road connects on  that 165" P&Y buck you missed your chance at![:(]

[roadkilldk]

My story goes like this,  It was about 6 years ago, before I even hunted myself (because my parents didn't want me to hunt yet) so I would go along with a friend (steve) and sit in the stand with him.  It was opening weekend and sunday morning we had gotten a yearling buck out of an unkept stand.  We found the buck and dressed it back at the farm, registered it, and hung it to cool in the shed.  Then we grabbed a snack and it was back to the same stand for the remainder of the evening.  We got back out into the stand on an execptionally warm day for november in minnesota.  The stand was unkept to say the least, it had a few 2 x 4's nailed in for steps, and 2' by 3' platform to sit on with one big pole barn nail in the center which used to hold the seat on. The seat was missing so my buddy just sat on the platform and I was left to sit on a large branch that went out from the main tree trunk slightly above my friend.  Leaving my feet to just dangle there. 
        It was about an hour before dark when I heard what I thought was a deer approaching from the direction I was facing, I told my buddy to get ready because I thought a deer was coming, so he's waiting and watching me because it is coming directly behind the trunk he's leaning against so he can't see that way.  I see the deer and its the biggest buck I've ever seen in the wild (still to this day) I wisper to my buddy that its a big buck coming right for us.  Within seconds it is practally right on us and I'm bracing for the KA-BOOOM of my friends 30-30........nothing!  All of a sudden the buck stopped and laid down 20 yards from our stand, and it was really nervous looking.  So I'm sitting on this branch trying to be as still a possible, felt like my legs were just a waving. It knew something wasn't right and was looking all around, then just a few seconds later it bolted out of there never to be seen again!! 
           It turned out that my friend had is scope set on 9 power yet from this morning and with his buck fever he couldn't find him in the scope to make a shot!  To this day it still bothers me and especially Steve whenever the story is brought up!

[DeerCamp]

my story is about a buck that i named "Lucky." I had found some new state land to hunt a few years ago and I just baught a new trail camera. I put it out in 2 different spots, one had a spike on it while the other had a bunch of does and 5 different bucks. One was a monster year and a half 8pt that had a weird patch on him. I was hunting with a bow on the 2nd day of the hunt when lucky came into view with a a weird looking 5pt.  I was only 12ft off ground in a ladder stand, when i saw both bucks. I was unable to drawl my bow back to fire off a shot due to buck feaver. I watched both bucks eat at my pile and then walk away after 10 mins. I was kicking myself for not being able to pull back my bow. May I had this was the biggest buck i ever seen. 2 days later went by and I saw lucky stick his head out from some brush to take a look around. After he went back i stood up and got ready, once again he came in with the 5pt and were eatting. I waitied till both deer heads where down focused on the corn to drawl back and then all of the sudden at half drawl the 5pt throws his head up see's me and darts. the 8pt stood there half foolded and took off, i knew it was a robbin hood shot and i shot a rushed shot. the arrow flew just inches over his back. I was sickend.. 2 years later im hunting the same state land about a 1/4 mile away from that stand when out of a thicket lucky apperd. I knew it was him by a spot he had on his chest and as well as the rack looking the same just 2 more points and mass like none other. im guessing he woulda scored high 140's low 150's by now. I had no shot at lucky that day, then 2 days later again he came into a grunt call but wouldnt come in close enough for a shot (keep in mind, this monster 10pt named Lucky was the 1st buck I have EVER called in with a deer call.) thats the last i have heard of lucky... I dont know if hes out there still as its been 2 years since i last saw him and this year would make him 5 1/2 years old.. thats an old buck for state land.. but i havent heard of a buck being taken like that out there so he still could be out there.. i just couldnt imagen what hed look like now. deffently a pope and young buck and deffently the biggest buck ive ever seen... his picture hangs on my wall of my room and i look at it every day and just cant help but imagin what he could look like if hes still a live....

so heres to you Lucky, for keeping me in the stand all those hours... after all you got the name for a reason.

[mag30079]

It was my second year deer hunting. I was lucky enough to have got my first deer my first year out, (got 2 deer my first year, small buck and a doe). It was the first day of gun season and kind of warm for the Michigan gun season. It was about a half hour before sun up as my father in law and I were walking in the woods. We were lucky to get to hunt a very large military base. I just got to a good spot under a cedar tree and sat down under it. This year I thought I'd try out a deer call (true talker). Right at sun up I grunted 4-5 times and heard something running right to me. It was the biggest buck I have ever seen and still to this day. He had to be at least 200lbs and 10 point plus. He charged at me with his rack down and I was shaking so bad I got one shot off from my 12 gage. He ran to my father in law and he got a shot and missed like I did. We talk about that deer every year.