Thanks for sharing that sir! You painted a very vivid picture for me to see. That had to be a very tough decision to let him walk. I agree with it though.

That's a beautiful thing you wrote.  Only someone that has spent hours upon hours in the woods could fully grasp the meaning of that encounter.  So much more to hunting than putting an animal down.  You have to respect them....and the older ones even more.....the real old ones almost deserve reverence.

I dont believe that your choice to let him walk Barry, rests souly upon you, i like to believe that there might have been some Divine intervention that helped you make that choice.
Through many seasons of out witting all of us bow and gun toting hunters, its possible that the choice of this old guys final bedding spot will be his and his alone, allowed by the Grace of someone far greater than ourselves, as it is well deserved.

Well said.
You made the right choice.
Having a little mercy means you got the right stuff down on the inside.
God bless you!

Who knows the places he went,
the shelter he sought when the heavens did vent.
What joy did he know, what pain laid him low?
- The hunter may never find out -

Awesome story. While reading your post i was reminded of this passage from a poem...

I would have let him walk too. It's odd but the older I get the less I want to kill.

Now that is very cool Barry!  Big antlers are great, and of course we would all love to shoot a buck that carries them, but getting to see an old ancient like you just did is truly more unique.  What a special experience! Looking forward to the video evidence!

Great read...made my son read what you wrote...perfect

Awesome post, you always paint a vivid picture with your words, thanks for sharing.

Thanks for a great story Barry.

Barry,
  Im gonna give you my medical power of attorney. Im afraid my wife may be a little too anxious to pull plug when the time comes.   You have a kind heart. You did good buddy. 8-)

Rod

Wow!Impressive!Hope to se the footage soon.I also think it was the good decision  

Thank you all for these words of encouragement on my decision. It makes me feel I did something right for once. Ha. Gene just left to hunt Kansas. Supposedly he figured out how to download the footage from our camcorders to the computer. When he comes home I'll try to get him to download the pics of the buck so you guys can see him. Another interesting tidbit. My friend who was here last week hunting (the landowner) just called. I described the buck and he thinks he also saw him. He said the old guy came walking in from behind his stand. He said he apparently sensed something wasn't right. He said he then watched the buck do something he'd never seen another whitetail do before. When the old buck went on red alert he just stood still for a very long time... then, he slowly and methodically walked BACKWARDS for thirty yards, never turning his back on the potential danger. How cool is that? No wonder he got so old! bw

wow i've never heard of a deer doing that. the creatures we hunt are absolutely amazing.

I don't think you let old warriors walk out of sorrow, you let them walk out of respect  ......      

So many years observing and studying whitetail and you still learn!! How cool and fascinating is this animal?!  

Wow, great story Barry. It's amazing how these amazing animals can adapt.

Great story UB!!

Barry maybe because it takes one to know one; "As I watched him walk away I honestly got choked up. I'm still not sure I made the decision". Your decision ensures his journey is not over.

Had a similar experience years ago during regular season - which hereabouts was slug shotguns.

I was sitting on a hedgerow and heard shots not too far off.  Minutes later I heard heavy breathing and an old, grey-faced buck with just raggy old flat-spiral spikes walked up panting.  I'm not at all an antler collector and any legal buck usually works for me.  But this deer looked at me - I swear this is true - and I felt he knew he'd made his last mistake and was ready.  Full eye contact, no question.  At 15 yards I just couldn't shoot.  He stood there panting and I could see no signs of a wound.  In that spot it was common that two or three hunters would hit a deer as it ran along the hedgerows; sad to say.  SOP was if you dropped a wounded deer and no one showed up in 20 minutes it was yours.  And you can bet occasionally it got ugly.

Eventually he collected himself and went into the thick milli-flori rose and dogwood behind that hedgerow.

I admit in my early days I was pretty bloodthirsty (brown & down) and that may have been a turning point for me.  I didn't see any glory in killing an animal that was spent.  

Granted, nature has no kind retirement plan for the elderly and infirm, but that day it wasn't going to be me and it wasn't going to be him.