Mine was not a missed shot, but a missed opportunity. My camp had not had luck on our opening day of rifle deer season for years, so we really do not take it real serious. We just get out and sit, listen to where the shooting is so we know where the pressure is the first few days. Its been that way for years. Our season gets better after every day passes. I think it was 2015, and I had my plan on where I was going to go, a saddle on top of a mountain ridge where I might catch some deer crossing so I at least can see where they will be going after moved by the pressure. I get there a little later than I planned, and sure enough, someone is there. I figure no big deal, its opening day, the worst day of the season for us. I walk back to the next saddle and drop off the ridge to the first bench. Its wide open woods but I'm comfortable. I am sitting for about 2 hours, and haven't seen a thing, but the sun is just starting to light my bench up. I see a few deer come over the ridge onto my bench. The sun is blinding looking through the scope but I can tell they are 2 doe. After a few minutes of them standing still, they start to move in my direction and I scope them again. One doe comes through my scope, followed by the other at about 200 yards heading in my direction. I am about to put the rifle down when I see a huge rack enter my scope. The biggest buck I have ever seen in those mountains is 3rd in line and heading right for me! I thought to myself this is perfect, I can see far in both directions and they are just slow trotting, They will stop at some point and look back, like they always do. I had the buck in my scope the entire time they crossed my bench. They crossed in front of me at approximately 50 yards, slow trot, wide open woods. I watched them continue to trot until they were out of range. I was perfectly concealed, had a solid rest on a deadfall, know I could of made the shot, but wanted them to stop. I didn't even try to grunt to make them stop. I thought it was a sure thing. I was disgusted with myself, but a few hours later I seen movement in the same direction. Looked through scope, 2 calf elk. I thought it was neat to see them and was watching them approach when I caught movement behind them. Here came another legal buck behind the elk. This one did what I expected, stopped perfectly broadside at 100 yards. I was gonna pass him up since it was opening day and he wasn't a big buck, but I had a new rifle and wanted to test it out. I made the shot and he was nicer than I thought, a perfect 8 point, but the big one that got away still haunts me to this day. My buck was the first opening day buck for our camp in 14 years and since then we have got one or two every year since.
haha. I ended up running up the hill and put one through his lungs at about 200 yards (good thing Muleys stop and look back sometimes 
the taxidermist scored it for fun and told me it went 201” non-typical......almost a shot that would haunt me, but it’s still embarrassing to tell people I missed at 40 yards with a rifle
