At least you had the encounter. Many people are lucky to see a deer like that on the hoof.
Awesome sequence of pictures Steve! Good killed a nice buck buddy! Hopefully he makes it and you can hunt him next year.
Yep!Like my dad always told me, never pass a deer on the first day that you wouldn't pass on the last day. So it sounds like you took one last week that you wouldn't have let walk later in the season. Now you've got one to set sights on for next year.
Be happy to have had the encounter, I'm sure you are. I find the encounters to be just as much of a rush as killing one.