It's not about size. (Completely...) It's about the story. Moe's story grew to the level I was at in 2008 with Deuce, and then some this summer. When I first started bowhunting, the goal was a wall full of 130's and up. Then it evolved to the chase for several OBB caliber deer. With Deuce, it took a turn down the road of building a story-line with a deer and taking the story from Day 1, to the taxidermist. Moe rekindled that flame after last season, and then threw gas on the fire this summer. I decided after the hunt for Deuce that I would give up the wall full of respectable "happen chance" deer, for a much smaller wall filled with a few deer that had stories that would stand the test of time.
I appreciate the great advice offered herein. What is running through my head is October 28th, November 14th, and November 15th of 2008. The 28th, I get a pic of Deuce under a stand an hour after last light after two months of nothing. I hunted hard and let the big 10 go on the 14th, a deer I would have shot any other time if it had not been for Deuce. The next night, I find out he had been dead since Halloween. I can't help but feel like I'm headed down the same path...