I'm notorious for not slinging lead. When you hear me shoot you can just about count on there being a dead deer on the ground and two or three shots spaced apart usually means two or three dead deer. I won't take a shot in hopes that I connect . . . . . . . I don't advocate just slinging lead but I see nothing wrong with firing if you're confident of the shot.

I have, regrettably so. This was a shot that should have been taken, but I wanted the "perfect" broadside shot and waited too late. This was rifle season btw . . . . . Makes me sick every time I think about it. I have to mentally tell myself that, if I decide to take a certain buck, to take the first good shot presented . . . . . .

Agree.

This is just part of the learning process.
We're all going to make mistakes, but may we strive not to make bigger ones as we learn both from our own as well as the mistakes of others. Each of us doesn't have to make all the same mistakes. Sometimes "smarter" to learn from the mistakes of others.

Would add, if the buck is getting away before you can take that high-probability shot, don't take a "Hail Mary" shot at him just because you're either not getting a good shot or missed the opportunity when you had it. Why take a shot when the odds are higher the deer will die unrecovered from a poor shot than be recovered from a good shot?

Even with low odds, it's sometimes hard to totally miss a deer, but very easy to make a bad shot on that deer. Deer dies days later, unrecovered. I admit I learned that lesson the hard way, many moons ago. Anyone can be lucky, but when we count on luck, we're usually unlucky, or worse, by being lucky, we fail to learn, and are thus even more "unlucky" in the future.

I'll not hesitate to take the first HIGH PROBABILITY shot once I've decided that particular deer is one I want.