John Johnston is a retired sergeant detective who served with the Austin Police Department for 25 years. He resides in Lampasas County. To contact him by e-mail, please go to olsingleshot@gmail.com. Last Sunday as I sat in my deer stand hoping for one last chance at a large buck, I thought back to some of the memorable hunts in my life. One that came to mind was the only deer I ever shot but could not find. It happened many years ago, and I was hunting on a deer lease not far from my home.

It was in early December and a very comfortable evening. My box stand was on a rise about six feet higher than the area I was watching. A feeder was positioned about a hundred yards away. Any shot I could take would be within those 100 yards.

For that evening hunt, I chose a Winchester Model 94 in .30-30 with a Williams receiver sight. On my range I could shoot two-inch or better groups at 100 yards. So I was confident with the rifle.

About an hour before dark an eight-point buck showed up at the feeder. He had followed a doe to the area. I watched them for a long time with my binoculars. The buck was a two- to three-year-old eight point with a decent rack.

After they had eaten their share of the corn, the doe started to leave with the buck right behind her. As luck would have it, their route took them right in front of my stand.

I let them get to a point that was directly in front of the stand and about 65 yards away. I got comfortable with the rifle. My rest was steady and solid. There was still plenty of light to see my sights. The rise I was sitting on was not high enough to cause any problems with my aim.

The buck stopped, slightly quartering to me. I put the sights on his shoulder and squeezed the trigger. The buck never took a step. He dropped face first onto the ground as if he had been hit by a prize fighter and knocked out. He was down for the count, at least so I thought.

I watched him for a while, and he did not move. Instead of going to the buck, I walked to my truck to get my field dressing gear. While there I had to take a business phone call. About five minutes later I drove the truck up to where I had left the deer, but there was no buck to be found.

I got my best flashlight and started the search. I always start where the deer goes down. There was no blood or hair in the area, not even a scuff mark. I could not believe it. I know deer often get hit well with no blood trail, so I started a circular search pattern.

After about two hours, I went home and got my wife and my bird dog. We searched for another hour; still no sign.

The next day, after an anxious night, I went back at first light. After two more hours of searching I came to the conclusion the buck was long gone.

I hunted that stand the next few days in hopes of seeing him again. I never saw that buck, nor did I see buzzards in the area. After years of thought, I still do not know exactly what happened.

Next deer season will be my 50th. If you hunt long enough, this can happen and most likely will happen to you, too. My one mistake that evening was not going straight to the downed deer when I left the stand. Another lesson learned.