To shoot or not to shoot

So. There's a monster buck roaming our property. I've been seeing his tracks for a year, but never see him. He nearly destroyed my bean pole teepee this spring, rubbing his antlers. His tracks show up in the garden, down the trail, and over in the center of the woods. So, rifle in hand yesterday, I was walking the trails and checking on a couple of our trail cam spots. I'd seen a little spike when I got home, and was hopeful that the deer were finally venturing out in the rain. Coming off a trail into a cleared area, I startled the monster buck. He had been picking his way down a trail to my right that dumped out in the same spot. He took two big bounds and stopped behind an alder and some brush a short way away. I brought up the rifle to sight on him, only to realize that, despite being careful, my scope lens had gotten wet. One big blur. Slowly, I wiped the lens and sighted again. I couldn't get a clear shot on any part of him but his butt, and even that was iffy. So, take a guess through the brush? Maybe hit the tree? Maybe just wing him and have him run off and die somewhere? I didn't take the maybe shot. I took a slow step to the right, to a better line of fire, brought up the rifle, and he took a huge leap and was gone. :( My big buck... Sob. LJ tells me I did the right thing, as bad as I wanted that buck, trying to make sure I had a clear and clean shot. I know I was right to not risk a bad shot, but it doesn't make me feel any better. I hope to see him again this season, but won't get my hopes up too high. Maybe next year...