Yea, I know I sound ungrateful. I think he is beautiful and I had a great time hunting, but I do regret I didn't let him walk and have another year or two.
Since none of us are hunting spring bear so we don't starve, this is hunting for fun and trophies. (See comments about "ground shrinkage" and hoping for bears that square 7 feet.) My comment that I am "regretting it a little" for not holding out for a larger bear is my being honest, but I understand it may sound disrespectful to the animal and will make an effort to not harvest another bear I'm not 100% on.
You've NEVER wondered if you should have waited for another animal after you've shot? I'm not trying to be argumentative, just to understand. Two years ago I took a spike elk. Seconds after having shot, a big bull came in. I regretted shooting the spike when, if I would have waited, I could have taken a shot at the big bull.
I thought the vast majority of hunters have had similar experiences.
Possibly they have. The only time I've ever noticed someone who was regretful, was when a client mistakenly shot the wrong bull moose of three that were responding to a call. He got over it, though. Took him about two days to subside that regret. As for me, personally, I've never regretted killing anything. But, I've somewhat regretted not killing something when I had ample chance to do so.
