COLLEGE STATION, TX — A landmark study published in the Journal of Recreational Wildlife Exaggeration has confirmed what hunters have known for generations: the deer they didn't harvest was, without question, the biggest buck anyone had ever seen in that particular county.

The study, conducted over five years across 14 states, surveyed 8,200 hunters who failed to fill their tags. A staggering 97.3% reported the deer they missed, spooked, or "would have seen if they'd gone to the other stand" was a minimum of 12 points with a spread "wider than a wheelbarrow."

"The data is remarkably consistent," said lead researcher Dr. Virgil Stump. "Regardless of age, location, or weapon type, the deer that got away is always a once-in-a-generation animal. The ones they actually harvested are always 'decent' or 'not bad for the area.'"

Perhaps most striking was the substudy on bass fishing. Among 4,100 anglers surveyed, 99.1% reported that a fish they lost was "easily" over the state record. "The correlation between line breakage and fish size is perfect," Dr. Stump noted. "Every snapped line was holding a world record."

The study also found that the size of the lost animal increases by approximately 15% with each retelling of the story, and that by the third time a hunter tells the story at deer camp, the animal has achieved "almost mythological proportions."

Local hunter Gary Don Pickett of Nacogdoches offered his own supporting testimony. "I seen a buck last November that'd make your jaw drop. 14 points, easy. Chest like a Buick. He was standing broadside at 40 yards."

When asked why he didn't take the shot, Pickett paused for a long time. "The wind was wrong," he said finally. "Also I might not have had my rifle. Also it was dark. But I definitely saw him."