Ever just replay that miss in your head?
- Thread starter na1lb0hm
- Start date
I have done the same thing a couple of times.
Hard to actually say what happened, but you usually think you have the target dead to rights, but no hit!!
I was hunting Mule deer in the Shuswap area of BC in the 1960's.
A decent buck showed up on a ridge above me.
Problem was, it was foggy, with the fog covering him to the point I could only see his silhouette.
Reasoning that the silhouette was sufficient for a shot, I held for the boiler room and touched one off.
The shot was about 100 yards.
The silhouette disappeared, and I was sure he was down.
About a foot of fresh snow on the ground, so waited a few mins, and then proceeded up the ridge.
Got to where he had been standing....no hair, no blood, and he had wheeled and bounded off.
I slogged through that snow for about ½ mile, but no sign of that deer except his departing tracks.
To this day I have no idea exactly what happened, but pretty disconcerting.
I am positive this was a clean miss, but why?
Eagleye.
Hard to actually say what happened, but you usually think you have the target dead to rights, but no hit!!
I was hunting Mule deer in the Shuswap area of BC in the 1960's.
A decent buck showed up on a ridge above me.
Problem was, it was foggy, with the fog covering him to the point I could only see his silhouette.
Reasoning that the silhouette was sufficient for a shot, I held for the boiler room and touched one off.
The shot was about 100 yards.
The silhouette disappeared, and I was sure he was down.
About a foot of fresh snow on the ground, so waited a few mins, and then proceeded up the ridge.
Got to where he had been standing....no hair, no blood, and he had wheeled and bounded off.
I slogged through that snow for about ½ mile, but no sign of that deer except his departing tracks.
To this day I have no idea exactly what happened, but pretty disconcerting.
I am positive this was a clean miss, but why?
Eagleye.
I'm mostly a wingshooter (wingmisser?) - I can't TELL you the number of times I've been awake half the night seeing a pair of wads hanging in the air BEHIND a cackling rooster... and analyzing over and over about how I need to lead more etc etc etc...
I missed a huge black bear in 1998, and a baboon (!) in 2009. Both felt like perfect shots, no explanation or excuse for the misses.
I doubt that a full week ever goes by without my wondering about one of them...which always brings the other one to mind as well!
I doubt that a full week ever goes by without my wondering about one of them...which always brings the other one to mind as well!
Do I ever...
Two does standing side-by-side, broadside at 100 yards and me on a treestand resting the Tikka with the crosshairs on the one closest to me. Waited 10 seconds for the far one to move and when she did I fired off, what I thought was a perfectly good shot...
Both does bounded, seemingly unscathed, in the same direction. One hour of extensive searching and 2 hounds later proved that it was a clean miss... I still hate walking by that spot, it brings back bad memories...
Two does standing side-by-side, broadside at 100 yards and me on a treestand resting the Tikka with the crosshairs on the one closest to me. Waited 10 seconds for the far one to move and when she did I fired off, what I thought was a perfectly good shot...
Both does bounded, seemingly unscathed, in the same direction. One hour of extensive searching and 2 hounds later proved that it was a clean miss...
I still hate walking by that spot, it brings back bad memories...
speedy mcjesus
CGN Regular
- Location
- Newfoundland
Ha ha I feel better now, I don't care who you are or how many lies you tell we have all had that, " what the fu*k just happened" shots.
A baboon really? My GF was attacked by a spider monkey in Bolivia, wish I had my trusty 16 gauge that day.
A baboon really? My GF was attacked by a spider monkey in Bolivia, wish I had my trusty 16 gauge that day.
I do the same, I would think most ethical hunters would play it over and over in their minds, what could have gone wrong. Something I do along the same lines is think about shots that I have passed up on, over and over. Wondering to myself if I should have shot here or there, or if I could have the opportunity again, would i try shooting through an opening that I didn't the first time. I try to teach my son the same thing, it's better to pass and hunt that animal another day than take a shot and risk wounding it. Oh, the things that keep hunters awake at night.
wheelin_ca
CGN Regular
- Location
- Simcoe County Ontario Canada
lately its every sunday, when i sleep in instead of waking up and hitting the woods.... for the rest of the week, i wonder why i didnt get out.......
i gotta stop working 6 days a week
i gotta stop working 6 days a week
If the angle had been steep, that would have been one possibility, but it was not actually very much above my position.
I have considered that it may have been the mist moving past the deer and light conditions distorting the image so that what I shot at was not exactly where the deer was, but again, it's only a guess.
It was not the rifle, I do know that for sure!!
Eagleye.
My youngest passed up on his first buck 2 years go because he couldn't be 100% sure of his shot. He was 14 at the time and I was the proudest dad in the world. Would I have taken the shot? I think about it. Karma repaid him this year with a beautiful 8 pointer.
Yessir i do. A fellow gun nut, my best friend Kevin M. and I were out grouse hunting two falls ago. I noticed a grouse sitting up in a tree and lined up the .22 on it an fired off a round. I'm sure it connected cause the thing fluttered up looked like it was about to fall and then all of a sudden it just landed right back down where it had been. So naturally I racked the action and put another one into that bird. Same thing as before. I shot that bird 5 times before it flew off laughing at me. To this day I don't know what in gods name happened and I can't for the life of me get over it. Needless to say I don't go after grouse without the trusty 12 gauge anymore.
As Kevin M. noted at the time (points for anyone who gets the reference) "they're not invincible, just armour plated!"
As Kevin M. noted at the time (points for anyone who gets the reference) "they're not invincible, just armour plated!"
I missed out on my first buck ever this year. Sitting in a log house style blind, deer was 200-225yds away, had a perfect rest but nerves took over and I couldn't, for the life of me, get the gun still enough to pull the trigger.
Had to be a good 45-60 seconds of telling myself to calm down and steady the rifle but he walked off into the trees on me.
I could have taken a shot but not knowing where I was going to hit him made me pass on possibly injuring the animal.
Had to be a good 45-60 seconds of telling myself to calm down and steady the rifle but he walked off into the trees on me.
I could have taken a shot but not knowing where I was going to hit him made me pass on possibly injuring the animal.
Not a miss, but I lost one that still baffles me.
Nov 2010, WMU 108: A very high and wide 6X6 whitetail with double drop tines, each of which had 10-12" and came down like scoops, and amazing symmetry from side to side. Never saw a whitetail of this size in 108. I was flopped out prone, bipod open and watched him slowly make his way across the field to my location. I hammered him at 120 metres, standing broadside, and it looked like a hard hit and killing shot. He dropped and kicked, groaned once, then stretched out motionless, and I thought that was it. I then swung across to my left and folded the biggest doe in the group with a clean head shot. I panned back to the buck and he was still in the same position so I was feeling quite confident I had just summed up a great season. The buck had dropped immediately next to the only tall bush on the open scrub so I had a good mark on his position before I started walking across the dead ground between my deer and my shooting position.
I could see the doe's head now looked like a meat canoe so I kept on for the buck. I had never yet taken a really good whitetail so the excitement of walking up on him was unbelievable. When I got there, no buck. Not a drop of blood, no ditch or any cover to fall under. No sign of a wounded deer walking anywhere.
Some of my buddies were on the high ground watching me and the buck through the spotting scope. They phoned me to congratulate me on my trophy. They thought I was joking when I saif the buck was gone. They too were sure the buck was hit hard and dropped dead. They came down to help push the adjacent coulee; 500 metres away across the flats, and look for blood sign. We searched all day. Got up high and scoped the coulees. No luck. Even went out the next 3 days looking for magpies and coyotes. Still nothing.
The only thing I can figure is I pulled my shot high or low, clipping him enough to knock him down and cause him great discomfort, then he managed to get his feet under him and bolted while I was crossing the field in the dead ground. I still go over this one in my head again and again. I even dream about it and it frustrates me without end.
Nov 2010, WMU 108: A very high and wide 6X6 whitetail with double drop tines, each of which had 10-12" and came down like scoops, and amazing symmetry from side to side. Never saw a whitetail of this size in 108. I was flopped out prone, bipod open and watched him slowly make his way across the field to my location. I hammered him at 120 metres, standing broadside, and it looked like a hard hit and killing shot. He dropped and kicked, groaned once, then stretched out motionless, and I thought that was it. I then swung across to my left and folded the biggest doe in the group with a clean head shot. I panned back to the buck and he was still in the same position so I was feeling quite confident I had just summed up a great season. The buck had dropped immediately next to the only tall bush on the open scrub so I had a good mark on his position before I started walking across the dead ground between my deer and my shooting position.
I could see the doe's head now looked like a meat canoe so I kept on for the buck. I had never yet taken a really good whitetail so the excitement of walking up on him was unbelievable. When I got there, no buck. Not a drop of blood, no ditch or any cover to fall under. No sign of a wounded deer walking anywhere.
Some of my buddies were on the high ground watching me and the buck through the spotting scope. They phoned me to congratulate me on my trophy. They thought I was joking when I saif the buck was gone. They too were sure the buck was hit hard and dropped dead. They came down to help push the adjacent coulee; 500 metres away across the flats, and look for blood sign. We searched all day. Got up high and scoped the coulees. No luck. Even went out the next 3 days looking for magpies and coyotes. Still nothing.
The only thing I can figure is I pulled my shot high or low, clipping him enough to knock him down and cause him great discomfort, then he managed to get his feet under him and bolted while I was crossing the field in the dead ground. I still go over this one in my head again and again. I even dream about it and it frustrates me without end.
Duncan; I would not be a bit surprised if you did not hit that Whitetail in the antler, close to the base of it.
I hunted with a very experienced "mentor" who mentioned doing a similar thing on a very large Muley, only his story has a happier ending.
He took a shot at the deer, which dropped immediately at the shot, apparently dead as a stone.
He got to the deer, and immediately cut the throat to bleed it.
When he stepped back the deer leaped up and took off at a dead run, but of course, did not run far until it bled out.
On careful examination, he found where his bullet had just clipped the base of one antler, temporarily stunning that deer.
Eagleye.
I hunted with a very experienced "mentor" who mentioned doing a similar thing on a very large Muley, only his story has a happier ending.
He took a shot at the deer, which dropped immediately at the shot, apparently dead as a stone.
He got to the deer, and immediately cut the throat to bleed it.
When he stepped back the deer leaped up and took off at a dead run, but of course, did not run far until it bled out.
On careful examination, he found where his bullet had just clipped the base of one antler, temporarily stunning that deer.
Eagleye.
Boolitcaster
CGN Regular
- Location
- Vancouver Island
A number of years ago I missed a 10 yard shot at a deer with buckshot.
I could hear the deer coming and had the shotgun up and ready. When it entered the clearing, I aimed at it's heart. As it walked past me, unaware of my presence, I calmly squeezed the trigger. At the sound of the shot, it jumped startled and then calmly stepped back into the brush before I could reload my single shot.
I was flabbergasted. When I regained my composure, I notice a 4" tree about 6' in front of me. Checking it, I found my full load of buck buried in the trunk. I had been so focused on the deer's vital area I had completely ignored what was right in front of me.
You can bet I still replay that shot in my head, although time has eased the sting a bit.
I could hear the deer coming and had the shotgun up and ready. When it entered the clearing, I aimed at it's heart. As it walked past me, unaware of my presence, I calmly squeezed the trigger. At the sound of the shot, it jumped startled and then calmly stepped back into the brush before I could reload my single shot.
I was flabbergasted. When I regained my composure, I notice a 4" tree about 6' in front of me. Checking it, I found my full load of buck buried in the trunk. I had been so focused on the deer's vital area I had completely ignored what was right in front of me.
You can bet I still replay that shot in my head, although time has eased the sting a bit.
Everyone has a good miss or two somewhere in their past. The really good ones are kept locked away from daylight, where no one needs to know...
My best (or worst) was last year. It took place on a granite hillside in southern Africa looking out over a sea of mopane trees. It was a kudu. I'd shot some nice ones before, but nothing like this.
It was a good ways out there, and there really wasn't any getting closer given the wind direction -- as soon as we came down off the hill, we would lose sight of it completely, and finding it again would be a crapshoot at best.
The good news was that there was no wind to speak of, and the animal was standing more or less broadside, and the crosshairs were steady with the rifle rested in the shooting sticks. The bad news is that I really wasn't certain of the range, my Leica rangefinder having given up the ghost on the second day of the hunt.
So there we were. I guessed 400 yards. My guide wasn't sure, seemed to think a bit less, then deferred and said to go with that.
And then I heard him say, "God, it's big..."
I tried to put that out of my mind, held for a 400 yard shot, and squeezed the trigger.
Three sets of lenses all agreed as to what happened. My Leupold and his Swarovski's both said that the bullet impacted about 3 inches over the top of the kudu's back, in line with the front shoulder. And that was the last we ever saw of that kudu.
That was when my PH, with over 30 years experience, told me that he honestly believed it was bigger than the best he had ever taken with a client. Foolishly, I asked what the biggest had been, and cruelly, he told me: the best so far had been 62 inches.
Yes, I missed a kudu that may have been *over* 62 inches.
I admit this now, to all of you, because this is an unusual miss. Not because of what I missed or how I missed it, but because this sad tale cannot really be hidden from the light of day. I did say three sets of lenses, didn't I?
The third set were the lenses the cameraman was looking through. Yeah, really -- the most painful miss of my life was actually captured in high definition video!!!
At first that hurt, but I've watched that segment so many times now that I think I'm finally OK with it
And now I'm OK with the rest of you. I've come out of the closet and admitted it. I missed a kudu over 60 inches.
Fortunately, my therapist is anticipating my eventual recovery...
My best (or worst) was last year. It took place on a granite hillside in southern Africa looking out over a sea of mopane trees. It was a kudu. I'd shot some nice ones before, but nothing like this.
It was a good ways out there, and there really wasn't any getting closer given the wind direction -- as soon as we came down off the hill, we would lose sight of it completely, and finding it again would be a crapshoot at best.
The good news was that there was no wind to speak of, and the animal was standing more or less broadside, and the crosshairs were steady with the rifle rested in the shooting sticks. The bad news is that I really wasn't certain of the range, my Leica rangefinder having given up the ghost on the second day of the hunt
.So there we were. I guessed 400 yards. My guide wasn't sure, seemed to think a bit less, then deferred and said to go with that.
And then I heard him say, "God, it's big..."
I tried to put that out of my mind, held for a 400 yard shot, and squeezed the trigger.
Three sets of lenses all agreed as to what happened. My Leupold and his Swarovski's both said that the bullet impacted about 3 inches over the top of the kudu's back, in line with the front shoulder. And that was the last we ever saw of that kudu.
That was when my PH, with over 30 years experience, told me that he honestly believed it was bigger than the best he had ever taken with a client. Foolishly, I asked what the biggest had been, and cruelly, he told me: the best so far had been 62 inches.
Yes, I missed a kudu that may have been *over* 62 inches.
I admit this now, to all of you, because this is an unusual miss. Not because of what I missed or how I missed it, but because this sad tale cannot really be hidden from the light of day. I did say three sets of lenses, didn't I?
The third set were the lenses the cameraman was looking through. Yeah, really -- the most painful miss of my life was actually captured in high definition video!!!
At first that hurt, but I've watched that segment so many times now that I think I'm finally OK with it
And now I'm OK with the rest of you. I've come out of the closet and admitted it. I missed a kudu over 60 inches.
Fortunately, my therapist is anticipating my eventual recovery...
I shot at a 300# plus black bear a few years age and missed it. I was archery hunting and he was inside my comfortable shooting zone. When I released the arrow it struck a little limb 10 feet from the bear and went just under him.
I think of that limb every time I go archery hunting.
I think of that limb every time I go archery hunting.
