I Could be the Worst Hunter Ever.

infected

infected

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between a rock and a hard place.
So this is my first deer season and prior to last weeks gun hunt I'd been out maybe 3 or 4 times a crossbow. Sunday was the last day of the gun hunt and after 4 days of freezing in the woods my friends and I hadn't seen a single deer. The closest I'd come was hearing one walk through a swamp 50 feet away from me before first light. Like I said we hadn't SEEN a single deer.

So 3 of the 5 of us had given up and opted out. So my buddy and I went out a little later than normal on sunday morning not expecting much.

It was pretty windy in the forest and the trees were rattling around pretty good. Not twenty minutes after finding my usual perch on the ground under a big tree, a nice 6 point suddenly appears out of nowhere not more than 15 yards from me- perfectly broadside. Quietly I reach for my shotgun, aim (I could see he was suspicious of my blaze orange at this point as there was nothing but air between us) and the stupid piece of rope that we had tied under my vent rib (I don't have a sling on my shotgun so the rope was used to hang the gun when I was hunting from a tree stand) had blown over top of my barrel blocking my bead sight. I moved it out of the way and slowly moved my hand back to a shooting position (At this point my heart was pounding like crazy, I was nervous and excited as I'd never even seen a deer while hunting before).

A millisecond before I squeezed the trigger I must have spooked him or something because he bounced. Not knowing if I had hit him or not with the slug, I fired twice more with triple ought buckshot as he disappeared into the swamp. I think I must've been shooting behind him as he ran. After some lengthy investigation we had found nothing to tell us he'd been hit.

I couldn't have been more disappointed with myself. I felt so stupid to have blown an absolutely perfect opportunity like that.

I guess the moral of the story is... I don't even know what the moral of the story is, maybe one of you guys do.
 
The first deer I ever shot at many many years ago was a total miss as well. The rest of that season I never saw another thing. I walked miles and went through every kind of weather. Other hunters in the area seemed to be getting deer with little effort and it drove me nuts. The next year I finally scored on a small spiker. There have been many deer shot since then and many more missed as well.

I know you are pulling your hair out and probably want to pack it in. Don't ! What you have gone through has been experience by many. Have a good rant and a pout and then get back at it. You will be rewarded.

Trust me you are not the worst hunter out there. This year I missed a very very nice buck in a situation where I had no excuses. That makes me the worst hunter. Cheers and good luck.
 
You are not alone.

The first deer I *could* have shot while hunting came out of the bush 175 yrds away from me, and slowly over the course of 20 minutes walked up to about 30 yards away.

The whole time, my buck-fever, wouldn't let my crosshairs land on the deer. I stared at him through the scope the whole time, shaking like a leaf, not able to get the crosshairs to rest long enough to pull the trigger. Then the deer ran away, and I never got a shot. It took me 2 more years of hunting before I was able to get a chance to redeem myself.

Just remember, shooting your game animal is only half the fun.
 
It happens to everyone, multiple times. It took me 7 years to connect with a deer when archery hunting. I had an average of 3-4 quality opportunities per year within 20 yards where I got a shot. This is where you learn...

When you get a lot of quality deer on the ground a years of experience, you still miss. I missed a mule deer at less than 10 yards this year in full velvet that scores over 210"... The key is: you may have lost this round, but it's far from over..
 
Deer down or clean miss are both OK, wounded deer you cant recover not OK. Everything else being equal (deer population, where and how you set-up, how quiet you are, no movement, no smell etc.) luck plays a part, luck changes quickly and you just take advantage of it when it does. Last year I hunted at least 20 days, rifle and archery, saw only 2 deer all year both out range during the bow hunt. This year I killed a doe and had 2 clean misses (one marginal shot that the watch beside me killed and the other I wont elaborate on) in the rifle hunt and another doe the first time out with the bow. Stick with it, the one you work hardest for can mean the most to you.
 
I hunted with someone for seven years and he never got one deer. He could hit a target every time, dead on the bulls eye, so I know he can shoot but every time he shot at a deer it was a clean miss. Even on standing deer at 30 yards!! Don't worry it will happen in it's own good time.
 
There is a guy in my Deer Camp that has been going for 17 years, never killed a deer! Up until 3 years ago, he had never seen one while hunting, LOL! He emptied his 30/30 on three deer, now out of ammo, then they came back, 30 yards broadside....LMAO!!!!! He now carries a couple extra boxes with him at all times.......! Maybe not the worst hunter out there, but damn...we make sure to remind him of his antics on a fairly regular basis....LOL!
 
Chin up it is why it is called hunting we have all been there done that!!! Anyone who says differant is full of S@#t. You got out enjoyed the outdoors seen some wildlife had a great oppurtunity learned some stuff next year you will be that much more prepared.
Thanks for the story
 
This was my first year hunting, and my first waterfowl trip, I went solo. Stopped at the first lake, pulled out the shotty, loaded, chambered, and safety'd. Walked around a bit, didn't like the location, so I unloaded, packed the car and drove to the next. Loaded, safety'd, and found a nice little gap in the brush. 15 minutes later, a vee of two dozen Canada Geese came in on final approach, 20 metres from me, from my left to right. I brought up the shotty, they started evasive maneuvers, unsafetied, and... CLICK. I was dumbfounded - I racked it, and nothing came out. I had forgotten to chamber the round. While I did get one duck late in the season, I never encountered any other geese.

Lesson learned - make sure the fundamentals are done and ready, and all snafus fixed before you're ready for action.
 
hey thats not bad for a first time deer hunter. We all made mistakes like that. Mine I forgot to take the safety off the shotgun until the MASSIVE buck was 15 yards away standing broadside trying to figure me out. He hears the click from me whipping the safety off and I unloaded and never touched him once. My brother was watching from a field across and said thats the biggest buck he's seen in a long time. I felt like punching him in the teeth after that comment LOL
 
The only reason i hit the first deer i ever shot at was the crossbow bolt bounced off the frozen ground and punched her through the guts. Tracked that one for a LONG time and couldn't catch up. A clean miss rests much easier on your conscience.
 
Dont feel stupid... We all fud up on our first hunts.

The deer will teach you how to hunt them.:redface:

Let it be a learning experience, and the more you get out there, the better you will be.:D
 
infected said:
I couldn't have been more disappointed with myself. I felt so stupid to have blown an absolutely perfect opportunity like that.

I guess the moral of the story is... I don't even know what the moral of the story is, maybe one of you guys do.
Click to expand...

The moral of the story is......s**t happens. While out hunting this year to either fill my 2nd tag, or the gf's 1st the action picked up as we came to a hill. We went low, and I went prone on the hill. I'd have bet money the doe was only about 200 or so yards.

I missed my first shot, she bolted and stopped. I held on the back line and nailed her, but it was a low lung shot. It was 300 + when I measured the next day. Bad judge on the distance.

The only difference I see here is I had more luck that day and that's all. So don't feel bad about it....and best of luck next year.:)
 
I think I might have that title. This year I was hunting on the base here in Wainwright and I was tracking a deer. got a look at a nice fat mulie doe. Lined up the shot, didn't have the best angle, tried to get a better angle. She still didn't see me it was going to be awsome. Just as I was lifting my rifle to my shoulder... I fell through the ice up to my waist. -15 C with a wind chill and I was about 2 Kms from my truck. Long cold walk. Oh and the doe was gone a shot.
 
I walked up on five deer in the last half hour of this years rifle season. I had decided to sit and wait for the end up at the spot where my buddy got a forkhorn buck this year, and an 8 point two years ago and a small doe the year before that.

Its a damn good spot, up in the hardwoods with nice sight lines, that means you can see almost 100 yards all around, which is pretty good for my bush. Anyways, I had just had a coffee down at my truck, switched guns, and proceeded to make a semicircle up to the spot, wind in my face, moving slow, and totally silent thanks to the wet leaves.

I got to within 20 yards of the comfy chair we had set up as a "stand" and I said to myself(in my head) "well, if there's any deer to be found they better be right the... HOLY #### SOMETHING JUST MOVED!!!".

Well, I started to shake and shimmy like crazy, I just couldn't calm myself down! I crept closer and saw more movement, one deer came down from above the others, slightly alarmed, and then sauntered back up into my field of view.

I figured I'd better take a shot so I held the red dot on my cz858 on its withers, but my sight picture was pretty dim(in my excitement I FORGOT to take the see-thru covers off my scope) and I was not steady. BANG, nothing, it ran down to where the other animal(s) were. I didn't know at this point how many they were, just knew there were at least two. I saw some animals milling around down there, partially obscured by darkness and light brush.

Well I could make out another on standing facing me, and took another shaky shot, that one missed as well I guess, because to my great dismay, I was rewarded by the sight of FIVE white tails bouncing away and off of my property... I didn't harm a hair on them and both shots were at less than 70 yards... :(

I sure wish I had grabbed my scoped model 77 instead of the red dot sighted '58. That red dot shining in my eyes(even on the dimmest of twelve settings) didn't help in the dim light when I needed good target ID and precision marksmanship.

Of course, if I'd looked at the time to see that I had a good 25 mins(which might as well be an eternity in that situation), and taken the time to get closer, not to mention removed my scope caps, and calm the f$ck down who knows... I might not have had to pour my heart out on this WORST HUNTER EVER thread LOL!!!
 
Everyone has bad seasons and maube even a couple in a row but if you keep trying and using different methods and researching/honing your skills your luck will change i don't hunt anymore but my last 2 seasons were great my first not so great but thats just the way she goes.
 
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