Your biggest hunting regret

Missing, a few stand in my mind. Missed a really nice wolf just not long ago, shot under it, could see the streak in the snow right under its armpit. That's not my worst miss but it's the most recent.

One particular case of wounding as well, it took 45 mins to find and put it down for good, I accepted a rushed shot and it suffered as a result. It was enough to make me reconsider how much I liked to hunt for a brief while, felt terrible.
 
Two biggest regrets I have hunting both have to do with a monster whitetail. First one I was 13 years old, I heard the dog comming down the hogs back across from me, then I seen the frost on his horns sparkle on the cold sunny morning. I pulled my scatter gun up ( Old 870 modified barrel and bead ) Followed that monster down the ridge with my bead...Didn't pull the trigger, it was 80 yards from me to him, he was in full stride, hardwood branches between me and him as well. Just didn't figure I could make the shot that far with him running like that. Kick myself In the ass every single day for not shooting, as I got older 15 to 17 I made that same shot 3 times with the same gun and all three deer lay dead at the end of my 3 shots.

When the deer disappeared at the swamp I knew he was heading for the dam to cross where my uncle was. I heard bang, bang, bang. And all three of those bangs I heard that hollow "thump" when the bullet hits meat. When we met up at the camp road with the gang I looked in my uncles truck and seen him, a 14 point monster with the frost still on his horns. I almost got sick to my stomach right there, he measured 150 somthin inches. But I smiled and gave my uncle a big bear hug and congratulated him like a real man should.

Second time was with a buck I seen middle of the summer before season, I named him buckzilla. I was goin back to feed my duck pond and he jumped up on the dam, he just stood there! By far the biggest deer I ever seen with my own eye's alive or dead, he had a drop time on both horns. He run away and I went about feeding the ducks. That deer season when we did that run, I was sent to run the ridge out to the pond where my two cousins were watching on the two dams. It was my first year allowed to carry a rifle when I was 18 ( In my gang you gotta prove yourself with a shotgun first ) It was a savage 99 in 300 savage, man I felt awesome being able to carry that around. Anyway I figured since my younger cousin was sittin on the lower dam I'd be nice and push out the thick hardwood swamp to him for a chance at a doe or fawn for his first deer...Well I was down in the swamp just startin my way back up the ridge, My cousin on the other side of it in the gut bumped somethin big and heavy I heard it come crashin across the pond road down to the marsh hay by my cousin. By this point I could see orange of him through the tree's, and I was expectin for things to get loud at this point! I heard it crash across the marsh hay and water in front of him, nothin. I get up to him, and he's shakin worse then a dog ####tin razor blades, I says WTF BOY WHY DIDN'T YOU SHOOT?!?! All he could manage to get out of his mouth was " It was a fricken monster " He got buck fever SO BAD he froze up and never even pulled his gun up...That's my other hunting regret, If I had of just stayed on top the ridge instead of trying to be a nice guy for my little buck fever cousin, I know I would have killed buckzilla! I would of had wide open from the pond road, across the top of the ridge I'd be on and across the gut! And to boot he'd damn near run me over If I was up there. But no. I had to try and help my little cousin out...Apologize for the stories but I had to get the full effect of disappointment in them both, they haunt me every day!!
 
Last years deer hunt we finished hunting for the day and went to the shop for a few drinks to warm up. 4 drinks 4 guys 1 60oz of spiced rum gone think we had another 2 gone in under 2 hours. My head was throbbing so bad the next day was pretty much praying not to see a deer that morning as we walked the blocks
 
My biggest regret was on my first hunting trip with my dad and eager to impress with my newly acquired 6X18 power Redfield scope on a Win 270 we crested a rise on a hill. Just beyond the crest at 30 yds distance was a very nice mulie buck with a big rack. Guess which setting my scope was on??

We never saw another deer after that.:reface: I still haven't lived that down and it's been 35 years. I have taken some impressive deer since but it's no use ever mentioning it.
 
horseman2 said:
With no place to display a 320 4/8's Roosevelt Elk antlers, mounted on a 3" thick burl coffee table top, It went to auction with a history which the auctioneer did not read and sold for $75.00!
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That one even makes me wince! Shoulda, woulda, coulda...

Ardent said:
One particular case of wounding as well, it took 45 mins to find and put it down for good, I accepted a rushed shot and it suffered as a result. It was enough to make me reconsider how much I liked to hunt for a brief while, felt terrible.
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This for sure. An experience like this had me ready to quit hunting completely, and was difficult to work through.

The one that haunts me the most was my final hunt with my father, two years before he passed away. I had gone to great pains to create a ground blind that would be comfortable and accessible for him (not easy), while still offering a decent chance of success. A small buck came into range, and my dad took the shot. I saw the hit, a bit too far back, and watched the deer hobble/stumble across the field and into the bush. I had my gun on him the whole time, but didn't shoot, thinking and hoping the deer would drop. He got to the trees, and with my finger on the trigger I sat there like an idiot and watched him go. If the shooter had been anyone other than my dad, I would have fired unhesitatingly, but I wanted the experience and the memory to be perfect for him...I had a clear shot and was aimed and ready for at least 10-15 seconds, which under the circumstances seemed like a lifetime. The deer disappeared, and as I accompanied my dad back to the house (a long and complicated procedure) I felt sick. By the time I got back to the scene of the crime, something like an hour had passed, it was now raining, and several hours of searching resulted in nothing. I came back with my neighbour and his dog the next day...still nothing. The best I can hope for is that the deer didn't last long, but I can't help but think otherwise. Absolutely horrible.
 
I was hunting with my dad and cousin on 80 acres of land in SEO. The property is shaped like a rectangle. Anyway, my cousin was up on one end, my dad in the middle and me? Well i was supposed to be at the far end watching a very nice orchard. BUT when i got to my stand i realized i was outta smokes and was craving one real bad. So i figured, why not go into town and get some? It's only 5 minutes away.

Bad idea. I get back to my stand, sit down and enjoy a smoke. Not 5 minutes later my dad is walking down the trail to come get me. I ask him what's up and this is how the conversation went:

Me: What's up? How come you're not in your stand?
Dad: Whadaya mean? Didn't you hear the shots?
Me: Shots? What shots?
Dad: You can't tell me you didn't hear the shots! There were 5 of them for ####s sake!
Me: Uh....nope. Didn't hear anything.
Dad: Get yer arse moving. Your cousin shot a deer.

Turns out 2 bucks ran out just past my cousin and he managed to shoot one of them. The other ran down the length of the property, dogded my dads rounds and ran straight for where i was supposed to be. If i'd of toughed it out and not worried more about smokes than the hunt i'd of got a shot.
 
I have no hunting regrets, i hunted as hard as time, money, and family let me. The one regret I do have is being part of a camp and letting a family of brain deads join.
 
I loaned my hunting rifle out once and never re checked the zero before I used it hunting the next week. I got a deer that day but shot him first in the ass. Once I realized I fired again not thinking and put a second bullet in the rear 1/4. Than I realized. I aimed off and hit him in the lungs with the third shot but it was threw the shoulder.

Luckily I have a grinder at home but I lost a lot of meat. Ill always regret not taking the moment to recheck the zero.
 
Snooze Button!

Nothing worse then waking up after what you thought was hitting the snooze button once and come to find out its already 8:45am and the sun is shining bright on a beautiful frosty sunday morning (here in nb we can hunt the three sundays in deer season) in peak rut!

This happened to me once and never again! so heres the story, I had been baiting this particular stand on the edge of a farmers field for months before the season checking my trail cam regularly monitoring the antler growth of particular bucks (mostly spikes and 4pts so not much growth to monitor)... so anyways there was this one buck, it was half albino 7pt heavy deer, i mean fat! I told myself this would be the buck im going take the first chance I get. I happened to be working nights that week so I had the oppurtunity to hunt the mornings from monday to friday and then all day on saturday and sunday. I had passed up multiple spikes and a cpl 4pt bucks waiting for the 7pt to come in, no luck through the week so come saturdday morning I went from work to hunting after a night shift and hutned all day saturday and saw nothing, come sunday morning was the dreaded snooze button!!! I finally got my lazy ass out of bed and wasted no time getting up in the stand by 9:45am noticing in discouragement and frustration that my apples and feed were all gone. After sitting for a few hours I got out and checked my trailcam.... sure enough the 7pt half albino buck was eating my apples and feed for 25min that morning, and to top it all off he left 15min before I got to the stand!!!! Urrggghh! I never saw that deer again that season and it got shot the following season as an 8pt.

Moral of the story... drink lots of coffee and never sleep during hunting season!!! hahaha
 
Last fall I had a nice little white tailed buck 4x4 at fifty to sixty yards. My buddy says its just the second day so wait it out. Well fifteen minutes later a friend on the other side of the water takes the same buck and I never saw another for the next seven days. I do not really beat myself too hard but it irkes me.

About 8 years ago I had a 5x5 at just over a hundred yards as well. I second guessed my shot and something startled him which cause him to run straight away from me not giving me a shot. That one really gets me still.
 
No point regretting that. I have applied every year since I turned 14...still waiting. I think my odds are better to win the 649 then drawing this tag. lol
 
My biggest regret was about 8 years ago when my dad and i had a bull in our crosshairs and he didn't want to take the shot. It was 160 yards and he wasn't sure if the scope still held its 100 yard zero. I was laying on a small hill and as soon as I moved to get closer I knocked a rock down the hill and bounced off every stone down he hill before hitting the gravel road. The bull was gone. We never saw him again. We checked the zero and it was still zeroed. In my 5 years of going by myself I have only had one opportunity to get my cross hairs on a moose and I didn't want to shoot him in the arse as he run into the alders.

My dad gave up hunting moose for 4 years. We went out once last year because I bought him a new scope. His old one was a pos. it wouldn't hold zero. His co workers got there moose and keep teasing him because they have moose meat in their freezer. So he said to me "this is bs, we're getting a moose this year." So I'm pumped for this season.
 
I once took a shot that I was not at all comfortable with, succumbing to a totally uncharacteristic "Shoot! Shoot! Shoot!" in my ear from an older and much more experienced hunter. The result was the only big game animal I ever wounded. A no-BS , 5 km careful trailing of the animal (that took hours) showed that he never laid down, and that he had stopped bleeding after the first several hundred meters. Still haunts me to this day, but I did learn my lesson well.
 
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