Hunting mistakes and misses

[couesobsession]

Well sometimes it's hard to talk about but all of us hunters eventually miss our game or mess up our chances in some other way. So come on and share your hunting mistakes and misses for all species of game. These experiences are hard at first, but if we can't kaugh at ourselves then who cdn we laugh at?

 

I remember one year I was hunting elk on the Migollon Rim. I only had two hours left in my hunt when a small bull stepped out. I shot him for meat, and darned if thatsound didn't scare up a huge 7x7 bull not 50 yards away, right where I was planning to walk. I'll tell ya, elk meat never tasted so bitter sweet as that small bull did when I gutted him.

 

I shared one, so let's keep the ball rolling.

[1denogean]

when i was about 7 a lion was right infront of me and my dad about 40 yards away and he was trying to show him to me instead of shooting it when i was watching it the whole time i was just being quiet so it would here us.

[coues hunter]

This past Jan on the first I missed a 103" buck at 60 yards and again later in the day at 75 yards. Two weeks later my friend shot that buck but not before missing the 101" buck I killed a week later. Sorta funny to me.

[GingerRam]

I was hunting 3 years ago in 36B. I took a shot at a nice buck across a canyon and missed. The buck ran a bit and I missed again. I moved down the ridge aways to see if I could spot the buck again, no dice. I was sitting on a rock glassing furiously and what walks up my side of the canyon? That darn buck and his little buddy.

 

He looked, I raised my gun and pulled the trigger. The old Ruger just went "click". I forgot to rack another round.

 

I swear that if that deer had a middle finger, he'd a flipped it to me. He was at 6 paces as I tried to range the tree he was standing by and it wouldn't register. I walked it off and later nearly cried.

 

Oh well, a good story and a in hindsight, a good memory.

 

Mark

[NavajoHunter]

My mistake - having partner handle rangefinder. I missed a solid 370+ plus bull at an uphill slope cuz tried to guesstimate yardage...

[NavajoHunter]

 

... oh, and using the same bugle that everyone is using...

[EBB]

First hunt with my new progressive lenses. Fell down 3 times opening morning. Drove to my chiropracter opening afternoon.

Finally figured out that the rocks weren't where my eyes were telling me they were.

EBB

[AZ RANGER]

When I was about 17 me and dad were archery hunting unit 32 in Jan. I was sitting on the side of a small saddle glassing for deer. I decide to hike a couple hundred yards to a new vantage point. As soon as I do l look back in the saddle and see a coues doe followed by a spike. The little buck starts trying to breed with the doe when a HUGE buck that was about "hundred oh my gosh inches", runs him off and takes care of business with the doe. If only I would of stayed in that sadlle another 20 minuets I might of had a chance at him. To this day it is still the biggest buck I have seen on the hoof.

 

On that same trip I missed a 20 yard shot a nice 4 point muley. I glassed him up and he ended up walking right passed me, I got so excited I don't think I even looked at my sight pins when I shot. That one still hurts too.

That was 12 years ago and I have made a bunch more mistakes since, but that's what keeps it interesting.

[justinspe25]

A few years ago I was hunting coues and standing on the edge of this narrow, brushy cut. I didn't know where my bro inlaw was so i let out a quiet whistle. After i found him we were standing there like idiots talking and I see a buck running up the ridge on the same side as us. I guess it wasn't a very quiet whistle.

[Chef]

First hunt with my new progressive lenses. Fell down 3 times opening morning

 

That made me chuckle!

 

(sorry!)

[coues hunter]

This was my first deer with a bow. I believe the technical term is a good miss.

[firstcoueswas80]

That was probably a easy tracking job!

 

 

Lets see... I blew the head off a 93-95" coues buck on the 3rd day of my first/only December tag.

 

Opening morning of that hunt I shot at a buck and missed not knowing the size of it just listening to a buddy say SHOOT! (Glad I missed actually) and to this date that is the only big game animal I have shot at and missed.

 

Shot my first pig with a bow... Instead of watching where HE went, I turned to my friend and started celebrating... Never found him.

 

Shot a cow elk at about 30 yards with my 30-06..... Never found her

 

[Coach]

I've posted this before, but it seems appropriate for this thread. A couple years back I was hunting unit 27 in January. I had a treestand all set up, and deer had been moving through this area. I hiked in, in total darkness wearing the bare minimum of clothes, got to my stand and started layering up in the darkness. I had insulated coveralls, a thick parka, over who knows how many layers of clothes. The temps were in the low teens when the sun came up.

 

Around 10 AM, I caught a movement to my left. Sure enough, a small 3x3 buck walks right out from behind a juniper right in front of me. I had never shot a deer with my bow, and here, finally after years of hoping to kill a coues with my bow, is a nice little buck not 30 yards away, totally unaware of my presence. I attach my release to the string loop and go to draw...can't get more than halfway back. I'm trying not to move too much, but my muscles were so messed up from the cold, I could not get to full draw. I actually laid back in my stand trying to get the bow pulled back, and this buck is just standing there watching me struggle to get to full draw - I just couldn't get a full draw, no matter how hard I struggled. At this point my feet are sticking out, my bow is pointing up in the air, and I'm pulling at it as hard as I can.

 

If ever a deer has laughed his butt off at me, it was that morning. He simply walked off, as if nothing had happened while I contorted and twisted like crazy.

 

Moral of the story, if you're sitting a blind or treestand in cold temps, draw your bow from time-to-time, just to make sure you still can!

[firstcoueswas80]

Sorry Coach, but that takes the cake! I have never heard of that happening before but can totally understand why/how!

[COOSEFAN]

This will be a good thread to keep tabs on!

 

Mistakes??? I've got too many and not enough time to sit here and write them all out!

 

I've got some good ones, first one that comes to mind is my most recent one that happened in Mexico and will haunt me for the rest of my coues hunting days!

 

I was with a ranch owner who didn't speak any english and I had just met him for the first time an hour earlier. My mexican friend was also with us and was my translator. My partner had previously done all the logistics with this rancher and hadn't filled me in yet on the details of this particular ranch. My partner also had told me that I could take a deer if I saw one but I didn't have the money with me at that time and really didn't have the money to be spending anyways. While driving down the road the rancher motioned to me that he sees big bucks in that spot and all of a sudden the biggest 3 point coues buck I've ever seen runs across the road! I slam the truck in park before it even stopped rolling, dug out my rifle, loaded it and took a knee next to the truck just as the buck stopped broadside at 120 yards! I held the crosshairs on him for a second then for some stupid reason I felt I needed varification from the ranch owner that I could shoot the buck! I pulled off the gun and tried calling for my friend in the truck but he couldn't hear me. I got back in the gun on the buck that was still there and was about to pull the trigger again but felt I really need to know for sure that I can shoot this buck so I pulled off again and called to my friend. This time he hears me and asks why I haven't shot!!!! I get back on the buck and sure enough he spins and trots away with my crosshairs steady on his tail! I should've ran the bullet up his tail pipe but I didn't. As I stood up, shaking and experiencing the most frustrating and disgusted emotions I've ever felt, I looked at the ranch owner and he had his hands up asking me why I didn't shoot!!!

 

I hunted that buck exclusively the next couple days and made another mistake when I shot a 100" class dwarf buck in the exact spot that appeared to be a giant at long range because of his small body. I didn't have a spotter with me and at 756 yards he looked like a giant in my rifle scope but only after walking up to him did I realize he was a midget and an expensive mistake! My client later killed the buck I "passed" up, and in a weeks time he had broken 2 tines off but still scored 117" even without the 2 tines! So, I guess I can say that I "passed" up a 130+ 3x3 buck at 120 yards.......and it'll haunt me for the rest of my life! JIM>