Your most haunting or embarrassing missed shots.

[BuckHunter73]

I've emptied a quiver at a my very first buck with a bow... I even got down out of the tree and got an arrow I missed. That arrow sealed the deal for that buck... My buddy didn't believe me until I took him to retrieve the deer and showed him all the arrows. We still laugh about that!

 

[S.Clancy]

Most haunting, missing a B&C antelope buck at 200 yards broadside. Most embarassing...

2015 season bowhunting in SW MT. Opening week the elk hunting had been pretty poor and one of the guys I was hunting with pussed out after 3 days and left just 2 of us. We packed out of the canyon we were hunting and relocated about 10 miles to hunt from the road in a new area. First day, obviously elk in the area, sign everywhere, no sightings. Second morning, we work in and start calling. 10 min in hear a bugle, jump up to chase, spook a small 6x6 that was coming in silent at 50 yards. We continue to work up the ridge calling. The next setup I can hear something walking in the dry timber below us, eventually a small herd emerges with a nice 6x6. I range trees and bushes and put my range finder down. He proceeds to rake the shit out of a tree just over a little ridge, then starts stiff legged walking at me. I'm so worked up my call is stuck to the roof of my mouth, so I spit it on the ground. He passes my 35 yard marker and I draw. As he turns broadside I shoot...right over his back. He whirls, I grab another arrow and he stops at what I think is 50, way over his back. They all bust, I'm pissed. I go back and pick up my range finder, he was 18 yards at the first shot and 35 the second! Lessons learned, I always keep my rangefinder around my neck. Always.

 

[wannakillabigbull]

My first year out of college I picked up a deer tag in Colorado. Not a particularly great tag, 2nd season in a decent enough unit that my family has hunted for many years. I didn't hunt during college as I went to school in Indiana, then California. Due to money and time constraints it wasn't plausible to hunt out west so I didn't, which tortured me. I grew up elk and deer hunting in western Colorado and that was always part of my identity. Anyways, first tag after college. I had shot a bunch at the range and was well prepared for the hunt, or so I thought. I would be hunting solo.

This particular area that I was hunting was low on water that year, but with rain the deer typically start filing in toward the end of second season. Luckily enough it rained the first Sunday night of second season and right at first light Monday I parked my truck, got out and spotted a whole herd of deer. Having not seen any mature bucks to that point I pulled up my binos ready to be disappointed. I sure wasn't! Nice buck in the herd. I quickly moved into position right around 280 yards and set up.

I got behind my rifle, brought him up in the crosshairs and I'll never forget the feeling: PANIC. I didn't anticipate how nervous/excited I would be to stare down my first animal in the crosshairs in 6 years. I'd never had that feeling before in my life. Switching the safety to "fire" dang near made me jump. I got settled to shoot and wildly yanked. My finger must have been a couple inches from the trigger when I pulled! Through the scope I could see dust kicked up behind the buck and he's just looking around wondering what's going on. I fired three more rushed shots at him and none connected. As I grabbed my pack for more bullets, him and the does crested over a ridge and out of my sight forever. I tracked for a while but I doubt my bullets were even close to him. What a dunce.

This buck was easy enough to describe and in a particular area not too far from the road. My buddy called me a few weeks later and sent me a picture; he had spotted a buck less than a mile from where I had seen him and no doubt it was the buck I missed. A very nice buck for that area, and bigger than all but one that we had shot during second season in the past. Wouldn't have been my biggest but sure would have been nice to get him.

 

[Northernpiker]

What was embarrassing for me was how many misses and bad shots I had before I switched from fingers to a release in 1993. Big difference for me.

 

[Teaman1]

My worst was also my best. Was still hunting and had a big buck stand up in front of me. I took a freehand shot a had a clean miss at about 40 yards (with a rifle). I knew I shot right in front of him when I pulled the trigger my uncle tells me it means I was trying to look at the rack instead of my crosshair haha. I ended up running up the hill and put one through his lungs at about 200 yards (good thing Muleys stop and look back sometimes the taxidermist scored it for fun and told me it went 201” non-typical......almost a shot that would haunt me, but it’s still embarrassing to tell people I missed at 40 yards with a rifle

 

[timekiller13]

Pisgah National Forest, December 2005. It was any weapon season in NC, but I was bow hunting, because I lived on a college campus and could not have a firearm in my dorm room, so I just kept my bow with me. I was sitting in a tree deep in the mountains when suddenly a HUGE 8pt buck came by chasing 2 does. I have never seen another buck like this in my life, before or since. Long tines, beautiful sweeping beams that nearly touched in the front, mass for days. The buck had a body on him that looked like he was straight out of Canada. I watched the buck chase does at 70 yds for 5 minutes. He finally got within 50 yds and I had to try a shot. I shot at him, came nowhere close to hitting him. The buck never even flinched and continued to chase does on the ridge around me for 5 more minutes. If I would have had a rifle, that buck could have been mine at least half a dozen times.

I can still take you to the exact spot I shot at that deer and describe that buck, in full detail, to this day. As I have grown older and harvested many more deer, some very large, I thought that the size of that buck would have "shrunk" in my mind over the years. But, it hasn't. In fact, every big buck I have ever killed, I mentally compare them to that buck and not one has even come close to matching his grandeur. I killed one buck that may be bigger in terms of score. But in terms of how impressive, I have never seen another buck that matched him. I had a chance at a truly world class 8pt buck and I blew it.

 

[Wapiti1]

Missed a 150 yard steep downhill shot at a very big dagestan tur. I traveled 5000 miles to hunt that tur and flubbed a gimme. Didn't occur to me to aim low. The bullet harmlessly sailed over his back and he sailed out of my life.

The next day I killed a bigger tur at 360 yards steep uphill. So, it all worked out, but man I didn't sleep well that night.

Jeremy

 

[30338]

That was a good miss. I missed a young bighorn ram with archery tackle, but the arrow bouncing off the rocks pushed an 8-9 year old ram into range. That worked out well.

 

[jspradley]

That was a good miss. I missed a young bighorn ram with archery tackle, but the arrow bouncing off the rocks pushed an 8-9 year old ram into range. That worked out well.

Sounds like you planned it all that way. At least that's what I'd tell people.

 

[Chucklehead]

This was pry about 20+ years ago so I'm 16, 17ish at the time. First buck I ever shot at.
I found a good tree to hang my homemade stand in. Nice 8 point (pry 120-130")steps out quartering away at 35. Pulled back my Golden Eagle predator bow. Set my 30yrd pin slightly low. (Had to guess back then. rangefinders were too expensive/non-existent at the time) and sent my thunderhead tipped 2213 XX75 downrange.
It's as clear to me now 20 years later as the day it happened. Arrow looks like it's going to arch in right behind the shoulder, and at the last possible moment the bottom falls out and it drops right underneath him. Right between his two front legs, with a cloud of dust behind him from the arrow impacting the dirt.
Not really embarrassing to me, just funny that I seem to vividly remember the ones that got away more than the ones I took home.

 

[hayesplow]

While deer hunting year ago, a hunter who was hunting on the same property fire his rifle and didn't hit the target and didn't anticipate where his bullet will come to rest. it passed by my ears and i heard the zkkaak sound. was the scariest thing.

 

[dtrkyman]

I missed three bulls in 6 days in Montana, the 3rd one I missed twice

Took 4 years to draw that tag, that’s all I have to say about that!


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[hayesplow]

I missed three bulls in 6 days in Montana, the 3rd one I missed twice

Took 4 years to draw that tag, that’s all I have to say about that!


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This is really funny, were you hunting with you eyes closed ?

 

[Grover]

Years of therapy have helped me get over 1 of my big misses:

My hunting mentor invited me to his elk camp. Would be my first elk hunt. Of course I had to replace my comfortable and steady 10 year old Remington 7mm with a brand new Winchester 300 short mag equipped a 4 1/2 to 14 power Leopold with more knobs than I knew what to do with at the time. He hunts deep in and uses his horses for only packing the elk out. Long story short, coming back to camp, beaten and exhausted. We are so close to camp we can hear the horses and see the camper. Then it happens. A cow trots by on a trail 10’ from us, then another, then another, then a calf.....I know a bull is coming........I missed him with my new rifle at 8 yards. Would have been the closes bull killed from camp by over two miles. And he and his group have taken 75 bulls off the mountain.

I took a lot of abuse around the campfire, especially given that I was a newbie. Sold the rifle to my neighbor when I got home and went back to my trusty 7mm.

 

[X-file]

1st time I ever called a bull in. I was so amazed that I got one in. I was holding my bow up. Arrow was nocked. I had my range finder in my right hand. Bull was at 53 yards.


But you know, not once did my brain think “hey put the range finder down and put your release on the dloop”

It was such a rush but had I been a little more experienced he would have been on the ground.


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[hayesplow]

Years of therapy have helped me get over 1 of my big misses:

My hunting mentor invited me to his elk camp. Would be my first elk hunt. Of course I had to replace my comfortable and steady 10 year old Remington 7mm with a brand new Winchester 300 short mag equipped a 4 1/2 to 14 power Leopold with more knobs than I knew what to do with at the time. He hunts deep in and uses his horses for only packing the elk out. Long story short, coming back to camp, beaten and exhausted. We are so close to camp we can hear the horses and see the camper. Then it happens. A cow trots by on a trail 10’ from us, then another, then another, then a calf.....I know a bull is coming........I missed him with my new rifle at 8 yards. Would have been the closes bull killed from camp by over two miles. And he and his group have taken 75 bulls off the mountain.

I took a lot of abuse around the campfire, especially given that I was a newbie. Sold the rifle to my neighbor when I got home and went back to my trusty 7mm.

Lols, what an unfortunate turn of event, i would have trolled you so bad, you'd stop hunting forever.

 

[dtrkyman]

This is really funny, were you hunting with you eyes closed ?

That may have helped me

Crazy thing is I wasn’t all worked up, first bull I definitely rushed...The second Miss on the third bull is the only arrow I’ve ever launched that I have absolutely no clue where it went!


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[hayesplow]

That may have helped me

Crazy thing is I wasn’t all worked up, first bull I definitely rushed...The second Miss on the third bull is the only arrow I’ve ever launched that I have absolutely no clue where it went!


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Man you are cracking me up so bad, you have now idea where the arrow went...didn't you have some Kinda hunting guide with you.

 

[Sekora]

Mine was not a missed shot, but a missed opportunity. My camp had not had luck on our opening day of rifle deer season for years, so we really do not take it real serious. We just get out and sit, listen to where the shooting is so we know where the pressure is the first few days. Its been that way for years. Our season gets better after every day passes. I think it was 2015, and I had my plan on where I was going to go, a saddle on top of a mountain ridge where I might catch some deer crossing so I at least can see where they will be going after moved by the pressure. I get there a little later than I planned, and sure enough, someone is there. I figure no big deal, its opening day, the worst day of the season for us. I walk back to the next saddle and drop off the ridge to the first bench. Its wide open woods but I'm comfortable. I am sitting for about 2 hours, and haven't seen a thing, but the sun is just starting to light my bench up. I see a few deer come over the ridge onto my bench. The sun is blinding looking through the scope but I can tell they are 2 doe. After a few minutes of them standing still, they start to move in my direction and I scope them again. One doe comes through my scope, followed by the other at about 200 yards heading in my direction. I am about to put the rifle down when I see a huge rack enter my scope. The biggest buck I have ever seen in those mountains is 3rd in line and heading right for me! I thought to myself this is perfect, I can see far in both directions and they are just slow trotting, They will stop at some point and look back, like they always do. I had the buck in my scope the entire time they crossed my bench. They crossed in front of me at approximately 50 yards, slow trot, wide open woods. I watched them continue to trot until they were out of range. I was perfectly concealed, had a solid rest on a deadfall, know I could of made the shot, but wanted them to stop. I didn't even try to grunt to make them stop. I thought it was a sure thing. I was disgusted with myself, but a few hours later I seen movement in the same direction. Looked through scope, 2 calf elk. I thought it was neat to see them and was watching them approach when I caught movement behind them. Here came another legal buck behind the elk. This one did what I expected, stopped perfectly broadside at 100 yards. I was gonna pass him up since it was opening day and he wasn't a big buck, but I had a new rifle and wanted to test it out. I made the shot and he was nicer than I thought, a perfect 8 point, but the big one that got away still haunts me to this day. My buck was the first opening day buck for our camp in 14 years and since then we have got one or two every year since.

 

[dtrkyman]

Man you are cracking me up so bad, you have now idea where the arrow went...didn't you have some Kinda hunting guide with you.

I am a guide, and also managed an archery shop for years.

I’ve launched a pile of arrows in my life!


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