Saturday I was bow hunting in a great holler next to a swamp where big bucks have been hiding out for years.  About a quarter 'til 5, I'm sitting in my climbing tree stand about 18 feet off the ground and see movement appear from the brush about 50 yards away.  A deer steps out into the trail.  A big deer.  It turns and starts right toward me.  It's a nice 8-point buck, with wide, symmetrical dark horns, and reddish-brown fur strolling on down the trail right toward me.  It then cuts back into the woods about 25 yards from me and starts walking broadside.  The wind is in my favor and the deer doesn't have a clue I'm there.  

He caught me sitting down and I didn't have a chance to get up without spooking him.  So I began to draw my bow back awkwardly from a seated position.  That's when my thumb release bumps my harness vest, and twang, the arrow goes flying off up through the trees.  The noise makes the deer bolt about 20 feet, then he stops and starts walking again deeper into the woods.   I tried to nock another arrow but by that time he was well into the brush and I couldn't get another shot.  He just kept going until the sound of his footsteps slowly faded away.  That was a hell of a disappointment.  

Sounds like it, but at least you know where they are!  Best of luck this season.
 

I had a 4 pointer come walking up behind me on on a trail once.  It was already hit in the front leg (buckshot) and was limping and dripping blood.  I was ground hunting, sitting up against a big oak and had my head turned around the tree to watch the deer walk up.  He was within sight, so I couldn't move.  He got to within 15 feet and froze when he realized I was sitting there looking at him.  We had a mexican staredown for about 30 seconds, then I decided to get up and try to swing the shotgun around and get him.  I got up, he bolted and I quickly put two rounds into the trunk of a tree he ran behind.  

Watched a buck and 2 does walk across the field. While they were passing thru a windbreak, cocked the flintlock rifle. Nice quartering angle opposite my tree stand. Pulled the trigger and no flash. Re-cocked and tried again. Nothing. Then realized that I hadn't put a new flint into the jaws. Had a used up flint from target shooting in there.

If you haven't, you haven't been hunting long or at all!

^x2
Flubbed many a shot in the brush at deer that were too close to miss... (puts another notch in the deer rifle under missed connections)

I was hunting with my dad years ago and we met back at the truck for lunch.  We decided to unload our weapons to be safe while we ate lunch.  Just as we started eating, a herd of about 30 deer, several big bucks, came running by, while we stood there with our jaws dropped open.  We always kept our guns loaded during lunch after that but never saw a stampede like that again.

Yep.  Tracking a deer that someone else wounded.  I stood up on a stump to get a look over a briar patch, and there he was, very nice 8 point, bout 10 feet from me.  I stood there like a slack jawed yokel for about 10 seconds, threw up the gun and fired as soon as i saw brown in the scope.  missed by a mile.  tracked him for about 2 miles after that, then i had to give up.

I watched a doe walk right towards me and she paused direclty under my climber.   I took the opportunity to stand and draw.  Problem is I had not nocked the arrow well and it just fell down and hit right next to the deer.  She bolted to about 35 yds and stopped.  I nocked another, drew, and shot right over her.  That 35 yds was closer to 25.  

Fuck.

Shot a cull buck at 175 yds with my .270.  Made a good vitals hit (buddy watched the impact thru his glass).  Deer did a big mule kick and hauled ass.  Found good blood (this was on a greenfield) and a lot of it.  That friggin deer must have been a ghost ("haint" in Alabama) cause he just fucking disappeared.  Could not find the 1st trace of blood once we got off of the field and into the woods.

Couple times,

first attempt at a deer with a bow.  Got flustered and used the bottom pin instead of the top pin.  I got a nice broadhead folded into a hook after it hit a chunk of concrete rubble.

bow hunting one day I missed what was supposed to be an easy 20 yard shot at a 4 pt that was not on the trail I was set up for.  I waited until he walked into the opening.  I release and watch the arrow stick between his front and back hooves.  he bolts off and I notice the small tree limb bobbing up and down about 3/4 of the distance.  It was above my line of sight.....just where the arrow flies.  later that day I shot a nice 7 pt.

gun hunting

first shot ever, hunting deer with Dad's browning A5.  Earlier in the day he said to hold a little high if it was more than 50 yards.  Well my little high was excessive, I shot right over it's back.  Well I was probably super excessive because on top of holding the bead high, I'm pretty sure my head was damn far above the stock.

Hunting with a friend near Cooperstown,   I see a nice 6 point down the hill from my cliff perch trotting on the deer trail abougt 160 yards away.  I wait until he's in a nice opening.  Bang,   He runs off like he was never touched and a tree branch about 120 yards out fell to the ground at the shot.  I never saw the tree branch in my scope.  
I go down and look for a hundred yards on the trail, not a speck of blood.  I missed.

I look like hell for tree branches and brush now and make myself available for late summer pruning around stands on my friends property.  I pass on deer in the brush, t'aint worth it to me.

I was looking for my first deer and I had a group of does come in front of me about 20 yards. I aimed at the first one and BOOM. Completely missed.  My sights were way off.  Like 6 inches right at 20 yards.  Add a nervous trigger jerk to it and I completely missed.



Yeah. I sight in the gun usually now instead of assuming the sights are dead on out of the box.

Also add stuff like rain, poor visibility, 5:15am, surprise, a crappy shooting position from the top of a rickety stand, wind, coffee, trees and your nice tight sub-MOA group shot from a concrete bench opens up a bit.

 

What's your point?  

Never! For I take headshots!

Okay I have. Hit a buck a little far back. I was trailing him for an hour solid and was winded and took a 175 yd. freehand shot. I did track him down an hour later and dispatched him. Yes I felt bad about it. Changed the way I hunt.

Only one deer other than deer I took at night with a collections permit from a high rack/spotlight but that's another deal all together.



I hunted the same buck for 3 years and 3 times got within 20 yards of him during daylight. First time I was climbing down my stand at 2pm and he walked under me. Second time I tried to shoot him at about 20 yards and the primer didn't go off - nice little dent but no boom. Third time I finally shot him with my. All 3 incidents took place in a separate year.

Yes, but the story is too painful to tell.

I sure have.
Two weeks ago I was seated in a pop-up blind behind some brush. At 7:30am a nice Doe comes out on the trial at 130yards I take the shot and she drops. I stay in the blind hoping still hoping to be able to take my first buck. About an hour later a big body 4point comes out around the same spot as the Doe. I line up my scope in front of him and let him walk into the shot.

I slowly pull the trigger and NOTHING!!! I had an FTE that I failed to see. (LMT MWS using Hornady SST) very important lessoned learned to always check my gear when I can.  I slowly tried to clear it but he spotted me. I didnt move and he stopped given me the big eyes. Then loaded another round road the bolt home and tired pushing it in no go. While he is still at 100yards waiting for me to shoot him and slowly walking back into the woods.
Very important lesson learned. ALWAYS check and double check your gear.

Point is...I should have shot the cow

 

Ha, yes. I was driving through town and stopped by my parents house on a whim to pick up something and my dad says, "Son, we just got invited to go hunting this weekend at this huge ranch resort for free. We're leaving in twenty minutes." Gee great, all my gear is half an hour away at my house!



Next morning I'm sitting in a blind wearing clothes from three different people and holding my sister's deer rifle. I take aim at a nice mule buck about 150 yards away and my bullet shatters a rock a foot over it's back. I got shit about that all day (since the blinds were about 600 yards apart, I had an audience) until I got that rifle zeroed and vindicated myself the next morning.

Its amazing how a little bitty twig can deflect a bullet they way they do.



I missed a doe completely last year. I could see a little twig flying through the air between me and her as she ran away. I could tell from her reaction and the way she ran away she wasn't hit. Sure enough...

Worst hunting fuckup I ever pulled... Maybe 60 yard quartering running
shot and he turned about a half-second before the trigger broke. My
father had said "Don't take him." and I did anyway. I got him somewhere
because I found blood. Tracked for the next several hours and got
nothing.





Came back the next morning and walked circles from the last blood drops.
Didn't find him but my dad was not going to let me off that easy.
Walked circles until sundown Sunday and we had to go home. It was a year
before my dad took me hunting again and it still bugs me a lot.





When I say "bugs me," I mean enough so that I probably couldn't look
another person in the eye and tell them. Mostly because my father died
when I was 13 and we never did get to go deer hunting again.
I've made far worse mistakes in my life. Wouldn't think twice about
posting them. I've started to post this one in several of the resent
pissing matches and didn't have the balls. Fuck it, that right there is
why I NEVER take a shot that's the least little bit risky and have only
hunted deer/elk/antelope five times... despite having lived in the
colorado foothills for 18 years.