Hunting mistakes and misses

[CouesBuckhunter]

Last year in december i was out scouting an area thats always full of bucks in the rut. I glassed up coues buck that was 115 or better. He was always going to this broken trick tank to get water so i set up a neat little brush blind. and a day later it was january 1st. I sat there and what do you know, he walked right in and looked in the blind! i didnt have time to draw. So i sat one more morning then decided to switch tactics and do spot n stalk. I go up on this litle glassing knob and what do you know, i glassed him up walking out of the same caynon i just hiked through. He followed a fence line and then got on a hot doe and followed her to the trick tank! anyways she bedded down with him and i made my way down. But what i didnt know is that she had got up and moved to the next cut towards me. so by the time i got down there she had me pinned and then took off. he got up 40yrds away facing me. i didnt want that shot but he didnt offer me any other... then later in january without luck in finding that 115 deer i sat one of my water spots for the evening. There were does everywhere!,which was a good thing. Then a doe came running towards me as i watched the big boy that pushed her. It was a 100+ buck and he neared 60yrds then 50yrds broadside. I drew back and a dang doe stepped in between me and him. i never got a shot. Also,this isnt a hunting mistake but it had the same feeling.~ i went out to check a spring for deer sign, there are some hills i could see from where i was so i thought, what the heck and set up the binocs and the tripod. Right as i set the binocs up i had 4 nice bucks. one 4x4-105-110 and 2 3x3s-85&100 and one of the bigest 2x2s ive ever seen! easily 90inches. The 2x2 and 4x4 stated to get into a fight. But I had dropped my back when i looked for a good glassing spot so i ran back to get the video camera. when i came back they were still at it even harder. I thought, o man u better not break any tines! a minute later they were still fighing hard. they were nearing a 5foot drop off [this was some rugged country] and what do you know, they went down it. 30 minutes later the 2x2 came up from the cut. but after 30 minutes more i still could not find the 4x4. Its a gut-wrenching feeling because i want to send him an arrow!

[Xman2000]

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!

 

LOL great story coach amost fell out of my chair .I can relate same thig happend to me a few years back on a make shift groung blind hunting javilina near a water hole could not for the life of me draw back

[WHALE]

About six years ago me and my brother were archery hunting the august season. We had decided to sit together on a tank with good sign when about 8:00 a group of four bucks come walking in to the tank(the biggest being a good 4x4 mulie). Well they get to 12 yards and I decide to draw back but a 1/4 of the way through my draw the closest buck looks up at me so I stop. After a minute I can't hold any more so I pinch the arrow with my index finger and the stress is relaxed. the buck looks away and I continue my draw but don't release my finger from the arrow causing the nock to pull out and the arrow to clang on the bow. The bucks take off and are seen running over a ridge. Well that sucked but we are thinking they will be back again sometime so we hunt the tank several more times not to see them again. Three weeks later I see a guy I know and he says " hey check out the mule deer I shot a couple weeks ago". He shows me pics of the buck and right away I notice that this is the same tank and same buck that I messed up on. I ask a few questions and find out it was the same group of bucks, same tank and same time three days after we missed them. All I could says was "No wonder he never came back in"

[Sam]

As I am getting ready to leave on a bull hunt today after dinner, I am thinking back to my last bull elk hunt, four years ago. The hunt started off with absolutely great weather, lows in the 20's and highs in the 60s. I passed on several small bulls. I had the whole week to hunt and was holding out for a nice bull. Some of you may remember that year, Monday night the weather turned and it stated getting really cold and snow. The lows hit single digits and it snowed all day Tuesday and Tuesday night. Well, I hunted in the snow and got a shot at a small 4 point - I missed.

 

That night I cleaned my gun, wrapped in a down jacket and went to bed. Early the next morning I got onto a set of bull tracks. The wind was blowing like mad and I would guess the temp to be around 10 degrees. About 8 am I catch up to the bull I was tracking and see it feeding in the snow about 40 yards away. His head is down and his antlers are moving back and forth as he digs through 4 inches of snow to find some food. What an awesome sight!

 

I kneel down, settle the cross hairs behind his shoulder and pull the trigger. The trigger doesn't move.......so, I check the safety, move it twice, re-shoulder my 700 and pull the trigger again. No movement at all. At this point the bull has no idea I am there and frustration is starting to set in.

I chamber a new round, pull the trigger, nothing.

 

I decided to take a round out of my pocket - chamber it and try once more. I was afraid I was going to break the trigger as I pulled with all my might. At this point I realize my trigger is froze. A layer of ice must have formed behind the trigger the night before.

 

Picture a 38 year old man spitting behind the trigger trying to melt the ice with a perfectly symmetrical 6X6 40 yards away. I could not get it melted and the bull walked off. I was about ready to cry. Actually, I really thought about throwing my gun and go after this bull with my Buck knife.

 

As the weather looks pretty nasty for this year's hunt, I am praying that this will not happen again. I will be carrying my Dan Wesson .357 just in case.......

 

Happy Thanksgiving.

[JLG]

I think most of my mistakes are lack of preparation. This one falls under a couple categories, you never know what your going to see and when and if there is a season for it, have a tag in your wallet.

A couple years ago in 36C, I was helping a couple of friends on a WT hunt. They didn't take Friday off, so we headed down friday afternoon. We parked their 32 foot toyhauler, I got out and started glassing a not too far off mountain. I see movement think its a deer and go get my spotting scope. Mind you we are set up right behind the toyhauler. My buddy looks at what I am looking at and it turns out to be a bedded lion. From the toyhauler he was 500 yards away, probably could have closed the distance to 300 easy.

None of us had a tag, no one camped around us had a tag. We watched that lion for 45 minutes, until it was too dark to see anymore. I have shot and shaved hair off the back of a lion before, but this one haunts me more.

Between, the miss and this one, it was the deciding factor in getting a custom rifle with turrets built. You only get a few such chances in you life and I feel, like I have used several to this point. Next lion I see, I want for a rug on my wall, not a woulda, shoulda, coulda story, Take Care, JLG.

[daryl_s]

I think most of my mistakes are lack of preparation. This one falls under a couple categories, you never know what your going to see and when and if there is a season for it, have a tag in your wallet.

A couple years ago in 36C, I was helping a couple of friends on a WT hunt. They didn't take Friday off, so we headed down friday afternoon. We parked their 32 foot toyhauler, I got out and started glassing a not too far off mountain. I see movement think its a deer and go get my spotting scope. Mind you we are set up right behind the toyhauler. My buddy looks at what I am looking at and it turns out to be a bedded lion. From the toyhauler he was 500 yards away, probably could have closed the distance to 300 easy.

None of us had a tag, no one camped around us had a tag. We watched that lion for 45 minutes, until it was too dark to see anymore. I have shot and shaved hair off the back of a lion before, but this one haunts me more.

Between, the miss and this one, it was the deciding factor in getting a custom rifle with turrets built. You only get a few such chances in you life and I feel, like I have used several to this point. Next lion I see, I want for a rug on my wall, not a woulda, shoulda, coulda story, Take Care, JLG.

 

OUCH!!!! That one hurt just reading your story. What a total bummer.

 

BTW, congrats on the weight loss so far this year. I need to drop about 25-30 myself.

[AZbowhntr]

I'm sure there are several but one stands out. Growing up in Idaho I never knew what coues deer were. So about 4 or 5 years ago I am archery javelina hunting with a few friends and we glass a small herd of pigs about a mile and half away. Myself and one other guy decide we are going to make a stalk. So off we go with the other guys sitting on the ridge glassing and watching the action. Well we close the distance to within a couple hundred yards and remove all our extra gear and really slow down. As we are getting into the area I look to my left and see the dinky little deer standing broadside at about 50 yds max. Well I have a deer tag in my pocket but I wasn't about to use it on this little guy. So I start shoeing him away hoping not to spook the pigs. Looking back if I only knew what I was shoeing away. It was close to a 90 coues deer that apparently had a death wish. I think he thought I was nuts because he didn't even run off. He just turned and walked the other direction. I wish someone would have educated me on them before that afternoon.

[More D]

i was on my upteenth archery hunt and id had many opertunities but i finally had on fall in my lap so to speak.

 

as we were heading out of the area on our way home 2 javies walked in front of the truck. we got all excited and pulled over and started to get all of our gear to gether. we did the "ill go this way and you go that way" deal. as im walking i finally cut the track and i start my elmer fudd walk. i must have gone 30yards in as may min. i of course lost the trail...i saw a wash and figured i could hurry ahead and try and cut the track again and start over. im walking slowly down the wash and a noise made me freeze. 10 yards away a javie is staring me down with one in tow. after a long while the rear javie got fed up that the front one was not moving started to come around the first one and made a uturn and laid down next the the one staring me down. finally he laid down but kept his head up looking at me.

so i have two javies, one facing me and one with its rear to me facing straight away, at 10 yards. i do my best impersination of a bush in the wind as i get my proper stance and draw back(it took me 10 min easy, i was sure not gonna mess this opertunity up!) im at full draw......i wait for the facing pig to turn it head, to do a frontal shot, the arse of the other.......here it is......release........i shoot the OTHER piggie in the arse. im missed by a foot at 10YARDS!

all heck breaks loose and the pig is stumbuling around and SCREAMING like he's being skinned alive. im freaking out and standing like a little girl who has to pee cause the screaming is making my hair stand straight up like fingernails on a chalk board. he finally tires out and stops moving but not screaming! and for the first time shoot and animal where you are suposesed to.

that was the last time i hunt javies with a bow....

 

 

 

 

[Guest Lobo]

One year I was hunting a really nice 4x4. He was running with a couple other bucks and they would stash in some thick brush - MY KINDA HUNTING. I'd kept an eye on him through the summer and saw him again just before the November season started. I got to a spot before sun up and waited for the wind to shift later in the morning. Then I got after him/them. It worked out really smoothlike until they stashed in some really thick stuff. I could see their feet just 10 yds away. I'd push slowly and they would move deeper just as slow as I was moving. I'd move 10yds and so would they. We did this all day. As it started getting late and I got farther away from my truck (un-prepared to stay out) I got desperate. I crouched down and I could see their feet just yards away. I thought if I could push them out into the open I'd have a shot. Not having a better idea I rushed them. Yes I ran through the brush at them. They ran allright. They ran around me just skirting the open side and back into the brush where I was before. I think they were laughing with me as well as at me. I got a buck later in that same place near the end of the season. I found an opening at about 15 yds. but it wasn't the big one.

[Gut Pile]

Oh those painful misses. I killed my first coues buck last year and what a thrill!! The gray ghost in the back of my truck! This year I was amped. The first few days I saw a spike and lots of does, but I new the bucks were in there. Dad had to get back to work so we drove back to the valley where I grabbed my rig and turned and burned back to my unit. After driving and setting up camp I fell asleep without settin the ol' alarm. Woke up an hour and 1/2 late and scrambled to get whereI needed to be. As I was walkin in to my spot I was still beating myself up for wakin up late. I happened to look up to see a deer staring right at me from 80ish yards. I shouldered my rifle and took a look. When my scope found the deer my heart just about stopped. I didn't even bother judging or counting points, I just saw two dagger like eye guards and junk spread out past his ears. Then It was like I was in a trance. I just lowered my sights to the vitals and pulled the trigger. That monster did a bout face and kicked the after burners on. I Missed the buck but slaughtered the oak tree behind him. Checked for blood and follwed his direction for quite a while and determined I had missed him for sure. I don't think I ever felt that sick, but thats the way it goes. To be honest, I feel priveledged just to have seen such a beast and I guess that's why I hunt and will continue to hunt. I consider that buck my White Whale.

 

White Whale if you're reading this, get your estate in order......I just got a new bow!!!!

[firstcoueswas80]

I missed a nick buck Tuesday during my hunt. He was out there a ways, and I had shot that distance this summer, I just failed to put that distance on my cheat sheet and missed him low. Too bad too, as that was my first chance at a 100" class buck. My spotter thought that I got him, and I did to based on the way he acted (Jumped and bucked) but he walked away as if he was fine and when we check for blood/hair there was nothing.

 

Oh well, Ill just kill him next year when he is bigger

 

On a side note, that buck avoided "death from the Chupacabra" twice as Girlygirlhunter missed him opening night when I glassed him up. His lives are getting short!

[db cooper]

My turn.

 

A few years back, I was hunting mulies near Kearney. After a few fruitless days, I was sitting in camp with my grandfather and uncle. They decided to drive to a nearby mountain for the evening hunt. Being discouraged, I decided to stay in camp. Of course, I got bored and decided to take my shotgun and roll a few quail or rabbits. As I walked out of camp, I glanced at my rifle and kept walking. After less than a hundred yards, I stood on a low rise and watched a picture perfect 4x4 mulie saunter by at a range of 30 feet. Of course, I went and grabbed my gun and tracked the buck. A mile later, I missed.

 

Never leave your primary weapon behind.

[HEADACHE]

one fine morning a few years back I had been following deep raspy bugles half way up a mountainside.... closing the gap, bow in hand and heart up in my throat. I finally caught a glimpse of the monarch.... 370-ish 7x7 with huge swords! he was broadside and slightly uphill.

I saw him walk behind a cedar.... I quickly clicked away at the rangefinder.... 43, 43, 43, 43..... I drew and started guessing a spot on the tree where his chest would be as he walked out the other side..... he was one step from instant death.

 

As I closed my eye and looked through my peep, trying to force myself to breath slowly.... I saw something move in my peep... a cow was bedded and I was aimed right at her forehead! .... she had been watching me and she jumped up and spooked out.

I just knew the bull would follow so I quickly jumped a few hops back to my right to try to squeeze a shot in behind the bull/tree!

 

Just then he stepped out right where I wanted him to be! I jumped a few back to my original spot... pulled that bow and tried to make that pin set still! jerked the trigger and missed just low, I think I shaved his belly. It was a total meltdown of nerves, bad luck, and lack of oxygen!

 

The bull jumped forward as I reloaded. Clicked him at 50. Drew the bow, (Totally relaxed by this time) Squeezed the trigger ever so softly aiming straight behind his last rib...... half way to his pumphouse, my arrow centerpunches the smallest tree limb I have ever (never) seen! It was the size of a pencil in thickness!!! It deflected straight up! The bull chuckled and casually walked off over the mountain never to be seen again..... While I tried to collect myself...

[twigsnapper]

After many years of trying I finally convinced my Dad to make the trip from WY and come chase pigs with his bow. It had been a few years since we hunted together but we got on pigs opening morning. As we are creeping in on the pigs my Dad is in front of me but as all hunters new to pig hunting he was walking way to fast and he must have envisioned some huge oinkers because he was not seeing the heard standing still at maybe 20 yards. I tried the pissst, pissst, hey pops, whisper but he wouldn't stop walking. Opening day came and went as my Dad stomped by pig after pig. Finally at dinner I say "Dad, why don't you stop when I tell you to." His response "I can't hear sh@# anymore, and I never heard you" For the rest of the hunt I had to carry a pocket full of rocks and every time I needed him to slow down or stop I would reach into my pocket and pelt him in the back with a stone. The next time I saw him he was sporting a new set of hearing aids! My Mom road him for years and he never got em but one failed pig hunting trip was all it took.

[Mrs125coues]

After many years of trying I finally convinced my Dad to make the trip from WY and come chase pigs with his bow. It had been a few years since we hunted together but we got on pigs opening morning. As we are creeping in on the pigs my Dad is in front of me but as all hunters new to pig hunting he was walking way to fast and he must have envisioned some huge oinkers because he was not seeing the heard standing still at maybe 20 yards. I tried the pissst, pissst, hey pops, whisper but he wouldn't stop walking. Opening day came and went as my Dad stomped by pig after pig. Finally at dinner I say "Dad, why don't you stop when I tell you to." His response "I can't hear sh@# anymore, and I never heard you" For the rest of the hunt I had to carry a pocket full of rocks and every time I needed him to slow down or stop I would reach into my pocket and pelt him in the back with a stone. The next time I saw him he was sporting a new set of hearing aids! My Mom road him for years and he never got em but one failed pig hunting trip was all it took.

Now that is just plain funny...Thanks for the laugh