Anyone miss a bedded buck at 10 feet?

[oldracerguy]

So after about an hour and a half still hunting amonst the blowdowns this morning, I am face to face with a nice fat camp buck at 10 feet.He is bedded and just as suprised as I am. We eye each other for a few seconds and he makes his move.

Every year during the December BP season I wait for a fresh snow fall and spend time just stillhunting to get a few does in the freezer. It is my favorite solo hunt.

So I did get a quick shot off with the buck going mach 4 through the tag alders. Good luck with that, right. Why did I miss? Instead of just pulling my Renegade up at 10 feet away and taking out the white spot just under the throat, I looked down at my rifle and actually engage the set trigger. I wasted precious seconds and felt like real greenhorn. I had to just stand there and laugh at myself after what I just did. With 50+ deer under my belt I am still making goofball mistakes!

Just another perfect morning wandering the woods with a 50 caliber muzzleloader in my hands. Love it! This is my first post on this forum as I just found this site. Very cool...........

 

[larry wv]

Stuff happens. And the older we get the less time in between. Welcome to the forum. Larry Wv

 

[Flint50]

Nearly the same thing happened to me. Years ago I was hunting along the Arkansas river. I had been on my stand since before light and decided to still hunt back to camp around 11:00 for lunch. I was sneaking along, 10 minutes later, then spied an antler coming towards me around a boulder. A very nice 4x4 materialized 10 feet in front of me! We both froze (Greenhorn mistake), he turned and did the mach 4 thing, disapearing into the junipers. I too got off a quick shot but to no avail. Had I stayed on stand he would have come right to me.

PS Welcome to the Forum :hatsoff:

 

[KyFlintlock]

It is all good and what keeps us returning. GOod luck on him next time.

 

[playfarmers]

That is part of the hunt and the memory that will last a long time. We all have a few.

 

[ian45662]

I just missed an easy 25 yard broad side shot on a nice doe last week. I can hit a golf ball with that rifle at the same distance but apparently a deer is smaller than a golf ball :surrender:

 

[shootemup]

Welcome to the forum oldracerguy,

Your mistake doesn't sound like such a terrible sin, but we all have those simple mistakes we seem to make over and over.

For me, it's standing up to move without making that one last COMPLETE survey of the entire area first. I don't always do this, but I seem to have a tendency to just stand up occasionally when I'm still hunting (uh, duh) and I decide it's time to move on.

Grunted in a nice little buck during early muzzleloading season this year and scared him off when I stood up. :redface: Not the first time I've ever done that, definitely the last. :haha:

:hatsoff:
Spot

 

[rabjr]

I think I've probably used my luck up. Just thinking fast I can remember shooting 5 running deer and most under 25 yards. I dumped them all but it's not a shot I can recommend. To many people aim at the deer instead of quickly calculating where/how/when to lead and what happens far to often, is a wounded uncover able deer.

 

[dbutch]

Welcome to the forum- That buck story you will take to your grave and get the most mileage out of."My no good brother from Illinois" did the same thing with his bow..at 7 am he hit low stomach. at 11:30 we started tracking- that deer bedded down not 40 yards from the hit he had the bow ready I tracked and kept my eyes forward- in high grass-I spot the deer laying not 6 yards away with his head up I freeze-My No good brother from Illinois says I can see him ,he's 2 feet from me ,I pull him over and say shoot now!--He aims for the neck he's say's "so he won't ruin any meat"- Thwack "missed" the deer gets up and runs and is never seen again!I look at him in disbelieve and say"you have got a problem"You can pick your friends but not your relatives.another true hunting story. I liked yours better.

 

[edcknives]

I had a similar event with a nice 4X3 bull elk. It was in Colo. at about 9,000 feet on opening day in Oct. It was about 20 degrees on a dry snowless day. I got to my spot an hour before sun up. I was freezing my arse off and almost considered building a fire. Shortly after the sun rose three cows coming crashing through the woods about 40 feet away followed by the bull. I thought the noise initially was from some hunters walking through the woods. I had my gloves still on, pulled the set trigger and half way down to lowering and shouldering the rifle it went off. Does not work well when you fire a warning shot when you have only one shot to use. Did not see another legal bull the rest of that season. Did get a nice 5X4 Mulie that same hunt later on, but made sure I did not make the same mistake. The reason I knew it was a 4X3 is that about an hour or so later someone else did not make the same mistake I did.

 

[dbutch]

Ouch! that one stung a little!

 

[rabjr]

Your a better than I am to warn em first. :bow: :wink:

Thats why all my guns have one trigger. :thumbsup:

 

[edcknives]

All mine do now. It changed to that shortly there after.

 

[Stumpkiller]

Why did I miss? Instead of just pulling my Renegade up at 10 feet away and taking out the white spot just under the throat, I looked down at my rifle and actually engage the set trigger. I wasted precious seconds and felt like real greenhorn.

That's one reason I prefer to hunt with a single, unset but crisp and light trigger.

Twice this year I have still-hunted for hours and, sure enough, when I get tired and just start slogging to the next rise I come up on a deer who blasts-off while still out of range. Hunting takes a LOT of mental (and physical) effort to be ready in an instant for that split-second of opportunity while being stealthful and quiet and constantly minding where your feet are settling.

I know some Western hunters (my Boss lived in Colorado) who just can't grasp that three seconds is often twice as long as you have to ID the deer and take the shot. Grouse hunting is GREAT practice for hunting whitetails in heavy cover.

That's why I like my tree-seat. I'll sit for two or three hours where I have some clear lanes and then still-hunt for an hour to get warmed up for sitting again.

 

[jethro224]

I've missed several in assorted stupid ways.
So far this year I missed my first opportunity at a big one by being distracted by a doe, clogged nipple gave me 2 missfires on another decent buck, and I rushed the shot and flat out missed a 3rd giant buck. :redface: :cursing: :slap:
I can't wait for next weekend to try again. :thumbsup:

Welcome to the forum! :hatsoff:

 

[CZMark]

One Sunday during deer season quite a few years ago, a partner and myself were walking along a logging road through thick woods. My partner noticed a bedded doe (aka meat) just off the side of the trail. His reaction was to point at it and shout "Hey, there's a deer". At that, the doe jumped and was out of sight in about one second.I have NEVER let him live that one down.

 

[GreyWhiskers]

I recently missed a small pig at about 10 yards. About 4 of em were rootin around under some brush and I had my rifle trained on the spot for about a minute, waiting til I could see most of a body or a head. Finally did, but jerked the trigger and shot below him. Of course they all run like pigs from a gun. My daughter was standing next to me and said, "Dad, what just happened?" :hmm: :surrender:

 

[rabjr]

I recently missed a small pig at about 10 yards. About 4 of em were rootin around under some brush and I had my rifle trained on the spot for about a minute, waiting til I could see most of a body or a head. Finally did, but jerked the trigger and shot below him. Of course they all run like pigs from a gun. My daughter was standing next to me and said, "Dad, what just happened?" :hmm: :surrender:

:rotf:

 

[rabjr]

Remember a couple years ago when I was using the big 42" 1792 and had a big Doe step out at 25ish yards with a skipper in tow? They were going right from left and the Doe finally stopped and all I could think about was shooting before the skipper who was right behind her and still coming, got along side her and prevented a shot. Well I lined up low on the chest and I was shooting at a downward angle to, boom! When the smoke cleared one deer ran to the right and one was left flopping around pretty much at the spot I shot. Nice, I'll give it a minute then go collect it. Well it was a struggle but it got up and ran off to the left....I'm in disbelief....

A search turned up no blood going right or left and we searched a good 2 to 300 yards both ways. Coming back to the spot I shot the deer at, it was obvious I hit the dirt under the Doe smacking her belly with dirt/gravel which caused her to kick as she took off to the right. Well the poor skipper was just coming up behind her and got a face full of hooves. :rotf: Knocked the poor thing on her arse. I was so excited with the blood flowing then, I didn't realize it was the small deer on the ground flopping around until I put two and two together.

Thats one miss I still laugh at and don't mind. :haha:

 

[Finnwolf]

...I am face to face with a nice fat camp buck at 10 feet. He is bedded and just as suprised as I am. We eye each other for a few seconds and he makes his move.

So I did get a quick shot off with the buck going mach 4 through the tag alders. Why did I miss? With 50+ deer under my belt I am still making goofball mistakes!

Similar thing happened to me years ago. Late season hunt, not seeing squat, so my buddy and I put on a 2 man drive through a swamp. He goes in one direction, I skirt the swamp, picking my way through the hemlocks, trying not to make a sound.

Next thing I know, here comes a nice fat doe running like the blazes right at me, looking back over her shoulder. She doesn't even see me! To get a good shot under the low hemlock branches, I gotta get down for the shot. I make the mistake of squatting instead of kneeling and soon the soft ground begins to give way before under me I'm completely ready to take the shot.

I thumb back the hammer as quick as I can while trying to keep the sights on her shoulder. Finally fall backwards on my butt just as the flint hits the frizzen. Rifle goes off but she runs. Clean miss at 20 yards! Wet all over. Felt like a rookie.

Finnwolf