AH Members Willing To Bare It All?

[375Fox]

Some of my best shooting has been in Africa, I have to think hard for a miss. The only animal I’ve ever wounded has been a boar in New Zealand. I’ve missed more than a handful of whitetail bucks as a kid. However my worst shooting (hopefully of all time) was in New Zealand in 2017. I missed a chamois (that continued standing there) 4 times at 240 yards with a borrowed rifle. I shot the rifle at range following this incident and it was on. The repeated miss was 100% me.
I may have shot at a dark stump once too following up on a warthog close to dark.

 

[Stephen Ausband]

Weird miss--and a clean kill. I was hunting with an old "Hawken Style" muzzle loader (round ball, open sights, set triggers--you know) and a nice buck walked out and stood almost broadside. slightly quartering to me. I set the trigger, took careful aim, and somehow missed. Oops! No time to reload. Remarkably, the buck must have thought the noise was thunder or something, as it began walking almost directly toward me. I was carrying a 1911 (legal with my CCW, and it was modern rifle season anyway), so I decided to take a shot with it. At 25 yards the buck seemed nervous. I aimed at the shoulder and the 230 gr. HP hit the spine. (Angles, angles: I'm not always THAT bad a shot.) The deer collapsed in a heap, and I had my buck. Weird luck? Deaf deer? It tasted just like all the others.

 

[Mekaniks]

Close range, long range, uphill, downhill, excitement, unfamiliar rifles, out of position shots, moving critters....

Any one that has hunted much has missed with one or more, or all of these.

I have.

Some of them embarrassing and some no one saw but me.....

Anyone that has hunted long enough you will experience all of them and learn from them. The guys that are "really good shots" have done all of that and learned from it.

 

[OldnLazy]

haha this should be a fun topic can’t wait to hear people’s stories. So here’s my 2. The only plus side is both of these misses I ended up still filling my tag. However the 1st one hurts because to this day is still the biggest deer I’ve ever seen on the hoof.

1. I was about 15 or 16 archery hunting on my families private property. Long story short I was walking a trail coming out of some brush and seen 3 giant mule deer 30 yards away in the clearing. Behind a barbed wire fence, same property just sectioned off for cattle (and I had permission to be theee btw) I Draw my bow back and get on the biggest one which was also the closest to me. And let an arrow fly the arrow was going perfect then shot straight up in the air halfway there and I realize my arrow hit the barbed wire fence. And all 3 bucks took off. To this day that’s the biggest deer I’ve seen on the hoof. Another guy that hunts the property ended up getting him later that year he was a 4x5 with a 29” spread. (This is in California btw bucks like that aren’t behind every bush lol)

2. SECond one is painful just because the deer was so close and I still have no
Idea how I missed. My brother and I were walking a trail and he stops saying he sees a buck so I tell him “well shoot it” he gets on it and I’m telling him shoot it and he takes forever and I’m telling him Shoot before I do and he finally shoots his deer drops so we’re both excited and all of the Sudden another buck pops up running 30 yards away running toward us. So I get on and The deer stops and I shoot and he turned at the same time
And I missed him from probably 20 yards away with a rifle. Only thing that makes this ok
Is the next Weekend I shot the biggest deer That I’ve ever killed

 

[Hogpatrol]

I attribute most of my misses to subconciously pulling the trigger and lifting my head at the same time, not following through. For me, this is the easiest way to shoot too high. Maybe others have done the same? I watch guys at the range do it and then they wonder why their shots are all over the place. After one of these episodes of me lifting my head and missing, before the shot, I remind myself follow through and stay on the stock. In Africa, I tell myself the PH will say if it's a hit or not, keep your head DOWN.

 

[steve white]

haha this should be a fun topic can’t wait to hear people’s stories. So here’s my 2. The only plus side is both of these misses I ended up still filling my tag. However the 1st one hurts because to this day is still the biggest deer I’ve ever seen on the hoof.

1. I was about 15 or 16 archery hunting on my families private property. Long story short I was walking a trail coming out of some brush and seen 3 giant mule deer 30 yards away in the clearing. Behind a barbed wire fence, same property just sectioned off for cattle (and I had permission to be theee btw) I Draw my bow back and get on the biggest one which was also the closest to me. And let an arrow fly the arrow was going perfect then shot straight up in the air halfway there and I realize my arrow hit the barbed wire fence. And all 3 bucks took off. To this day that’s the biggest deer I’ve seen on the hoof. Another guy that hunts the property ended up getting him later that year he was a 4x5 with a 29” spread. (This is in California btw bucks like that aren’t behind every bush lol)

2. SECond one is painful just because the deer was so close and I still have no
Idea how I missed. My brother and I were walking a trail and he stops saying he sees a buck so I tell him “well shoot it” he gets on it and I’m telling him shoot it and he takes forever and I’m telling him Shoot before I do and he finally shoots his deer drops so we’re both excited and all of the Sudden another buck pops up running 30 yards away running toward us. So I get on and The deer stops and I shoot and he turned at the same time
And I missed him from probably 20 yards away with a rifle. Only thing that makes this ok
Is the next Weekend I shot the biggest deer That I’ve ever killed

If you forget to look through the string sight it will go to the side considerably...

 

[mdwest]

If a guy get hasn’t missed a shot, or made a bad shot in his life…chances are he hasn’t been hunting a whole lot in his life…

My worst was recently… 2020… took a clean shot on an impala at about 120 yards…clean miss… the impala only moved maybe 10-15 yards…so I loaded again… another clean miss… at that point I started questioning if the scope had been knocked off zero or something else was failing.. but the impala only moved about 50 meters into the bush, so we gave chase, closed the gap, and made a third try…

Perfect hit… dropped him in his tracks..

Nothing wrong with the rifle at all… just the shooter…

 

[PARA45]

I missed twice about 10 days ago on the same deer. He was only about 115 yds away. Shot the first time and missed just to realized that he never moved, so I rushed the second shot and missed again. Oops. Life goes on.

 

[kdenn]

Tried to post an honest hunt report after my first Safari in August, couple misses but got some great trophies. Taken several 1000 yard shooting classes hit 3 inch clay target from bench, with one of my hunting rifles. Totally different on sticks at 100-200 yards with an animal you really want to shoot in front of strangers.

 

[Flipper Dude]

Hardest damn shot on safari for me is the one shot rifle check. Maybe not the hardest, but the most nerve wracking.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

A PH once told me, "if a hunter says they NEVER miss, they're lying--we all miss." Now, who is willing to bare their souls and tell us how they missed game and what they can/we all should learn about specific situations?
I hate to admit it, but I once hit too far back on a running Buffalo, and had to finish it later. (in my defense, I was completely untrained in running shots, tho that should have perhaps made me refuse to take the shot?) When I returned home I beat a path to the new cinematic shooting range which used to be in the Grapevine Mills area and got some practice.

@steve white
I don't mind admitting I've made some stuff ups.
Spotlighting rabbits with my son and a mate. Rabbits from 20 yards to 75 yards were completely safe that night. I couldn't hit a bull in the arse with a sack of wheat that night. Full of excuses from they moved when I pulled the trigger to scope must be loose or been bumped.
Next day my son proceeded to shoot the caps off drink bottles at various ranges with the same rifles.

Mate and I lined up on 2 fallow deer at around 75 yards. On the count of 3 we both fired. Good solid hits were heard but the deer just bolted. We couldn't understand what had happened 2 good shots, both of us heard rh hits. We walked down to were they were to follow any blood trail. Arse up we went over a log hidden by long grass about half way there. We hadn't seen it at the time. Closer inspection showed where 2 25 cal projectiles had smashed into the bloody log. The deer were long gone. The good hits we made were into wood not deer. We decided not to skin the log out to take home as we didn't know how to cook it.
There are more misses I could tell but that's enough.
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Unfortunately screwing up is a part of learning, and I've done my fair share of it.

Buck fever, AKA adrenaline dumping into my bloodstream as I'm about to pull the trigger on my first buck. Fortunately it resulted in a broken back (dropped at the shot) for the whitetail deer, but did require a finishing shot.

Learning from others what to do or not do has been a big part of my hunting education. You don't need to personally experience something to learn from it. Not saying experience doesn't play a part, but learning can be done in many different ways other than just "doing it". With time and proper practice accurate and ethical shots on game become much easier.

If I lost the "buck fever" feeling altogether, I'd quit hunting. I love the feeling and it's what drives me to hunt and fish. Being able to control it is the skill I strive to master.

@BeeMaa
Mate you need to clear your brain of everything bar the coming shot ( easy for me ain't much brain to clear)call your shot and aim for it with nothing else in the brain, then shoot. Calling your shot is hard to achieve but with practice can be easily done.if an animal is quartering away a fix on where I want the bullet to exit and with practice you instinctively know where to aim.
You need to get in the zone and be at one with yourself and your rifle.
Clear the mind grasshopper snd focus , all will become clear.
Bob

 

[fourfive8]

Be the ball

 

[mdwest]

I attribute most of my misses to subconciously pulling the trigger and lifting my head at the same time, not following through. For me, this is the easiest way to shoot too high. Maybe others have done the same? I watch guys at the range do it and then they wonder why their shots are all over the place. After one of these episodes of me lifting my head and missing, before the shot, I remind myself follow through and stay on the stock. In Africa, I tell myself the PH will say if it's a hit or not, keep your head DOWN.

I've been seeing this A LOT lately... I started coaching (assistant) a HS competitive shooting team recently..

about the same time the trigger gets pulled, the shooter starts trying to look over the top of the rib to see if they have busted their clay.. which consistently results in a miss.. it also results in red cheeks (getting slapped 50-100 times over the course of an hour.. even by light #8 loads, leaves a pretty distinct mark... which makes it pretty easy to identify and demonstrate why proper mount is important lol.. )

 

[CoElkHunter]

@steve white
I don't mind admitting I've made some stuff ups.
Spotlighting rabbits with my son and a mate. Rabbits from 20 yards to 75 yards were completely safe that night. I couldn't hit a bull in the arse with a sack of wheat that night. Full of excuses from they moved when I pulled the trigger to scope must be loose or been bumped.
Next day my son proceeded to shoot the caps off drink bottles at various ranges with the same rifles.

Mate and I lined up on 2 fallow deer at around 75 yards. On the count of 3 we both fired. Good solid hits were heard but the deer just bolted. We couldn't understand what had happened 2 good shots, both of us heard rh hits. We walked down to were they were to follow any blood trail. Arse up we went over a log hidden by long grass about half way there. We hadn't seen it at the time. Closer inspection showed where 2 25 cal projectiles had smashed into the bloody log. The deer were long gone. The good hits we made were into wood not deer. We decided not to skin the log out to take home as we didn't know how to cook it.
There are more misses I could tell but that's enough.
Bob

Hey Bob,
"Ever eat a pine tree? Many parts are edible"-Euell Theophilus Gibbons
Just get the lead out first! Ha! Ha! Ha!
CEH

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Hey Bob,
"Ever eat a pine tree? Many parts are edible"-Euell Theophilus Gibbons
Just get the lead out first! Ha! Ha! Ha!
CEH

@CoElkHunter
Didn't have a suitable knife to skin it with so left it there. That pine trees bark was worse than its bite.

 

[Witold Krzyżanowski]

Welcome to AH.