The "downside" of One Shot
11-13-2015, 05:45 PM
#1
Nontypical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Virginia
Posts: 1,473
The "downside" of One Shot
I hunt with my muzzleloader or bow most of the time; it's very rare that I'll actually use a centerfire rifle even during rifle season. I've lately learned that using your "one shot" can simply be a crap shoot!
Location A (2/day bag limit) - First time hunting there (either sex day), a doe walks in first thing and I let her pass by. A big fork horn follows shortly and I let him go too, nothing after that. No big deal, though I do love does.
Location B (1/day bag limit) - Day 1 of 2 (antlered only): It's supposed to hit 80 degrees that day in the mountains (temps are normally in the 30s-40s) and mature 4-pointer walks in so I shoot him at 15 yards. I figured with temps rapidly climbing they'd be locking down soon for the day so I'm glad I shot him. 4.5 years old, big body, I'm happy. Climb the mountain for a PM turkey hunt and at the top of the mountain, I spot a giant buck and am about to have a perfect 75-yard broadside shot that I CANNOT take. I see him clearly as he passes through the gap and weep as he meanders along. This is easily the biggest buck I have ever seen while hunting.
Location B (1/day bag limit) - Day 2 of 2 (either sex day): Make the grueling climb to the top of the mountain starting out at 3:30 am. Set up nearer to where I saw the big boy. Instead, doe after doe after doe…I passed SIXTEEN does (and had a VERY cool face-to-face experience with one, only 6' away facing me while I'm simply parked against a tree trunk…it was intense!). Big boy never showed up, so I took a doe that came in at twilight. Except, whoops..it was a 5-pt buck (could not see his antlers against the mountain side). So crap, I'm down to one buck tag…
Location A (2/day bag limit) - Second time hunting there (either sex day again) and a nice doe comes in first thing. I though to myself, "Self…I really need a nice doe for the freezer…I passed on a million does last time and it got me nowhere. Take her." 15-yards bang flop grunt. GRUNT??? Of course a few seconds later, an extremely awesome buck comes in after her (8 or 10 pt, huge heavy horns). I could not reload quickly enough since my movement would have given me away. I had the powder down and the bullet in the crown and he dashed away. I grunted to no avail. I seated the bullet and replaced the primer and a very nice 6-pt came in. I was so heartbroken by what had just happened that I let him walk, as he paled in comparison to the awesome buck I missed.
This last hunt happened today and all I can see are those horns. I'm not a horn hunter…I like to provide enough venison for our family to get a meal per week for the whole year. But dang…sometimes horns are nice!
Location A (2/day bag limit) - First time hunting there (either sex day), a doe walks in first thing and I let her pass by. A big fork horn follows shortly and I let him go too, nothing after that. No big deal, though I do love does.
Location B (1/day bag limit) - Day 1 of 2 (antlered only): It's supposed to hit 80 degrees that day in the mountains (temps are normally in the 30s-40s) and mature 4-pointer walks in so I shoot him at 15 yards. I figured with temps rapidly climbing they'd be locking down soon for the day so I'm glad I shot him. 4.5 years old, big body, I'm happy. Climb the mountain for a PM turkey hunt and at the top of the mountain, I spot a giant buck and am about to have a perfect 75-yard broadside shot that I CANNOT take. I see him clearly as he passes through the gap and weep as he meanders along. This is easily the biggest buck I have ever seen while hunting.
Location B (1/day bag limit) - Day 2 of 2 (either sex day): Make the grueling climb to the top of the mountain starting out at 3:30 am. Set up nearer to where I saw the big boy. Instead, doe after doe after doe…I passed SIXTEEN does (and had a VERY cool face-to-face experience with one, only 6' away facing me while I'm simply parked against a tree trunk…it was intense!). Big boy never showed up, so I took a doe that came in at twilight. Except, whoops..it was a 5-pt buck (could not see his antlers against the mountain side). So crap, I'm down to one buck tag…
Location A (2/day bag limit) - Second time hunting there (either sex day again) and a nice doe comes in first thing. I though to myself, "Self…I really need a nice doe for the freezer…I passed on a million does last time and it got me nowhere. Take her." 15-yards bang flop grunt. GRUNT??? Of course a few seconds later, an extremely awesome buck comes in after her (8 or 10 pt, huge heavy horns). I could not reload quickly enough since my movement would have given me away. I had the powder down and the bullet in the crown and he dashed away. I grunted to no avail. I seated the bullet and replaced the primer and a very nice 6-pt came in. I was so heartbroken by what had just happened that I let him walk, as he paled in comparison to the awesome buck I missed.
This last hunt happened today and all I can see are those horns. I'm not a horn hunter…I like to provide enough venison for our family to get a meal per week for the whole year. But dang…sometimes horns are nice!
11-13-2015, 05:56 PM
#2
Spike
Join Date: Nov 2015
Posts: 24
I hunt with my muzzleloader or bow most of the time; it's very rare that I'll actually use a centerfire rifle even during rifle season. I've lately learned that using your "one shot" can simply be a crap shoot!
Location A (2/day bag limit) - First time hunting there (either sex day), a doe walks in first thing and I let her pass by. A big fork horn follows shortly and I let him go too, nothing after that. No big deal, though I do love does.
Location B (1/day bag limit) - Day 1 of 2 (antlered only): It's supposed to hit 80 degrees that day in the mountains (temps are normally in the 30s-40s) and mature 4-pointer walks in so I shoot him at 15 yards. I figured with temps rapidly climbing they'd be locking down soon for the day so I'm glad I shot him. 4.5 years old, big body, I'm happy. Climb the mountain for a PM turkey hunt and at the top of the mountain, I spot a giant buck and am about to have a perfect 75-yard broadside shot that I CANNOT take. I see him clearly as he passes through the gap and weep as he meanders along. This is easily the biggest buck I have ever seen while hunting.
Location B (1/day bag limit) - Day 2 of 2 (either sex day): Make the grueling climb to the top of the mountain starting out at 3:30 am. Set up nearer to where I saw the big boy. Instead, doe after doe after doe…I passed SIXTEEN does (and had a VERY cool face-to-face experience with one, only 6' away facing me while I'm simply parked against a tree trunk…it was intense!). Big boy never showed up, so I took a doe that came in at twilight. Except, whoops..it was a 5-pt buck (could not see his antlers against the mountain side). So crap, I'm down to one buck tag…
Location A (2/day bag limit) - Second time hunting there (either sex day again) and a nice doe comes in first thing. I though to myself, "Self…I really need a nice doe for the freezer…I passed on a million does last time and it got me nowhere. Take her." 15-yards bang flop grunt. GRUNT??? Of course a few seconds later, an extremely awesome buck comes in after her (8 or 10 pt, huge heavy horns). I could not reload quickly enough since my movement would have given me away. I had the powder down and the bullet in the crown and he dashed away. I grunted to no avail. I seated the bullet and replaced the primer and a very nice 6-pt came in. I was so heartbroken by what had just happened that I let him walk, as he paled in comparison to the awesome buck I missed.
This last hunt happened today and all I can see are those horns. I'm not a horn hunter…I like to provide enough venison for our family to get a meal per week for the whole year. But dang…sometimes horns are nice!
Location A (2/day bag limit) - First time hunting there (either sex day), a doe walks in first thing and I let her pass by. A big fork horn follows shortly and I let him go too, nothing after that. No big deal, though I do love does.
Location B (1/day bag limit) - Day 1 of 2 (antlered only): It's supposed to hit 80 degrees that day in the mountains (temps are normally in the 30s-40s) and mature 4-pointer walks in so I shoot him at 15 yards. I figured with temps rapidly climbing they'd be locking down soon for the day so I'm glad I shot him. 4.5 years old, big body, I'm happy. Climb the mountain for a PM turkey hunt and at the top of the mountain, I spot a giant buck and am about to have a perfect 75-yard broadside shot that I CANNOT take. I see him clearly as he passes through the gap and weep as he meanders along. This is easily the biggest buck I have ever seen while hunting.
Location B (1/day bag limit) - Day 2 of 2 (either sex day): Make the grueling climb to the top of the mountain starting out at 3:30 am. Set up nearer to where I saw the big boy. Instead, doe after doe after doe…I passed SIXTEEN does (and had a VERY cool face-to-face experience with one, only 6' away facing me while I'm simply parked against a tree trunk…it was intense!). Big boy never showed up, so I took a doe that came in at twilight. Except, whoops..it was a 5-pt buck (could not see his antlers against the mountain side). So crap, I'm down to one buck tag…
Location A (2/day bag limit) - Second time hunting there (either sex day again) and a nice doe comes in first thing. I though to myself, "Self…I really need a nice doe for the freezer…I passed on a million does last time and it got me nowhere. Take her." 15-yards bang flop grunt. GRUNT??? Of course a few seconds later, an extremely awesome buck comes in after her (8 or 10 pt, huge heavy horns). I could not reload quickly enough since my movement would have given me away. I had the powder down and the bullet in the crown and he dashed away. I grunted to no avail. I seated the bullet and replaced the primer and a very nice 6-pt came in. I was so heartbroken by what had just happened that I let him walk, as he paled in comparison to the awesome buck I missed.
This last hunt happened today and all I can see are those horns. I'm not a horn hunter…I like to provide enough venison for our family to get a meal per week for the whole year. But dang…sometimes horns are nice!
11-14-2015, 07:20 AM
#4
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Virginia / West Virginia
Posts: 4,906
Hey man, you've had some great days afield! I wish my hunting this year has been even close to that. Where in VA are you hunting?
As a side note, today was firearms opener. Where I hunt I didn't hear a single shot until 30mins after shooting light. ??? That is a first in my 35yrs of hunting. Didn't see any deer, and heard very little shooting compared to typical opening day. Weird. I did see a decent sized black bear.
The MK85 will have to wait for another day to bark. Well maybe I'll get lucky and it will be this evening.
As a side note, today was firearms opener. Where I hunt I didn't hear a single shot until 30mins after shooting light. ??? That is a first in my 35yrs of hunting. Didn't see any deer, and heard very little shooting compared to typical opening day. Weird. I did see a decent sized black bear.
The MK85 will have to wait for another day to bark. Well maybe I'll get lucky and it will be this evening.
11-14-2015, 07:27 AM
#5
Dominant Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 21,193
Sounds like you had some great hunting so far and are filling the freezer just fine. As for a "Truly Big Buck" ... I know the feeling. One year here it was "does only season." And what walks in front of me but one of the nicest bucks I'd ever seen in the woods. I mean a real heart stopper. And as he walked out, I thought ... next year buddy. And you too know now, where he lives. You'll get him. Hang in there.
11-14-2015, 07:58 AM
#6
Fork Horn
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Virginia
Posts: 413
I'm a meat hunter, if its a mature or nice size deer and legal its gonna take a ride home with me. If I get a chance at a bigger antler buck vs less antlered I will try for the big boy, cause he has more meat on his bones.
Mike, I didn't go out this morning, but will be in a corn field this evening. Good luck maybe this is the day for you!!
One thing I like about the one shot of a muzzleloader or bow is it makes one tend to wait for the best possible shot in order to connect, at least that's the way it is for me.
Mike, I didn't go out this morning, but will be in a corn field this evening. Good luck maybe this is the day for you!!
One thing I like about the one shot of a muzzleloader or bow is it makes one tend to wait for the best possible shot in order to connect, at least that's the way it is for me.
11-14-2015, 08:30 AM
#7
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Virginia / West Virginia
Posts: 4,906
Yeah good luck to you too Steve! Maybe this evening will be better around here.
When I go, I typically am holding out for a nice buck...I pass up all the small bucks. I usually shoot 2-3-4 does during the season (mostly in WV) while waiting for the nice buck to show. He usually doesn't...LOL, but I keep trying!
When I go, I typically am holding out for a nice buck...I pass up all the small bucks. I usually shoot 2-3-4 does during the season (mostly in WV) while waiting for the nice buck to show. He usually doesn't...LOL, but I keep trying!
11-14-2015, 03:28 PM
#9
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 5,425
I've had 3-4 occasions from 1975 when I started hunting with muzzleloaders to the present that I saw a huge buck that I could have killed if I had been using my bolt action...It happens, no big deal...Some of my most exciting hunts have been with the flintlock I made myself, shooting a big old doe with the balls I made as well...
It's about the hunt, the challenge and not the antlers to me, I see roasts, not antlers...
It's about the hunt, the challenge and not the antlers to me, I see roasts, not antlers...
11-15-2015, 08:32 AM
#10
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Comance county, OK
Posts: 11,408
Over the years i've killed three really nice bucks and several decent bucks. One of my nice bucks was killed in 1965 in southern MD. It was scored in 1999 at 192 points. i will never kill another buck anywhere near that one so i don't even try.
Started hunting with a muzzleloader again in 1999 after a hiatus of 25 years. Since 1999 i have passed on several nice bucks. Last year i passed on a clean 35 yard shot: The buck scored 165-175 points. He was over one mile from the nearest road. Dragging it out would have been impossible, the woods was a tangle of tree limbs downed by an ice storm.
Started hunting with a muzzleloader again in 1999 after a hiatus of 25 years. Since 1999 i have passed on several nice bucks. Last year i passed on a clean 35 yard shot: The buck scored 165-175 points. He was over one mile from the nearest road. Dragging it out would have been impossible, the woods was a tangle of tree limbs downed by an ice storm.