Your worst hunt stories...

[wingchaser_labs]

Lets all here that story that made you feel the sickest and wished you could have had another chance at...

Mine takes place in Colorado elk hunting in 06'. It was the second day of the hunt on public land after not seein much the first day. My morning started with working my way up a thick spruce and aspen tangled raviene that the elk returned to to bed for the day. At light I heard a soft bugle up the valley on the other side and figured I'd just hunt my way towards it. Aboutan hourafter light and closer to the bugle I heard some elk coming about 3 or 4 and as they cleared a knoll at about 50 yards I caught horns comin through the brush and saw it was a nice 6x6. He came past with his head laid back swaying his head through soem brush and limbs and I drew. He continued at about 30 yards and made it to a clearing and as I tried to stop him he turned to walk straight up the hill away from me so I turned my body back towards the others coming in hopes of a shot at them. As I turned I caught the bull turning back quartering away from me so I ewwed with my mouth to stop him, settled the pin and let er rip. Arrow entered last couple ribs and looked to go straight up in the cavity. He turned and bolted to the left and sounded like he went down after only 80 yrads or so but I couldnt see him. I was so excited. My first bull with the bow and he was about 300"s after killing a 250" 6x6 with the gun and a couple cows with the bowpreviously. I was jacked, I heard him go down, so I went and found first blood where I had hit him and sat there waiting for about an hour. I tried reaching guys on the radio but got no answer so I decided to go ahead and look for him. Well he wasn't dead and I jumped him from his bed and he busted the fletching half of the arrow off (about 6 inchesand blood was spotty. Never found him after hours of searching and to this day I still play that over in my head. I should have just gone back to camp and waited for 5 hours for everyone to return and then go find him. I was just to excited and wasn't thinking, I had no reason to go looking for him cuz I had all the time in the world that day to wait. Figured I must have got liver, one lung, and stuck the arrow in the off sholder...... What did I learn? I learned from that hunt that if you don't SEE the animal go down to leave them for plenty of time and return later. I'll never go looking for an elk that I didn't see go down without waiting 5-6 hours now. Lesson learned but still makes me sick. I did redeem myslelf somewhat by killing a huge cow two days later and will be back out there this fall again chasing elk. WCL

[daughenbaughredneck]

i was hunting in 1999. and my tree stand started to shake for no reason at all. im 16 ft in the air early in the morn and chilly out. so im looking around. and i see nothing. then i hear growling im looking around still nothing. then i look up and their he was the biggest raccoon you will ever see. 3 ft from my head trying to get down the tree and he was mad. so i swear i jumped down without even using the ladder and from the adrenaling i landed right on my feet. must of been the boot blankets that protected the landing with a cusion. but i never used that tree again

[Deleted User]

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[salukipv1]

This happened on my father's elk hunt, I was tagging along, it was his 1st elk hunt. We had a hot elk responding coming in......mainly wish we made more of an agressive move, he came in, but held up / out quite a little ways I think had we got in much closer then called, we may have gotten lucky. Didn't really see an elk that entire hunt.

[Vabowman]

Oct 2000, 3:35 pm 2 bucks walk up at the same time, one is small, the other was around 115-120" 8 pt, pretty buck to say the least, I would have mounted him. Anyway, he walked up to the tree at 6 yds and then didn't present a shot if you can believe it, then he turned and walked behind the tree around the other side at about 4 yds!! I was at full draw when he stopped, as I hit the trigger on the release he stepped forward and i hit him in the top of the hind quarter. I watched him run away bleeding profusely, but I knew it was not good. I found him about a 1.5 months later in a broom straw field about 250 yds from where I shot him. He was nice and I would have put him on the wall, I never got over that deer and that day, it took me two yrs just swallow the whole episode.[&o]

[Brknarrow1970]

My worst hunt involves a loc-on stand - I was about 70 miles away from the house by myself, climbed 15 ft to a loc-on I had hung months earlier got both feet on the stand and promptly got dumped out- a bolt had back out to one of the supporting cables and it was like a trap door- luckily for whatever reason put my safety belt on the way up (God was looking over me because I never done this a lot)- brkn and bruised ribs and a fear of loc-ons from that day - I don't trust them and not sure if it was an adjacent Landowner or what but the bolt was nowhere to be found

[Rory/MO]

im not gonna get into the whole story, but i shot and hit about a 130" 10 point, back in 7th grade. still would be my biggest buck

[early in]

Last season I was in my stand and heard a noise. I thought it was just another squirrel making some noise, so I turned too casually tolook in that direction. Wouldn't you know it, it was a 10pt not ten yards from me!! Of course he bolted. He was the nicest buck I've ever seen in the area! That was a beginners mistake for sure.[:@] Lesson learned? Every noise is a deer.

[Steven McBee]

i was sitting in a big oak when i hear growling from below[]i look down and 7 coons were climbing my stand trying to get to the baby coons i did not know were 3 feet above my head...........i started whispering telling them to leave but they didnt, soon i was screaming and kicking and cursing to get them to go away but they still didnt.............i then triedslapping them with my arrow but that didnt work and at a distance of .5 feet, i stuck my knife through the leaders head, killing her almost instantly, luckily all the others left and since it was such an amazing scenerio, i decided to get the coon mounted and now its sitting in my hunting room !!! this may sound like a joke but i will post pics tomarrow of the devilcoon..............ive also gotten attacked by a wounded goose, and i was ran over by a doe on a deer drive[:'(]

[lnen#1]

Make a very long story short, LOST! Brother-in-law found me by honking his horn, Coyotes nest ridge, No flashlight, and lost a good 120" buck in the process!!