I was elk hunting in CO with a buddy of mine and the first afternoon of the hunt we found ourselves in the middle of a herd of about 15 cows. We had practiced our tails off before the trip and were completely prepared to kill anything within range. One of the cows was standing broadside at about 40 yards, head down, feeding away and completely oblivous to our presence. He decided to take the shot. He drew back and quickly released. The arrow flew completely behind the cow, missing its mark by at least 8 feet. I was shocked. I remember thinking "you have got to be kidding me!". He said he had no excuse other than that he just freaked out. I'll say he did! EIGHT FEET! It wasn't a miss-trigger either! So much for preparation.

I'm not one to get the shakes until after the shot. However, one time I had a forker come out onto a bean field I was watching a few years back. The bugger never even came into range but I started shaking uncontrollably. I was quite young, but I had arrowed deer before. I don't know what my deal was, but if he had offered a shot there's no way I could have made a good one. I felt ridiculous, but I laughed about it. What would deer hunting be without getting excited?