Greetings from Colorado:[/align][/align]Rocky Mountain Outdoor AdventuresTelevision show would like to know what are thetop 5 hunt killers are for you, is it wet boots? Not knowing an area to hunt? We want 5 idea's from you, if you have other hunters that you can forward this to,I sure would appreciate it, we need 50 hunters to participate in this Q&A survey send your thoughts to [email protected] [/align][/align]Thanks....[/align]

High winds. Never taken a big game animal during a high wind situation.

Outdoor338,

Finally, a topic one can sink a tooth into!

NOT SUITABLE FOR TV, BUT REAL!!!
** Hunting partners that can’t stay focused on and follow thru upon an event 1 year away.
** For hunters aspiring to away from home/remote hunts…… WIVES (spouses?)
** Vehicle failure en route. Many folks have marginal vehicles, then load them heavy and launch off on a “forced march” of 1500 miles non-stop and find themselves broke down along the highway.
** In the event of migratory animals and a DIY hunt where the hunters are coming from afar with little option of changing areas, NO GAME…. Planning and research should be able to avoid this but a guide works even better.
** Going cheap --- poor bullets, weak rifles, and marginal equipment in general (good Cabelas ad though).

SUITABLE FOR TV, AND ALSO REAL!!!
Okay assuming we are past the pitfalls of hunting partners, wives, vehicles, poor equipment and wayward migratory game animals…..
** Poor physical conditioning. This can be overcome to a degree if it is planned for from the get go; otherwise, it is an accident looking for a place to happen.
** Sickness or injury, namely altitude sickness and horse accidents or falls.
** Horrendous weather, freezing rain and high winds --- hypothermia time.
** Equipment failure: not checking the sight in of the rifle, fire pin gumming in sub zero weather, propane stove don’t work (e.g. Buddy Heaters over 9,000ASL), clothing not suitable to the conditions.
** Poor attitude relative to the above four items. Sometimes you just got to go ahead and suffer a little (or a lot) in order to win.

MY PET PEEVE!
my most commonly observed phenomenon where hunters risk ruining their hunt….
** Shooting and then standing there admiring the shot and waiting to see what happens instead of upon recovering from the recoil of the first shot, immediately cycling another round and drawing down on the animal again for the follow up shot. Some of big game animals can take a fair hit and keep going long enough for you to lose them. These same folks get mad, when someone else in the groups puts “their animal” down while they are busy admiring “their shot” waiting for the animal to fall and a clear shot still remains.

Wet Boots andan Un-reliable hunting partner.

being cold and hunting alone

Not being prepared. Met a guy who drove 2,500 miles for a Caribou hunt in Northern Quebec last year. He had an ecclectic load for his rifle and arrived with only 6 bullets. After a couple of misses he was in bad way. Obviously not Ammo was available up there. I alway over pack and over plan.

Hunting public land and running into a hunter every 10 feet the whole trip. If you ever hunt the silver lake or ochoco unit in deer season in Oregon you'll have this experience. Three people died in the ochocos last year from gun shots. It seems like fish & game guys would realize there doing something wrong by selling more tags than there are animals!

Slob hunters.
The sound of ATV's 15 minutes after legal shooting light.
Hearing 5 shot volleys.

EKM,
I'm going out on a limb here but it looks like you were used and abused a little too much. I hear ya, I took 2 "aquaintences" out with me last year to Wyoming for my first western hunt and they turned out to be a couple of slobs and embarrassed the hell out of me ( I won't go into the long details ) . The guys I normally hunt with, who are more like family to me really just couldn't make it out so I agreed to take these 2 clowns. I guess I really should blame myself for breaking a basic rule like hunt with who you trust.

weather-too hot,heavy rain,high winds,blizzard