Had a big slice of humble pie
10-22-2013, 11:29 AM
#1
Boone & Crockett
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Eastern PA
Posts: 12,747
Had a big slice of humble pie
Went up the camp on Sunday to hunt Mon and Tues (rained today) during PA's early ML season. Yesterday morning at first light my friend and I walked up to the top of the hollow in front of camp. Once on top we split up and would meet up at the camp at the end of the day. He went north along the ridge back toward camp and I headed west out the point of the of the mtn. (about a mile). Slowly still hunting all along the top through the mtn laurel and black birch I didn't see a single pile of deer droppings which left me a little disgruntled. I got to the point about 11:30 and sat there for almost an hour watching the bench below me and having lunch.
I decided I would drop down to the bench and follow it out back east then drop back down to the mouth of the hollow we went up. I got to the bench and didn't go 50 yds when something looked out of place below me. Looking through the binos I could see it was a broadside deer minus the head. I dropped down and sat on a log. Looking thru the binos for a while I was able to determine it was a doe. She was approx. 60 yds away but now her vitals were behind a large oak and she was munching on a newly fallen oak branch that had come down I assume from the last storm. I sat there for 20 mins minimum before she finally stepped out offering me a perfect shoulder shot slightly quartering to. I settled the front bead of the Hawken behind her front shoulder and touched off the shot. She bolted along the bench along with a yearling I hadn't seem before. She ran about 50 yds then started walking away out of sight. I waited about 10 mins, reloaded and walked down to where she was standing. All I found was white hair and no blood at all. WTH?? I started easing along the bench more or less following her tracks as much as possible in the leaves. After about 150 yds I caught the yearling trotting ahead of me and saw the doe about 75 yds out. She appeared to be limping so I probably hit her in the front leg. She was at a great quartering away angle so I dropped to one knee, settled the bead so the bullet would hit the opposite shoulder and touched off the shot. She lunged forward and took off on a run. She had to drop. Everything was perfect. But again I watched her run out of sight.
Went down where she was standing and again - white hair and no blood for 50 yds.
I never jumped her again but I did see 5 more deer the either saw me first or I couldn't catch up close enough to to get a shot.
All the while thinking that my sights had to be off - they just had to. I got back to camp and put a target up at 75 yds. dropped to one knee (after walking the 75 yds down and back) touched off the shot when the bead settled and hit the 3" bulls eye almost dead center.
The only thing I can think of is that I didn't follow through on both shots at the deer and likely dropped the muzzle. I only hope that the doe wasn't injured too much and can recover. I'm more disgusted with myself for wounding her than I am missing. I wish I would have missed her clean.
I decided I would drop down to the bench and follow it out back east then drop back down to the mouth of the hollow we went up. I got to the bench and didn't go 50 yds when something looked out of place below me. Looking through the binos I could see it was a broadside deer minus the head. I dropped down and sat on a log. Looking thru the binos for a while I was able to determine it was a doe. She was approx. 60 yds away but now her vitals were behind a large oak and she was munching on a newly fallen oak branch that had come down I assume from the last storm. I sat there for 20 mins minimum before she finally stepped out offering me a perfect shoulder shot slightly quartering to. I settled the front bead of the Hawken behind her front shoulder and touched off the shot. She bolted along the bench along with a yearling I hadn't seem before. She ran about 50 yds then started walking away out of sight. I waited about 10 mins, reloaded and walked down to where she was standing. All I found was white hair and no blood at all. WTH?? I started easing along the bench more or less following her tracks as much as possible in the leaves. After about 150 yds I caught the yearling trotting ahead of me and saw the doe about 75 yds out. She appeared to be limping so I probably hit her in the front leg. She was at a great quartering away angle so I dropped to one knee, settled the bead so the bullet would hit the opposite shoulder and touched off the shot. She lunged forward and took off on a run. She had to drop. Everything was perfect. But again I watched her run out of sight.
Went down where she was standing and again - white hair and no blood for 50 yds.
I never jumped her again but I did see 5 more deer the either saw me first or I couldn't catch up close enough to to get a shot.
All the while thinking that my sights had to be off - they just had to. I got back to camp and put a target up at 75 yds. dropped to one knee (after walking the 75 yds down and back) touched off the shot when the bead settled and hit the 3" bulls eye almost dead center.
The only thing I can think of is that I didn't follow through on both shots at the deer and likely dropped the muzzle. I only hope that the doe wasn't injured too much and can recover. I'm more disgusted with myself for wounding her than I am missing. I wish I would have missed her clean.
10-22-2013, 11:41 AM
#2
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: River Ridge, LA (Suburb of New Orleans)
Posts: 10,917
Well, it happens. It did to me once on a shot at a slow walking doe at about 80 yards. I clearly saw she was hit in the lower rear leg. Felt really bad about that, knowing I rushed a shot I should not have taken.
10-22-2013, 01:31 PM
#7
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Penns Woods
Posts: 1,628
Bronko,
We've all been there at one time or another. Four years ago, I missed the same doe 3 TIMES during the early ML season with my .54 Renegade. My wife and I took the ATV over into the woods for an afternoon hunt. We usually only take it part way up the hill and park it then walk the remaining distance to our stands. When we stopped I said "you hop off and take my rifle so I can get this parked". She walked to a nearby small tree and leaned my loaded but unprimed rifle against it.
I parked the ATV and got off, walked to where she had put it and just before I got there, it slid away from the tree trunk and fell over. I was a little PO'd, but I fought back the urge to start beeatching at her. I inspected the rifle and it was unscathed, not a scratch, ding, dent, nothing. I figured that was fine but in the back of my mind I kept thinking, "I hope the sights didn't get bumped". When I got to where I decided to hunt, I picked a nice spot to sit with my back against a big oak that offered me a good view of the area below me.
What little breeze we had was in my favor and a little over an hour passed when a big doe sauntered my way and stopped broadside at about 45-50 yds. down hill. I rested the rifle on my knee, eased back the hammer and squeezed off the shot. BOOM! The smoke cleared and there she stood, looking around as if wondering where the noise came from. She walked about 20 yds. and stopped, still standing broadside and started feeding. I managed to get the gun reloaded from a sitting position without her seeing me (try that sometime) and now she's about 60 yds. or so out from me but still wide open.
I repeated everything the same as my first shot, including the miss! Well, now she gets nerved and trots about 15 yds., stopping with her head behind a big hemlock. I got up as quietly as I could all the while keeping an eye on her and managed to reload again. Her body was still wide open so I leaned against the oak to steady the shot and ...you guessed it, MISSED AGAIN! This time she broke and ran for the next county.
When I shot the rifle the next morning it was hitting about a foot low and several inches off center.
At least all three misses were clean misses, I never found a speck of blood or hair.
BPS
We've all been there at one time or another. Four years ago, I missed the same doe 3 TIMES during the early ML season with my .54 Renegade. My wife and I took the ATV over into the woods for an afternoon hunt. We usually only take it part way up the hill and park it then walk the remaining distance to our stands. When we stopped I said "you hop off and take my rifle so I can get this parked". She walked to a nearby small tree and leaned my loaded but unprimed rifle against it.
I parked the ATV and got off, walked to where she had put it and just before I got there, it slid away from the tree trunk and fell over. I was a little PO'd, but I fought back the urge to start beeatching at her. I inspected the rifle and it was unscathed, not a scratch, ding, dent, nothing. I figured that was fine but in the back of my mind I kept thinking, "I hope the sights didn't get bumped". When I got to where I decided to hunt, I picked a nice spot to sit with my back against a big oak that offered me a good view of the area below me.
What little breeze we had was in my favor and a little over an hour passed when a big doe sauntered my way and stopped broadside at about 45-50 yds. down hill. I rested the rifle on my knee, eased back the hammer and squeezed off the shot. BOOM! The smoke cleared and there she stood, looking around as if wondering where the noise came from. She walked about 20 yds. and stopped, still standing broadside and started feeding. I managed to get the gun reloaded from a sitting position without her seeing me (try that sometime) and now she's about 60 yds. or so out from me but still wide open.
I repeated everything the same as my first shot, including the miss! Well, now she gets nerved and trots about 15 yds., stopping with her head behind a big hemlock. I got up as quietly as I could all the while keeping an eye on her and managed to reload again. Her body was still wide open so I leaned against the oak to steady the shot and ...you guessed it, MISSED AGAIN! This time she broke and ran for the next county.
When I shot the rifle the next morning it was hitting about a foot low and several inches off center.
At least all three misses were clean misses, I never found a speck of blood or hair. BPS
10-22-2013, 01:31 PM
#8
Fork Horn
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Australia
Posts: 144
I recently spoke to a bloke in Australia that says he never misses or loses deer, at least you can be man enough to admit what happens to the best of us. No one is immune to making mistakes unfortunately. Head up mate you'll get em next time
JP
JP
10-23-2013, 07:33 AM
#9
Typical Buck
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Orange County, Virginia....
Posts: 556
I missed a decent eight pointer at 30 yards last year when I had a hang fire and did not follow through with the shot. I had not had a hang fire in so long and when the gun did not go off I let the barrel float up over top of the deers back and that is when the gun went off. It was a two second delay. Shot right over his back and he kept on walking with his head down and never flinched. By the time I reloaded he was out of view. The hangfire, of course, was my fault. Had to relearn a lesson I learned years ago, LOL.
