Looking back...
 

How many missed opprotunities have you had with a bow on a buck that you would mount? A miss, not being ready,wrong tree, orbad shotand couldn't find. I had at least 3. One was a bad shot, one was the wrong tree, the last was shot the wrong deer and then right one came by and saw the dead one and freaked out!!

RE: Looking back...
 

Too many to count......I had a tremendous run of badluck up until about 5 years ago..... I've had atleast 6 or 7 boderline pope's within 20yds that never came home with me!

RE: Looking back...
 

3-4 at least. Why did you have to bring up those bad memories now I have to go back to therapy.[:@]

RE: Looking back...
 

Luckily for me......I had 2nd chances at both bucks on my wall. I clipped the one I shot last year in the leg in 2006. I had a couple later encounters (and one previous)with him that resulted in no shot opportunity.

I took a shot at my '06 8-pointer (day after Thanksgiving)that hit a vine and deflected. I found that arrow, lodged in a tree, last year. I ended up killing him on 12/12 of the same year (2 weeks later).

I needed a possible P&Y caliber 8-pointer to take 2-3 more steps last year.....hunting PA. He got as close as 22yds....but offered no ethical shot.

RE: Looking back...
 

In 2005 I had a real bad year. I missed three bucks, all of them would have made P&Y easy. One was a high 150-low 160 deer. I had messed up my shoulder that summer and the doctor wanted to cut me in July, but said that there would be now way I could pull my bow back by the start of season. I decided to wait until December to have it cut. Big mistake on my part, with the pain I was having I should not have even been in a tree. The mistakes we make I guess.

RE: Looking back...
 

Missed a 150" 10 pointer about 4 yrs ago, I got buck fever, and as Forrest Gump says "That's all I got to say about that."

RE: Looking back...
 

i was torn between hunting an old wooden stand down in a draw, or hunting a satnd on the edge of the field just 250 yards away......my uncle sat in a stand where he could see the old wooden stand at about 100 yards.right around 8:30 the biggest buck my uncle has ever seen(he has harvested a 174" 12 point) ran right by the old wooden stand chasing a doe

RE: Looking back...
 

Once, My first year archery hunting. I started tracking to soon and found where he laid down twice but I kicked him up. I still kick my self to this day for that. I have since recovered every deer.

RE: Looking back...
 

Where to start on this one![>:]

I know of 3 different 140" range 8 point bucks that got the free pass from me because at the time I didn't think they would make books. All 3 of these bucks on different occasions were at 12 yards with my bow hanging on the bow hanger being I had no intentions on shooting them. This all happened with in the last 4 years. For some stupid reason the last 4 years or so I've had trouble scoring bucks up in a tree, specially 8 pointers. I've been consistently low while scoring them. Normally I'm pretty good at this but as of late these big 8 pointers have been fooling me with there size of rack. Last year when I shot my 140 1/8" 8 point I didn't know if he would make books or not, I knew he was close but I figured he was 5" or so short if not more. I was 20" off on him. The only reason I shot that buck I got last year was because something in my gut said this is your buck, maybe it was because he came in so awesome to my rattling, who knows I guess. I had him at 10 yards for 25 minutes before I decided to shoot him. I had no intentions on shooting him the 1st 25 minutes he was under my stand tree. Boy am I happy I went with my gut feeling or I'd still be letting bucks like this by this upcoming year. It opened my eye's on my scoring no dought! Those other 3 bucks I let go were damn close to him in size and tine length, maybe even a tad bigger! I can't believe I've been that far off the last few years. This year I'll be paying a little more extra attention to this.

About 7 years ago I had what I thought was an 8 point coming down the trail to my stand. I seen him coming and I thought to myself, nope he won't make P&Y, he's about 120" to 125". I always let border line P&Y bucks walk. So I left my bow hanging on the bow hanger and watched him come by at 12 yards broadside. When he was broadside I then noticed I just screwed up and let a P&Y buck go by. He had 4" end forks which I didn't see earlier which made him a 10 point and would of easily put him at 130" to 135". Man I was depressed after that, no ones fault but my own though. Thats just stupid on my part!! From now on my bow always comes down if I see a deer coming whether its a doe, fawn, or a small buck. One just never knows.

I've let allot of nice bucks go by as well that were in that 25 to 30 yard range. A little to far for my recurve.

RE: Looking back...
 

Really only 2. One slipped in on me and walked through my shooting lanes before I had the opportunity to shoot him. I grunted to him a couple times when got about 70 yards out, but it didn't work. That was a 120 class 8 point.

This one hurts. I hunted the morning, had some errands to run, so got down around 10. At straight up noon I climbed back up my tree. I no sooner got to hunting height when a 140 class 10 point ran a doe directly under my stand.....Yeah, that's right. My bow was still on the ground, I hadn't even been able to pull it up yet. And yeah, he stopped perfectly broadside at 15 yards......Didn't have a clue I was there......Just to rub it in a little, he came back several minutes later and was w/in 20 yards, but never stepped into the clear.....I still have tears over that one.....

RE: Looking back...
 

Too many. The last three that come to mind where:

1) My first year of bowhunting about 5-6 years ago...last day of bow season and I hadn't seen anything. The last hour comes and two nice bucks come walking down the trail and stop at 20 yards. I was so dang nervous I missed low--TWICE on the same 8 pointer.

2) Maybe 4 years ago a beautiful 8 pointer comes flying by at warp speed chasing "something". I call him in with a can call. He walks down the trail and looks to be walking right into a great shooting lane. I come to full draw with my old Bear bow (with like 50% let-off). He stops at the last tree...I am on full draw for probably 90 seconds. He starts moving again, then stops. I look down below my tree and a dang doe is standing motionless. I had to let down because I couldn't hold my bow any longer.

3) In 2005 I bust out of work and get in the woods about 3 hours before sundown. Right when I am about ready to cross over to my spot, a huge/massive 10 pointer was standing in a doe crossing area scent checking. He was 35 yards from me. I lowered my climber and hid behind a laydown. I got an arrow ready and began the stalk. He was now at 35 yards and broadside. The only problem was we had a major storm system moving in and the winds were gusting at 30-40 mph. I chose to not shoot! ahhhhhhh. The only thing I wish I would have done differently is stalked all the way around the bedding area and caught him broadside at 15-20 yards as he patrolled the downwind side. I was too scared to spook this buck because I believed I could set up in the future and see him again...never saw him again. He was truly a magnificent animal.

RE: Looking back...
 

Oh god, dozens and dozens of times. Beginners luck put me into a lot of big bucks but rarely helped me close the deal my first five years bowhunting. My first year I shot a nice buck, easy as pie, and that ruined me for several years. I thought I had this bowhunting thing down....ha. Now I mind the details, constantly re-evaluate my approach & try to always stay flexable and it has payed off, I have not screwed up one single oportunity on a buck in three years and I am proud of that. We will see how long the streak lasts:D.

RE: Looking back...
 

This is an interesting, although sometimes painful subject. I believe there are a few situations in my history that would have sped up my progress away from shooting the first buck that would walk past me.

The 1st buck (deer for that matter) that I ever loosed an arrow at. It was a real nice 16-18” wide 100” buck. I missed @ 4 yds. ‘88
A real nice 110-115” 9 point that I saw 4 times over the course of the season, only for me to finally get a shot at him the next to last day and miss due to a limb deflection. ‘90
A VERY nice 115-120” buck that my dad should have shot, but shot the smaller buck instead (long story). This buck circled around and skirted just outside my max range at the time and I never took the shot. Although presently, I would’ve taken the shot at the buck without hesitation as it is now well within my max range. ‘93
A 90” buck that I watched walk just out of range and past the tree I usually hunted out of, but for no real reason I decided to move that evening to a tree 10 yds away. ‘94[/ol]

These encounters all came very early in my hunting endeavors and I believe had I connected on 2-3 of these 4 chances, I would have started waiting on a chance at a decent buck much earlier in my hunting career. Which in turn would have led to much more time in the stand and experience gained, and may have led to some nicer bucks on the ground.

RE: Looking back...
 

Im mounting my first deer I take, so A fallen over three that was still connected to the trunk was in the way of the vitals. Stupid October Storm

RE: Looking back...
 

Three that I know of.
First one was a 140 in class deer in Illinois. I grunted him and stopped him at 20 yards. I shot and hit high on the shoulder right on the ball. Never found him, just about 20 drops of blood. I am still sick.

Last year I saw a big ol deer in another field and it was just because I sat in the wrong stand.

The other one, I was in the srong stand and someone saw the deer run right by my stand.[&o]

RE: Looking back...
 

I forgot one. Back about 6 yrs ago I had a 110" 8pt chase a doe full speed by my stand, he stopped at 5 yds and I shot, my string caught my grunt call and then hit my watch and my watch went flying! He never really knew what happened, but he offered no other shot he was gone after her in a split second.

RE: Looking back...
 

Too many! I know of4 in the last two years:

1) 135 class eight point at 6 yards that I drew on on the 1st day of a 7 day hunt in IL. I let down, thinking I'll have plenty of opportunites in the next 6 days. Wrong!

2) Same hunt, day 6, a 150-160 class comes in, but got no closer than 70 yards. Man was I nervous after that encounter.

3) Last year (IL), 180 class ran past me at 15 yards chasing a doe, only to stop at 65 yards and look back in my direction. Just in case you don't believe the 180,I was not the only hunter in my party to see him.

4) Last year also in IL, 140-150 class 8 point with 22" + spread ws coming my way when a dog came in and ran him past me at 4 yards.

This year I feel it, my luck is going to change.