My 2nd season ended today, lots learned (lost at least 6 deer!!)
01-02-2010, 04:52 PM
#1
Nontypical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Virginia
Posts: 1,473
My 2nd season ended today, lots learned (lost at least 6 deer!!)
I learned this season that I had a LOT of luck last year in my first season. I only went hunting 3 days last year (because I didn't know about public land, LOL!!), and in those 3 days I killed a buck, two does and two turkeys. Of course, that really, REALLY skewed my sense of what hunting is all about. This year, I learned much.
On opening day, my pride kept me from killing a 6-pointer on public lands. You know, since hunting is a piece of cake, I was going to hold off for something bigger. Nothing bigger came that day, and I sorely regretted not taking the shot. I did kill a little doe fawn that day, but it was a mercy kill (she came within 10 feet of me, made eye contact for awhile and then moseyed on her way [a really cool experience!], at which point I noticed her back leg bleeding, so I put her down...I was so ticked that I didn't want her and gave her to the idiot who shot her, a mistake on my part).
A few days later, I got this nice 9-pointer in the same spot I saw the six-pointer. Due to many mistakes in many outings, he would be my only kill of the season.
There were at least 5 times where I went out and saw nothing. Part of that was probably just the way it is, but I imagine I spooked a few that I never saw due to my own movement. One lesson is that I need WARMER CLOTHES!! There were plenty of times where I went out, saw something (or heard something coming my way), and botched it. Let me recount the ways!!
- Had a doe walk right by me (less than 20 feet) and let her go because I was "trophy hunting" in the mountains and it would have been a pain to haul "just a doe" down the mountains. I'm not going to let trophy hunting get in the way of the reason I started hunting in the first place...EVER!!
- Was wondering the best way to ambush bedding areas during a hunt, so I pulled out my iPhone and started to do research while in the field!! I set my gun down to the side, you know...just for a MINUTE. And of course, that's when a nice doe came by. The leaves were so dry that I couldn't help but make a little noise when getting my gun, and she spooked!! NEVER put your gun down and NEVER get on the internet while hunting!!
- Had a deer coming right at me (probably a nice buck given the sound of his wheeze!!) but got winded because I didn't choose the proper path into the ambush site. Getting IN is half the battle!!
- Had five does walking in an area where I could have fired but didn't because they were against very dark background (was in a tree stand for the 2nd time ever and the ground was soaked). I knew I had the shot because I saw the front sight of my slug gun on three different shoulders, but didn't shoot because I felt uncomfortable. Now, for some reason, I'm really fond of irons over scopes. But had I had glass on that baby, I KNOW I would have taken the shot(s). Two lessons: 1) Have confidence in my shooting abilities, knowing that it sometimes takes discomfort to grow (you can't practice every scenario at the range!), and 2) Put some glass on that slug gun!! Yeah, there's just something about irons that I love, but when the scene is a little dark and/or muddled, a good scope will clear things up and make the difference!
- Spent an hour getting into position on a doe that I had spotted while still hunting. After all of the painstaking moves needed to get there, I finally got a shot. MISFIRE!! She already knew something wasn't right because of the blaze orange statue she had spotted on the logging road, but that click sure got her attention. Instead of trying to load a new round (and thereby spooking her off), I should have simply tried to re-c0ck the firing pin in the slug gun's bolt and take another shot. I later fired the same misfired round on a rotted stump at the end of the day, and BOOM!!
- On my rifle, I was having trouble keeping zero with my red dot scope. After a failed trip to the range yesterday, where I figured out the problem but didn't bring the TOOL to fix it, I took off the red dot and decided to check the irons. I verified they were zeroed at the range...two in the same hole at 100 yards was verification enough for me.
Well, after I hunted this morning with the slug gun, I decided to move to another county for one last shot at some "sure" game. There I could use my rifle. I had fixed the issue with the scope, but it would have been INCONVENIENT to go all the way out to the range on my way to the other county. I could just use my irons!! Didn't see anything the rest of the day...UNTIL LAST LIGHT. At LAST light on the LAST day of a very frustrating deer season, two very nice does stepped out into the field. I raised my M14 to put at least one of them down, but here's the thing about peep sights...when it starts to get dark, the rear peep sight IS LIKE A BLACK HOLE. It is tiny and you can see NOTHING through it. So I passed on the shots, of course. Had I had the red dot scope on the rifle, it would have been EASY PICKINS!! Lesson learned, there is no such thing as an inconvenience when it comes to a tool you could very well NEED in the field.
So, conservatively, I'd say I lost 6 deer that I should have taken this season. I will be reflecting on this like mad until next season so that I do not make the same mistakes again. Next season, I'm ready to watch the hammer fall!!
On opening day, my pride kept me from killing a 6-pointer on public lands. You know, since hunting is a piece of cake, I was going to hold off for something bigger. Nothing bigger came that day, and I sorely regretted not taking the shot. I did kill a little doe fawn that day, but it was a mercy kill (she came within 10 feet of me, made eye contact for awhile and then moseyed on her way [a really cool experience!], at which point I noticed her back leg bleeding, so I put her down...I was so ticked that I didn't want her and gave her to the idiot who shot her, a mistake on my part).
A few days later, I got this nice 9-pointer in the same spot I saw the six-pointer. Due to many mistakes in many outings, he would be my only kill of the season.
There were at least 5 times where I went out and saw nothing. Part of that was probably just the way it is, but I imagine I spooked a few that I never saw due to my own movement. One lesson is that I need WARMER CLOTHES!! There were plenty of times where I went out, saw something (or heard something coming my way), and botched it. Let me recount the ways!!
- Had a doe walk right by me (less than 20 feet) and let her go because I was "trophy hunting" in the mountains and it would have been a pain to haul "just a doe" down the mountains. I'm not going to let trophy hunting get in the way of the reason I started hunting in the first place...EVER!!
- Was wondering the best way to ambush bedding areas during a hunt, so I pulled out my iPhone and started to do research while in the field!! I set my gun down to the side, you know...just for a MINUTE. And of course, that's when a nice doe came by. The leaves were so dry that I couldn't help but make a little noise when getting my gun, and she spooked!! NEVER put your gun down and NEVER get on the internet while hunting!!
- Had a deer coming right at me (probably a nice buck given the sound of his wheeze!!) but got winded because I didn't choose the proper path into the ambush site. Getting IN is half the battle!!
- Had five does walking in an area where I could have fired but didn't because they were against very dark background (was in a tree stand for the 2nd time ever and the ground was soaked). I knew I had the shot because I saw the front sight of my slug gun on three different shoulders, but didn't shoot because I felt uncomfortable. Now, for some reason, I'm really fond of irons over scopes. But had I had glass on that baby, I KNOW I would have taken the shot(s). Two lessons: 1) Have confidence in my shooting abilities, knowing that it sometimes takes discomfort to grow (you can't practice every scenario at the range!), and 2) Put some glass on that slug gun!! Yeah, there's just something about irons that I love, but when the scene is a little dark and/or muddled, a good scope will clear things up and make the difference!
- Spent an hour getting into position on a doe that I had spotted while still hunting. After all of the painstaking moves needed to get there, I finally got a shot. MISFIRE!! She already knew something wasn't right because of the blaze orange statue she had spotted on the logging road, but that click sure got her attention. Instead of trying to load a new round (and thereby spooking her off), I should have simply tried to re-c0ck the firing pin in the slug gun's bolt and take another shot. I later fired the same misfired round on a rotted stump at the end of the day, and BOOM!!
- On my rifle, I was having trouble keeping zero with my red dot scope. After a failed trip to the range yesterday, where I figured out the problem but didn't bring the TOOL to fix it, I took off the red dot and decided to check the irons. I verified they were zeroed at the range...two in the same hole at 100 yards was verification enough for me.
Well, after I hunted this morning with the slug gun, I decided to move to another county for one last shot at some "sure" game. There I could use my rifle. I had fixed the issue with the scope, but it would have been INCONVENIENT to go all the way out to the range on my way to the other county. I could just use my irons!! Didn't see anything the rest of the day...UNTIL LAST LIGHT. At LAST light on the LAST day of a very frustrating deer season, two very nice does stepped out into the field. I raised my M14 to put at least one of them down, but here's the thing about peep sights...when it starts to get dark, the rear peep sight IS LIKE A BLACK HOLE. It is tiny and you can see NOTHING through it. So I passed on the shots, of course. Had I had the red dot scope on the rifle, it would have been EASY PICKINS!! Lesson learned, there is no such thing as an inconvenience when it comes to a tool you could very well NEED in the field.So, conservatively, I'd say I lost 6 deer that I should have taken this season. I will be reflecting on this like mad until next season so that I do not make the same mistakes again. Next season, I'm ready to watch the hammer fall!!
01-03-2010, 05:22 AM
#3
Fork Horn
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Tug Hill NY
Posts: 420
A shot not taken is not a wasted shot. It is a good thing to pass on a shot for ANY reason. Once the bullet flies, there is no calling it back.The deer are still out there. You didnt lose the deer. They are where they are supposed to be. A true sportsman picks and chooses for the right shot at the right time. It isnt a contest to see how many you can stack up (regardless of the images given on the stupid hunting shows).
Open sights have thier time and place, but even a quality aperture is a poor 2nd to being able to put a well sighted cross hair exactly where you want it, especially in poor light. You probably want to clean the inner workings real well of the gun you had a misfire on. Possible cause. Very unusual for a round to misfire (bargain stuff slightly more likely to...especially in rimfire). In 35 years hunting and many many centerfire rounds, I havent had one. It sounds like a perfect season to me. Even if it was just one deer down it would have been, right?
Open sights have thier time and place, but even a quality aperture is a poor 2nd to being able to put a well sighted cross hair exactly where you want it, especially in poor light. You probably want to clean the inner workings real well of the gun you had a misfire on. Possible cause. Very unusual for a round to misfire (bargain stuff slightly more likely to...especially in rimfire). In 35 years hunting and many many centerfire rounds, I havent had one. It sounds like a perfect season to me. Even if it was just one deer down it would have been, right?
01-03-2010, 06:35 AM
#5
Fork Horn
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Polk City, FL
Posts: 232
I'm with you on many of the issues you mention. This is my first season, but the first few outings dispelled the "hunting is easy" myth for me! I've yet to see one while hunting. I especially agree with the warmer clothing, and I'll add proper layering. I went out yesterday, wearing almost everything I owned (how cold can it be in FL, right) Well, I neglected to take into account the sweat factor! By the time I got to the tree I was literally dripping sweat. It was in the 30s, then the wind started. Needless to say I did alot of shivering. I have to say though, I've learded A LOT this year. Big thanks to the people here for good info, especially the Greenswamp guys which is where I hunt. What's that they used to say on Hee-Haw....Saaaalute!!! (Yeah, I'm old! )
)
01-03-2010, 07:34 AM
#6
Fork Horn
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Shenandoah Valley, Virginia
Posts: 193
Im with you, I learned a lot this season as well. Yesterday was the last day of the season and I missed a little buck. Still dont know how I missed, but im guessing my scope is off. Its gonna feel like an eternity til next season.
