I screwed up
 

Hunting public land. Got in the tree at daybreak...30 minutes later I heard a deer grunt. I gave a single doe bleat and 10 seconds later a single grunt. Within a minute there was a deer. He materialized about 55 yds from my tree moving in a direction that would give me a nice broadside shot. At 45 yds from my stand he was perfectly broadside. I tried to stop him by making "meee" noise but it didnt work. I pulled the trigger with the sights on his chest and he went down like a sack of potatoes. It was like the hammer of Thor hit him. He rolled onto his back kicked his legs a bit and lay there. He tried to get up but it was like his back legs didn't work. This is my first time hunting with a muzzleloader adn I didn't know how soon I could reload. I also didn't want to move and make noise for fear of driving him off. He put his head down and I thought he was done.....then after about 3 minutes he fought to his feet and staggered away......I hadn't reloaded. he went about 0 yds downhill then stopped in a hollow. I couldn't see him but he didnt' come out. I reloaded and looked and thought I saw him laying down. I figured he was done. I kept watch.......and about 5 minutes later I saw this deer standing.....then realized it was a different deer. A spike. and I did the dumbest thing I possibly could. I took a rushed shot. Missed clean.
And the first deer. The largest deer I have ever shot in my life, ran ten yards out of the hollow. He walked another ten yards then stopped and looked back at me. I reloaded. In the time it took me to pull my speed loader out and drop the powder pellets he was gone. I got out of the tree walked over to the last place I saw him and found nothing. Went back to the spot where I shot him. It was raining all night. There was no visible blood.....no hair, bone nothing. So I gave it a 2 hour rest. Then started looking and looking. and looking.
I used every tracking trick I know. followed the terrain. followed the water,, followed the trails. did grids and crisscross circled around. I covered several square miles and nothing. By the time I got in my truck to come home tonight I was exhausted. I am certain this deer is dead.....but I pushed him and he became superdeer. I also didn't reload because I was unfamiliar with my weapon and unprepared for the situation. And for some stupid reason I abandoned my plan to not shoot at a spike because I figured I would load some extra meat onto the truck. A bird in the hand. Stupidity. Inexperience. It should have ended so differently.

Based off my experiences with a MZ. He's dead somewhere. The grn of the bullet is huge and your odds are way good he's dead. Im in the same position right now. Shot tonight not sure but gonna go back tomorrow to look. Get out there you'll find him.

Anyone who has hunted very long has made poor hasty decisions. I've done it a time or two. And not just while hunting, in every aspect of life!

I don't know what to tell you about the deer. You may or may not find him, but either way you have learned a valuable lesson. Have a plan and stick to it. And just as important, know your equipment. Spend a little extra time at the range so you don't have to wonder how long it will take to load.

I'd say the MOST important lesson to be learned is that you need to keep pouring the lead to 'em until you KNOW that they are finished and aren't going to get up.

I don't know why I have said all this, because I'm sure you figured it all out on your own already. I do hope you find your buck (I'm guessing he's piled up in a brushpile nearby), and I hope you get a chance to get back out soon and boost your confidence back up. Take care, and good luck the rest of your season.

rw

Don't beat yourself up too bad cause you know what? You learned a valuable lesson. Don't forget what happened tonight and why. Next time take the steps to avoid having another hunt turn out the same way. I noticed mistake after mistake but such is the learning process. I do not advocate any of what you did and I'll offer some advice hunter to hunter. When muzzleload hunting ALWAYS reload right after the shot while at the same time watching( if you can) what the deer is doing. Never hunt with a weapon you are unfamiliar with because of safety mostly. ALWAYS try to be prepared for any situation. Things can happen pretty fast when your out there. I know you'll learn as you gain more experience. Don't be greedy as you stated wanting to put more meat in the truck. Never kill a animal in order to learn how to hunt... rather learn how to hunt in order to kill an animal.
Live it up! Doug

why would u shoot at the spike if you already shot a buck and he was noticably hit he dropped rite in front of you and walked off, sounds like karma got you good

By the way the deer acted when you shot I am sure he didn't go far. If he fell to his back and kicke his legs up and did not bolt immeidiately I would think he was hit hard. You probably just didnt see where he is laying. I would get some friends and go find him before somebody else cuts his horns off.
Just curious, are you alloud to kill two bucks during the same season in VA. Here in IN they went to a 1 buck rule a few years ago and you can only kill one all season. But even before that you could only kill one for each different season (one during early archery, 1 firearms, and one late archery.)

He might live in a state where u can shoot numerous buck. I live in Richland County, SC you're allowed a buck a day. he land I hunt has rules though. 8pt and 5 bucks a yr.

I shot a Doe Wednesday and had a pass through,took out the liver and at least one lung. The deer only went 50 to 60 yards and layed down in a very thick area of cover. Sence I could not see where she ran or fell I gave her an hour to die,my arrow was covered with blood so I thought she was hit well. It was dark when I took up the tracking and the blood was light only coming from her nostrel. I thought she went into the woods and decided to back out a little longer due to light blood,only a drop at the edge of the woods. I found her not in the woods but 15 yards or less on the edge in some heavy brush she had been dead for over and hour and a half. I felt kind of silly with her laying so close and not finding her right off but having bumped one on friday and being new to hunting and tracking I realize I've got a lot to learn. Look closer to where he went down and give it another try you may find him real close. May GOD give you help and thank you for being humble enough to share your mistakes with us,your in good company for we all are still learning and failing at times.

dpv,
I am new to deer hunting and want to thank you for your post. Reading this hopefully will help me not make the same mistakes. At least reading about it should in theory help but I wont know until I am out in the woods. There are so many things I will learn as I go and it doesn't matter how many books I read I wont truly grasp things until I practice them out in the field. First hand accounts of hunts, tactics, and experiences are why I love these forums. I hope you find that buck. Good luck.

David

In my part of Virginia, I am allowed 2 per day, 6 per license year, 3 of which must be antlerless. That said, I still screwed up by not sealing the first deer before trying on another.
I went back with a friend today and we tore it up looking for that deer. We retraced my tracks then systematically expanded the search covering several miles of woods. We walked the creek in 3 directions and dug thru thicket we didn't even know existed before this. We even talked to a few hunters who were running beagles thru the area for rabbits. I found nothing at 3 oclock we called it quits so my buddy could get in on the evening hunt. ( today is a doe day for muzzleloader). It will probably be 5-10 more years before I get a shot at another deer like this.

in VA you can shot 2 deer a day, 6 during the season and atleast 3 must be atlerless like you said but im pretty sure its 1 BUCK(ATLERED) deer a day

but maybe i miss read or and just making it up in my head, lol

My first muzzle loader deer I shot,(with .54 hawken), did very similar to what you said.
Scarilly so.
It was a doe,50yds, and she fell towards me down a bank, and thrashed around.
I feebly tried to reload as fast as I could ( I had practiced on the ground *&#@!. Big differene in a tree!)
She fumbled around, as I was doing, and suddenly...she just stood up.
I tried to hurry, but she started walking off. I couldn't believe it.
As I packed down the bullet, I just threw my loading rod away, as I tried to put on a cap, and throw the gun up.
She just walked up over the bank, and was gone.
I climbed down, grabbed my loading rod, and saw lots of blood.
I couldn't believe she was alive.
I walked over the bank where I had shot her, SURPRISE, she was lying about 10feet over the bank ALIVE, and she sprang up and became "superdeer" as you said.

I didn't have a shot.

I couldn't believe I had pushed her so blatantly. This wasn't my first hunt, or kill. I KNEW what to do.

I was so caught up with the blood, and how vioently she acted, that I just couldn't
believe she was that alive.

We found her later that day, about 200 yards from where she sprang up.

The bullet had hit her high and slightly back in the shoulder, but under the spine, and went straight through.
I guess the shock "stunned" her nervous system, and caused her to spaz out.

As others have said.
Lesson learned.

Its happend to all of us. Next time put another one in him! Where is the public land you hunt on? I don't know of much around here.
I THINK you can kill two deer a day and it doesn't specify that you can only kill 1 buck but i will double check.
FROM VDGIF:
Bag Limits

East of the Blue Ridge (except on National Forest lands in Amherst, Bedford, and Nelson counties)The bag limit for deer shall be two a day, six a license year. Of the six deer limit, no more than three may be antlered deer and at least three must be antlerless deer.

The biggest buck I have ever shot was with my old .50 cal BP. I was new to blackpowder and really only seriously hunting for a few yrs. I shot him at 20 yards from the ground. He dropped like a ton of bricks, after 5 minutes I walked over to him and was laying there blowing blood and what I thought was his last few breaths. I left him and went walking back to my truck. I got back and nothing but a puddle of blood, blood trail went 20 feet and thats it. Searched for many hours over 2 days and never recovered him.

This was yrs ago and hated myself for taking that big buck and loosing him. I was in hurry to see my trophy and learned so much from that buck. Changed everything I do now after taking a shot.

Of everything posted in this thread this worries me the most.

I've shot it and been instructed in loading and cleaning and can perform all of those. I was also cautioned not to poor powder down a hot barrel so I didn't know how long was long enough.

I fully agree with you. It sounds like a disaster waiting for a place to happen.

There are a lot of things in this post that worry me!!!!!!!!!!

This Disaster is NOT waiting for a place to happen!! it has already happened,, Hunters!!!! BE CAREFUL OUT THERE!!!! You are not alone

Doc

Its a muzzle loader, not a torch!!!! It will only stay hot for a few micro seconds and after that you can load it. So how many times have you fired this weapon on your own before taking it hunting? That and how many times have you fired this weapon totally?

dpv-i feel for you. i have had the same thing happen to me 3 times. once in 08, and twice in 09. i have nocked 3 bucks on the ground only to have them take off when my climber hit the ground. i blame this on my choice of bullet--the tc shockwave. the 8 pt in 08 goes like this-shot buck around 400pm. watch him lay there about 60 yards(not moving a muscle). continue hunting till about 10 minutes before dark. get down-as soon as my foot comes off the climber he is gone. i go to where he laid down--not a lot of blood. its in some tall pines(if that matters). i come back at noon the following day w/ my tracking expert. he finds the trail in no time. we go about 300 yards and we kick him up. we find him alive laying on the river bank 600 yards from where we kicked him up. i sneak up on him and finish him off. only one lung was hit the day before. 157 lbs dressed. fast forward to 09. shot a 6 pt and a 6 or 8 pt on the same morning. both hit the ground and dont move(actually thrased a little) . i wait around an hour. keep in mind that they are in brush and i can see them both laying there in the scope. they are gone when i get down. lots of bllod-no deer. we search for about 2 hrs(4 of us). no deer.
iin 08 i used a TC triumph and 09 the pro hunter. 100 gr 777 and 250gr shockwave. after the 09 fiasco(it was on the second saturday of bp season ) i change to the xtp's. im 6 shots, 6 deer since changing. i could nto be happier. i have a bunch of shockwaves to give away now. it seems to me that more energy is expended in the deer using the xtp's. most of the shockwave holes looked like dime size holes with little or no real tissue damage. they shoot great on paper(dont get me wrong) but for Virginia terrain they didnt work for me.

Would have been easier to never admit that this happened, but I learned a lot from forums like this over the years, and I want to share what I learned this time out in the field. When I started hunting 15+ years ago I didn't have anyone to teach me. Most of what I learned was from magazines and books and cutting my teeth on my own, out in the woods. I started hunting in 1990. I didn't kill a deer until 2002. Took about 4 years off in the middle while in the Army and didn't hunt at all. I knew I'd take a beating but that comes with the territory. Admitting that I am not an expert with a black powder gun doesn't bother me. As I said, I've used it enough to know I can hit my mark, (on paper anyway) reload, break it down, clean, etc. But I think it would take 10 years or more before I get comfortable with dropping powder down a barrel that was just fired. Next time, I'm sure my desire for a deer will drive me to reload and shoot again. And if I screw it up somehow, I will still share that as well.

Keep in mind DPV they call them "speed loaders" for a reason :fighting0007:

You can reload as quick as you can get it off your shoulder.

I applaud your honesty and courage. I hope you not only learned something from hunting that day but also here on this forum!
The lessons that are the most valuable are never the easiest. Good luck!
Live it up! Doug

I too applaud the honesty. Yeah, you screwed up. I've screwed up. It's good that we can admit it. You've probably learned some things from people in this thread. Maybe some of them can learn from you, because EVERYONE screws up :o

rw

The hunter ed course says, watch the 'harvast" for 1/2 hour from a distance. after 1/2 hour, you can assume they won't get up and do a death run.

Then the guy says, poke them in the eye with the barrel to make sure they are dead.

I've been hunting for 35 years and I learn something new every time out in the woods. And each year I get schooled at least once big time by a deer and learn yet another new lesson!

That's what makes it so rewarding. If it came easy and wasn't a challenge it wouldn't be worth it anymore.

Those that are sharing their stories here, take heart: 1) it's happened to everyone 2) the experience has made you a better hunter.

Never forget those two things.

Take Heart DPV get back in the saddle with a new understanding that makes you a better hunter by trial and error.Good Hunting This weekend.

I'm assuming you were hunting in Pocahontas, correct? That place is big and is FULL of thickets. There are lots of places for deer to hide. I seriously doubt you combed through several square miles of earth, though it may have felt like you covered that much ground. If you did cover several square miles, you couldn't have done it thoroughly, so it's really one or the other.

Anyway, I wish I would have caught your post earlier. I was there on Friday morning and would have helped you look for it then. What part of the park were you in?

Also, you don't have to wait 10 years before you start loading your muzzleloader more quickly; you can start today! What gun are you shooting? Think about this, what is the WORST thing that could happen if you poured a single load of powder down the barrel and it burned up? BTW, this wouldn't happen just because the barrel was warm from a single firing, it's from sparks that could still be in play at the breech. I'm not sure this is an issue with modern inline MLers using 209 primers and BP substitutes, especially something like BH209.

I know I'm gonna get reamed out for this, but I feel like this will help you get over your fear. When you have a sec, take a bit of powder (say 10-20 grains or so) OUTSIDE and put it on a large flat stone, an open pyrex glass, etc...somewhere where the powder is OPEN and will not burn anything flammable (like leaves, your deck, etc), and toss a match on it (or use one of those extended grill lighters, etc). When it ignites, it pretty much acts like a sparkler or a big fuse. As long as you are not compressing the powder and sealing it off, there is no danger of an explosion, etc. So, EVEN IF on the off chance that pouring the powder down a just-fired barrel could cause it to ignite (which will probably never happen to you!), the worst thing that would happen is you might burn your hand a little, which is likely gloved anyway.

What they tell you NOT to do is pour powder into the barrel directly from a FLASK, for several reasons, but the main one is that the powder is SEALED OFF inside the flask, so if the powder going down the barrel ignites, it will travel up the barrel and into your flask, which has now become a BOMB, which will cause your wife to open ketchup bottles for you the rest of you life, assuming you still have a face to feed. Make sense?

My first time I actually shot a deer a buttonhead (I hunt on private land) with the muzzleloader and a scope on my weapon,when he came out I wanted to make sure of my shot so I watched him it was nearly dark enough I couldn't see him in the scope almost and I was not nervous or anything but I needed to find the spot that is right behind his shoulder and leg forward yes in his chest. He walked and was in long grass and I took the shot thinking of where the spot was. He fell and kicked I reloaded my weapon as fast as I could watching him as he kicked I thought it was many minutes but it was only seconds I am sure by the time I had reloaded he had stopped kicking. My husband has told me to reload right away INCASE the shot was off and you (in the general sense) have to shoot it again in the head. I thought this was what I had to do. But when he stopped he had passed on. I reloaded right away why wouldn't you?

Hey DPV, I think you acknowledged it in your first post, you made some mistakes, well done for passing it on to everyone, I'm certain not one of us on here has yet to make the first mistake hunting, we all learn from our mistakes that always seem more stupid and obvious when we re-tell them after they have happened. there have been a bunch of great suggestions here, thanks for sharing and good luck on your next hunt.

Well said! Good Luck!
Live it up! Doug

7.62 Nato I was in Powhatan WMA. I use 3 30 grn pyrodex pellets. In retrospect, I ould drop the pellets down the tube right away and give it a couple seconds before pressign the round in. Lilfawn I have had friends with BP experience tell me about making a noise when trying to reload and causing the deer to bolt. I can tell you that tomorrow I will be out there and if I drop something, I'll be setting a recore for getting reloaded and back on target.