dpv

Second year bow hunting. HAd joined a unt club but I was the only one who used a bow. Had the place to myself. Was walking around midday and getting the lay of the land. Walked up on a gang of turkeys and they all ran off except a BIG tom who just pushed out his feathers and stood at me with that looonnnngg beard wigglin and gobbled at me like all get out. I was at full draw but since I had gone there for Deer I didn't know if Turkey were in season in that county......so I didn't shoot. less than 10 yards. just let the stupid thing walk away from me. I have never been that close to a turkey again since then. The next day I had set up my homemade plywood and rope chain on stand in a cedar next to a fire road that overlooked about 20 acres of scrub pines and brush. That evening about an hour before dark I watched a spike buck walking in slowly thru the scrub. 2when he got about 10 yards from me the trail took him behind a little pine tree. I stood and drew my bow. He stopped. I waited......waited.....waited.... Couldn't hold it much longer. 65 lb draw and about a 50-60 letoff. it was killing me. He is standing broadside to me right behind the pine......there is a little 4 inch whole in the pine right on his boiler room. I have hit that small targe so many times in practice I am certain I can take it. Fire or let it down. ....I fire. I catch a little branch at the bottom of the hole and it hops over his back. he doesn't run but now he's a little nervous. I'm trying to slowly get another arrow but I make too much noise and he vaporizes. That was 1991. I killed my first deer last year. I hunted another 4 years before quitting for a couple years and then starting again last year.

Now....as far as the previously mentioned poaching goes.....I have had some very demoralizing days hunting and when I was walking back to my vehicle in total darkness I have come across deer. I don't shoot. Even on a full moon night when I know I can take the deer easily and no one is around to say anything to me about it. I have to sleep with myself. If I was hungry it would be different. But I'm not.
That's just me.

David

Scott Sullivan

Well, after years of hunting and never once seeing a deer a friend of mine took me under his wing and showed me the whole proper scouting and stand placement. I'm in my stand the first morning and a nice bodied 6 pt. is working his way across a swamp and I have shooting lanes at 40yds, 30 yds, 20 yds. I had all clear shots 10 yds in a circle around my stand. He crosses the 40 yd lane and is working his way at an angle towards my stand. I draw back and watch him mosey across my 30 yd lane, still moving in my direction. I'm getting ready to hit him in my 20 yd lane and decide not to because he's still coming my way. At this point I can feel my arms start to shake because I've had my bow drawn back for so long. Doesn't he come to a stop at about 5 or 6 yds right below my stand, quartering slightly away. The perfect shot I think. I had practiced shooting at steep angles so many times and knew I had to aim lower than normal with my 20 yd. pin. Don't I have a complete brain freeze, put the 20 yd pin right behind his back shoulder, release and watch the arrow sail about 3 inches high right above his back. OH MY GOD, I couldn't believe I had just blown a gimme. He trots out to what I thought was 35 yds and once again is standing broadside to me. I center his chest in between my 30 and 40 yd pin and let her fly. The arrow goes just below his chest and he takes off never to be seen again. After getting down and pacing out the second shot I misjudged it by about 3 yds and at that distance made me just miss him low. That was my one and only miss so far and I've promised myself I'll never let my brain go to mush like that again. I did end up taking a 4 pt the next day at a different stand location about 150yds away from that miss. I can't wait till next year. Take care all, Scott.

Ol Gutshot

Ok, I won't s anymore on the topic. It got way away from what I originally posted. I work very hard to see that everyone who hunts near me obeys the law and my family has gotten much better. We have a big lease and I have my own little slice of it where no one else goes but me. Things have improved greatly, but I was one who was guilty of many of those offneses when I was younger. I have learned and tried to educate others. I appreciate the fact that seemingly everyone here is a stickler for the rules. That alone ensures greater opportunity for all and even deeper, correctly portrays hunters as contientions, law abiding good citizens that we most are. Anyhow, thanks for your input, everyone.
BTW: the old man did get legal this year(I checked) but I still had to gut his buck for him.

Coastie

I hate missing, but would rather miss than wound one and lose it. I've done both, most everyone will sooner or later no matter how hard you try or how good you are.

hardluck71

NY, you are lucky.

My worst miss was actually a hit but just not in the right spot. I hit the deer high and a friend found her 2 weeks later. I hit her in the spine and 2 blades broke off of the broadhead and were lodged in the spine when they found her about 500 yrds away from where I shot her. My dad, brother and I looked the entire next day after I shot her. [:'(]

I did have a doe jump the string on me about a week ago. I laughed about it and thanked God for the opportunity.

bambikiller6

frist year deer hunting thinking this is dumb i could be working in the feedlot and a big doe walks 30 yard to my right when i was looking left i saw it and got a shot with my 30-30 winchester 94 and thought see you next year i am now a hunter even when i moved to germany i missed hunting not my family i was the only kid in school that had his orange coveralls in the truck, left the .308 at home each day

badshotbob

You NY? NO! You ever want to hunt in MI, let me know bro!



As for the missing part of this post - "badshotbob" - came from early this bow season. I missed the same deer twice at 15 yards for no apparent reason. And no, I'm realy not a bad shot at all.

NEB.BuckHunter

The worst for me was this season when I had two bucks standing within 2 feet of each other. I aimed for the bigger of the two and the smaller one stepped into the kill zone. Got the little one, big one ran away. Meat though, that's all that matters.

farmcntry

8 pointer 15 yards away. I'd killed a doe in the same spot 2 nights before. I pulled back and released. I saw the arrow stick in the ground and the deer walked off. Now how in the world...[X(]

Buck fever???

Nomercy

My worst miss has to be the first shot I ever took on a deer, I was sitting in a ground blind on the south edge of the end of a little jag of trees jutting out into a wheatfield, I saw something moving off at about 2o'clock position 300yrds off, I-being a uneducated kid at the time-glassed it before I was certain what it was, found out it was a large bull elk-extremely rare for Kansas at the time-and he had three cows. SO, here I am, gawking at these stinkin elk, awesome experience, but I hear grass shuffling off to my left, I slowly turn my head to find a big ol' fat doe and her two young'uns about 10yrds off the end of the jag...she'd come up the north side and walked right out beside me...but I've got my rifle pointed 130degrees the wrong way, so I took 10minutes (felt like three hours) to swing over to her, got the crosshairs on her and proceeded to PUUUULLLLLLL the trigger, drew the shot about 30degrees off course, I felt like a moron!! She took off running down the creek, and I took off across this horseshoe to try to cut her off...a half-mile run later I was ahead of her and laying under a pine tree, I didn't miss that time, so I kind of redeemed myself...ever since then I've dedicated myself to becoming a better shooter as well as being a good hunter.