AH Members Willing To Bare It All?

[steve white]

A PH once told me, "if a hunter says they NEVER miss, they're lying--we all miss." Now, who is willing to bare their souls and tell us how they missed game and what they can/we all should learn about specific situations?
I hate to admit it, but I once hit too far back on a running Buffalo, and had to finish it later. (in my defense, I was completely untrained in running shots, tho that should have perhaps made me refuse to take the shot?) When I returned home I beat a path to the new cinematic shooting range which used to be in the Grapevine Mills area and got some practice.

 

[R.M.C.]

I missed a decent size wart hog at over 100 on sticks but I sleep well at night by knowing it was the only miss of the trip and I got eight animals. I was on the sticks for a while because he was facing away walking down a path. He eventually turned broadside and I guess I pulled the shot. Tracker saw a puff of dust under the pig. Not sure what exactly took place but I blew it lol

 

[Tundra Tiger]

Once, as a 20 something year old using a sight on my bow for the first time I missed a really nice buck by using the wrong pin. (ugh)

Possibly the biggest buck I've ever taken a shot at I "missed" - I guess you'd call it that. I embedded the arrow in a thin sapling I had failed to notice between me and the buck.

More recently, I missed the first shot on my first animal in Africa - a wildebeest. 170 yards, strongly quartering away... clean miss. I was nervous as all crap: off sticks for the first time on an animal, two people watching. We pursued that same bull the rest of the day... and I killed him late in the afternoon. I rattled off 9 critters in a row after that, including the last 8 which were one shot kills.

Heck yes we all miss. It'd be nice if not, but that's just not reality, for most of us anyway.

 

[Cam300]

I’m proud to report I didn’t miss a single animal on my trip to Namibia. Shooting offhand and off sticks, no problem. Now, a whitetail deer off a solid rest… unfortunately that’s another story! Maybe I only shoot well on other continents…

 

[Newboomer]

I’m proud to report I didn’t miss a single animal on my trip to Namibia. Shooting offhand and off sticks, no problem. Now, a whitetail deer off a solid rest… unfortunately that’s another story! Maybe I only shoot well on other continents…

Missed a black wildebeest at 100 yards due to crosswind. The bunch circled around and came by again. Dropped him in his tracks that time. Broadside standing shot at a big kudu at about 150 yards up on a ridge. Misjudged the angle and shot right over his back. Never saw him again.

 

[BRICKBURN]

I have certainly missed. I've done all of these.

1. Misjudged angle, uphill and down. - Went and studied some geometry. Now, I'm lazy and use a range finder that addresses angle in the calculation.
2. Jerk the trigger. - Learn and relearn squeezing the trigger, again and again.
3. Improperly aligning myself behind a rifle and having the recoil push the shot well off the intended target. - Never shoot unless you are square and can properly manage the recoil.
4. Misjudge distance in open country - Practice judging distance and buy a range finder.
5. Rushing the shot. - Manage your excitement. Bloody hard to do in real life. Part of hunting is the excitement.

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

I have certainly missed. I've done all of these.

1. Misjudged angle, uphill and down. - Went and studied some geometry. Now, I'm lazy and use a range finder that addresses angle in the calculation.
2. Jerk the trigger. - Learn and relearn squeezing the trigger, again and again.
3. Improperly aligning myself behind a rifle and having the recoil push the shot well off the intended target. - Never shoot unless you are square and can properly manage the recoil.
4. Misjudge distance in open country - Practice judging distance and buy a range finder.
5. Rushing the shot. - Manage your excitement. Bloody hard to do in real life. Part of hunting is the excitement.

2, 3 and especially 5 I’ve been guilty of. 1 and 4, not as much, the range finder fixes that. Africa has seen my shooting at it’s worst, best and a few shots in between the two extremes.

 

[Wyatt Smith]

My most recent miss was on a whitetail deer last season. I was using a muzzle loader, so not the flattest shooting. I thought she was only about 100 yards but she was 160 paces I shot right under her.
I have just missed altogether at pretty close ranges as well.

 

[BeeMaa]

Unfortunately screwing up is a part of learning, and I've done my fair share of it.

Buck fever, AKA adrenaline dumping into my bloodstream as I'm about to pull the trigger on my first buck. Fortunately it resulted in a broken back (dropped at the shot) for the whitetail deer, but did require a finishing shot.

Learning from others what to do or not do has been a big part of my hunting education. You don't need to personally experience something to learn from it. Not saying experience doesn't play a part, but learning can be done in many different ways other than just "doing it". With time and proper practice accurate and ethical shots on game become much easier.

If I lost the "buck fever" feeling altogether, I'd quit hunting. I love the feeling and it's what drives me to hunt and fish. Being able to control it is the skill I strive to master.

 

[Fixfire]

Can punch 1” groups with my eyes closed with my modern production Winchester M70 in .270 and Leupold scope. Completely wiffed on a smallish Whitetail buck at 83 yards. Baffling. My only guess is - in the heat of the moment, I inadvertently put the barrel on the sticks rather than the forearm and had muzzle jump?!?!?

 

[Mountaineer]

I missed 3 white tail deer in one day all less than 100 yards all off handed. My triggers are 10 and 11 pounds respectively. I wanted to try out the new double and get the triggers adjusted after the hunt. I couldn’t control the triggers and should have had them adjusted. The tigg do le is now at the gunsmith.

 

[jeanes]

Didn't actually miss, but made a bad shot that resulted in the only deer I have ever lost. Can't lie my way out because it's on video tape.

 

[mark-hunter]

Now, who is willing to bare their souls and tell us how they missed game and what they can/we all should learn about specific situations?

Read my report, chapter "I never miss". (waterbuck)

NAMIBIA: From The Smallest To The Greatest

NAMIBIA: FROM THE SMALLEST TO THE GREATEST NAMIBIA: Von den Kleinsten bis zu den Größten There was no time to set up the sticks! I was shooting from the hand. The distance was about 40 meters and my hands were hard to steady. I wanted the stick or any kind of rest badly, but that was not an...

www.africahunting.com

 

[Hogpatrol]

Missed the first deer I shot at this season, 75 yards kneeling offhand. Saw the dirt spray off to the left and low. The second one at 136 meters off of a rock wall didn't fare so well.

 

[WebleyGreene455]

 

[Boyd Brooks]

120 meters, muzzle loader, 285 gr 50 cal sabot, 2 pellets of White Hot, late season whitetail doe and clean miss! No blood on the snow. Followed the tracks for quite a while and no blood, still don’t know what went wrong.

 

[thi9elsp]

My first whitetail buck on my own. Shot, missed. Fortunately, it only ran ten yards and stopped. Dropped him with the second.

Impala broadside at 150 yards - saw the dirt kick up by its feet in Zimbabwe.

Waterbuck, sable and warthog in Mozambique. Warthog was the most frustrating. Its tusks were a full semi-circle on both sides and it was no more than 75 yards away. The tracker told the PH my right shoulder was twitching / shaking. 20 minutes later I got my sable. 40 minutes after that I got my zebra. Still not sure what finally calmed me down although Manual did talk me through the sable, we have plenty of time they don't know we're here, etc......

 

[Sthoko]

My brother and i needed once 4 shots for the same duck. But in the end the bird was down.

 

[Mark Biggerstaff]

My most memorable and humbling miss was on my first South Africa hunt. All had been great so far, 1 shot kills on 5 animals. Then I completely missed a huge Impala at 55 yards. Clean miss and blew the bark off a tree beside him.
We dug the bullet out as a souvenir.

The most dreaded was this year. I miss judged the angle on a quartering Buffalo. Hit to far left and only got 1 lung. After some tracking and 6 more rounds in him he stayed down. Luckily no charge out of him, but was still nerve racking.

 

[Flipper Dude]

Have managed to put everything I’ve ever shot at in Africa in the salt. 30 plus animals. That said, I’ve missed the first shot 3 times. Twice on bushbuck and once a kudu. IDK what happened on the kudu. Missed several whitetail back home before I ever got one. Missed the first at 6 years old, with a double barrel 12. Hunting alone. It was a different time……