Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game When is the last time you missed?

I missed the mule deer that I finally got four times, with my kp1 single shot. I don't to this day, know why!

About three years ago I missed a doe at around 200 yds. I guess I just jerked the trigger. Pretty disgusted with myself at the time.

I missed a nice antelope buck a few years back. No idea what happened. I spotted the heard of about 15 on a side hill at the top of a nice deep draw. I walked about a mile up the draw crested a small rise and watched as the buck lay down. I decided to wait him out and sat there, with my rifle on it's, bipod for about 30 minutes. I was well rested, warm and breathing normally when he stood, about 125 yards out. The cross hairs never left his shoulder as I squeezed the trigger. At the shot, off he and the rest of the heard went. He was pretty well covered by does so I didn't bother shooting again; besides, I expected him to fall within a few strides. He never did. When I crested the ridge, the heard was still running hard about a mile out with him in the middle. No hair, no blood, nothing.

Rifle was still zeroed too, I checked. I still don't know what the deal was...very frustrating at the time.

Any hunter that says he never missed either never hunted or is fibbing ... and that's the truth.

Blessings,

Steve

11 seasons ago I missed a trotting doe at around 60 yards (off hand). I definitely had lost my confidence- a 60 yard miss was hard to swallow. However, about 6 hours later I shot the buck in my avatar. He's still the best buck I've ever shot. Go figure.

Interesting thread!

I missed this year.....I know exactly why,and it was entirely my own fault.

First time in a very long time. I don't want to talk about it....

Those guys just didn't grow up jump shooting jacks either... I'll also tell you it's far harder to shoot a jackrabbit on the run while standing in the back of a pickup as well... . Big game are "big", hence the name. It's been a very long time since I've missed....

ML season about 6 years ago. This bull crossed in front of me and stopped while rounding up his cows. He looked like the critter frrom the old Hartford insurance commercial. Nothin but horns! I promptly missed with my TC Hawken so he ran a tad closer and stood there while I reloaded. While I was ramming the round down the barrel he decided it was time to skedaddle. Searched long and hard for evidence of a hit, but that was wishful thinking. His horns were so big I am guessing I got bull fever and probably shot right between them!

About ten years back I hit some brush I did not see on the way to a deer. I miss with a shotgun on grouse and woodcock all the time. I miss small varmints with the pellet gun all the time.

Deer, not so much. Bigger varmints, not so much. I put in the work it takes to be pretty certain it all will work before I even begin to aim the rifle. I usually have all the time in the world and plenty of deer to choose from.

I shot four with a crossbow this fall and I looked at them for between five minutes and 20 minutes by the time stamp on the trail cam. The last one I waited for it to show up and give me the exact presentation I wanted for over a month. She showed up the day I shot her and almost immediately turned just exactly the way I wanted the shot and then just froze for me. The others took their own sweet time before I got exactly what I wanted. She was with what I would guess is her twin sister after watching them both for five months on the cams and I would just as happily shot the other had she given me the shot I was looking for.

I did concentrate so much on where I was putting the bolt on what I thought was a 2nd rack buck that I completely missed that he was a lot older. The shot was perfect, but I wish I had missed, he is one tough deer. Needs some special prep work to be edible.

Two years ago, shooting at a cow elk with a muzzleloader. They were below me in a draw, didn't know I was there, and were just about to feed out from behind some brush in front of me at 40 yards. It was 8:00 AM on opening day.

Just then a calf I hadn't seen popped his head up about 10 yards in front of me, looking right at me. He'd gotten downhill and caught my wind and spooked, ran up the draw and took the others with him. Just as the last cow was about to disappear into cover she stopped for a second. It was a split-second bad decision on my part to pull the trigger. Just as I did she took off again. I followed their trail as far as I could, no blood and they went uphill for a good ways so I'm pretty sure it was a miss. I did manage to fill the cow tag later that day though.

I missed a nice antelope buck last year when I was in Wyoming - totally whiffed what should of been a pretty easy shot.

But that whole hunt for me was a cluster. Never hunted so hard for an antelope as I did then, I messed up stalk after stalk on the critters. Finally got a nice buck out in front of me at maybe 150 yards, set up all felt perfect no wind and just shot right over his back - twice:) After that he figured he should maybe run off which I watched him do just that!!

I'm blaming it on the high altitude since I live at like 300 feet and this was at 5000 or so. Must be that - can't possibly be me-grin

BSA,

Remember the jack explosion around Madras and Culver back in the mid 1960s? Karen and I were going to PSU at that time and I bought and sold guns. Every weekend, we'd drive over to Culver and kill a minimum of 1,000 jack rabbits each.

That kind of overpopulation never lasts, but it was fun for a few years. Makes for fabulous memories.

I shot a 722B in 222 with a 10X Unertl and a Marlin 39 when I ran out of centerfire ammo ... and I ALWAYS ran out of .222s

Blessings,

Steve

Oregon Muley, I just can't let this go...
What the heck were you doing to your rifle that stock after stock was messed up?

I know you meant stalk.

Dang spellcheck - I knew when I posted that something looked wrong - thank you for catching that I fixed it:)

I"m usually pretty good, and fairly cocky about it too...

But about 3-4 years ago I shot at a spike at about 350. Solid rest. Dialed the knobs. No wind. Shot broke perfectly.

Looked for a long time, along with others.. never found sign or deer. Prior to owning a dog(best thing ever done was a gimme cur thats hell on finding dead or wounded deer).

So after the fact I got home and got to thinking, there is NO way in heck I missed that shot...

Go to my 300 yard range, dial up. Way low... Dial up some more.. still way low. Dial even more... still in same place... Oops scope took a dump.

The other one I recall was likely 10 years ago. Trash buck at maybe 110 yards... gimme shot like the other thread said. Good rest, easy perfect squeeze on the buck and off he went. Never found any sign, but found that he was behind some scrub limbs I thought he was clear of. Though I never found anything nipped off...

Stopped on teh way back to camp, put out a target at 110, feed bag with a small dot on it about 3/4 inch... hit the top of the dot... Ok not the gun. No clue ever on that one. At least a buddy killed him the next fall. He was a smart old piece of trash buck...

I think I related the 3 foot miss on the other thread. There were more than a few as I grew up... Dad never hunted deer....I had no mentor, had to learn it all on my own. First gun from Oshmans and had to listen to folks and then realize not all had a real clue either... especially the guy that sold me 80 grainers as I wanted ammo for turkeys.. he said small equals light... 80s in a 243 the old cup and core WW .... blew HUGE holes in deer...

I can't really recall missing as I got to my mid to late teens. And then when we finally got to competition shooting, there really was generally no question, if I shot, something died, but as I"ve mentioned before, I pass on a lot of shots that are iffy to me...just my personal thing. Can I get a bullet to the vitals...yeah I could, but not as clean and more meat destruction than I'd prefer.

I missed a 180"+ mule deer buck with my bow last fall...made up for it a week later on a 414" bull elk.

Last rifle shot missed on a big game animal was in Wyoming on a spring black bear hunt about five years ago. Under 300 yards. Bullet hit a small tree limb 100 yards or so from where I shot from.

Can't remember been a few years i think it was with shotgun.I do remember not recovering the deer and i would take a miss any day over no recovery

I had no idea there are so many lousy shots here......


Seriously though, chit happens, thanks for the honest replies.



The last big game animal I missed was an antelope buck. It was raining and windy and I hurried the shot. Maybe 350-400 yards, total whiff. Found the buck again about an hour later and got him.


Now coyotes....Holy chit I have whiffed A LOT of coyotes!

About 6 or 7 years ago..300 yard shot at a pronghorn,took the "easy" shot for granted and missed. Ended up killing him at twice that range little later.

I missed fabulously with my muzzleloader a few years ago, mule deer buck at around 75 yards. Never got another chance on him.

Same here. It was few years back now but yeah, I blew it grandiose fashion.