When did you last whiff on a deer sized critter(or bigger) and what was the situation?


The Gimme Shot thread(Gunwriters), got me to trying to remember when the last time was I actually missed.....


I will admit to wounding a couple deer on the first shot but a pretty quick death followed on the 2nd or 3rd shot.


But a total miss?




Merry Christmas,

Ace

Sam;
Good afternoon to you sir, I trust this finds you folks keeping warm, well and dry in these last few days of 2015.

In 2012 I'd been seeing a pair of whitetail bucks - a little 3 point first rack and a 4 point second rack for 4 weekends in a row, but couldn't connect with either one.

On the second last weekend of season the 3 point came grunting up out of some heavier brush into a grown in cut and I watched him come up to about 80 yds where he stopped broadside. I was sorta prone-ish - lying in the snow and shooting across my pack.

Anyway I touched off the .270, he spun around and bounded off back the way he came...

I was so sure I'd hit him I didn't even chamber another round - though he didn't stop where I could shoot again anyway. I tracked him out a good ways in the snow and there was absolutely no sign of a hit.

When I checked the rifle at the range later on that day it was off, but not far enough to miss the whole deer at 80yds.

No clue as to what happened there Sam - but I surely did whiff that one.

As my cousin used to say, "It's much easier to hit the rest of the world than what you're aiming at...."

All the best to you folks in 2016 Sam.

Dwayne

Last year on opening day in another state, just after shooting time, a buck came over the ridge and stopped in some pines, just his back was showing over the high grass.. Plus it was a state with points restrictions, put the crosshair on his back and squeezed.. Knew I shot over when I pulled the trigger..

3-4 years ago. I was sitting under a tree on a hillside. A buck ran across the hill 15 ft behind me(surprised me). Turned and shot, probably shouldn't have. Missed. It ran 300-400 yards and my buddy shot it. Pretty decent 8 point.

Dwayne good to hear from you, hope you guys have a great 2016!


Wyo, same to you!


Thanks for the honest and interesting replies.


Ben, you were rattled!

There ain't any critter so big ... or range so close that I can't miss it

Seriously, I maybe ten years ago, I was freezing my ass off in a ground blind on a friends farm near Water Valley, Alberta. A decent 140-sh whitetail showed up at about 100 yards, so I placed the crosshairs behind the shoulder and fired.

And he ran off across a snowfield.

He stopped at about 200 and I couldn't see any blood on him or the snowfield, so I dropped down on my bipod and just plain shot him under the ear. He died BANG-PLOP.

He had a single bullet hole in him ... just under the ear.

For all I know, the first bullitt is still in low orbit of the earth. It's a total mystery.

Before that, I prolly had 25 years and a couple hundred++ big animals killed with absolutely no misses and no needed second round.

Blessings,

Steve



Here's a photo of the "missed deer."

Missed a doe about eight years ago at 150 yards or so. We had a half dozen club members looking for blood, etc. Nothing. .???

Tried to shoot off a male Knat mounting a female one.

I missed and shot her instead. The male did loose an important part of his anatomy though.

I shot a big mule buck off a doe one time in Alberta. Half of the locals thought it was funnier than hell ... half thought it was the dirtiest trick anyone ever played.

He was a fine buck ... bet he thought it was an unreal climax

When I showed up the next year, the neighbor said, "YOU'RE the one who shot the fu*king buck!!!! And he laughed so hard that we all thought he'd have a heart attack. (A shot of whiskey fixed that)

Blessings,

Steve

A few years back I was sitting in a tree stand. Had a doe walking through at approximately 40 yards, if that. I placed the cross hairs on her right front leg quartering and squeezed off the shot only for her to run off without any reaction or blood trail. This from a 30.06 using a 165 BTSP. To this very day I can only think that it may have been deflected by a twig? It was humbling to say the least.

Two seasons ago. Cow elk at 300.Sat down and promptly sent two rounds over her back. Third shot spined her fourth finished that whole sorry tale.
I think I had a little elk fever.

That is a good one Steve!



Great replies so far from everyone.

This Oct. Not a rifle but a Crossbow, 20yrds, off a shooting stick, red dot sight! 6pt whitetail buck, broad side! shot, he mule kicked and ran off, fig dead deer have killed about a doz. with this set up! arrow had a few hairs under one vane, looked all over 4 of us, he must have ducked, shot the Xbow and it was shooting 4" high at 20yrds, go fig. resighted it in the following week killed a big doe same spot, and a 8pt. in a diffrent spot, guess you never know.

Calling coyotes years ago. Set the caller out, good set-up over looking a large field surrounded on 3 sides by woods w/ a small steep creek bed zig zagging across it. Caller was about 100 yds away, about 15 yds on opposite side of creek bed from me.

I just knew I was going to get some action on some coyotes working their way down that creek bed and popping up in front of the caller! I hit the remote, nothing happened. Again, again, again..... Started walking towards the remote pressing the button, finally got it kicked off about 60 yards out.

Quickly walked back to the little scrub brush that was my shooting position, sat down with my rifle and scanned the field in front of me. Before I made the first sweep with my eyes, I caught movement out of the corner of my eye to my right. I look and a coyote is looking at me from about 15 feet away - apparently laid up in the same scrub brush I was sitting in, drawn out by the call.

The coyote looked away from me, still not moving, towards the caller. I lifted my rifle to get a shot and the stupid coyote stood there. The rifle went into shooting position and I had left the scope at 16x (I use to really like a 2.5-16x42...). I couldn't make out squat through the scope! I finally thought I had the crosshairs on his shoulder and squeezed off a round - complete miss.

The coyote finally "woke up" and switched into high gear, making for the wood line on the right. I tried in vain to get the crosshairs on him, but couldn't see him. I set the rifle down, cursing under my breath at my own stupidity, knowing full well what had happened. Turned the magnification down to 6x and looked up to see a coyote pop out of the dry creek bed about 100yds right in front of me. Appreciative of the quick opportunity at redemption, I quickly threw the rifle up to drop the chip shot and missed cold! Coyote ducked into the drainage, never got another shot off.

That wasn't the first time I had a problem from leaving the magnification cranked up on my variable, but that was the beginning of my conversion to the fixed 6. Lately I've regressed and been running 3-9x42's.

David

Missed a bull at 125 YDS with a ML 3 or 4 years ago, have no idea what went wrong. Killed him about an hour later.

The last I recall was 5-6 yrs ago. I was meat hunting, legal otherwise it didn't matter.

A nice adult doe showed up les than 100 yds, "done deal". Tikka T 3 270, chip shot. Bang, she left post haste. No time for a second shot, no blood, no hair, NO idea!!!

Over confident. Humbling.


Jerry

This year.

I took a dumb shot at a nice buck and paid for it. Thankfully it was a miss.

This year in Missouri I missed the first shot at a nice buck at 250 yards from a bog pod. It was an awkward angle and just as the shot broke I wobbled. He didn't survive the encounter ultimately...

Not once, not twice but three times at the same buck Sam. I was hunting on my lease in deep s. Texas and was out corning my senderos in the early afternoon. I came across a large buck standing on the edge of the sender hooking the brush above his head and making a scrape. I stopped the truck, got out and rested my gun on the open door. I aimed a little high as I guestimated the distance at 300 yards. I fired 3 times and missed him every time. He never ran but after the third shot he just moved off into the brush. I redeemed myself the next day as he walked out in the sender at 323 yards. One shot and he was down. A nice 163 class deer. powdr

With a rifle, Dec 25, 2010, I missed a running doe. Ive killed about 25 deer and an elk in a row now so I am due. However I don't shoot much anymore unless I know I will hit it.

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.

The last thing I can remember missing was an elk cow 30 years ago. Using my buddy's '06 complete with Tasco scope.....which he never sighted in ( but didn't tell me till later).....
She was a loooong way away and I used every method I could think of to estimate the range , held where i thought I should, and fired.
I was so wrong, and the range was so far that the noise didn't even scare her.....




Thats my story and Im sticking to it.....

Poobs, about 20 years ago I borrowed a 250-3000 Savage(99) and used it to shoot a buck antelope.


Maybe 300-400 yards away.


At the shot the buck dropped and the owner of the rifle thought it was great.


One small problem, it wasn't the buck that I was even aiming at....

I haven't borrowed a rifle since!

I missed a cow elk this year at about 250 yds across a draw.

Shot, no reaction. Moved 10 yds and stopped. Shot again. No reaction. (Herd on the move now).

Hiked over there to look and there she lay - one perfectly placed shot. the other? clueless. both were identical on my end and about as "gimme" a shot as one could dream up.

Last time I missed:

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/8511244/BBQ,_Beer_and_the_3_shot_buck#Post8511244

I was with a professional wolfer one time when we met another coyote hunter coming down the two track. We yarned a few minutes and the other fellow mentioned that he had never missed a coyote. As we drove on the old wolfer squinted and said, "He's either a liar or he ain't shot many coyotes."

I missed a 3 point whitetail two years ago on snow, shooting 150 yards into shadow with the sun just rising over a bank 30 feet above his back. Not a hair nor a drop of blood did we find. Turned out that the buck was behind a thin screen of leafless brush I could not see and my grandson with me defends my shooting by claiming that the bullet hit one of the twigs and deflected.

I missed one time. Actually emptied my whole mag and didn't kill one. I 'heard' an elk mew in a patch of brush. Since I had a either sex tag, I opened fire. All that shooting musta pissed off a hunter on the other side. He was a cussin' up a storm before he left. I never did find a dead critter. But then again, I was using a 270......

Pretty sure I hit the rim 3 or 4 times a try....the floor or the wall maybe.....that ain't a miss is it

Isn't that what that fancy fuzzy and absorbent hugger rug is for

Missed a whitetail in VA 3 years ago. Since then I'm 5 animals with 5 shots.

Missed a cow elk once at about 80 yards. I was rested with a rest, she was standing broadside. Few evergreen dead limbs between us no bigger than large twigs.
I tracked that elk for about 3 hours, over and over again, and never found one drop of blood, or hair, nor could I ever find a limb that had been broken.

I will never know what went wrong, but it did.

Missed a buck once at a couple hundred yards, again rested with a rest. Second shot hit picture perfect, right where the first should have. There was some brush between us, maybe 40 or 50 yards from the deer, but nothing closer. Again no idea except cold gun in both cases, but that is not an acceptable excuse.

That's the only two I can recall of many big game critters, over several decades of hunting

I missed a big coues buck in the light fog twice last year. The deer just stood there at each shot. Both were good shots.


The next day the fog had cleared and I reranged the area. 440 yards. The previous day the fog was giving me readings of 560.

I missed a running mule deer buck about 190" this year. He was bedded in a giant thick flat. I got to with 60 yards of him and still didn't see him. He jumped up and I shot him. Unfortunately in front of his vitals at the time was a 2" palo verde stem which I center punched.

Good stuff Sam -

Wisconsin late antlerless season a few years back, I missed 2 shots in a row a half hour apart. And this with a rifle that I didn't think I could miss with.

I decided I was going to kill a deer with a handgun, S&W 629 Mountain Gun, open sights. I had hunted for 2-3 days and never saw a buck to shoot, doe were not allowed. I stood up to stretch, turned around and there was a nice 8pt about 15-20yds behind my stand. I eased my gun out of the holster, cocked the hammer, leveled down and fired. At the shot the buck mule kicked, jumped a bound or two and stood there. My heart is in my throat, I'm shaking, and I am patting myself on the back at the great shot I just made. He stands there for a minute and starts feeding. My mind, not working, is thinking he's fixing to fall over. I watched him feed into the pine thicket and walk off. I figure my bullet is still in orbit.

This fall, took a new antelope hunter with me, Air Force Cadet, and his dad. We drove up to WY, introduced them to the landowner and began hunting. We drove out behind his house and there they were, about 20 of them standing in a field. I eased closer and stopped in some brush on the road. We crept out, antelope oblivious to our existence. I told my buddy he was up first, gave him a range of 302 and waited, he looked at me once or twice as if to say, is it really this easy? He fired, she dropped.
I had my scope on one at 210 yards that he didn't see. I squeezed from a sitting position on a good solid rest. Shot right over the back of her and the whole herd took off.
Still not sure what happened, but both dad and Cadet said, you shot right over her! I was feeling stupid.
We found some later and I dropped her at 320, I'm chalking it up to "she was too close."

First shot I ever took at an cow elk, 75 yards and I threw 2 of them over the cow elks back from the prone position non the less, ah buck fever...... LOL..

A couple of years later I had gotten over the bug, and was planting my shots, and took my first bull.

Saddlesore had a lot to do with me getting my first elk. I had shared a story with him about shooting pickle sized cucumbers off hand at 100 yards when I was a kid. I still remember that night in the wall tent after missing that cow elk... Perfectly quiet as we're turning in, and I'm trying to remember pulling the shot....
Out of the darkness I hear - Hey Spot would it help ya if went out tonight and tied some pickles on those elk..

About ten years ago, I built myself a sweet Remington 700, 300WSM. Bedded, blueprinted, glass stock, yada yada yada. Had some loads worked up and ready to hunt!

I was sitting on a giant soybean field in a tree stand, on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. When at 2:30 pm, a nice 9 point came out at 300 yds. He was munching beans and broadside when the shooting began. I emptied my magazine, reloaded, and emptied it again. The deer never moved. No rushed shots, actually, as the sweat started, I got more intense and focused with each "bang". Out of ammo, I watched the deer meander out of the field.

Dumbfounded, I got down and headed home. I checked my scope with my bore sighter, and found it to be about a foot high and a foot right! Checked rings, bases, all was tight. The only thing I could think, was someone twisted my turrets, without me knowing about it at camp! Still use that scope today, on another rig, without issue.

Never found "the joker", but it was way to far off both ways for it to have just been bumped.

Obviously a BS story. If you'd been shooting a .270, you'd have left with that other hunter.....

It was 2004 outside Jackson Wyoming. An offhand shot at a very nice 4x4 maybe 80 yards away. He was broadside looking away from me. Just flatazz missed him with my 338-06.

I can't believe this is the only rise I could muster about the 'sound shot' miss.

I missed a 40 yard shot on a white tail a couple years ago. I had a problem with my rifle and borrowed another hunter in my partys. It was a nice rifle but firing hand-loads of dubious origins. After a total miss we took 10 shots at a target 100 yards away. 6 or 7 were more or less on but several were no where to be found!

In the real world even the pros miss all too often in many kinds of sports, from basketball to biathlon to trap shooting.

I have missed many times over the last forty years and I will miss again. I have gotten buck fever and missed easy shots for no good reason. On the other hand twice I've killed animals under huge pressure when they were trying their best to kill me, once a wounded bull moose, and once a charging brown bear.

Human imperfection is the biggest factor in misses, but there are lots of other factors that come into play as well, especially in long shots: miscalculated ranges, warped stocks, changing wind, banged scopes, faulty ammo, etc.

Life has a way of humbling us sooner or later.

Definitely an under-utilized technique.

An adult and juvenile cougar came up behind me as I watched a bear trail for the Volkswagen Bear. I swung around when I saw them and fired four shots so fast it sounded like an auto burst. Missed all four shots at less than 30 yards before they made it out. Savage 99F 358

A couple years ago I bought a really, really nice custom Mauser 30/06. Sighted it in with Barnes 130 ttsx, missed two bears at 40 and 95 yards and said that's it, no more new guns before hunting season.

Missed a standing buck at 600 once. Killed a bunch under difficult circumstances, usually busting out of brush at close range, but can't hit one standing still it seems. Agree with BSA, jackrabbit hunting makes good big game hunters.

This year. I tried to brain shoot a little buck for sausage with the 223 with silencer. He jerked his head up at the right time and i missed.He stuck around but i let him go.Had my shot at him already. ED K

This year I shot over the back of a buck with my crossbow because I over estimated the range and whiffed on a doe with my suppressed 300 Blackout. She just stood there and I fired another shot and she still didn't run. I figured I wasn't going to kill her with the third shot and called it a day. That rifle is accurate and the shots were about 25 yards at her neck. I couldn't believe I missed. Later that day on my range at home the rifle was shooting 6 inches low at 25 yards. I don't know how the Leupold scope could have been off that far from the last time I used the rifle.

Perry

11-5-2006. I missed a buck that was trotting past me at about 75 yards. Just as I squeezed the trigger, a small tree popped into view and I know I stopped my swing. A clean miss.

A few days later, I was hunting about 300 yards from the miss, and while a guy never knows for sure, I killed a buck that had the same forked eyeguards, just like the one I had missed a few days before.

I loved it and laughed out loud. Should have told you so I guess, cause it is good satire. You post good stuff. The best satire is so true that it fools too many readers!

This year. REALLY early (first moments of shooting light) at a decent buck. Just flat missed. I could blame it on a twig or something in between (likely), but it was a clean miss. Saw him walk back through the brush a few minutes later.

Killed an even larger buck just a few minutes after that.

A few weeks ago. My 16 yo grandson missed a whitetail at 7 or 8 feet with his scoped 270. Shot over it from a 10' ladder stand. Did not miss the second shot.
As I am a still hunter, missing is not as rare for me as it seems for many of the other posters. A fair percentage of my hunting is done in thick cover, so near instant judgement of whatever shot is presented, is the norm.
Over the long haul, I think my percentage is good, but I contribute some of that to use of Partitions most of the time. They often seem to take up the slack when all else is less than ideal.
While I used a bunch of calibers over the years, most hunts have been with 270's, 35 Whelens, and 50 cal muzzleloaders. A 300 Savage is seeing more use in recent years.

I knew it was going to happen. My shooting blind and rest was perfect. The bait was hung and too tempting to pass up. As shooting light began to appear, i knew the big ole male was near if not already on the bait. My heart rate went up. Slowly, his outline appeared on the limb. He moved slowly - like a thick liquid rolling - toward the bait. My finger tightened on the trigger and i knew this wiley raider was mine. A sudden noise - he stiffens and slinks down muscles tense. Movement as I fire - he leaps down and disappears in the thick brush under the tree. Did i miss or do I have a wounded male to follow up?

I get up from my lawn chair and head to the bird feeder. The noise that spooked him is a fast approaching car. As I near, the big ole tom squirel runs to cross the road and get into the oak woods. The car splats him. As best as I could tell, I missed but the ford got him. 0 for 1 in '16

Last year, hunting some hardwoods in western PA... jumped a group of 4 or 5 deer who bounded up the next hillside (maybe 60-80 yards away) and stopped to look back. Centered the reticle quickly on the chest of a mature doe and shot.

They all bounded off with no reaction and I watched them for another 150 yards with no adverse effects. Went to the spot, no blood or hair, no sign of a shot... until I looked a bit higher and saw nice 1.5" hole blown through a young 5" diameter oak!

I missed this fall for the first time in I think thirty five years. The first time I shot at a moving deer I was twelve or thirteen, since I've been very consistent, with most big game falling to a single shot. ( one muley took two through the chest without flopping, and one was a dumb choice as a teen, attempting a head shot hit his jaw and followed it up running away hitting him in the back of the head in tall brush.)

This fall I had a ten point at about 40 yards crossing in hard to my left. It was fairly thick but I felt I had a shooting lane, when he stepped into it I held for the shoulder and touched it off. He spun and ran off. No blood, hair, etc. My son went back to where I had been sitting and traced the path toward where it had been. He found a twig with a crescent shaped divot. I was stunned when it didn't fall. I used the same rifle & load the last day of season to fill my tag with a doe. It is just a little high at that range but not enough to miss with the hold I used.

Until this happened I would never have thought such a slight impact of a twig would throw off the bullet so much.

First caribou this year, early November, 150 or less. Forgot rifle was zeroed at 300. Shot over. A brisket hold spined her.

Three years ago during muzzleloader season I had walked in about 1.5 miles in the morning towards a pond and suddenly found myself in range of about thirty does milling around in the morning mist around the pond. Frankly, it was a surreal and beautiful moment and for a moment, I was confounded at which target to pick. I settled on a nice sized doe, dropped to one knee and fired my shot. It was a complete miss. I think I pulled the shot due to the pan flash on my flintlock .54 cal Lyman Deerstalker shooting patched round ball. Although I'd been doing pretty good on paper at the range in preparation, alas, I failed the test that day in the woods. Still, it was worth it just to see all those does circling the pond in the mist that morning. Beautiful sight I'll never forget.

I honestly cannot remember the last time I outright missed a deer.

But I do know that I have passed up a bunch of shots just this year that I was not sure of making.

I've gotten more selective as I've gotten older. If I cannot kill it today with confidence, I will get him tomorrow or next year.

Wed. the 20th.. Took a shot at a cow elk, walking away.. She gave me a slight quartering chance to it behind the shoulder and due to the wind, or poor aim.. I missed.. Later, I did it perfectly on a broadside shot at 200 yards..

I swear I was in total still air and fired at an antelope at 360 which for our area is not unusual, made three hits just barely striking his left side to find the wind howling at6 150 to 360 yds when I got up to him. For me, horrible shots, the worst.

I stalked a bear last September to about 250 yards and couldn't get closer. I sat down an used my sticks, at the shot the crosshairs looked good, and I thought I hear a hit too. Bear took off running R to L. it was a good 200 yards to cover, and I figured since the bear was hit already I better put another hole in him. Emptied my rifle at him, 3 more shots. Two looked good to me. On picking up the track, no blood, no hair, no nothing. Tracked as best I could in the bush, nothing. Went back for my dog, he found no blood or other encouraging sign.
Two days later, same rifle, same load, but about half the distance, I had a bull elk running across an ope field at dawn at a bit shallower angle from R to L. Put one shot through his shoulder and turned him, put another through his neck as he changed direction.
I have no idea what went wrong with the bear, just need to get closer next time I guess.

Four or five years ago a buddy and I were hunting moose together. We were waiting to be picked up in the s-I-l's boat as evening approached. The s-I-l signalled that there was a moose at the end of the bay we had been watching. Where we were sitting, however, we could not see into the end of the bay.

We both moved up onto a little rise where we could see the moose. I sat down behind a downed log and tried to get comfortable but couldn't. Each time I thought I was ready I started to shake. Buck fever I guess. Finally when I didn't shoot my buddy did and hit the moose. For some reason the moose didn't go down. By then I had moved to another more stable position. I waited for my buddy to fire another finishing shot but it never came. Finally I fired two quick shots, both of which hit the moose and it finally went down. (It likely would have died from the first shot but we never like to take a chance on them getting way back in the bush.)

This is not quite what the OP was asking about but it shows buck fever can come when you least expect it. At the time I had been hunting for over 60 years. I know if I had shot too soon I would have missed. (The range was lasered at 300 yards.)

Jim

Kansas, last year, gdang arrow passed over the lungs and under the spine on a giant 9pt buck. , MF'k bowhunting pisses me off!

Last Friday night with my cross bow. 30 yards in heavy snow. The only thing I can say is it must have hit a branch or twig. I was left scratching my head.

Oh yea, 2 weeks before that, I missed a coyote with a 12ga slug. That was a pot shot though, he wouldn't stop running around.

Pheasant - a couple of weeks ago. Couldn't believe it - easy shot. Dog gave me a dirty look.

Pronghorn 2012 - somehow I shot right over the back of a pronghorn buck at about 150 yards... He did NOT stick around to give me a second shot...

Guy

I miss ducks all the damn time. I am a terrible wing shot and I plan on doing something about it.

2012 I think. I was muzzleloader hunting. I missed 3 ... one of them 2-3 times ... before I finally killed one. Sidelock, iron sights, patched round ball, percussion.

The first was a tough shot. Big bodied forked horn with very small rack. I'd seen the buck through the timber. It laid down behind a log with just the back of its head visible. I managed to sneak to within about 40 yards of it. The hill was curved so I couldn't see it kneeling or sitting. My only shot was an offhand shot at the back of its head.

The second was a big big 4x4. 25 yards, offhand, tried another head shot and missed. WTF was I thinking? Broadside, standing still, completely exposed. Basically a brain fart on my part.

The one I missed a couple times was one of the biggest bucks I've ever seen. I saw a similar one in the same spot about 2007, maybe bigger yet. It's real bluffy and the buck ran into a corner it couldn't climb up out of trying to get away. It was hiding behind a little bush. I tried to tuck the PRB between some branches ... guess I must have clipped one and it deflected. It stood there, let me reload and try again. I thought it was already wounded, looked hunkered up, but it must have just been standing funny. After the 2nd shot it ran back out into the road, a good graveled road, then ran up the road several hundred yards before hitting the brush. I was able to follow it and be sure there was no blood trail. I think I got one more shot at that buck on a different day.

I was heading back for one more whack at him (about a 4 hour round trip drive) and a very solid 4x4 crossed the road ahead of me so I chased it up into the brush. That shot didn't miss. "Solid 4x4" turned out to be an understatement. It was the 2nd biggest rack and by far the heaviest deer I've gotten in 40 years. The other one was bigger but ... I'm happy. And I'll have that tag again this year.

Tom

I missed a pretty easy shot up at chickenbuck in 2009. It was at a doe, standing about 40 yards away at most.

I center punched a popple I didn't see through the scope, right at heart level.