Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Have You Lost Any Big game You've shot?

Probably lost the first big game animal I hit when I was a teen. It was a slug-only area and I had done my homework well even though my shotgun was a single barrel Savage/Stevens�.but I shot it well and quickly, and knew it preferred Winchester slugs rather than Remington, Browning, and Federal. And I had no trouble grouping those Winchesters into 3-4" groups with the plain bead front sight on that smooth barrel. But our group of 3 or four guys had one doe tag among us and the first opportunity we had was a doe; I had the shot and she was crossing at 20 yards or so on the run. I shot twice thinking I had shot well. I was standing there listening for sounds of her thrashing or shuffling off when two of the others came up talking excitedly. "Did you hit her?" "Is that thing a single shot; that was too fast to be."

"I think I might have. Oh, she's right there." She was standing head-down beneath a cedar but dashed off as I raised my barrel again. So we started tracking. We followed drops, then specks, and tracks amongst others. After a good while, the fellow with the doe tag (who had fired two quick shots shortly before we hunted) looked up and spotted the doe 35-45 yards away, bedded down. He insisted he wanted to take the shot. He missed. I knew it was a chip shot and had complete confidence in my ability to make the basically broadside shot. There were some drops of blodd where she had bedded and I felt badly after when we lost her. There were no further signs of blood. I have since come to realize she was probably only grazed, perhaps near the sternum. That would explain the fact that she was stunned briefly. But I doubt she suffered an untimely demise as a result of our efforts that day. Still, I wish I has brought her down cleanly. The running red fox that I later drilled with a slug as he ran along a fence line was not the consolation prize I had hoped for, though it did bolster my credibility among my friends.

Yes

No, but it was only a 1 lb jug....

Seriously, haven't lost one yet but I'm getting back into bow hunting next year so I'm praying through proper equipment, lots of practice and shot discipline I can keep my streak going...

Yes. 2 doe and 1 hog that I know of.

Many years ago I was pretty reckless in the shots I made. Looking back, I wonder if I wounded some of the deer I chalked up as misses.

Others would do well to do some similar wondering. Even if all their misses were in fact really misses, it would be simply due to dumb luck.

Yes, one whitetail buck unfortunately, shot looked good and his reaction was just like others I have harvested. Gave him about 20 minutes fully expecting to find him just inside the woodline where he ran. Went in and nothing. I was shocked. Looked and found a small puddle of blood where it looked like he had laid down. Waited for a few others I was hunting with to come help. We followed small drops and then nothing. We ended up jumping a deer but couldn't tell for sure if it was him but I would get it was. Never found him. Looked more over the next few days but never found anything. In my mind I would like to think he survived but it still bothers me when I think of it. Definitely shook my confidence for awhile.

Yes'one elk that didn't drop right away. muzzle loader set trigger set too light.Followed a muley buck that I hit in rear leg. He was moving and I made a stupid mistake. Followed him for7 hours in snow and finally got him

Yep. A Cape buffalo I shot and wounded in Matesi in Zimbabwe. It crossed the dirt road border with Botswana and we were unable to get permission to follow it. Pretty hollow feeling not to mention a $2000 trophy fee lost as well.

If someone is such a bad shot to completely miss an animal. They more than likely have lost animals they've hit too.

For someone to say they never lost an animal, they would have had to find every animal they shot at.

What I had in mind when replying to the question was animals I've fired at and not recovered. There was only one ever that I know I missed completely, because I could see the impact in the snow. I jumped a doe and she ran straight away up a hill. I tried to spine her, but over swung with a Turkish mauser and missed her completely. All the others I know or assume I hit.

After 50+ kills i have never lost one.

Yes

Yes.

The odds of people lying or "forgetting" about never losing or missing an animal over a "career" with a decent number of shots taken are significantly better than them actually doing it. Hunters and fisherman are notorious liars and exaggerators dontcha know.

If you haven't lost a Big Game Animal , you haven't hunted much