Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Come on Admit it - Click “no boom”

Once. Guide gun. Went "click" and checked the safety Yep, it was on. Deer, of course, was long gone.

When I got home, I pulled the buttstock, put safety "off" and tightened down the tensioner screw. That bad boy hasn't move since 2007...

I handle it just like my M94 Winchester. Half cock safety is all I use.

Happened to me on a Black Bear and a large one at that. Browning BLR that I never racked a round into. Bear was just as annoyed as I was.

Twice with a flintlock

Yes nice buck, model 88 Winchester. Never chambered s round. I killed him as soon as I worked the lever.

Many times with a flintlock before I knew what I was doing

Never. Ever.


But Ive had a couple "Boom...no whack...."

My very first deer hunt by myself back in 81 with a newly acquired marlin 336 30/30 bought used from the local grocery store. Two deer coming through the sprayed timber just after daylight at about 100 yards. I lined up the first one and pulled the trigger and heard a loud snap. Both deer threw up there heads and looked my way and it was then I realized it was a buck. Once they put their heads down I worked the action and out popped the factory Winchester 150gr with dented primer. I worked another into the chamber and proceeded to empty the remaining shells as the buck popped in and out of the down timber. I lost track of him when he disappeared into the creek. I found him dead in the bottom with 4 holes in him. My first buck was a basket rack 7-pt but I’m still very proud of it.

Never when it counted on a big buck. Jumping out of the truck to whack a coyote, happened this season. Calling coyotes happened with a shotgun. Dropped the hammer on the 30-30 on the safety twice, once on a prairie dog the other on a doe freezer pleaser. Ended up getting them both. I'm sure it's happened more than that but those are the ones I remember. Doesn't bother me if and when it does. I used to hunt hot but now I don't. No need to usually

Once on a deer and a couple of times at the range, all reloads. On the deer, it wasn't a problem, it was about 250 yds. away, cycled another shell in and shot the buck. I can't say for sure but I think I got resizing lube on the primer. I was about 16 and still under the tutelage of relative who insisted you had to resize and prime all on the same trip through the die. I think I had lube on the fingers that I used to pick up the primer and put it in the seating arm. I changed my procedure after that.

The first range one, my young son was 'helping me' reload, we just plain missed putting the powder in one. Got a pop out of that one when the primer went but no boom. And the last one was about a month ago, no idea what happened. Bad primer I guess as the powder was there and the rounds before and after fired. But that one didn't, even with a second strike. Who knows???

Dale

Only one time not counting muskets. I was a teenager, rifle was a 6/06.

It taught me a valuable lesson about sizing/headspace.

Oops actually forgot about several I’ve had with my 270. Had some primers that must have got contaminated some how, iirc a half dozen out of the 100 I had loaded were duds.

When I first started reloading I made the mistake of setting the shoulder back too far on some 358 reloads. Cost me a doe but learned a valuable lesson on testing shoulder length before loading cases.Had to tear down 20 reloads. Live and learn.

Never out hunting, but would would be way worse would be expecting a "click" and getting a boom. I only nearly did it once when I went to inspect my 20 gauge and found that I'd forgotten to unload the chamber.

Okay, now that we are telling reloading stories... Back when I was just a kid reloading for my .30-06, I had the bright idea that if I oiled the primer pockets, the primers would go in a lot easier! They did, but if those rounds didn't hang fire, they didn't go off at all. Don't do that.

Once with a 7mm-08, failed to put powder in the case. He was 200 yards away, didn’t scare him.

Multiple times with a Ruger 77 in .243. My mom's gun, it was foisted upon me as a 12 year old. I hate the thing! For some reason it will click if left for some period of time (hours, minutes?) with a round in the chamber and safety on, but it always works if freshly loaded. So it would work fine at the range and totally let you down on the deer stand. It failed to fire twice on does when I was 12. The next year I was expecting it when the rifle failed to fire on my first buck, a 10pointer. I was able to work the bolt and shoot him though. I have no idea what's wrong with the thing, maybe it's possessed. Looking back on events as a parent I have no idea what my father was doing having me carry the same garbage rifle for a second year. Someone should have reported him to child protective services!

I've also had issues with rifle brass used for multiple reduced loads with trail boss. After three or four firings they're no good any longer. Oh, and lets not forget all the fail to fires you get with Remington .22 ammo.

New hunter left safety on no boom. Hog got away.

I hunted with a Ruger M77 in 243 when I was a youngster that had a defective firing pin spring. After sitting cocked for some long period, it wouldn't fire. No one on that side of the family knew about replacing springs, or even letting the tension off the spring when storing. Often the first shot would not ignite the primer, but if the spring was reset, the next shot was fine. I missed a few deer and one antelope because of a "click", followed by several shots at moving animals that never panned out.

It's my mother's rifle. She still has it. To my knowledge the spring has still never been replaced. I hope to give it to my daughter one day, with new spring already installed.

My shooting buddy bought a Marlin .30/30 and a box of CoreLokts, he got 14 of 20 to fire, but the other 6? Nope, no way, no how, did they ever fire. It wasn't the rifle, which worked with handloads and Winchester loads, but Remington had a spate of bad ammo for quite awhile.


Another guy I know bought a Remington 7400 .30/06, and danged if it worked, even after three trips back to Remington, it clicked every time. I have no idea what was going on with that rifle, but I DO know I've shied away from them ever since his experiences. At first, I thought he was just easing the bolt forward, but he swore he wasn't doing that. I know all his issues went away when he swapped it for a Browning BAR.

I had a Hornady Superperformance round not fire in my .444 Marlin. Other rounds fired just fine (I did get the deer on the second shot). After that I took the stock off the rifle and cleaned the hammer spring and associated areas and haven't had an issue with any ammo since.

Not during deer season but on a grouse hunt. Dog went on point, I flushed the bird, had a clear shot, CLICK. My dumb ass forgot to load my gun. Dog looking at me like WTF

My dad had it happen in doe season in PENN back in the 80s. Doe was standing broadside at less than 50 yards, a very load CLICK and she took off like a rocket. Dad ejected the round and looked it over, primer was dented, he chambered another round and aimed at a nearby tree stump BOOM. Only misfire he ever had with that gun

'Tis a path I've not traveled.