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

How many times (IF you hunt deer a lot you have to have done it once)...

Mine was with a Browning BAR 243 - I was share I chambered a round...

Click - the ears went up and he looked my way... CHIT !!!

Once that I can think of with deer. I worked the action as quick as I could, but the "click" came and my heart stopped. I ended up having rust in the metal around the magazine well and for whatever reason the first round in the magazine didn't get lifted up enough for the bolt to catch its rim. I did NOT short stroke (ha!) the action. I worked the action again, aimed and the next time it fired. Deer dropped at about 80 yards.


I had it happen on a cow elk last year, but the primer was either bad or it was too cold at -20F for the powder (H414) to light. I jumped the cow by accident, worked the action and had the dreaded "click". I jacked that round out of the chamber and the next round in, which had the same primer (from a different lot though) and RL22. This time it went boom and the cow fell at about 200 yards. The first round's primer had a solid strike, and was the last round from that bullet/powder combo I had. I pulled the bullet and dumped the powder when I got home.

I am sure if I thought about it more I could come up with others, especially if coyotes are in the mix.

Had it happen ith a Voere O/U in 222 mag. Lucky coyote.

Once.
This was the first time I ever tried one of my reloads hunting. Opening Weekend, 2001. I'd been doing most of my bowhunting out of a stand on Heartbreak Ridge, and the deer had gotten wise to me. One in particular, a basket-8 I'd dubbed "Spike." This deer had an uncanny ability to slip up on me when I was not looking and eat acorns below my stand without my seeing him. He'd pulled this stunt once to often, so I decided to fool him. On the weekend before the rifle opener, I hid my climbing stand next to a tree about 80 yards along the ridge on a trail I knew Spike was using. On the Opener, I got in early and got up the tree and waited. Sure enough, about 0900, a doe came up from the creek bottom, following the trail and I figured this was as good as any.

I had my Winchester 670 in 30-06 and a batch of handloads. These were 165 grain Hornady SP's over H4895. I'd only started reloading less than a year before. This was my first time hunting with reloads. The doe turned broadside at 15 yards and . . .Click. She looked up at me for a brief moment and then ran off back down the trail. I didn't see anything more that morning.

When I came out from hunting that morning, I tried the round again, firing into the dirt. Click again. I decided to switch to my Remington 742 and use a different box of the same reloads. A test firing worked, so I figured it must be the rifle. The Win 670 went back in the case and I kept it in the back of the closet for some time. I went out the next morning and nailed a nice doe from Heartbreak Ridge.

The next weekend, I was back at Heartbreak Ridge in the original buddy stand. This time I had #2 son, Mooseboy out with me. It was his first rifle hunt. A herd of deer came down the hill towards us in the first hour and Mooseboy spotted Spike trailing the parade. I shot Spike and he fell down right at the base of the stand.

From that day on, I've never had a misfire. I've still got the round

It happened to me back in the late 80s when I was first starting to hunt deer and hogs. I just plain was too excited about getting in my stand and forgot to chamber a round. I set there for several hours before some hogs came by and when I leveled off on one , click....... i was able to get a round in my lever action 3030 but that bunch was long gone. About ten minutes later a big boar came walking by and I killed him. I remember thinking...Now what. It took me about two hours to skin and qtr it with my two $8 survival knives. Some old guy in a swamp buggy came by and I remember I told him it was my first big game animal and I sure could use some advice. He laughed and said “ well young fella I would cut away everthing I did want to eat and toss the rest In my cooler” then he drove off.

Only with a flintlock

It happened to me the first time my wife came along to observe. Was focused on making sure that she got all she needed out of the truck and never chambered a round.

We had been in the blind about 10 minutes when a young 4 point and a fat old 8 point appeared. I aimed the 7-08 at the 8 point and it went CLICK!

I realized what I had done immediately as both deer turned facing us and stared. I worked the bolt as quietly as possible and fired and the 8 point dropped.

So far the lesson has not been forgotten.

My ONCE was with T C Renegade 54 cal. 4 EARS (2 deer) up

....buttS went Noooooorth with a vapor trail.

Jerry

Carried a muzzleloader that after the hunt, required a 2nd cap.
No clicks afield, on anything, yet.

Did have a Contender that would do it if not closer sternly.
Even then once in a while it'd click at the range.
Ordered springs but sold it (with a new spring to be installed) to a Contender guy.

Eh, I like a falling block way better than a break open.

best buck i ever got was after a click, no boom. i had switched guns at the truck and just stuck the mag in my 7600 without chambering one. deer was about 1/2 a second from bolting when i shot him.

my son dropped the hammer on a nice 10 point a few years ago but forgot the safety. he didn't get another chance because the buck was real close.

Something was happening with the corelokts in the mid 90s, had a few misfires out of a couple different guns while hunting. I know its a tried and true round but they cured us of using corelokts.

Not yet on a deer.

But I have opened the action on my rifle to get down from the stand and found I've never loaded it. So, it's pure luck that I haven't had the "click" on a deer.

Marlin 444 on a dandy 8 point buck at about 20 yards.

One of those levers with a fuuggin safety.

He came in, I cocked the hammer and as he was walking and I squeezed the shot off.

Click, I thought WTF and the deer just stopped right there. I had no clue what had just happened so as I tried to run another round up in the chamber he decided to boogie.

Took me a few seconds to realize I had never pushed the safety off.

From then on I cocked the hammer as I was sitting and just had to push the safety off when it was go time.

WHY did you have to remind me of DOING THAT ?
I was in a GREAT place and INTENSELY anticipating shooting a good Buck !!

SO GLAD he didn't show --> COLD chamber.


If we can't laugh at ourselves, we have NO right to laugh at others.

Jerry

Once on a coyote. Bad primer, chambered a second round and killed the coyote. Switched to another brand of primers.

Second time on the skeet field 20 gauge round from a brand spanking new box of skeet loads. (Same brand as the primers). Have not purchased primers or ammo from that company since.

Never did that, but hunted all day once with an unloaded gun! Didn't know til end of the day when I went to unload it.

Twice:

First time was a Handi-Rifle in 444 Marlin. Tried to shoot a doe at 80 yards. Clicked on her twice before she shagged out of there. I put the rifle by the heater in my stand (was in the 20's that morning), worked the hammer back and forth a few times, put the round back in, and busted a crow at 175yds with the same round. Go figure.

The next time was a coyote with my daughter's rifle. Click. Nothing. Turned out that my Lee priming tool was crapping out and not seating primers completely. They were all a bit raised and were absorbing the impact of the firing pin instead of igniting. At least it didn't happen on a good buck.

Never on a deer or with a rifle. But I've had it happen pheasant hunting with my shotshell reloads.

Only on muzzleloaders

-Jake

Never with a cenrefire, but lots with .22lr.

Solid primer strikes, no bang.