Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Fess up time

Who needed a follow up shot this year.
Personally I was 4 for 4 with no follow ups needed. Anywhere from 30 yards is so with the MZ out to about 187 with the 30-06. The other two inside 40 yards.

If you needed a follow up please post the caliber an projectile.

Not an indictment of anyone, just curious.
Not gonna lie, I’ve had a couple of fiascos thru the years . It happens…

Not me, but my hunting buddy missed the same buck on two occasions this season. Got two shots off in both instances. He was disgusted. Checked zero, it was a Mossberg Patriot 30-06, 1.5”-2” groups shooting American Whitetail 180gr. I told him to switch to a different ammo, maybe 150gr. He wouldn’t have it; he was done with the rifle at that point. He pulled the scope off and put it on his other Mossberg Patriot, a 6.5 PRC that shot sub MOA with the factory ammo. I ended up seeing the buck at the end of the season, but I didn’t have a tag. We will put the cameras back up after this rain moves through and hopefully see if he made it.

The wife missed the Big 8 my son killed. She was shooting her Browning A bolt Medallion chambered in .257 Roberts. The shot was 195 to where he was and she didn't realize it was that far along with some buck fever thrown in. Blasted a nice hole in the ground between his feet broadside.

She has decided she will practice some more this year LOL.

A few years ago I took a broadside shot on a freezer doe at about 100 yards. M70 FWT in 6.5cm. At the report of the rifle, the deer froze and stared in my direction the way they do when you totally miss. After 4-5 seconds (seemed like forever) I fired again. DRT. Walk down there and have two entry wounds about two inches apart. Both double lung hits. So a very unnecessary followup but still one of the strangest reactions to a good shot I've ever seen. All I can figure is shock... and that deer are a lot tougher than people think.

I killed 5 this year. ML, 30-06, and 300 Wby. All one shot kills. All of the deer ran off though 50 to 70 yards. They usually just drop when I shoot them with the Weatherby even through the ribs.

I shot a buck twice this year with a 300wm. He was flopping around so I shot him again. I'm shooting till they quit moving.

Had 2 this year. One was a buck my son shot. Shot him at like 275 prolly. Ran about 40 yards, fixing to hop in the heavy stuff on a creek and he shot him again. Don't think a second shot may have been necessary, but who knows. Anchored him there.
Next one was a do I shot at about 450ish the other day. Hit high shoulder and she dropped. Head was still up, played down at 200 and shot her again. Dead on impact. I know 2 sounds like alot of follow ups, but we killed 17 deer this year. The more you hunt, it's gonna happen.

Wait, 18. He shot a buck with his bow Wednesday.

Not I. Shot 2 with 2 iron sighted rifles. One went 10 ft, the other about 100 yds. Both hit well. But it can happen. Heck clean misses can happen, never mind a follow up shot. I've done both at times.

No need for a follow-up…..never fired the first on! ☹️ memtb

Low velocity hit from a Chevy Silverado put him down. Finisher with a claw hammer to seal the deal. 🫤

it has been while but i shot a doe that was 50ish yards and kinda broadside. i messed up the shot, it should have behind the shoulder, 1/3 of the way up. i took out her hind legs with a spine shot. it took me another 7-08 cartridge to put her down. i think it was 20+/- years ago. i always prided myself for a one shot kill, but i messed up. i could tell you that it was the rifle/cartridge fault, but i did it.

Still almost 3 months left but I killed 3 so far this year (444, 30-30, 243) my older son killed 3 (260 Rem), and my younger son killed 2 (444, 30-30). All one shot kills within sane range for the caliber and all with cup & core except my older son's 260, he's using Barnes LRX.

Slid the safety off on six, six shots fired, six at the butcher, no bullet recoveries and none made it further than a 20 yard death dash.

Oh hell....lowered the boom on that one.

I didn't need one but I fired one. I hit a doe that ran about 15 yards and stood there wobbling. I put another round in her neck. The first shot was a clean lung shot and she would have dropped where she stopped but my personal rule is to hit them again if they are still on their feet.

308 Win shooting a handloaded 130 gr Barnes TTSX over Varget powder.

One deer via SML at 225 yards. Dropped right there. My first "nose bleed" as well.

nice!!!!!!!!!

16 deer and 3 coyotes total during this season. Had to make a follow up shot on my muzzleloader buck. He didn’t take a step after the first shot but was still alive when I walked up to him. Shot was a little high.

EdM and 01Foreman400

Both nice Bucks, congrats.

THOSE ARE GREAT BUCKS.

No deer for me this year but did get a young bull elk. Bullet went in behind front shoulder and came out in front of the opposite rear leg. No follow up needed

Yes on one deer, first I can recall in a long time. Buck was only 25 yards away, facing straight on. I can still see him moving to his right just as I squeezed the trigger. He only went 20 yards but was lying on the ground, head up. He looked right at me but couldn't get up, so I put one through his neck right below his skull.

The first bullet only caught some of the left shoulder and the backside of one lung, punctured the diaphragm and took out the liver.

I made a less than ideal shot on my third and last one this past year, but no follow-up shot was required, just a little tracking through some puckerbrush, maybe 75 yards from the main trail. Have had to track some hit perfectly just as far.

I enjoy an interesting tracking job, as long as there’s a happy ending. Haven’t lost one of my own, yet…..

Two nice bucks and a bull. All one shot

Whether I had to shoot twice this year was a necessity or not I did put a second one in him as he just stood there after the first shot. He showed no sign of a hit with the first shot. Second one got his attention…..
First entered upper middle of lung and exited at the diaphragm on a slightly quartering too angle, second blew up the heart.
You owe it to the animal to put it down as fast as possible. If it’s still up, hit them again.

Not on my deer or Aoudad, but did on pigs. I try to get a two for one when pigs come out. The back pigs sometimes takes another round.

One shot, 100yds, one deer.

That’s a great buck.

Yes but not on whitetail. I got invited on a whitetail hunt in Texas. The ranch was a low fence working cattle ranch. I was sitting in the stand and an Oryx came walking down the road . I couldn’t believe it. I grabbed my phone and texted the guy that runs the ranch and asked if I could shoot an Oryx. He thought I was messing with him. He said “ sure if you see one go ahead and shoot “. Well I did. I was shooting my REM. 788 in 7mm08 with regular old Winchester 140 grain Power Points . I hit it perfect behind the front shoulder at 110 yards. It dropped immediately but got back up and started to run. It stumbled as it was turning and I was able to get another bullet in it on the opposite side behind the front shoulder . It went down again and this time for good . Exciting hunt! The guy that runs the ranch had no idea where it came from and had only seen one other one on the ranch about 6 months prior.

Good on you for shooting again and congrats on the Oryx.
I'll shoot til' I know longer have a target if the critter is leaving town. I don't go to save ammo.
Having said that I strive for a one and done shot scenario.

I’ll admit I needed a follow up on my bow deer. Spined him and didn’t want to let him suffer any longer than necessary so I put a second one through the lungs. As the OP said. Chit happens.

I put a second one in a buck last week. He didn't react much to the first shot, so I hit him with a second. First was good so I should have left it alone.

No deer for me this year.

If all big game can be discussed, I put a 2nd round into my bull moose, but it wasn’t needed as the first went through the heart. Typical moose reaction, as he just started walking off after that first shot. He was dead on his feet.

I also put a second bullet in my bull caribou as the first shot wasn’t where I had intended. The first would have killed him but he may have went a ways before dying.

My griz didn’t go anywhere but straight down at the first shot.

All one shots for me, 308, 30-06, 300 win mag, and 300 weatherby mag, all bang flop except the 308 one and she went about 15 yards. 150 ballistic tips in the 308, 150 partitions in the 06, 150 spire points in the win mag, and 180 TTSX through the bee.

I didn’t know oryx could swim.



P

Of the seven deer I shot with rifles this year, it was one shot each. A few went a little ways, but I knew I had them, didn't shoot again. The only one I shot twice was a buck I killed with a .44 mag revolver. My high shoulder shot went a little high and I spined him with a 240 grain XTP. He dropped on the spot, but when I got up to him he was still struggling, trying to get his head up so I put one in the heart/lung area to settle him down.

Twice in my life I have had to use follow up shots. These are not the "insurance shots " I now use, from a few yards out, having gone pucker-ville a couple times on moose.

As I recall the following up shots numbered 10 and 10..... on caribou. One had 5 holes in her, only 2 fatal, including the first one. She was too damned cold to notice she was dead, I think... . . It ain't easy shooting at 20 below with a 30 knot wind in your face.

The other was pre-range-finder days and much farther than I estimated- but the first shot hit, so I had to keep shooting.

Chit happens....

I have a good bow hunting one.
In fall 2019 I was bowhunting in Mississippi at a friends place. Were in lock-ons, he was in one right above me filming. A doe came out and when she got about 10yards away when I let the arrow fly - the arrow literally bounced off the deers shoulder. The insert was shoved down into the arrow shaft and the broad head was gone. We just kind of stared at each other trying to figure out what happened. After looking at the video, she lifted her leg to take a step right when I released and the point of impact squared her humorous. After a good while we came down, started tracking her and then lost blood.
Went back by myself in the same tree that afternoon. Was not in there for 15 minutes when a doe showed up. I stayed sitting down, drew back and waited for her to turn broadside, this one was maybe 15 yds. I did not realize how close the cam on the lower limb was to my knee, and when I released it made contact with my knee, kicking the bow towards the ground. The arrow stuck in the ground kind of between her feet. She jumped straight up in the air like a shot armadillo then stood there staring and sniffing at my arrow with the flashing nocturnal blinking away. After about 15 seconds she turned and walked away.
So I’m in the tree just fuming, mad as a wasp at myself while staring at my arrow sticking out of the ground flashing away, I hear another deer walking behind me. I nock another arrow and position myself - standing up this time. I watch the deer keep walking straight toward me. She stops at the exact spot where I bounced the arrow off of the deer that morning, she sees the strobing arrow from the deer I missed maybe 10 minutes ago. She walked towards it and stops with her head behind a tree. I drew back and released, double lunging her. Ended up having her hanging on the skinning rack back at the camp right before dark.
The broad head that “bounced” off the 1st deer was a rage trypan hypodermic. I had went to a back up muzzy 3 blade for the one I killed.
In Jan 2022, one the guys up there killed a big healthy doe with my broad head still stuck in her leg bone. Everything had healed up, no infection and she had raised twins. That broad head is on the kitchen window seal to this day at his camp.

No follow up shots…

But.did.miss.a.buck.

Clean miss.

Looked for blood. Looked for deer. Nothing.

Came back to where he was standing.. found the pine tree that was right behind him.

Yep. Shot under him.


Oh yeah. 100 yds.

Buck fever.. 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️


P.s. Checked rifle later that morning. Bulleyes… it was me. 😣😣

I missed a nice buck crossing pipeline chasing a doe.

Missed a doe that was walking fast, left to right about 60 yds out with my 6.8spc Rock River AR. For some reason it froze and with the 2nd shot I put one in the neck and game over.

Upon further review, first shot hit a small oak tree that was about 8 yards in front of me that I didn't see in the scope.

SML? Savage Muzzle Loader?

Smokeless Muzzle Loader

Only one of my bucks this season required a follow up shot. All of them got them though. Fire until they’re down.

LOL, one of my good buddies from Mississippi sent me this picture the in December. And yes, I gave him hell about it.
I asked if he cut it down and put it on the wall.

[img]https://i.postimg.cc/3xdBBk5T/temp-Image-Ni-XFbr.avif[/img]

Hmmph. well that didn't work

Got it this time. Sorry fellers.

Had an old blowy doe matrix me and one little pig that got lucky. Both because I was being an idiot and trying to “tween the eyes” them.

Everything else was dead one shots. My two bucks, several pigs that died of a .204 to the ear. And a couple of doe.

Only shot one deer this year…. Top of the heart with a 117 sierra from my 25/06 at about 90 yards. But did shoot a deer my buddy shot and wounded. It was laying there still kicking its hind leg so I put one through its head at about 90 yards, also 117 sierra from my 25/06. Finished one for another buddy at probably 75 yards. After he shot it we went to find it and I got very lucky and saw her bedded down with her head up. One to the base of the neck with a sierra 1365 out of my 22-250 finished her immediately.

1 buck, one shot. Normally I like to shoot more than that though…

I put a second bullet in one buck this year. First shot was intended for the left front shoulder at a hard forward facing angle on a moving buck who was chasing does. He stumbled a bit on the impact, took 3-4 steps and was then stopped broadside. Placement of the second was so close to the first shot that, from inside looking out, it looked like one really big hole if you only looked quickly. Because of the angle, the first shot didn't break the shoulder but caught a lung and exited low near the last rib. Second shot (broadside) took the shoulder and dropped him in place.

Second shot wasn't needed but I did it without thinking. I'm fairly new to Tikka's. I noticed how smooth the bolt/feeding is when I was shooting before the season. I didn't notice anything regarding it for the second shot...which is a bit of a testament to how smooth/quick the bolt/feeding were. Short bolt lift with smooth action, it was just "ready" so quick.