Hunting Blunders

[CletusBodeen]

I twisted my knee one year before open'n weekend and just had to go hunt'n.
Here I am in a knee brace that goes from the ankle to the grion and
I went. I was in such an bad position when I shot that I gut shot a nice buck.
So now I'm have'n to track a deer while on crutches. I finally threw down the crutches and hobbled around look'n for my buck. I never found him.

[cosmiccowboy]

I had a hunter shoot a cow one weekend when I wasn't at the ranch. I'm pretty confident that massive amounts of alcohol were involved in him confusing a full grown cow for a deer. It cost him market price + $150 (ranchers call) + eviction with loss of lease money...

[Cottonfish]

In October of '01 my buddy Scotty had encouraged me to start bowhunting the lease we are on near Sabinal. I was still shooting a Bob Lee recurve at the time. We had created several bow stands (Scott, our buddy Jeff, and I were the only bowhunters on the 3500 acre lease at the time), I picked one I felt offered the best opportunities for the limited range of the recurve. It was a ladder stand about 15ft tall, well up in the thin cover of the mesquites we have.

About 7:30am a pair of bucks show up, both about 3 1/2 years old, an 8 point about 16" wide and an 11 point about 20" wide. I took about a 30 yard shot on the 11 point, a clean miss underneath the deer. Both bucks naturally left, but then a doe shows up about 8:00am. She takes a trail to pass by the base of the tree I'm in, and I think she's meat in the pot as I draw - I must've had target fixation cause the next thing I hear sounds like a drunk hitting a metal trash can - THWAAANNNNGGGG - I ricocheted the arrow off of an overhanging branch about 2 feet in front of and below me. That doe dang near turned inside-out as she rocketed off into the brush - I was speechless for about 30 seconds as I comprehended my own stupidity. The arrow was trashed, but at least the doe got away unscathed.

I was so hacked off when I got home that I went to the local Mathews dealer and bought a Q2 with all the accessories, and returned to the lease with it two weeks later. Same stand, same time of morning, both bucks returned! I took about a 35 yard shot on the 11 point, but had held my 30 yard pin mid- body and the arrow grazed his back when he ducked it. He lit both afterburners and I swear I could hear him busting brush for 1/4 mile. I never got another shot at a deer from that stand again, we moved it a couple of years later.

Stu

[Brian H]

I had been hunting this big 10pt. all season last year. He was in the mid 150's. I had lots of pics of him on my trial cams at night, but none during the day. I remember the day well. It was January the 5th of this year, and I was sitting in my ground blind. I had forgotten my usual chair, so I was using a new on the was more for sitting on the pourch than hunting out of. It sagged to much. A nice 11 point came in and winded me and I thought for sure this mornings hunt was over. It hadn't been 5 minutes when out of the corner of my eye I caught movement. There he was. He came in and ate corn for 20 minutes behind a cactus. My shakes had already been gone a while when he offed a perfect 18 yard shot. I could already see him on my wall. The thought occured to me afte I had already drawn that my cam might not clear. I looked down to see and it appeared that it would. Well, when I released it did not clear. It hit the limb and bounced back and smacked my knee. Boy did that hurt in more ways than one. I didn't know if I had even hit the deer. It turned out I did, but thankfully he was seen before the season was over chasing does with a big scab on his leg. Maybe I'll get him this year. He will be 6 yrs. old and with all the rain should be nice

[Lulhorse]

True story.
Was bowhunting for cow elk only no bull tag . A herd bull and his cows were working there way up a hill I was on . They were coming right on a path to put them at twenty yards. Perfect the lead cow was a big tall barren lookin hussy . I drew back and let er fly at 20 yards. I thought I hit to far forward but she went 60 yards and simply laid down . After 30 minutes of watchin her I ambled over she was simply laying therelike a bovine would on pasture with her head facing her rump her back toward me. I had an arrow knocked and wasnt exactly quiet so I thought she had expired. Kicked a rock toward her when I was about 5 yards away and up she came right into me ! My bow and arrow went sailing the arrow nearly got me. The cow hit me square in the chest and stepped on my wrist left a scar I stiil wear today. That was on my first elk hunt/

[RonaldB]

I have two stories, one mine and the other a good friend.

I was hunting in Llano about 10 years ago with blackpowder, I saw a big spike and went to set the front trigger, had the gun out the stand pointed in the air and accidentally pulled the regular trigger.

My buddy was hunting at Mason Mountain WMA. He had an 8pt cross in front of him with out stopping to give a shot. He pulled his grunt tube out that he had hanging around his neck. Buck turns around and comes back in. Phil draws back on lets his grunt tube slip out of his mouth. He shoots and the arrows goes straight down and the grunt tube almost hits the buck. It left a good ring around his neck from the lanyard,

[2BLADE]

i once missed a buck, i didnt just miss him i really MISSED him. i got all nervous and settled my 40 yd pin on a buck that was 22 yards away. needless to say the buck was safe and i felt like an idiot.

[Ricky T]

Missed a big Webb County monster one afternoon at a water hole when my homemade swivel chair made a little noise and the buck looked up as I drew. I was shooting a fast overdraw bow at the time and I figure I could smoke him anyway. Buck swapped ends and ducked before the arrow ever got there.

Shot a King Ranch 150 too far forward one evening. Jumped him the next morning. Should have had a gun or dog.

Shot a big New Mexico bull a little high mid-day and my "guide", despite my protestations, decided he was done and jumped him in his bed about a hundred yards from the shot. Last time I've ever seen the bull or the "guide."

But the worst is a buck I had hunted for two years that finally came in and I rushed the shot. Hit him low and a little far back. Started raining. Bad luck with the dogs. Mid 150s eleven point.

Those are the ones that come immediately to mind.

Stuff happens.

[Hog Exterminator]

my dad said that a friend of his told him about a hunt for mule deer in colorado with a smoking pole. he said that a large mule deer had jumped out of a canyon. as he settled the crosshairs on him he heard the infamious "click" only to realize that instead of loading a cartridge in his gun, he has loaded his chapstick.

[Smart]

As a younster I knocked my gun over waiting to get in the hunting truck and was too scared to tell my Dad hoping it was OK. Went hunting and I missed a natural 12 at 40 yards. Gun was shooting 5" low. We had seen him before at a different blind but couldn't get a shot. This day he just appeared out of the brush 40 yards from my stand.... I had three deer under my belt shooting by myself and this would have been my first wallhanger at age 12. I can still see the back of that wide white rack running like hail across the bottoms near Edroy Texas.....

[Devin]

When you gonna chime in Stolle?

You're me hero of blunders.