If you miss while hunting...

[Guy Miner]

Do you consider it the fault of:

The ammo?

The rifle?

The scope or sights?

Or the shooter?



I'm to blame for every miss I've ever made in the field, from varmints, to small game, to birds on the wing, to big game.

It's easy to get all wrapped up in determining if a rifle will shoot .2's or .5's, or even break an inch at a hundred yards from the bench. Most of us need more shooting time, and perhaps some coaching, more than we need better ammo, better rifles or better scopes.

Just a thought. Guy

 

[FOTIS]

That would be me. :wink:

 

[joelkdouglas]

Agreed! I mostly practice from 25 yards with a 22lr, but seem to shoot the most centerfire from a bench. I need to spend more time with it in field positions.

Speaking of practice, does anyone have a "regimine" they use to improve their shooting? For example, I run about 20 miles a week, including a long run, a tempo run, an interval day, and two other days that I jog to warm up for some lifting / calisthenics. That's my "stay in shape / fitness" regimine.

What's your shooting training program?

 

[joelkdouglas]

I forgot to answer the question. I consider a miss my fault, unless clear equipment malfunction. Each has happened once. The miss? 10 yards, maybe less. The equipment malfunction was at 35 yards, solid rest, and the result was a gut shot. I did recover the deer, and Leupold said they had to rebuild the "erector", whatever that is.

 

[6mm Remington]

It is me, all me whenever I miss. No excuses, just me. This one is classic. I am hunting up a ridge with about 6 inches of fluffy new snow, little wind, and it's about 10 degrees above zero. Perfect conditions. I cut what looks to be 5 or 6 head of fresh and I mean fresh elk tracks going up the ridge the same way I am heading. I know where they are going, there is a clear-cut about 3/4 of a mile further up and I figured they would feed on that for a while, maybe even bed for a bit and catch some early morning sun on the south facing slope, and then wander up the ridge about another mile and bed in some thick lodgepole pine.

I hit the edge of the timber and there they were! All of 300 yards up the hill from me. I got laid down prone with a nice rest. My 30-06 sighted in for about 250 yards which puts it only a couple inches low at that distance. When I first caught sight of them, two cows were standing in the open looking around and feeding, and I just caught sight of a calf, a spike bull, and a huge bull walk behind a cedar tree. I knew they were going to come out and join the cows that were standing up the hill about 15 yards from the tree. The spike (which was legal) came out first and stood broadside. The HUGE 6x6 bull (as big or bigger than that really nice Gardner bull I got) came out next and walked on the other side of the spike and was standing there. This calf comes out and wants to play with the big boy and head butts him on his side and hop's around and kind of kicks at the big bull. He lowers his head and rakes the little calf with his rack and shoes him away letting the young one he was not in the mood to play.

By this time I am a wreck because from the time they walked behind the cedar and I just caught a glimpse of a huge bull rack until they walked back out into the open, only about 3 minutes elapsed. I had gotten all set for the shot and while waiting, I fell apart. I mean this guy was big. At that time, I had never shot a bull that big. I had too long to think about it. Finally the calf and the spike clear him and he's left standing looking around with the others a safe distance away for me to shoot. I very carefully hold my crosshairs about 4 inches over the top of his back, having talked myself into thinking it was further than it was, or I don't know what for sure as it was 300 yards and it wasn't further. I could hold in the center of him and kill him, but nooooooooooooooo I somehow think I need to hold high. I shoot and of course do not hit him. As were were right on the top of a knife shaped ridge, the shot echoed around a lot. The elk had NO IDEA where it came from and they stood there looking around! They don't run, they don't do anything. Okay now I have convinced myself it's further than I think so I add another 6 inches over his back and squeeze off very carefully. Of course I just shot over him again, only a bit higher. They continue to stand looking around. Now I think I pulled my first shot so I aim about 3-4 inches over his back right behind his shoulder and shot number three is on its way. They STILL STAND THERE looking around. By now I am a blithering idiot and I believe I was drooling and foaming at the mouth. I still don't have the sense of mind to calm down just a bit, hold dead center and kill him. I hold just a touch lower than my first and third shots, but STILL DON'T HOLD ON HAIR, so all David rapid fire dummy hits is air!

Now I am empty. The elk STILL DON'T RUN, BUT JUST SLOWLY START WALKING SINGLE FILE UP THE RIDGE to head to their bedding spot. They are not spooked in the least! All I had to do was put ONE shell into my chamber, get on him as I had his whole top of his back as he slowly walked up the steep ridge, put one right between his shoulders and he would be mine! Nooooooooooo, Dummy Dave pulls 4 (FOUR) ROUNDS out of my side carrier on my belt and load all four into the magazine and then I chamber one to try and shoot him. By this time, the elk have hit the top of the ridge and are just going out of sight.

I of course followed up on my shot and went up and examined the tracks for hair, blood, or anything else. Pretty tough to find any of that when you don't hold on hair! I tracked them up the ridge for roughly a mile. Now I know they aren't spooked and I can get on them again, all I had to do was to very carefully still hunt them on this ridge of lodgepole where they loved to bed. I was so disgusted with myself, I walked back to where the bull had been when I shot and I picked out a 4" sized bare dirt spot on the bank near where I had shot at him from, sat down, and from the sit I put one right dead center in the bare dirt patch! I unloaded my rifle and walked the 3 miles or so to my Jeep and drove home. It wasn't even 10:00 AM by this time, but I was PUT A FORK IN ME.....DONE!

That bull deserved to get away and to be left alone for the rest of that day at least! I had failed miserably. It has probably been 25 years since this took place, and you can tell it has not even crossed my mind at all! :lol: It is like it happened yesterday!

Oh I have more, this is not the only miss. Some aren't even misses, just really bad decisions that allow an animal to get away. Guess that is why they call it hunting and not gathering!
David

 

[DrMike]

I have no one to blame but myself when I miss in the field. I've practised with the rifle and shot the ammunition repeatedly.

 

[DrMike]

David,

You needed a bigger rifle, so you could miss with a bigger bullet. :lol: Oh, yeah, been there and done that.

 

[Guy Miner]

David - that was FUNNY! Well written too.

My wife wanted to know what the heck I was laughing about... :grin: Thanks!

I think I wrote the opening "If you miss..." because I'm feeling guilty about not getting enough practice with my rifles recently. Dang. My club had a 600 yard session scheduled today, but I'd worked until 0300 and slept in. Could have made it to the session, but I just didn't get over there.

On the other hand I did take my son's motorcycle for a ride... :shock: That will be posted in the Off Topic area. Shazaaam!

Guy

 

[filmjunkie4ever]

Depends. I check my gear and if nothing is wrong then its me. Bottom line.

 

[runtohunt]

Always my fault, one way or another, when I miss whether it was that I was huffing and puffing when I got to the place to take a shot or because I had elk or some other type of "fever." Those elk always get to me!! Much worse than anything else.

I do try hard to stay in shape much more so than I did 6-7 years ago. I hate the huffing and puffing.

There was one time on my first elk hunt 7 years ago when I huffed and puffed to the shooting spot, calmed down a "little" and tried to squeeze off a shot at a nice 6x6 bull from a ranged 250 yards away. The guide said, "You missed. Your shot appeared high." I actually shot three times before the heard of 2 dozen elk ran off. As I sat there in agony, I realized that the screw was missing from the rear of the trigger guard . I showed the guide and he rolled his eyes.

As we began the long trek back to the truck. We realized that the elk had fed in between us and our destination. My guide again ranged the bull this time at 200 yards. The bull was contently feeding standing in one place. The guide said take a good rest off of the shooting sticks and aim for the very bottom of his chest. I again squeezed off a shot and the elk tipped over. The shot broke his back.

Now, every time I shoot or plan to shoot I check all of the screws!


I

 

[JD338]

I have missed a few "chip shots" and chalked them up to operator error.

JD338

 

[BK]

Even if the scope has lost it's zero, it's my fault for not checking more closely, or not taking better care of my gear.

 

[6mm Remington]

David,

You needed a bigger rifle, so you could miss with a bigger bullet. :lol: Oh, yeah, been there and done that.

Mike maybe a much bigger slower bullet and I could have pulled it off. I was thinking 45-70 with a 405 gr. lead cast bullet at about 2000 fps. With the drop I might have stood a chance!

David - that was FUNNY! Well written too.

My wife wanted to know what the heck I was laughing about... :grin: Thanks!

I think I wrote the opening "If you miss..." because I'm feeling guilty about not getting enough practice with my rifles recently. Dang. My club had a 600 yard session scheduled today, but I'd worked until 0300 and slept in. Could have made it to the session, but I just didn't get over there.

On the other hand I did take my son's motorcycle for a ride... :shock: That will be posted in the Off Topic area. Shazaaam!

Guy

Guy glad I could bring a smile to your face! If you can't laugh at your goofs you would just be crying. Nice day here to get out for a ride. Got really sunny and about 60 degrees this afternoon! NICE......

 

[6mm Remington]

Always my fault, one way or another, when I miss whether it was that I was huffing and puffing when I got to the place to take a shot or because I had elk or some other type of "fever." Those elk always get to me!! Much worse than anything else.

I do try hard to stay in shape much more so than I did 6-7 years ago. I hate the huffing and puffing.

There was one time on my first elk hunt 7 years ago when I huffed and puffed to the shooting spot, calmed down a "little" and tried to squeeze off a shot at a nice 6x6 bull from a ranged 250 yards away. The guide said, "You missed. Your shot appeared high." I actually shot three times before the heard of 2 dozen elk ran off. As I sat there in agony, I realized that the screw was missing from the rear of the trigger guard . I showed the guide and he rolled his eyes.

As we began the long trek back to the truck. We realized that the elk had fed in between us and our destination. My guide again ranged the bull this time at 200 yards. The bull was contently feeding standing in one place. The guide said take a good rest off of the shooting sticks and aim for the very bottom of his chest. I again squeezed off a shot and the elk tipped over. The shot broke his back.

Now, every time I shoot or plan to shoot I check all of the screws!


I

That bull was destined to be yours! My buddies and I call that "cashing in a coupon". Sometimes a lot of sweat and tears comes before you are able to cash in the next one!

 

[FOTIS]

That is why I hunt with boomers!

Even if I miss the concussion gets them. :mrgreen:

 

[cloverleaf]

I always blame the "nut behind the trigger". That'd be me.... I have had a scope go south a time or two, but if I didnt buy the cheapest thing out there....again. the nut behind the trigger...CL

 

[Oldtrader3]

Man, that was a lesson hard learned on scopes for me! I have had a couple failures in the field while trying to shoot at game and not getting it done. One was with an old Bushnell Scopechief fogging and another with an old Weaver rolling a lens inside the tube. Neither had been damaged.

Guy, I have missed game by shooting over its back on a couple of occasions as well. Fortunately, no game was injured and only the fool behind the scope was embarrassed. I do believe that this reason for missing was far more prevalent back before laser range finders than it is now. My issue seemed to be more related to early morning mists in the mountains which seem to impair my distance estimation somehow?

 

[BK]

I always blame the "nut behind the trigger". That'd be me.... I have had a scope go south a time or two, but if I didnt buy the cheapest thing out there....again. the nut behind the trigger...CL

Yep, always the nut behind the bolt.

 

[Elkman]

It's easy to get all wrapped up in determining if a rifle will shoot .2's or .5's, or even break an inch at a hundred yards from the bench. Most of us need more shooting time, and perhaps some coaching, more than we need better ammo, better rifles or better scopes.
Just a thought. Guy

David I have tears in my eyes that was great. I am 100% with guy. I do PT almost daily , (I am nursing a leg injury so I have been off for to long now) shoot from the bench way to much and have never blamed my gear for a bad shot, and I have made more than one.

My story is opposite many years ago in Meachum Creek Canyon (almost straight down) I was setting on a rock 3/4 of the way down waiting for the sun to come up behind me so I could see into the timber across the canyon. As it came up I saw a you bull feeding directly across from me. This was pre rangefinder days. I got all steady on the pack, good rest and great light with the sun directly behind me directly on the bull. Clear blue sky no wind. As I held mid elk behind the shoulders, I could smell the backstraps frying in the pan. The 180 gr PT sailed across that clear air and struck. There was no resounding wack, nor did the elk even quiver. He looked up and around and stood there, I was perplexed at the least, so I readjusted and sent another on the way. Same result , no flinch, no wack, but he started moving toward the timber. Just as he approached the timber, he again stopped, (not the brightest elk I have run into). I held what I thougt was just over his back sraight lined with the center of his shoulders and sent the last shot I was to have on the way. Just as the rifle kicked off I saw a bullet strike just below his near front foot. I was shooting the 300 WM sighted in probably around 3 1/2 inches high. Clear mountain air, and the rising sun, makes things look really close. He was out there quite a little ways. Never saw him again.

 

[BillPa]

I can't say I've ever missed as such, but things have a bad habit of jumping in front of my bullet at times.

For example, three years ago I was hunting out of a ground blind overlooking a small hollow that has been real productive over the years. My son had tagged out earlier in the morning, so at lunch time he came over for a visit.

He wasn't there ten minutes when a nice fat doe walked in about 75 yards, stopped and stood broadside, stupid easy shot. I rested the rifle on the log I used for a rest, took careful aim then squeezed off the shot. She bounded away tail waving bye-bye!

My son started laugh'n, " Hey dad, heck of a shot. If that limb on that fallen tree wasn't dead before I'll bet it is now"!

It was the strangest thing, never in my 50 years hunting had a dead tree fallen the very instant my shot was on it's way. Weird!

Bill