Rookie Mistake

[hunter24605]

So this was an off season, we had a tough time locating deer in our normal spots up higher, but found them down lower. I had only seen two very small spike bucks in a week of hunting. On the final day I was in my stand well before sunrise. After getting settled into the ladder stand I popped the magazine in the Tikka and dropped my 2-way radio, and climbed down to get it...About 45 minutes into shooting light a decent buck came tearing off the hill in front of me and caught wind of me and hit the brakes for a second. I had the scope dead on him and pulled the trigger..CLICK! no bang, I chambered a round but he turned like he was on hinges and bolted away...It was at that point I realized that I never chambered a round because I had to climb down to get the radio and it didn't even occur to me to do so.. :roll: :roll: Thats the first time I've ever done that..UGH! I did see a small 4 point later, but passed on him knowing that next week I've been invited to hunt with a friend on his family's farm...Oh well, I guess we all make blunders..I do wish that I hadn't told my hunting partners..The rest of the day about every 20 minutes the radio would crackle and I'd hear "Howie, is your gun loaded"?
:lol:

 

[salmonchaser]

Seen it, done it, welcome to the club.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[DrMike]

Yeah, as already stated, "Welcome to the Club." We've all been there, done that, bought the tee-shirt and already replaced it. By the way, "Is your gun loaded?"

 

[hunter24605]

Seems I'm in good company here.

 

[DrMike]

Seems I'm in good company here.

Oh, yeah. You're not the first, I can assure you from personal experience. I even remember an incident when I briefly "rested" in the warm afternoon sun. I heard a grunt, only to see a large moose disappear into the brush about twenty yards away. He had strolled past at no more than fifteen yards while I "rested." Didn't do me much good to load at that time. I've lifted my rifle on more than a few occasions, only to realise too late that there was no round chambered. I often counsel younger hunters that one of the worst sounds in a hunter's experience is "click" when you're expecting "boom." It could only be exceeded by the experience of hearing "boom" when you're expecting "click."

 

[hunter24605]

Seems I'm in good company here.

Oh, yeah. You're not the first, I can assure you from personal experience. I even remember an incident when I briefly "rested" in the warm afternoon sun. I heard a grunt, only to see a large moose disappear into the brush about twenty yards away. He had strolled past at no more than fifteen yards while I "rested." Didn't do me much good to load at that time. I've lifted my rifle on more than a few occasions, only to realise too late that there was no round chambered. I often counsel younger hunters that one of the worst sounds in a hunter's experience is "click" when you're expecting "boom." It could only be exceeded by the experience of hearing "boom" when you're expecting "click."

Yep, No one wants to trip & fall or drop one climbing into a stand while it's loaded. In those instances a "click" is much more welcome than a "BOOM"

 

[PJGunner]

"I often counsel younger hunters that one of the worst sounds in a hunter's experience is "click" when you're expecting "boom." It could only be exceeded by the experience of hearing "boom" when you're expecting "click."

Ain't that the truth! :shock:
Paul B.

 

[wvbuckbuster]

I forgot to chamber a round after closing the gate behind me. Walked to where I wanted to sit and buck comes along. CLICK. Lesson learned plus found a place for a new stand that has produced last few years. Dan.

 

[DrMike]

I forgot to chamber a round after closing the gate behind me. Walked to where I wanted to sit and buck comes along. CLICK. Lesson learned plus found a place for a new stand that has produced last few years. Dan.

Now, that's turning lemons into lemonade! Missed out on one buck, but managed to take others with a measure of regularity over the following years.

 

[gbflyer]

Sort of like an empty chamber:

We were glassing a hillside a couple of weeks ago for elk. We were parked on the road, a state highway. My buddy looked out the front of the Jeep and said “elk”. We sat there and watched 3 bulls cross the road 75 yards in front of us, 2 were nice 6 points. By the time we got up there and far enough off the road to shoot, they were gone. Gotta love it!

 

[DON]

Well.......After hunting from ladder tree stands for 30+ years this same thing happened to me just a week ago. I've been kicking myself in the tail since it happened AND it was a really nice buck, a lot nicer than the one I got later that day. The good thing here is SAFETY FIRST!!I can always get another deer another day rather than be a statistic of another tree stand accident.

Don

 

[cloverleaf]

A friend of mine had that happen this year, and he rarely gets a chance at a shot as he is very careful, utmost in ethics and uses a pistol in the Slug zone in MN (this is legal BTW) His newly assembled AR pistol in 300 Blackout pistol, which had worked w/o fail for the initial 150 Rds (I said he was careful remember) Just went "CLICK" and the deer walked away. Apparently the firing pin failed to fall or the hammer to strike. The primer had no mark but the round would fire later. :twisted: :twisted:

My own experience, several years ago, involved a buck that I heard and watched for several yards through dense brush as I sat on overlooking the draw he was crossing. I lined up on him as he stepped behind a tree. Safety off, exhale...horns, nose and ears appear around the tree...and the alarm goes off on my watch to remind me that on any other day it was time to leave for work.... :shock: :lol: Of course I moved to shut it off rather than just letting him keep coming figure out why "Big Ben" was suddenly beeping in his part of the prairie. Of course he swapped ends like he was on hinges (I like that expression...I'm gonna steal it.. ) and made for the next township. Next year I wore a sun dial.... (true tale..)

MOST IMPORTANTLY- you were being safe!!! Lot easier to explain than a bullet in the butt when you drop your rifle climbing into your stand. Good luck on your next attempt!! CL

PS - the link below should make you feel better... Its worth the watch all the way through but if you watch from about 12:15 on... You wont feel like the Lone Ranger.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qi5IhlJJNiM

 

[ethmoid1999]

I've done it too. The worst thing I did years ago was to grab my rifle and ammo and get in my blind in the dark. Loaded the 25-06. Bolt wouldn't close. I'd grabbed a box of 270 ammo. You guessed it. I sat there for hours. A big buck came and I felt bad. Another better one came and I felt worse. When I was picked up, everyone had a big laugh about my mistake. A hard lesson but one I will never forget.

 

[hunter24605]

It must run in the family. I just recalled this from my youth..Many years ago dad and I drew doe tags for the december antlerless hunt..We hunted 2 days in bitter cold and freezing rain and didn't see a deer. Finally I told dad to sit still and I walked down the road about 500 yards and started slipping through a pine thicket that I suspected they may he hunkered down in to escape the weather and to try to push a deer to him. I made it back to him and he bent over and said "Go ahead and kick it"..I had pushed a doe within 15 yards of him. He had put the magazine in his old Rem 742 when we got out of the truck, but never chambered a round when he sat down, so he too experienced the click.