When Things go wrong on your first tag

luvcatchingbass

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Had a recently met friend reach out a little after opening deer rifle and had to what I could tell was a painful question for muzzle loader season. His wife that he has got into hunting the last few years from bow to rifle and now muzzle does could use a backup place beings their original plan was not going to be doable. It was a pretty easy decision for me and after talking to my buddy that hunts with me his was just as fast, SO GAME ON TO THE TWO OF US. If you have read my 2019 Rifle post you get an idea with the transition that is going on of my parents moving out and my wife, kids and I will be moving out you can fill in the blanks.
The point of this story is about what quality/ethical hunters are and the community that exists with the land owners, the respect they have and the chance to enjoy the outdoor experiences and opportunities with others another recent. Another recent acquaintance has told me that some of the best people he has met is through hunting and looking back he is very write when I count the friends I have because of hunting and it also makes me realize it isn't just hunting but also the conservation of the land and animals and the respect they show for all of it.
The second Sunday of muzzy she sits and watches does and fawns but no buck, yet as my wife and I were cleaning house with the kids playing and muzzy hunter's husband hanging out and taking care of hitheir 2-3 month old daughter we see deer are walking around 30-40yds away from the house as dusk falls and with that a really nice 4x4 decides to bed down with the kids just getting a front row seat to observe, unfortunately she is 200yds away with her back to these deer. From then there is on and off scouting of the area and trail cameras checked from 3 of us and a new blind set. This past Saturday there is my good buddy hunkering down with bow looking for a meat doe and the muzzy hunter north of him looking for his buck in zero to negative temps. My buddy ends up shooting a really nice body young buck as it was the only deer he had a clean shot at and muzzy didn't see anything with horns. The husband gets a little worried and goes to check and get her back in the dark as we watch all the kids in the house and then she walks in like a popsicle and joins the warmth with my buddy sitting with bow. little did we know that her husband was only behind because on his way back he found the bow buck and just drug it back and had it waiting. Sunday comes and it is last chance and now trying a new blind where the 4x4 that we saw a week before is pretty consistent. Last chance and there is a deer here and there that I can see from the windows working, then there is more and then a spike and fork. The husband is already driving out with the kids and I tell him what I can see through the trees and as I turn away a muzzy shot goes off! She lets him know she thinks she missed and we all know how that feels. With all 3 of us able to go check there is no blood with what her faint view is. There is no blood so we spread a little bit and still no blood in the white snow. Unfortunately this does not end in a recovery. What it ends in is a shot that was a clean miss, a miss that many including myself have felt and for the first time I am trying to help with confidence along wit her husband but that does not always help. It is heart breaking to work hard or fight the cold she did and it is easy to get down on yourself and say "I screwed up". I hope see can understand that a clean miss is so much better than a wounded animal, it hurts but I am confident that there is not a suffering animal. We are sure we know what her mistake is but it is still not a wounded animal and misses happen, it's part of hunting and its part of life.
Hopefully you good folks can share a story or two and hopefully she can see that it is not her husband and a friend tying to make her feel better and hopefully she happens to see this.
Thank you
 


Bed Wetter

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That’s why it’s called hunting and not killing. Called fishing, not catching. Took me a few years to connect when I first started out and I’ve still missed plenty.
 

Kurtr

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You learn more from the misses than when it all goes right. If you haven’t missed or wounded an animal you haven’t hunted very long.
 

LBrandt

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Mistakes are lifes learning tool and I have learned a lot over time. Sometimes it sticks in your craw and sometimes in your brain, learn from it and you will be a better hunter or huntress. Life goes on, smile and pass on what you learned. LB
 

KDM

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Things are SUPPOSED to go wrong on hunting trips. The best stories and memories are about "What went wrong" and "The one that got away". Sounds to me like everything went 99 % right and the hunt was a success. She got the opportunity to hunt, saw deer, got a shot, and nothing was wounded. Getting the deer shouldn't be the motivation for getting out there. My CONGRATULATIONS to the young lady for stepping up and stepping out of the "Norm" for ladies, picking up a smoke pole, and getting after a deer. She and her husband should be proud. Way to go folks, I hope you pass on those same values and initiatives to your children. We need more of this IMO. Good on you for trying to help them get their deer luvcatchinbass. Nice Job!!
 


shorthairsrus

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KDM --is spot on. I cant add anything. I will say my whole experience is focused on steak vs the horns when i cut up the deer.
 

Allen

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I've hunted long enough to where I have aplenty of clean misses on my record, and a very small handful of wounded critters that were never recovered. It's just all a part of the sport. Plus, it's not like ML hunting is the easiest way to kill a deer.

In a sort of good way, I'm glad this bothers her. It means she puts a lot of emphasis on being successful and she probably learned a bunch more this season than she would have learned if'n she'd have smoked a trophy on her first night out. Plus, this seems to be kind of the antithesis of what I always tell people about women (and kids) who first get into hunting and their spouse/parent puts them in the right spot to be successful. I'm afraid they walk away thinking/knowing that this shiite is easy! Yeah, right...
 

luvcatchingbass

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Update before husband shows his wife your guys support. She is even more driven to improve and learn. Hopefully others will chime in and what I hope for the most part is that others see the thread to help inspire any new hunter of any species. All I hope is my OP is the attractant and you guys are the inspiration end. This 2019 hunting year will surely be one to remember for me from field to writing, the the writing is a story for a different day though.
 

Mort

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Yup, sure everybody has missed a few deer here and there in their lifetime. I had same experience when I got a muzzy tag years back on the last day, got a shot a doe right at dusk, saw the flash at the end of the muzzy, was in a wooded area that went to some thick willows, which is where the deer ran after the shot, snow on the ground, went to where she was standing when I shot, no blood following tracks that went into the thick willows, there was no way I could get through the willows that thick, makes you wonder how the hell deer do it so easy. Chalked it up as missed shot
 


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