Hunts that haunt you

[Yoby]

I was recently reflecting back on my previous hunts and thinking about things that I can improve on. There is only 1 hunt that haunts me.

I moved to a property in 2012. That year was my first year I started my archery career and camera obsession. I had a couple deer, but started the season quite easily sitting in the first 5 sits without a bow. From there I set my standard at anything more than a fork. After shooting my first buck decent 4x4, I had pictures of quite a nice buck.


Having no clue anything about whitetail (other than shooting a couple with rifle and shotgun), it started my obsession. Next year got more pictures and started trying to track him and hunt him.

In 2013, all I got were a couple ghost pictures of him and one that sold me. (I no longer think this was the same deer, but in my head then it was.)


In 2014 I started experimenting with food plots, scents and started tracking movements. I think a buddy missed a shot at him. I picked up more cameras and it became a full on obsession. Early Nov he busted his G2. I always opted for meat in the freezer than a paper tag soup.




In 2015, I had my first sighting of him. I had put in more food plots and more cameras, but also had my cheap cameras start malfunctioning. Aggravating. I was able to take my oldest son out hunting for the first time. That one sit 3 does come walking in and I ask him "what do you think, should I wait for a buck?" NOPE! he picked out which one and drew back and let loose. No question, would do it again. 5x5 shows up 10 days later.



In 2016, I had done my previous years research had him pegged for what I thought he would be on my property. I set up an excel spread sheet for all the precious years, moon phase, wind conditions, baro pressure, ect.

On Nov 18, (Friday) I took off from work early to sit in my ground blind. It was windy and rainy. After maybe 2 hours I knew I had to leave to pick up my kids from daycare. Pack up and start walking the trail out. No more than get 30 yards down the path and I spot the "5x5" in my low spot. SOB, hit a knee along my path (it was a 5ft tilled path through the trees. it afforded me less smell and actually the deer traveled it). Pull my range finder and range him at 40 yds. Not a problem. I had shot a doe at 42 yds 2 weeks earlier. I had my practice in and was confident.

He bobbed around the food plots with 2 does. in and around trees. I had time to swap arrows (fixed blades for the ground blind to mechanical for open) and re-range him. He finally steps out on top of the lull. I draw back (he has no clue I'm there). Turns broadside..... awesome... Settle my nerves a bit and let the arrow fly. My luminok looked like it buried right in the heart cavity. I sit back shaking like a leave for 5 min. text my wife he has to pick up the kids and that I just got the 5x5. Text the neighbors saying I though I just stuck him.... I settle down after 10 mins. The does were sticking around. I compose myself and start really assessing what just happened. Didn't hear him crash, didn't see him anything after shortly after the shot. I start my slow approach to find my arrow. I go to where he was standing and find nothing. WTF. I knew where he headed and no sign of blood MF, you have to be $h^% me... I go back to the line of the shot and find my arrow buried in the embankment behind him. 5 hairs where on the broad head, but not a drop of blood.

Never had in on camera. He had dodge it by inches.

I go up to the house and my buddies show up and I'm sitting on the porch pissed/sad/mad/shocked. Next morning I go out sit in the stand and have a buck dog a doe and didn't think, just shot. Wasn't him...... Friggin ey. There's always next year......





Then I talk to another neighbor a couple weeks after season. Buck is dead. (according to the story I was told) 3 or 4 days before end of bow season, a guy 3 or 4 miles away saw him feeding under his apple tree. Snaps some pictures. next day buck is there again. "heck, I should get a bow tag". 3rd day buck shows up again..... he's dead.

It wasn't till the next spring that I actually figured out what the hell happened. Had one picture with a scar down his left side where I had grazed him. I had figured that he heard the strong and jumped. I had my nephew out to my place and he was shooting his bow, so I go grab mine. Very first shot.... Pa thunging. WTF was that. start inspecting my bow. The string stop screw is loose. This is the 2nd shot from the miss. This made some much noise it was ridiculous.

So one lesson learn, always check your equipment. This still haunts me.

Share yours

 

[Yoby]

FWIW, I was told that he went 152" in 2016. I think his peak was 2014/2015. Neighbor did send me a picture of the buck and the guy that shot him. I won't share as it isn't my picture.

 

[BrokenBackJack]

All i can say is it wasn't meant to be. You at least got to see and get some good pictures.
That my friend is why they call it hunting and not killing. Things go wrong and we can't control all the variables.
I had an ordeal with a 400+ class bull elk when i lived in MT. Sat and watched that rascal bugle, throw sod, and just raised all kinds of hell with young trees and just never had a good broad side shot at him. This went on for 5-10 minutes. Thought about taking a shot straight on but kept telling myself that it wasn't an ethical shot and his genes out there were worth way more than a wounded bull that i possibly wouldn't be able to find. Wish i would of had a movie camera of the way he was carrying on. I dream of this ordeal often and one thing i can honestly say is i made the right decision in not taking a shot.
I thought i had it all set up right as the only way i didn't have covered was through a bunch of dead fall and of course that is the way he came in! Imagine that. Anyway it was fun watching and a couple buddies saw him a couple different times that fall and they said we thought you were bull shitting us on his size but seeing is believing.
Forgot to add i was bow hunting at the time and not rifle hunting.
Just darn glad i still have the memory of it.

 

[LBrandt]

BBJ I see your posting, must be doing alright?

 

[guywhofishes]

I've gotten ridiculously lucky for 40 years. No sad stories. Praise the Lord.

 

[PrairieGhost]

I took two rifles along to Montana on an elk hunt. When we got there I checked my 300 Win Mag at 1100 yards and it was right on. I was about to check my 300 WSM at 500 yards, but a pickup drove in and stopped right at the target. I had installed the scope early that week and zeroed it so no problem. I was as happy as a kid with new shoes with this scope and was showing it off to a dozen people. Anyway about the third day as we are driving to our hunting spot we were within 200 yards where we plan to stop and walk. I looked left and six cows and a raghorn are 100 yards out and running parralel to me. I stopped where we planned to walk from and there is a beautiful 6x6 standing at 258 yards. Fish in a barrel. If he jumps the fence it cost $6k to hunt the other side. To shorten this story unknown to me one of those people I was showing off this scope to had turned it down one full turn. It was on zero so I didn't notice. Well, you all know how that ended. I pounded ground four feet below my aim point. Zero stop on every new scope I puchase.

 

[SDMF]

2011, North Slope Brooks Range. I'd filled both of my Caribou tags days earlier. I'd been awakened at some point in the middle of the "night" (just got kinda dim, not really night) by wolves howling. Morning comes with some dense fog, we're brewing a little coffee, glance up and through the fog, there's a wolf, sitting on the riverbank. I was able to get to my rifle and shooting sticks without alerting him. With the fog, the LRF wouldn't work. I was sure I'd ranged the little bluff he was on @ 300yds a day or two earlier. I settled in nice and steady, he's facing me. I have the horizontal crosshair right on top of his head and the vertical splitting his nose. I squeeze for what seems like forever, trigger breaks, and the wolf trots off unharmed.

The wolf was ~125yds as I was able to range the spot when the fog burned off, just looked a lot farther in the fog. It's yet another lesson that the 1st shot should always be @ the vitals if distance is unknown.

 

[Meelosh]

Couple of arrows sent while bear hunting in Canada I'd give a whole lot to have back. One of the hardest things to do is forgive yourself.

 

[Lungdeflator]

I don't know if I have a single hunt that haunts me. If we want to talk mistakes and hard lessons learned, I could probably write a book lol

 

[LBrandt]

Most of my sad stories involve a dumb ass hunting partner. I learned to choose wisely to late.

 

[Nanky]

In 2006, I moved to Bismarck and decided to hunt out west, so I moved my 3 pin sights farther out assuming I'd be taking longer shots. Well, the morning before rifle season I was bowhunting back east and rattled in a beautiful 4x4, giant buck (rack and body), without thinking I put my first pin on him and saw my arrow fly right over his back, I had completely forgotten that I changed my first pin to farther out. He trotted out to 60 yards and stood there just long enough so I could remember how dumb I was. I still dream about that buck, it was the first time I rattled a buck in and would have worked perfect if I would have remembered I changed my pins.

 

[Bowhunter_24]

Haunt is a good and accurate word.

I spotted a 380" bull a half mile away and way below me. I ripped a bugle and he cut me off instantly and turned on a dime. He was in the wide open and coming right for me. I would let out a challenge bugle and he would respond instantly. Well it was very apparent he was coming for me. I was up a big cliff and on top of a sage flat.

when he was getting close to coming up and over I knelt by the nearest sage bush. I saw the tips of his huge bladed antlers first. Then his nose and then the whites of his eyes. I was drawn back and he stopped broadside but slightly quartering towards. I let my arrow fly. It buried in his shoulder but got good penetration. He literally jumped down a 10' cliff and crashed. And got up and ran like hell.

I watched him go down the big cliff and into the wide open and started going up the other side. I can hear his massive antlers rubbing the cedars as he struggled to this day. Then he bedded. My partner and I were jacked. Thought it was a done deal.

We watched him in the 95 degree heat for 5 hours. The whole time he would try to get up and then fall down. He would lay his head completely down for ten minutes at a time and we would think he's dead and then he would struggle again. Finally we decided I needed to get another arrow in him. I went way around and came down on him. I got to 10 yards but could not get a shot. I decided I would wait it out. A few hours went by and he stood up and lunged threw my only opening I had. I pulled back and he saw me and took off. He went up and over the hill. I sprinted to the top and watched him WALK across a sage flat and then stop at the trees and acted like he was gonna tip over. Then went into the trees.

Then I decided we would give him the night. It was already probably 10 hours since I shot him.

We tracked him on shale for 4.5 miles the next day. Drop of blood by drop of blood. We never did find him.

It makes me literally sick to think about. I learned the hard way to stay the hell away from an elks shoulder.

- - - Updated - - -

And the one that gets away is always the biggest but believe me this bull was all of 380

 

[BrokenBackJack]

BBJ I see your posting, must be doing alright?

Didn't have the surgery on Monday. Was ready to head to the hospital and got a call and they ended up with 2 people that needed emergency open heart surgery and the surgeon that does mine is the one that does the open heart surgeries too. So i got bumped and it was kind of a let down as i wanted to get it done but those 2 people needed surgery much worse than i did.
I am now scheduled for this next Monday July 16th and won't know what time until some time tomorrow ( Friday ) afternoon.
Thanks for asking!

 

[bigbrad123]

Yoby,

I too know that same buck all to well. As you know me, but others don't, my story is about the same exact buck Yoby has in the picture. (he and I hunted pretty close together, but on opposite sides of the river). I had seen this buck on camera 3 or 4 straight years, but never had him come in during daylight. He was like a ghost, only seen on camera for me. Finally, in 2016 he decides to make his presence known. On Nov. 11, 2016, he came in from across a field following a hot doe at no more than 15 to 20 yards while sitting in my stand with about 15 minutes of shooting light left.................only in a spot where I had no shooting lane. My heart was pumping out of my clothes as I finally thought I was going to get a shot at him. It was right at dusk. He and the doe never moved from that area where I had no shooting lane until after dark. We hunted him for 3 or 4 years and have pic after pic. We both had excellent opportunities for a shot and had bad luck. And then some guy gets him within 3 days who probably had never seen him before! Yes.....very heartbreaking! Here's my pic of that same deer

 

[Rowdie]

My brother and I were up real early, walked about a mile in the dark and set up in a nice spot for deer to come back from feeding. I put a little doe scent on a bush that would make a perfect shot. Right about at legal shooting hour I see a buck a little nicer the one you guys have picks of meanders to the bush and stops. He has no clue I am there, and this shot is maybe 100 yards. So I'm picking which rib to put the bullet through, pull the trigger and click. WTF!!!!! I slowly and as quietly as I can bolt action another round in. He hears it, and freezes. I quickly aim, he's still not moving, pull trigger..... Click. He hears the click or something makes him bolt. I jack another in as he runs across the draw. He stops, I still should be able to make easy 175 yard shot broadside...... Click. He runs again I jack another shell in., find his azzz running way out now 300 plus, pull just for an FU shot, it fires bang.... I'm sure I didn't come close.

My brother has the exact same gun, his bolt fires all three of my shells. Damn firing pin! Oh and he dropped a real nice 5x4 that morning.

 

[bucksnbears]

Bout 8 years ago, had a GIANT of a bear come in.
The bait was about 8 yards.
He came in and turned very slightly quartering to but very doable.
Out of the blue, he turned his head and bored a hole right through me.
I knew it was now or never so I tried to draw back and he bolted.
Wasn't more than 2 mimutes later I heard him coming back from behind me. Was ready this time. He came in, sent an arrow and he piled up maybe 25 yards away.
Was super excited to " finally" arrow a monster.
Turned out to be a different bear. A good one at 318 dressed but not the one I thought it was. Tunnel vision got me.
A buddy got him 2 years ago.
Was a 600 lb old timer.

 

[Jdubya]

The whitetail doe I got last year, broke my own self imposed limit of shooting past 300 yards. Ranged her at 325, but she kept walking towards a brushy draw for a bit before stopping to give me a broadside shot (which probably made it 350) took the shot and heard the thwack of the bullet hitting, but she didn’t even flinch and continued into the draw. Went to where I last saw her and spent a half hour on hands and knees looking for blood/hair but found nuthin so I walked the draw twice looking for any kind of sign. Kicked up 3 other does but they all looked healthy so I didn’t shoot. Was getting pretty frustrated/mad at myself for taking the shot and decided to make another pass through the draw SLOWLY, spotted her laying under a bush nursing two bad front legs (the bullet had passed through the meat on the backside of her upper legs) put a finishing shot into her, but felt sick about her laying there for a couple hours when I must’ve walked by her twice...

 

[LBrandt]

The whitetail doe I got last year, broke my own self imposed limit of shooting past 300 yards. Ranged her at 325, but she kept walking towards a brushy draw for a bit before stopping to give me a broadside shot (which probably made it 350) took the shot and heard the thwack of the bullet hitting, but she didn’t even flinch and continued into the draw. Went to where I last saw her and spent a half hour on hands and knees looking for blood/hair but found nuthin so I walked the draw twice looking for any kind of sign. Kicked up 3 other does but they all looked healthy so I didn’t shoot. Was getting pretty frustrated/mad at myself for taking the shot and decided to make another pass through the draw SLOWLY, spotted her laying under a bush nursing two bad front legs (the bullet had passed through the meat on the backside of her upper legs) put a finishing shot into her, but felt sick about her laying there for a couple hours when I must’ve walked by her twice...

Deer sometimes have the way of hiding in plain sight.

 

[KDM]

Had the top cam on my bow hit a branch when I shot at this guy from 23 yards. Arrow went right under his chest. I figure when the cam hit the branch it pulled the whole bow up just enough to launch the arrow low. Not really haunted by the hunt as it was an ABSOLUTE PRIVILEGE to see a buck like this in the wild, let alone get a shot. Better yet, he made it through the season and should be bigger this year.

 

[ShootnBlanks]

Had this nice buck on camera for 3 years. Hunted hard for a shot at him with bow. Even took some video of him come up a draw and lay down at 86 yds. That was out of my comfort zone for a shot. Last time I saw him alive I was in a blind hunting with the wife. That buck was the last of 7 others to show up and wouldn't ya know it, he was the only one to turn and make his way behind us at 13yds. Again, could not get a shot that direction. Landowner to the north got him that year. Went 164".