Trad Gang

On thursday morning a huge buck...I mean a once in a lifetime, Iowa corn stalk devouring, never come out till the middle of the night, pass on a hundred bucks, dreaming about the one chance that might never come, monster buck, walked ten yards broadside passed me and I missed...ughhhhh! I just can't believe the events that transpired. I have hunted with stick and a string for two years without coming to full draw on a mature buck or doe. I felt like I had a rawhide stick in my gut.... it's really disappointing.

Has anyone else had similar experiences this year? If so I feel for you. I keep telling myself the low points are what make the high points so special.

Not this year but in the early 70s I once bounced a Bear Razorhead out of a shoulder bone of a huge 12 pointer after watching him for an hour.  Shot was about 30 yards and he was walking.  Elevation was great but just an inch too far forward.

I never forgot that deer or shot either.

Get over it,you only missed him once right.....

I missed mine 4 TIMES!!!!!!!!!! I flung every arrow in my quiver at him!!!!!!!!!!

 :help:

Woodchucker, I guess that does make me feel a little better  :)

Last year I had a fine Louisiana 10 pt swamp buck come walking behind me while I was sitting in my climber about 18 ft in a cypress tree.  I am 57 and have been hunting with a trad bow only for 10 years; I've killed many deer but have never even come close to getting any buck like this one.  I stood and turned and took a 12 yard broadside shot at this, to me, trophy buck. Usually a "chip shot" for me.  But, when I shot the lower limb of my recurve hit the seat of my stand and threw the arrow way off.  Like you, I was sick.  But, that's bowhunting.  It's experiences like that which makes a successful shot so sweet. Don't let it discourage you, learn from your mistakes and just practice practice and practice so it don't happen again.  Now, part of my practice sessions in my back yard is I attach my stand to a tree just off the ground and I shoot at a target behind me!

The good thing about hunting is that while it may seem like a once in a lifetime buck, there is always next time.

Which year we talkin' about?

Yes Sir, I've been there. 15 years ago. I won't go into all the details but I missed the nicest buck I had ever seen in the wild at 25 yards. I never saw him again and he probaly died of old age unless he was poached or not checked in at a checking station.
I still have nightmares about that shot from time to time.   :banghead:

Oh yes...  I just wish I could say it was only ONCE!!

Claudia

I have a sliver of elk antler from a huge bull I emptied my quiver at some years back, and have memories of a couple of monster mulies that I scared as well. It all adds to the great feeling when you are successful.

four times. I guess I need to clarify. I've had opportunities at four booners.

Missed one - nearly cut off my index finger two days before, and was trying to shoot 3 under which I don't normally do.

The other three were close, but no cigar type opportunities that I did NOT shoot at. They were missed opportunities, not missed shots. I don't FLING arrows at deer of that or any other caliber.

Last year I missed him twice and this year once.

I quit!

1999 he was at 18 yards and I have no excuse I flat out choked!

He was an hones 180" 10 point and haunted my dreams for a long time........

One 350''+ herd bull 35 yrds,Booner black bear twice less than 10yrds,200''+ muley 25 yrds.I still can't pick a spot on a black bear!!!
All those shots still haunt my dreams

I have missed 2 big bucks over the years.They were both over 150".One of the bucks I missed on video!I hurts a bit at the time but it passes.It makes it that much sweeter when things work out.My dad ended up killing one of the bucks.It is the only big buck he has ever killed,so sometimes I think things happen for a reason.
Bill

If I hit all the bruisers that I've missed over the years ....I'd be famous! It happens to everyone....just more often to me. Chin up...shoot straight!

Well I haven't discriminated.  I've missed em big and small.  Missed the biggest elk, bear and deer I've ever shot at.  I'm going for the North American grand slam of missing only record book animals of all species.

LOL

Mike

First of all, congratulations to each of you for having the ability to even see let alone have a shop opportunity at the animals that you've described.  I live in a part of the country that produces some locally big animals, but I've yet to see the heavy horned monsters that some of you post pictures of on a fairly consistent basis -- I am envious.

Years ago while I was hunting Ft Sill, OK, I was walking through a 1/2 mile field of knee-high grass on my way to a tree line that I wanted to hunt.  The wind was howling something fierce and I didn't think that the deer would be moving too much so I wanted to still hunt this long, thin patch of timber.  On my way across the field I walked past a small thicket that was no larger than a two car garage.  It appeared to be out of place because there was NOTHING around it for about 400 yards.  The wind was blowing hard enough that every branch of this tree oasis was whipping around, even so, something caught my eye.  When I looked it was a set of antlers that I will NEVER forget -- it was my deer of a lifetime.  I grew up in NE Ohio and saw my share of P/Y and BC bucks, but this deer almost took my breath away.  He didn't see me but he certainly knew that I was there because the wind was totally in his favor and he was nervous.  I knelt down and tried to figure out how to close the 40 yard distance that separated us when he nervously trotted away from me forever.  

I have sympathy for those that have had the opportunity to "miss" their once-in-a-lifetime deer, but I can't empathize with you because I have yet to have that chance.  

Best of luck to each of you and keep at it, I know that I sure will.

Scott

Michigan produces big bucks, some areas have more than others. Where I live, there are a few.
But they are rare, and they have seen it all. They make few mistakes.

I found a rub line on some private property I had permission to hunt, back in '98. It was obvious where this buck travelled, because he made rubs like you would have to see to believe.
By mid October, his pathways were clearly defined by a "connect the dots" series of rubs.

One still October evening, I finally picked the right tree. Slowly working his way toward me, I could see what he had been using to shred the trees in his path. Easily out past his ears, thick, perfectly formed, and carrying ten points.
Would be my best buck by far.

I couldn`t take my eyes off those antlers. As he approached my shooting lane, I eased back on the string of my Mamba recurve...locked on full draw as I concentrated on the spot to hit. At release, I can still see my arrow go high and left as it clattered it`s way through those beautifull white antlers. Somewhere between full draw and release, my gaze shifted from rib cage to antlers, and my bow arm automatically adjusted and put the arrow right where I was looking. I remember seeing chunks fly, and after a short half circle, he stopped. Through my binoculars, I could see he was missing some antler. Never found the pieces. I have seen that buck hundreds of times since, but only in my mind.  :D

I can't even talk about it.

more than I can remember. I missed a great bull elk a few years ago. Sad part was just a little earlier that day I missed a nice muley buck.

I've missed 3 [ 140"-150"]bucks this season. It messes with your mind after the first miss.I just keep practicing and keep hunting!  I'm thankful just to have the opportunity. Keep after em.

More than I care to remember. Quite a few mulies. Keep hunting, the memories last forever!

Way to many mulies!and a 400"+ bull  :banghead:    :banghead:  

And they just seem to get bigger every year.

I missed a 140" 8 pointer a few years ago with my longbow.  It was sad, but it was a great day to be in the woods!  He was 25yds out and the shot was perfect...but his belly literally hit the earth and off he went.  I rattled him in again and never had a clean shot.

Not the biggest but a 150" hog, missed directly under me! That was in 1984 with a wheelie bow. I said thats it, ordered a Bighorn curve and never shot a wheelie bow again, EVER!

I just keep pluggin away! (http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t53/kendalltechau/100_1655.jpg)

Thanks for this post!! It sure makes me feel better! I've killed my share of deer with traditional gear have also missed my share!! The one that stands most of all is a 160 class whitetail a couple of years ago. I was hunting from my ground blind (popup) he walked by at 15 yards, stopped broadside and I shot FOUR arrows at him, I had this bigboy bracked ( and he still dosen't know I'm shootin" at him!!!) Well arrow #5 would have put down, but #4 was my last one!! I had to sit watch him for seemed like 30 minutes, I'm it was less than 3 minutes.....But you know the good points, #1 I saw this great animal, #2 I had the shot(s) #3 No wheelie will ever be as quite and smooth as my longbow!!!!   :archer:

I've killed all the big muleys and whitetails I've had close but give me a bull elk over 320ish and well........lol it happens to everyone.

Wait I take that back I shot over a 160 muley in WY with my blackwidow.....I thought I had that blocked from my memory.

Seems like about every 5 years I get buck eagers and missed the "Wall Hanger".  It never fails...

Yep. Shot him in the antlers. Guess where I was looking?

Thanks a lot for reminding me.   :(

You had to ask.....YES!!!

I still have nightmares about him! Came around a big bush chasing a doe at about 10 FEET ran off to about 20 yards.....and the rest is history.

QuoteOriginally posted by wingnut:
. . .  I'm going for the North American grand slam of missing only record book animals of all species.

LOL

Mike

That is hilarious.   :banghead:

I have yet to shot an antlered buck so any buck is a buck of a lifetime for me.  I never expect when I hunt but that changed this year.  First time out one comes out of no where, stopped dead in its tracks facing me and winds me.  I took a shot and missed while he was quartering away.

I had another buck < 15 yds broadside and missed.  He ran a little and I was able to call him back.  He came in close but I spooked him on the draw and missed as he ran away.

It's bittersweet.  I enjoyed seeing them but hate the fact I missed.

1996 I missed a 170" monster due to a coat sleeve. I'll never forget it and still have nightmares. Go get some psychological help soon...believe me.    

Once last year and twice the year before.  Same deer both years.  It probably would have been simpler to ask which of us hadn't missed our buck of a lifetime    :campfire:    :coffee:

First buck I shot at was right in front of his chest from a treestand

Second buck I shot at was from the ground, I center punched a tree

Third buck i shot at was over his back from a treestand

I'm 0 for 3

Rusty

Coat sleeve is as good an excuse as any  :wavey:

:knothead:        :knothead:        :banghead:        :banghead:  I don't think I will ever get over it.

I don't mean to change the nature of this thread but some of us do make that once in a lifetime shot. Rarely see big racked bucks in NH. However, after hunting this guy for four seasons and never seeing him until I shot him I have to say I didn't miss my buck of a life time. All I can remember about the shot was picking a spot and seeing yellow fletching disappearing precisely there. It was even done during the first week of firearms season....that 's why I 'm wearing orange in the pic. I never knew he was as big as he was. The shed I found of his the previous Spring would have made him an 8 pointer. He turned out to be an 11 carrying 152 7/8 inches when I shot him and he was a state bow kill record for 10 years. I shot him in 1990 and have not seen another like him since. If I do I hope to do as well as I did almost 20 years ago.

(http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a322/Arrowworks/BillsDeerWEB.jpg)

....iv made a few big misses
once i was walking back to camp in South Africa when i saw a bushbuck a monster! bushbuck i stalked to 25yards and it had no idea i was there i proceeded to shoot right through the long hair on his mane that hung from his neck, i was so pummped just fell to my knees i knew i screwed up a very rare opportunity.

the other one i still think about almost everyday was not a miss but i wounded a Huge Warthog, he is to this day the biggest warthog iv seen alive and iv hunted a Lot of warthog, i know he would have prob been the biggest warthog taken with a bow in Namibia. dam that still makes me feel sick

yes!

lol funny you should mention it. I arrowed the buck of a lifetime in 2007 and it was oh so sweet. Then on Nov 11 I missed a buck that redefined the term buck of a lifetime for me. It shook me out of my game. He was a mainframe 10 with a cluster of 7"-9" browtines two 6"+ kickers and at least 15" g2 and g3's and prob 20" wide. I shot under him at 18 yards and in recolection I cant remember picking a spot. Such is life and at 34 I imagine it wont be my last chance at such a buck. I sure do wish I could have put him down!!

Short answer: Yes! You'll get over it, just like I did. In about 30 years... cheers, Don

Yep!! Two deer in the last five years, one a wild non-typical, one a long tine 8 point, both perfectlly over their backs. Gotta remember to pick a spot!!!!!

Yep.  We called him "Bullwinkle" monster Indiana buck.  Corn and Soybean fed beast.  Hunted him for six years, got one shot on year 4.  He was a 14 point then.  Sneaking out early because I had finals at college.  I was just inside the woods and he was ghosting across a bean field and stopped in an open lane.  I thought 30 yards and let the wood Cedar go from my 65# Howatt, he was at 33 measured yards.  Cut hair behind his front leg but didn't break the skin.  Never saw him during the season again.  Saw him while scouting but not when I could take a shot.

I screwed up a shot at a deer pushin 180"  (would have been close to the ontario bow record)  the first year shooting a curve at three yards.  I went from pumped full of adrenalin to filled with anguish for a couple of nights.  actually now I'm kind of glad I didn't get him.. I have more vivid memories of the deer I miss than the the ones I get. Everytime I think of that or walk past that spot I smile thinking about that huge deer.  I choked on the next two biggest animals I have had a chance at this year alone both under 15 yards!  Sometimes its just not your time.

I never got to draw on mine but I did get him on film. Maybe BL productions will stick him in there next DVD. I still puke every time I think of him!!

Well not the buck of a lifetime. But I missed a nice 8 pointer earlier this season. He came in to a scrape on the other side  of a fieldstone wall and deadfall where I set up a natural ground blind. He came in I stood up at fall draw, he just stood there straight on looking it me. Because of another deadfall between us and the scrap there was just about enough of the  lower body line of the buck available for a heart shot. His neck was in full view and  unobstructed, but there was no way I was going to shoot this animal in the neck! So I tried to thread the heart shot. And all I heard was that dreadful Hammer sound of the broadhead go WHACK!!!      :saywhat:

Yeah, I've missed 3 really nice ones with the bow. As a youngster, I missed a realy HUGE buck. That was when I still using the rifle. Later, because of that miss, I became a good rifle shot. Now, I am still struggling to become a better archer and woodsman.Sometimes the misses make more lasting memories than the kills.

I havent had a "Lifetime" buck in front of me this year, just 120-140" 8's and 10's, last year I had a Giant right in front of me at 20yds, nothing between me and him but a grass field, he wouldnt turn to give me a shot, just head on. When he did turn it was a turn and leap at the same time, I'd say he was as close to 200" as I have ever seen while hunting. Although I didnt shoot, it sure felt like a miss!

There's an old Indian saying about shooting at an deer: "When you loose an arrow at the deer, shoot for the heart. Always, the heart!"

I've always followed that advice seeing that the majority of my off shots are usually high.  Usually to the tune of probably 99% of them. I NEVER shoot low!

Well, I did shoot low exactly ONCE. And as I'm sure you figured, it was at the animal of a lifetime.  Twenty-five yard shot at a 370-390" elk in New Mexico two years ago. Shaved the hair off the bottom of his brisket as he stepped forward giving me "the heart."

My new wisdom: Shoot for the TOP of the heart!

This being my first year to hunt with a stickbow i would have to say the 115 class 8 pointer i missed at 10 yds opening day this year. I have missed some bigger bucks with a compound and rifle but man oh man did i want that buck. First shot i ever took at a live animal with my recurve. 2 weekes later i shot and killed a great 8 that looked identical to the one i missed. Lesson learned never give up and keep on practicing.  :thumbsup:

One in Ohio in 1975 at 20 yards....

Man my pain is fresh an sore I missed a 10 pt. 20" spread yesterday morning.the bigest buck Ive ever seen hunting.he was under me for 5 min. before I could get a shot.I have killed a lot of deer all types of ways been huntin trad for about 5 yrs. Ihave progressed every year.With this year being my best.however this year has been filled with heart break. I missed a real nice sika stag as well.they say you learn from your mistakes I sure hope THEY are right.I missed both deer at 10yds.It sure aint the bow. its the man behind it .These horrifing expearance make me want to reach deeper into my self an pull out whatever it is that I not gettin.find it .fix it . an fine tune it.I see the pictures of all the big bucks on this web site an I know those hunters have walked down the same road I am walking down now.

you guys are all making me feel much better, havn't missed a true giant, but i did miss a 140'' 10 point this year at 10 yards, i have about fifty excuses i would like to use but really i just missed.

I shot under a mid 150's 8pt.  I live in Arkansas, that is a monster around here.  He was only about 16" wide, but he was tall and massive.  I can still see the flight of that arrow.  Oh well, clean miss.  I have seen larger bucks, but never got a shot.  That one hurt.  :banghead:

It's only a "buck of a lifetime" if your life is over.
Bill

I have missed 2 with a compound but thank goodness i have not with my long bow. I have not had a big one come by. Here in NC a 140 is a buck of a lifetime to me. Mybe I will get my chance this afternoon. Big bucks and turkeys tear me up.LCH

please dont remind me  , missed just one? Shoot in 30 years of bow hunting  I have missed several  including one just last season..........the horor of it all

It's not a once in a lifetime buck unless it made
you quit hunting. there will be more just stay at
it. good luck.

Shot right over a nice 10pt 2 years ago because I didn't focus on "the spot" and it would of been my best archery buck ever   :mad: .Good thing is I got an even bigger buck 2 weeks ago.
So,like TRAD101 one said,if you continue to hunt then you just might get a crack at another "buck of a lifetime."

All this makes me feel a little better I missed the largest whitetail I have ever shot at this fall in KS. I was on the ground at the time, ticked a barb wire fence and went right over his back. He was with three does that came so close I could of poked there eyes out with my bow.I didn't know if I should laugh or cry I think I did both.I just walked in little circles a quivering all I got to say is what an experience would of like a different out come but that does not happen every day.

To many times.

I missed two chip shots this year.  One decent buck in October and "the buck of a lifetime" on November 12 at 12 yards.  It is truly heart breaking.  I did shoot a mature doe in between the two misses.  I truly feel your pain.  You work soooooo hard for the oppurtunity and then blow it.  Over time the another chance will come.   Hang in there.

Missed a trophy this year in Indiana, low light and 20 yds, if you can't laugh it off and enjoy the encounters and have fun, it becomes work! I hunt to get away from work. 2 days later my friend missed a trophy with a wheelie bow sitting with me...we laughed! I always hunt hard, but purely for personal satisfaction. It even helps the clutch shots, because you are not under any pressure to kill, so you can try and shoot calmly and confidently. Also, shoot lots of does and squirrels, or anything legal that gives you the real life situations in hunting. Practice makes perfect. You will get him, just be patient!

I've had 4 chances at bucks over 150" while hunting with archery tackle and I choked on all 4 of them!  Not to mention a few with a firearm as well!  But man what a rush, and what memories that will be with me until I die or old age gets the best of me.  I beat myself up over them at the time, but now I grin from ear to ear when I think about how close I got.  I know it's just a matter of time before the good Lord blesses me with that once in a lifetime deer I like to think he's only gonna give me one so he's holding out for a 300" for me.  ;)

Ken

13 years old, first day deer hunting ever.  Monster symmetric 10 point with tons of mass.  I wasn't shooting a bow, I was shooting an old marlin 336c in .35 Rem.  I was so cold I was shivering, but that was nothing compared to the shaking that I did when that deer made it's way 300 yards along the edge of a powerline on oak leaves that sounded like corn flakes crackling with the sunlight glinting off of his antlers.  I didn't know it at the time, but I had buck fever bad.  He was 70 yards away and broadside, but the iron sites were going above the deer and below the deer and I tried to time it for the middle.  After the first shot, which I never in a million years would take again, the buck fever was gone.  Unfortunately, so was the deer.  That was November 30, 1981.  For christmas that year, my father bought me my first bow, and Indian Stalker compound that drew 45-55 pounds.  My father said that at 55 pounds, I would have to worry about drawing it back and wouldn't get buck fever.  I don't know if it was the draw weight of the bow, but I started shooting archery with that bow and have never had buck fever since.  I know most of this isn't a trad archery story, but it is part of the pathway that led me here.

Neverr missed, just been caught asleep or with pants down when the big one decides to come around.  Hit a heck of a buck 2008 archery season, day before rifle.  5 X 5 never found him.

Sept. 17 2005 I missed the largest Missouri buck I have ever seen in the woods,,, at 12 steps! Yeah I blew it.

I did miss a huge Kansas buck in November 2007.  

Stay calm, pick a spot and things will work out. Getting close is a memory never forgotten.

John III

Hunted the same buck in OH for 2 seasons , on November 19 1999 I had the 163 inch ten point at 14 yards broadside and I locked up . I could not shoot I vapor locked . How do I know he was 163 inches , the neighbor over there killed him in gun season . I had nicked named him Festus  because he limbed like Festus  on Gunsmoke .

Jack

Bill, I've always wondered about that picture in your avatar.  Cool!

More than once. But it doesn't keep me away.

I missed the biggest deer I've ever seen on the hoof back in 2005.  I saw him again the next day, but he was way too far out to shoot.  This was on public land also.  From what I can remember, it was a heavy massed 12 pt buck.  Oh well, there's always more out there and thats what keeps me coming.

A few years ago I couldn't take my eyes off of a monster 8 pointers rack and accidentally shot through the antlers.

2 weeks later, my dad shot him opening morning in the gun season.....He now is residing in my Dads condo stairway...laughing at me every time I see him!

Not sure it it was "my deer of a lifetime", and I hope it wasn't....but I did miss the biggest buck I've ever shot at...a 14yd. "chip shot" at about a 150" Missouri buck    :( .

Hang in there buddy....time will help you feel a little better!  Just go out and get the next one and you'll "almost" forget all about it      :thumbsup:

Until this year, I've botched every shot (4 or 5) I've ever gotten at a decent buck. I missed a big nine point once at twelve yards broadside and unaware. Five minutes later I called in a scrub buck and killed it in the exact same spot I missed the big one. Hopefully I've broken the spell. It's frustrating.

i missed getting a shot on a buck of a lifetime last year. at one time he was 10 yards. long story short i spooked him tring to get a shot on the does he was following. i just did not know he was there until it was too late. i kicked myself in the but a while for that one.

      benji

Missed a P@Y back in October at 10 yards. He had me so rattled I didn't even pick a spot. I figured it was a chip shot. Missed an inch over his back.

Yup....


(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v504/Longbow_lad/AmarraOct08028.jpg)


And he kind looked like this....


(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v504/Longbow_lad/IMG_3474.jpg)


Sometimes it's hard to pick a spot on a deer that is covered in so many of them!


ak.