Been shooting trad for 3 years now and the very first time i hunted with a recurve i had a 110in 10 pointer come in behind me to my left and stopped 12 yards away.
I have shot a ton of deer with a wheel bow but nothing has ever came close to how excited i got even though he jumped the string.
The next weekend i shot and killed a nice fat 8 pointer at 28 yards from the ground and saw him fall, man what a feeling.
Very, very, nice 8 point, probably a 150's class buck. Missed him at 15 yards, looked up at the rack one last time and that was exactly where the arrow went. Man just wanted to jump up and down and scream. Oh well. Love to tell you that was back in the days before I learned better, but it was just this year. Guess I'll never learn.Sure had my heart going though.
If you haven't misseed, you haven't hunted very much. Congrats on the 8 pointer!
Missed a mainframe 10 pointer with about 4 or 5 extra points earlier this season. Somewhere between 150"-160". Shot was in line with the vitals but about 4 inches over his back. Completely my fault.
Big 12 point and a big 10 point in 2010. Misses happen if you hunt enough, sometimes in the heat of the moment we do not do what we are supposed to do,LOL.
This is my first trad year, I missed a buck bodied 8 pointer and a small doe the same day I kill my big 10. I am sure I will miss many more with trad gear.
Missed a 180+ at 20 yds with a recurve....biggest deer I've ever seen on hoof. It still gives me nightmares.
170 class whitetail, 10 yards, hit a small twig and arrow landed at his feet. I've replayed that scene many times in my head. Never saw that buck again.
No big whitetails to speak of, but I managed to blow a couple of shots at mule deer that would have scored in the 170s or more. One was at about 10 yards after a very long stalk. :knothead:
I have missed a lot of deer but the biggest would have to be a nice 8 point a few years ago. The biggest animal I have ever missed was a Kudu bull in Africa. I was heartbroken but got lucky because he came back in and I did not miss on the second chance.
Bisch
This fall I hit a twig that I had not noticed and watched my arrow go up and wag its tail over the back of the nicest buck I've had in shooting range. I don't really look at the rack much once I decide I'm going to take a shot, so I have no idea how many points he had...plenty, I'd say. He was also a really big bodied deer. We get lots of those here, but the shotgun boys have a hard time letting them get old enough to know that most of the time.
I am not sure on that one. I do know that every time I tell the story he gets a little bigger. At some point I am going to have to say that it was an elk that walked under my stand. LOL :knothead: :knothead: :knothead:
A big tall tined wide 10. I normally draw 29" but on that shot I drew 24". Shot right under him at 20 yards :banghead:
I missed this guy 2 times in the three years that I hunted him both shots should have been chip shots. Then I found him dead last spring. Somethings just are not made to be.
(http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f143/Bloodtrailer/download_0330101228.jpg)
This 23rd of November, I separated a true giant from some of his chest hair. A solid 170" typical with at least another 20" of junk going everywhere. I'm still nauseated. :knothead: :D
Had a great season none the less!
whitetail, a doe. Muleys are a whole nuther story. I have missed 2 that haunt me, a legitimate 180" muley and a one horned non typical that if he had both sides would have been pushing 40". I miss the good ole days for muleys for sure.
Edit: I should say does hehe :)
In '92 I choked bad on a southern GIANT Iowa whitetail. The farmer killed him that fall with a shotgun. He scored just over 190. I hated myself for the longest time untill I realized how LUCKY I was to even get crack at him. I missed him at a whopping 12 yards away broadside. He looked like a pickket fence coming through the timber with 14 perftic points.
doug77
Biggest whitetail, 4 pointer would have scored around 15 or 16".....1971 with a Browning Nomad Stalker.........last shot I had!!
I don't want to talk about it. :bigsmyl: Missed a pretty nice 10-point this year. Not the first nice deer I've missed, but I hadn't missed one in a while. It stings.
Last fall during a rather windy day. As soon as the arrow cleared the tree line, it started taking a hard left. The fletch brushed his butt. It's amazing how high and how quick a buck pushing 250# can jump up and do a 180 in mid air and land to see what just goosed him. How big was he? He was one of those that you know immediately is a big un'.
Missed this one at 11 yards this November then shot him at 12 yards 15 seconds later when he came back to see what I was.
(http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/ac304/klausdawg/NorthDakota2011029-1.jpg)
Missed the one that lived under these sheds...sheds net at 160 with no spread. Really BIG for Delaware! Saw him the following year but no arrows launched. He disapeared after that :confused:
(http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Palmer234/Picture454.jpg)
Several years ago I missed a really wide and massive 6 pointer. Biggest 6 I have seen on the hoof. The worst part is I missed him TWICE. Once at 15 yds. Shot right under him. He jumped and ran about 40 yards. I did a grunt snort wheeze and he came back all stiff legged with his hackles up and turned broadside at 25 yds. Shot right over his back. He jumped again and just walked away. I have quoted some excuses but in reality I just choked.
Very painful thread for me. Missed this one's identical twin with his head down in knee high alfalfa broadside at 20 yards the year after I killed his brother. I had gotten chilly and put a small jacket on. As I was zipping it up I notice him coming and never even had time to think about my arm guard. The string hit my coat sleeve and sent the arrow just under is brisket. I'll never forget that feeling.
(http://i52.tinypic.com/ejzo5y.jpg)
Also remember standing by a huge beach tree on one of Lowebow's farms in the middle of a winter heavy wet snowfall when a doe drug a 140" 8 pointer right by me. I drew then grunted as he was about 12 paces broadside. The arrow went right over his back due to a thick face mask I had on and not being able to feel my anchor point on my face. :knothead:
Oh myyyy TJ. That is a beautiful buck!
Missed the only droptine buck i've ever seen alive several years ago.
Massive 11 point 30 some years ago,hit right where I was looking,the left antler. I guess that's a miss,still remember that sound and an arrow going straight up.
I cut the hair on the back of a non-typical at 10 yards. We hunted this buck for several years and I have one of his sheds in my basement. By the way,he green scored 186. Killed opening day of the 99 gun season by a gun hunter. I at least got to hold his rack in my hand. :(
I have missed a lot of deer but not many big bucks
I did loose one that till this day gives me an anxiety attacks when I think of it :(
Oh yahh,, This guy. I found one of his sheds later in January
(http://thumb14.webshots.net/t/90/74/5/1/65/2992501650052704714dclLKG_th.jpg) (http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2992501650052704714dclLKG) [/IMG]
This thread is painful....
But I am happy to say that I can't top some of you people.
Ouch!! :eek:
Missed a monster mule deer buck in Colorado a few years ago. The line was perfect,but I underestimated the elevation. He was farther than I thought. I can still see the arrow passing just under his chest. :banghead:
He was definately the biggest animal that I have shot at and his size fooled me into thinking he was closer than he was.
Ooops...didn't realize we were only crying over whitetails...LOL
I've missed a few of those too! :knothead:
I could write a book on missing two big racks that still haunt me Dec a few years back never picked aspot shot over broadside racker. I was hunting for last time with friend Mike that passed away a few months later from cancer at 43 also this buck was shot at night 2 days later. Nov 1988 big body thick rack buck comes out of the pines into a thicket destroyed a tree and at the same time my nervous system. I always have some buck fever but that afternoon. well lets just say if someone was wachin me would think a was playing the voilin.
I shot a 210 inch non typical in the rack on november 13 1986, november 15 the guy next door showed me my broad head imbeded in the bucks rack . I will never forget that buck
I shot right in front of the chest of a wide B&C 6x6 on November 16th. On film. Many of you will see it happen someday I'm sure.
I had a huge 8 point come looking for a fight after a comical grunting sequence. I was 13 and the buck was at least twice as heavy as I was.
I was shaking so bad as I was standing on the ground and this giant was 10 yards. Couldn't manage to get my bow pulled back. Tried 4 times to pull but between the cold and the shaking I couldn't manage. He looked at me straining and had enough and buggered off.
I learned about overbowing myself the hard way.
Do ya mind fillin us in on that little story Gene.
doug77
December 7, 1977. I can still picture my arrow going over his back, sticking in a beach tree and his rack drifting away through the timber as he ran away.
This one hurt, I missed him the year before these picks and he was a little bigger. 12yds shot over him :knothead:
(http://i904.photobucket.com/albums/ac248/TmPotter47/shed5.jpg)
Tracy
I missed this buck the following year after this picture. He grossed 217 with 6 broken points. I wheezed him in. It took a while and over 6 wheezes and a few grunts to get him in. The cover was thick, but my shot was clear. Just shot under his heart in heavy wind at 17 yards. He never knew I was there. Just great to be in the woods with a buck like him. He was 7 1/2 yrs old. Mike
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff289/MittenM/hero/WMbuck09closeup.jpg)
My trad arhery career started in the spring of 97 and by fall I was on my very first hunt. Spent the weekend hunting Mason Texas. I learned a hard lesson about hunting from a tripod. I missed two does in two days(One twice in the span of 10 minutes) and then the last day I missed a 110 class 8 pt. Every shot was 2" right over the shoulders.
man i cant wait till i miss one :biglaugh:
I have never shot at a whitetail....but the biggest one I ever miss will probably be the first one I ever shoot at... :knothead: :biglaugh:
About an 85 lb doe. The only deer I ever shot at with a bow. Maybe I missed because she was so small?
Years ago when I first started hunting with traditional gear...I honestly had no business shooting at animals. I can say that now. I was pretty bad, as I had nobody around to teach me. I got it together shortly thereafter but then would fall apart every time I had a shot at a big buck. I mean some of these misses were almost to much to believe! Back then I was in early college. I had LOTS of time to scout, which I did relentlessly. I was getting pretty good at getting close to 1 or 2 mature bucks a year on public ground, but I was blowing it every time. I missed the same big 10 pointer twice on different days. I wrote an article about that buck for TBM.
One year I had watched a monster buck all summer. He was hanging out with 3 lesser bucks. I was hunting a woodlot within the city limits of Carbondale Illinois, where there was no gun hunting. This woodlot contained 3 and only 3 white oak trees. This year they were all dropping acorns like crazy. I setup between this tree and where I thought the bucks were bedding. Second time in the stand...here they come. The big guy was in the rear. Let the other 3 bucks pass. The big guy just starts to put his nose in the acorns when he offered me a 12 yard shot with his head down, and behind a tree. I missed him by a foot! Just had a complete meltdown!
I was so shook up by this, I even had to have Uncle Gene give me a pep talk! He did, and things went better after that. Later I took shooting lessons with Rick Welch, and I now shoot much better, and am able to keep my cool under pressure a little better.
I missed this 9 pointer last November 3rd at 11 yards. Nick named him the Unicorn Buck as he only had one brow tine. Small twig thankfully deflected my arrow low.
(http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s271/Limbow/IM000112.jpg)
(http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s271/Limbow/IM000115.jpg)
I did manage to catch up with him though on December 6th while he was chasing two does :)
(http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s271/Limbow/DSC_4945-2010-12-06at18-54-01.jpg)
More than size it's quite impressive the sheer number of mature bucks I've missed! The best miss was on a 160" 5x5 with stickers. Sure scared him though!
I have never missed a whitetail yet. Never seen one iether. Blew it on the only two balcktails.
The largest one I missed with a bow was at about 15 yards a nice 8 point huge thick mass in the rack. He was probably pushing 230lbs and that is big in my neck of the woods back in S.C. Our avg big buck is 175-200lbs. I know there was a nice one taken in Cahoun county in 2003 that scored over 180 I would have cried if I missed that one.