Serval years ago, I had the opportunity to hunt Javelina and small game on one the "pastures" of the King Ranch in Texas.Being my first trip to the ranch,expectations were indeed way too high. A cold front had moved through the area and the javelina and feral hogs were smarter than me, probably had their own campfire built in the cactus.
on the last day of the hunt, I was slowly working my way back to the truck, when suddenly, 3 javies burst out of the dense undergrowth, not 15 yards away from me. I had the wind and was standing still at the time, so I was lucky instead of good.
The first arrow sailed right over the lead boar's back (I guess it was a boar, who knows?), the second arrow went in the dirt a foot from his snout and the third under his belly. Since I was carrying on 4 broadheads arrows and one judo, its a good thing they all ran off, since I would have missed with those too. Now,talk about embarrassed!.
Being a trained sniper, competive combat shooter, and CQB instructor, I know the importance of focusing on the target. I have shot an average of 30 arrows a day for years, so why the misses? Lack of focus at the critical moment, a rookie mistake that I thought, I would never make.
I remember reading in Asbell's first book on where he described missing a moose and Bill Negley admitting missing an elephant. I remember thinking, "how the he$$, do you miss an elephant?" Ha, arrogance is the downfall of all of us.
Since that day, I have never started a practice session, rove, or hunt without first remembering those three misses shots. It has made me a better shot, sharping my focus, because being humbled is the greatest teacher in the real world.
what's your most humbling miss?
My first 9 trad shots at deer all went over their back(early 1980s). Shortly after I read about most arrows shot over a deers back is because you are looking at the deer and not picking a spot. After that I really began to concentrate on eliminating the deer from my vision and concentrated on picking the spot I wanted the arrow to go. Since then my shooting has improved 100%.
Oh yeah, 6 of those shots were within 15 minutes, all on different deer.