Lets talk misses

[cnelk]

Ok. I\'m sure many have missed an elk or two on occasion.
Lets hear about them.
This can be archery, ML, rifle.

I\'ll go first.
I have a really good spot I call 3 Times. I bet you know why!
Yup. Me and a buddy called in this rag horn a few years ago.
I shot at him 3 times and my buddy even shot at him once.
That elk had a very lucky day.

 

[elkmtngear]

Never rifle or muzzy hunted. I have only completely missed one bull. Here\'s the story:

Many years back, around 9 AM, my buddy and I sneak to the edge of a big park through some quakies followed our public land guide/ outfitter. On the far side of the park...we spot about 50 elk! Knowing we couldn\'t even think about exposing ourselves (this was in our pre-decoy days)...we give a couple of loud cow calls.

All of a sudden, about 100 yards out, we see two sets of antlers coming straight at us from behind a contour in the middle of the park. Two 5x5 satellite bulls were coming our way (obviously looking for some loose \"tush\" ). We both are standing straight up, hiding behind the same quakie tree.
We both draw our bows behind the tree when they get around 30 yards. Then, just like on cue, they both turn broadside. We lean out on opposite sides of the tree \"On 3\" I say...one, two, three...fzzzz fzzzz ! My arrow goes right over the back of the right bull, and Cory\'s does the same on the bull on the left! :agg:

One of the bulls stops at 50 yards and turns broadside. Cory lets fly......fzzzzz WHUP!!! Bull was hit center body, and immediately hunches up and slowly walks toward the herd.

If I had known what I know now, we would have let that bull go for a full four hours before attempting to track. We were total greenhorns, and the outfitter insisted on tracking the bull after about 45 minutes (time is money I guess).

Wound up not finding the bull. Hopefully, someone will learn from this story. Two of the main morals to the story are:

1. It\'s just an elk...try to relax when the moment of truth arrives...and
2. If there is any question about the hit, give the elk lots of time to die

 

[Swede]

Sometimes I scoff at the mistakes and stories others give me for missing. I usually think they were really suffering from panic, or not very skilled in shooting game. Anyway that is what goes on in my mind, but one common problem I have heard about has happened to me. Not just once, but twice I missed due to misjudging a limb or not seeing it. Last September I had a nice 40 yard broad side shot at a large cow. It was late season so I wanted her. I drew back, took careful aim and hit a small branch I had not noticed. My arrow hit 15 yards off to the right of the elk. Mind you that has happened twice now. I think I learned two lessons at that one time. Probably the most important one was about humility, and understanding. I probably should have learned that important lesson after the first time I missed. Sometimes I am slow on learning a lesson, so the Lord keeps working on me.

 

[Bob Frapples]

In the first couple years of bow hunting, I had been stalking a small group of deer for about an hour an half trying to get ahead of them and staying down wind. The woods had turned to large oak trees and very open with little cover. I could never get more that 80-100 yrds before they drift off the other direction.
Suddenly a shooter buck picks his head up looks my direction and starts walking my diretion, then he picks up the pace to a fast walk, next a trot. When he gets behind a large tree about 30 yrds I draw, lock him in my sights as he contiues on right at me, Im just waiting for him to see me and pause, nope.
Never stops looks just picks up pace just a little faster, I whistle, bark and finally I swing my bow just ahead of him pause and let go......
10 yard perfect height, perfect elevation. Whack,

deer never checks up, looks my way or deviates his path, I watch him for 70-80 yards to fall over. nothing. He was just was late for some appointment somwhere. I go look for my arrow, its not hard to find as it was burried in the only sapling within a hundred yards, t-boned as perfect as you please with set of fresh buck tracks 1 foot the oposite side of it.

I had to come back several days later with a broadhead puller, hammer and prybar to get out my broad head.

 

[OldMan]

I hunted with my dad for 30 years. If I ever missed he would have knocked me out. That made me extremely careful about any shot I took on an animal. It stayed with me all my life. Even without the threat of him knocking me out. To be able to say this I have to pass up a ton of shots. Not so easy sometimes.

 

[bnsafe]

im not sure what yall are talkin about, i have NEVER missed an elk or a antelope. :clap: :train:
i have missed a few whitetail an turkeys in my day though. :shh:

 

[mainebrdr]

Do we have to?
Having yet to shoot my first elk I will talk about deer in this instance. I missed 3 deer my first ten years of bowhunting but haven\'t missed one in the last 20. I\'m not trying to make a case for great shooting but rather stand placement, distance knowledge, and using good judgment as to when or when not to shoot. Obviously things are much different in the elk woods. (except for Swede)! Terrain, cover, and definitely being there on their terms would make for a different situation.
So what would you say were the contributing factors in your misses Brad. Your Badlands daypack says it\'s not lack of accuracy!

 

[cohunter14]

I am ashamed to say that my first miss on an elk happened two years ago...and it was embarrassing

I was pushing a patch of timber for a couple of guys we had posted up when all of a sudden I hear \'crash, crash, crash\' coming from behind me. I turn to see two cows running full speed right at me. I paused, thinking they would see me and move, but it took a while. One cow finally slammed on the breaks about 10 feet from me and we met eyes for a split second. As the cow turned to run away from me, I fired a shot with my rifle at about 10 yards...and missed! It is TOUGH to aim at that close of a range when you have a big scope on top of your rifle, hahaha! At least that\'s my story and I\'m sticking to it! Anyway, I was lucky enough to chamber another and hit the cow with my next one, but man would that have been ugly if I would have missed again! :lol:

 

[cnelk]

Tim
My misses are a combination of estimating the yardage wrong [before I had a range finder], hitting branches, and yes...
being excited!

As the old saying goes... Elk are big targets and easy to miss