Worst luck ever!!

[Peter Griffin]

PART 1 So I called in sick today with Buck fever and hit state land early. I spent the morning sitting on hill sides and watching some runs with no luck so I decided to take a walk. I walk way up along the top of a ridge and all of a sudden standing in front of me behind a tree with its head neck and backside sticking out is a buck. It had a long straight rack and was hard to tell how many points from being face on with it but this would have been my first buck ever and it was a decent size. Ive been hunting for three years now and never shot or saw anything but doe. My heart starts racing and I put the scope on its neck and pull the trigger. All of a sudden it reems up on its back legs and flips over on its back and flops. Im shaking with excitement thinking its staying right where it is...then it starts to roll down the hill as it flops and out of sight. I marked where I thought it was and where I shot it from which was only about 20 feet or so. I couldnt find any blood or disturbances anywhere but clearly saw the way it flipped onto its back. Possible it just got a big scare? At that point I called some friends to help. Sure enough my marker blew off the tree  when we got back up on the ridge and I found it laying on the ground so at this point I have no point of reference where it was standing. Im super bummed thinking I missed this deer, injured it, or even worse killed it and cant find it because its stuck on some part of the steep hillside/cliff. After hours spent searching we had to assume sadly It ran off with no blood to confirm the shot hit or notable disturbances anywhere. I might resume the search this weekend.. but the way it rolled  and how far it went before I heard it stop didnt seem like anything could walk away from the fall alone.

Part 2 On my way out before dark I decide to take a detour  where I saw a ton of doe earlier this year. All of a sudden I see a short tail going up and over. Im thinking buck. I walk to the top of the hill and make a doe bleat and all of a sudden a doe rips by me so close I could have clubed it with my rifle. Right on that does behind is a small buck I turn around and a larger buck with a wide rack is running right at me I thought it was going to run me down but it ran past and as it did goes BAHHHHHH. I put the scope on its b hole and pull the trigger...click misfire.. Hornadys I just bought last night. I pull the round out and the primers dented. Unbelievable set of events sorry for the long post I need to vent and really feel like crap right now because of this

[stoneam2006]

Rough luck man....but probably glad you missed the rear end shot they are normally pretty messy from what I've seen....good luck

[upstate]

Please don't shoot a deer up it's butt hole. They will die and they're almost impossible to track since they won't bleed. 

 

Welcome to hunting deer. If you really want to see what bad luck is (or see what can go wrong ) take up bow hunting. Imagine the buck of a lifetime walking back and forth, nose to the ground but 75 yards away. No bleat or grunt would get him closer. 

 

Good luck 

[DirtTime]

I am not sure many would shoot at a running deer with a scope anyway. Not at close range and running anyway. Good recipe for bad things. Just sayin'. Shooting a deer in the backside?...........NO NO NO NO!

 

Did Quagmire tell you to do that? "Giggidy"......

Edited November 20, 2014 by JustRob

[gastrodoc]

pretty poor shot choices man.  Never shoot a deer aiming at its rear.  That is a very poor and unethical shot to take.  It very well could have been two wounded and lost bucks in one day

[growalot]

I don't know...Sounds like your one darn lucky man...for you were on state land and from the sounds of how fast the action was...didn't have a lick of time to see the back drop of where your ammo would be going in a miss..... yep you and what ever other person that could have been using that same area...darn Lucky I think...

[Zem18]

High percentage shots is what you are looking for, that will put the deer down or strike a vital organ and make it only run a short distance. The Texas heart shot (the butt)is not a high percentage shot so stay away from that. If you hurry the shot, chances are something can go wrong so my suggestion is to wait the deer out. If he is behind the tree and can't see you, wait for him to move first, then take a broadside shot or quartering away. It's a learning process and you've come to right place for advice. If that deer fell over and then just flopped down the hill and not ran down the hill, you need to check the area again and again until you are sure he isn't down there. The blood may not show up until 20, 30 , 50 yards depending on the hit.

It,s only 5 days into the season so there is plenty of time left. Just don't rush it for the sake of killing a deer. Make it an awesome story with a perfect shot you took your time with and then post pictures of that first buck!

[Four Season Whitetail's]

PART 1 So I called in sick today with Buck fever and hit state land early. I spent the morning sitting on hill sides and watching some runs with no luck so I decided to take a walk. I walk way up along the top of a ridge and all of a sudden standing in front of me behind a tree with its head neck and backside sticking out is a buck. It had a long straight rack and was hard to tell how many points from being face on with it but this would have been my first buck ever and it was a decent size. Ive been hunting for three years now and never shot or saw anything but doe. My heart starts racing and I put the scope on its neck and pull the trigger. All of a sudden it reems up on its back legs and flips over on its back and flops. Im shaking with excitement thinking its staying right where it is...then it starts to roll down the hill as it flops and out of sight. I marked where I thought it was and where I shot it from which was only about 20 feet or so. I couldnt find any blood or disturbances anywhere but clearly saw the way it flipped onto its back. Possible it just got a big scare? At that point I called some friends to help. Sure enough my marker blew off the tree  when we got back up on the ridge and I found it laying on the ground so at this point I have no point of reference where it was standing. Im super bummed thinking I missed this deer, injured it, or even worse killed it and cant find it because its stuck on some part of the steep hillside/cliff. After hours spent searching we had to assume sadly It ran off with no blood to confirm the shot hit or notable disturbances anywhere. I might resume the search this weekend.. but the way it rolled  and how far it went before I heard it stop didnt seem like anything could walk away from the fall alone.

Part 2 On my way out before dark I decide to take a detour  where I saw a ton of doe earlier this year. All of a sudden I see a short tail going up and over. Im thinking buck. I walk to the top of the hill and make a doe bleat and all of a sudden a doe rips by me so close I could have clubed it with my rifle. Right on that does behind is a small buck I turn around and a larger buck with a wide rack is running right at me I thought it was going to run me down but it ran past and as it did goes BAHHHHHH. I put the scope on its b hole and pull the trigger...click misfire.. Hornadys I just bought last night. I pull the round out and the primers dented. Unbelievable set of events sorry for the long post I need to vent and really feel like crap right now because of this

Such is hunting. You may have took the first buck in the antler. I did that once on a long shot in a swaying treestand years ago as a youngster. Knock him silly, he flipped around, did circles on the ground while laying on his side using just his rear legs, it was a site to see. Lucky for me the 9ptr was following a doe across a field towards me and as he regained his composer he continued coming right towards me and i finished the deal with the little 243. Only knew what i did after i grabbed the left antler to start dragging. I had him mounted with the bullet hole. 

In your case you are in good shape as it sounds like you are just starting out and you are in an area with numbers of whitetails. Get right back out there after them. It will happen in due time but like the other guys said..The Texas Heart Shot is not the way to get your first trophy. It will kill a whitetail every time but way to risky 99.9% of the time. Good Luck!

[Peter Griffin]

Realistically I would have hit it in the back of the head b hole thing was just a joke. Still a tough shot but if that round went off it would have dropped it no doubt about that. Pretty confident with my rifle and I had all the time in the world to shoot. They weren't booking it like they were scared by me he was more so just scooting after the doe with his tail down and decided to tell me to go f myself on his way by

[stoneam2006]

Did Quagmire tell you to do that? "Giggidy"......

Perfect rob perfect

[Peter Griffin]

I don't know...Sounds like your one darn lucky man...for you were on state land and from the sounds of how fast the action was...didn't have a lick of time to see the back drop of where your ammo would be going in a miss..... yep you and what ever other person that could have been using that same area...darn Lucky I think...

 

This isn't a well known parcel of state land, there's one entrance, no cars in the lot and I know the land like the back of my hand. On top of this I hunt deep. Deeper than most people go. I know exactly what was on the other side of every shot I took today. The one on the deer moving away from me would have went into the ground on a miss since I was up hill from it aiming down.

[stoneam2006]

As I can see you are new here what part of state you hunting?

[jjb4900]

I don't know...Sounds like your one darn lucky man...for you were on state land and from the sounds of how fast the action was...didn't have a lick of time to see the back drop of where your ammo would be going in a miss..... yep you and what ever other person that could have been using that same area...darn Lucky I think...

unless you own a HUGE parcel of private land, nobody has any idea of what lies beyond the path of the bullet they just fired......not to make light of gun safety, but that's just a fact.

[growalot]

unless you own a HUGE parcel of private land, nobody has any idea of what lies beyond the path of the bullet they just fired......not to make light of gun safety, but that's just a fact.

 

 

 

 

 You know  I just read and re-read that statement.  To make sure I really read it correctly. I have to say stunned...just shake my head stunned ...lol

Edited November 21, 2014 by growalot

[TOMMYTOOSONS]

crazy

[Bowshotmuzzleloader]

Did anyone go over with you where the vitals are on a deer ?????

The neck and a$$ will kill a animal but that is usually reserved for things that have gone bad trying to make a ethical shot..

[jjb4900]

 You know  I just read and re-read that statement.  To make sure I really read it correctly. I have to say stunned...just shake my head stunned ...lol

why? bullets travel an incredible distance...nobody can ever be sure of where their bullet will eventually come to rest..........like I said gun safety should never be taken lightly, but once that bullet leaves the barrel NOBODY has control of where it lands, we can all know our immediate perceived backstops, but we can't always be aware of unforeseen obstacles between us and beyond our targets.

[Short Track Hunter]

You already injured and lost one deer, why try for a butt shot???? I let them go if only there butt is showing, as they will run for miles before dropping.

[NFA-ADK]

I know the feeling!  I have had 2 good shots one broadside and one quartering away and lost both.  Upsetting but have to keep on trying.  Good luck and stay away from those bad shots, even the good ones can go wrong when you do not focus enough or get the fever.  Or both, Arg! 

 

 

[Larry]

Try this next time put the cross hairs behind the shoulder works a lot better then the neck or ass shot. Did you go to sniper school you think your that good. THAT'S NOT BAD LUCK. THAT'S MAKING A PISS POOR CHOICE!

Edited November 21, 2014 by Larry

[Skillet]

Try this next time put the cross hairs behind the shoulder works a lot better then the neck or ass shot. Did you go to sniper school you think your that good. THAT'S NOT BAD LUCK. THAT'S MAKING A PISS POOR CHOICE!

 

Seriously? Check yourself. You sound pretty arrogant. The guy is obviously new, and maybe doesnt have someone to teach him like many of us were fortunate enough to have. We were all novices & most of us have made some stupid mistakes, even you I bet. Don't forget where you came from. Maybe try to offer advice instead of trying to humiliate someone, possibly ruining the sport for them. I hope someone is there to ridicule you the next time you mess up.

 

Hang in there Peter.

Edited November 21, 2014 by Skillet

[Stagger Lee]

There was a bit of arrogance in saying he knew he would have dropped the second deer with a running shot after having missed the first deer standing, at close range. Everyone has been a newbie to the sport and most learn from mistakes along the way. I still have a long way to go. Best of luck Jeff and a little humility is not a bad thing.

[Buckmaster7600]

Where has "hunting" went I feel too many people watch too many hunting shows, where the channels have rules about what shots they can air. Would I have shot at a running deer my first year hunting ABSOLUTLY! Would I know? "Depends on the situation. As for a vermont "Texas" heart shot I only carry calibers and bullets that will go end to end of a deer "ie" bonded bullets that are heavy for caliber should that be the shot I am presented with. Of the handful of deer I have shot in the rear only 1 has taken a step and he went 15 yards and dies. Now I wouldn't even consider that shot with a .243 or any other cartridge of the light and fast variety.. To the OP have patience and wait for a good shot oppertunity for your first one trust me wounding a deer is the worst feeling any deer hunter can have and you don't want to taint your first hunting memories.

[wooly]

I shot a deer straight up the ass once with my old Knight 50cal ML. (unintentionally)

Hard quartering away shot trying to drop one in behind the shoulder shooting off hand.

 

The buck dropped in his tracks but made every attempt to escape using only his front legs. The entire time he was bawling and bellowing like no other deer I've ever heard before.

By the time I got another round stuffed down the barrel and primed to fire, the deer had disappeared from where he stood last and had "gone silent" almost 50yds away.

I finally caught up to him laying with his head up looking directly at me almost as if to say "you dumb ass...like you didn't know this could happen."

I finished him off and felt awful about the shot selection, and it left such an impact on me that I've passed up several of the same type of opportunities since then.

 

My advice to you would be to learn from a mistake like this before it happens to you. Sometimes perfectly vital shot deer are tough enough to track so don't do anything that will decrease your odds of recovery with less than favorable marginal shot selection. Be patient and try not to force things to happen and the deer will start to hit the ground almost effortlessly when you make smart choices.

Edited November 21, 2014 by wooly

[jjb4900]

are people really that obsessed with taking a buck that they would shoot one in an area that is more than likely going to destroy a large amount of meat?