Bonehead moves?

[OldNewbie]

Today I went to draw on a 6-point and discovered my release was still in my backpack, not on my wrist. Doh!

My very first sit in a ground blind I fell asleep, woke up with three deer staring me in the face. Double Doh!

Anyone else have bonehead moves they want to share, in the interest of learning from ones mistakes, and having a good laugh? 

[covert]

Grunted nice 6 in from 250yds to ground blind where I was sitting with my boy.  Shot under buck with stupid crossbow.  Grunted him back, shot over buck with stupid crossbow.  Sold stupid crossbow, bought rangefinder.

[ApexerER]

I have forgotten my release, forgotten to put my release on, forgotten to pull my bow up, sat for 3 hours and realized I don't have bolt in my crossbow. Probably 20 years ago I drove all the way to where I was hunting, got all dressed put on my backpack and went to grab my rife out of the truck and realized I left it home. I have gotten up to stretch not realizing there was a deer right behind me and probably the worst one. I was on a all day sit ( I have done maybe 3 in my life) and hadn't seen a thing. I was cold, annoyed and packed my stuff up about 15 minutes early. I got about 3 steps down my ladder stand heard a loud snort that scared the crap out of me and watched as a really large deer that was about 25 yds from my stand bound off at 1000 miles an hour catching glimpses of what looked like nice rack as he ran out of my life. He had to be standing there watching me pack up.  As I got out to the RR tracks where I park one of my hunting buddies was driving down the dirt road and said he just saw the biggest buck he has ever seen bound across the tracks. Have never left my stand early since. 

[Engraver99]

just yesterday - layed down scent trails, got in my blind and situated, thinking wouldn't it be nice if a buck came in right away like the stories you read, decided to move a branch out of the way from the shooting window - and there he was 8 pointer, then he was gone...stupid me. Opening day found a deer under me but my release was still on my bow. too many others to mention over the years.

[dbHunterNY]

left my bow on top of the car roof one early and dark morning. unknowingly tried driving to my spot without putting it in the car.

couple times i've leaned my rifle against a tree and then took multiple steps to p*ss. only to have a deer i'd take traveling by.

lowered my gun a little to see better but kept it close. breathed on it the whole time, so when i picked it up to finally shoot i couldn't see anything.

dropped things out of the stand. first buck with a bow i shook so hard i dropped my cell phone out of my hand with someone on the other end.

dragged deer and equipment out of the woods from the end of the blood trail only to realize i forgot my climber back at the tree.

didn't fasten the top climber section to the tree or cinched to the bottom section. went to get in position bow in hand, and knocked the top section free. it fell onto the bottom section with a loud metal on metal bang, which meant no deer when i looked back up.

 

other things i know of others doing. one guy rested his high scoped gun on the back of a pickup bed. shot across his bed but the bullet didn't make it to the deer. it was partially sticking out the other side of the truck bed.

someone else shot a fence post. same individual used scent a-way soap instead of field spray in the early morning darkness. went on pretty thick.

some else missed deer during a whole day of driving. ran out of bullets for their rifle and had to borrow someone elses gun. highlight was the hunter missing the pair of a buck mounting a doe. they continued to have it, while the hunter was still missing, until they finished and trotted off.

while my uncle glassed some deer from the truck my young cousin got excited and ended up dumping a whole bottle of Tink's doe estrous between the seats.

[grampy]

I hunt mostly from natural ground blinds. Last year, opening week of gun season, I wasn't feeling too good, and was hunting from one of my best blinds. Was in there for a few hours and had not seen a thing! Decided to pack it up and go get warm. So I did something I "NEVER" do! Stand up, before doing a 360 degrees look around. Yup.....coming in from my back left, was the number one buck on the property! I got just enough of a look at him, as he was bounding away into the swamp to sink my spirits, and to kick myself for the rookie mistake.

Had a very nice 8 pt last Monday at 30 yards, to my right, standing in some very thick brush. He caught me moving into position for a shot, when he stepped out. A five minute stare down resulted in him going back the way he came. I should have waited, he probably would have walked to my front. I got too anxious. 

This is my 45th deer season. I still make mistakes that cost me deer. And over all the years, many deer lived another day due to my blunders! It's all part of what makes hunting so fun, and at times, frustrating!!!

 

[DanD]

Got in the stand Monday in the northern zone. Put the clip in my gun and tried to rack one in the chamber....bolt was still in the gun case in my truck....dohh

[Robhuntandfish]

Well let's see.... Started to drop my bow and caught it putting thumb onto broadhead, dropped bow down and had deer blow at me i didn't see, went to shoot at a deer and nothing in the chamber

A buddy of mine brought a .22 on a bear hunt ( he thought he packed 300 savage), my other buddy whittled him a stick. 

First buck I ever got was on second day if gun season. Sat there for 4 hours and saw nothing.  Stood up and stretched and there is a buck on my left at 50 yards. Luckily he didn't see me and I got my gun and shot him. 

 

[philoshop]

1 hour ago, grampy said:

I hunt mostly from natural ground blinds. Last year, opening week of gun season, I wasn't feeling too good, and was hunting from one of my best blinds. Was in there for a few hours and had not seen a thing! Decided to pack it up and go get warm. So I did something I "NEVER" do! Stand up, before doing a 360 degrees look around. Yup.....coming in from my back left, was the number one buck on the property! I got just enough of a look at him, as he was bounding away into the swamp to sink my spirits, and to kick myself for the rookie mistake.

Had a very nice 8 pt last Monday at 30 yards, to my right, standing in some very thick brush. He caught me moving into position for a shot, when he stepped out. A five minute stare down resulted in him going back the way he came. I should have waited, he probably would have walked to my front. I got too anxious. 

This is my 45th deer season. I still make mistakes that cost me deer. And over all the years, many deer lived another day due to my blunders! It's all part of what makes hunting so fun, and at times, frustrating!!!

 

If it was all simple, easy, and foolproof, it would be called grocery shopping.

I've certainly had my share of blunders. One that really sticks with me involves a mile long round-about scent drag that ended with me in my treestand and completely forgetting to leave the scent drag at a distance on the ground. It was still tied to my ankle. Every deer I saw that morning was looking straight at me while sniffing the air. Deer aren't intelligent by human standards, but even they know that the doe of their dreams is not sitting in a tree.

[tarheel95]

First year I had a cross bow I was out on a still hunt. The biggest 8 point I had seen to that date was up crossing a trail at 90 degrees to me. No clue I was there. I knelt down to take a shot and I must have hit some magic combination of keys on my iPhone and Siri started talking to me. Buck stops and if it could give a WTF face it was.

We are in a standoff as Siri continues to talk and the buck tries to figure out where this woman is. My shot sequence is totally thrown off. I try to relaxe, ignore Siri's protests, have him sited, go to squeeze trigger and nothing happens. Safety is still on.

At that point buck flips me the flag and tells me that I had my chance. First thing I do now is put my phone on DND when I enter the woods.

First year bow hunting I am on the ground in a blowdown. Two owls fly into a tree nearby, I am assuming a breeding pair. I am watching their behavior intently for about 30 mins. Also watching me intently, and unbeknownst to me, was a basket 6 trying to figure out what this blob in a blowdown looking at two owls was. He was 10 yards away when I noticed him. Despite ninja like moves to raise my bow and attempt to shoot, he managed to scoot away. My skills may be inept today but they were woefully inept then.

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[moog5050]

My most vivid recollection was 2 season ago when I had my biggest buck stepping into my shooting lane, drew back my recurve and my arrow stayed stuck in the arrow holder (when its cold that rubber ain't so flexible) and nock came off my string.  I was fortunate to pull the arrow free, renock it and shoot.  But it remains a slow motion memory as I was sure I just blew my best opportunity with lots of expletives flying through my head. 

[moog5050]

36 minutes ago, tarheel95 said:

First year I had a cross bow I was out on a still hunt. The biggest 8 point I had seen to that date was up crossing a trail at 90 degrees to me. No clue I was there. I knelt down to take a shot and I must have hit some magic combination of keys on my iPhone and Siri started talking to me. Buck stops and if it could give a WTF face it was.

We are in a standoff as Siri continues to talk and the buck tries to figure out where this woman is. My shot sequence is totally thrown off. I try to relaxe, ignore Siri's protests, have him sited, go to squeeze trigger and nothing happens. Safety is still on.

At that point buck flips me the flag and tells me that I had my chance. First thing I do now is put my phone on DND when I enter the woods.

First year bow hunting I am on the ground in a blowdown. Two owls fly into a tree nearby, I am assuming a breeding pair. I am watching their behavior intently for about 30 mins. Also watching me intently, and unbeknownst to me, was a basket 6 trying to figure out what this blob in a blowdown looking at two owls was. He was 10 yards away when I noticed him. Despite ninja like moves to raise my bow and attempt to shoot, he managed to scoot away. My skills may be inept today but they were woefully inept then.

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It would have been epic if you killed him while siri was talking.

[Five Seasons]

my most recent in a long list.

Last year my trophy ridge dropaway snapped in half during practice (sort of cheap abs plastic). It was towards the end of the season and I was going to hunt the next day. I had some good jb weld plastic epoxy. glued it good. Let it sit overnight. Shot a few times int he morning and it held. Later that week I took a buck with it.

This spring I intended to replace the bow all together so I didn't think much of it. The wife won a financial "argument" and we spent some money on her instead (I'll let you pervs fill in the details). Anyhow I shoot easily 100+ arrows over the summer without issue. Then I'm practicing one night in October and it snaps again and the arrow misses the target completely. Dammit, middle of the season again, I should just put my biscuit on... nah the glue will work again and don't want to mess with aligning it. Repeat process. Shoot 6 arrows in the morning and it holds. Go hunting. 2 sits later I draw on a decent 2.5 eight at about 20 yards who is dogging a doe. Arrow soars over his back. He spooks a little but doesn't go far. I stare in disbelief. No way I completely missed him at 20 yards. Shot felt good. I look down... and yep you guessed it. Rest is in half. I cry a little and get down as my hunt is over. Only positive is that I didn't wound him. I walk out and tell my dad the story. He's just like "you were hunting with that". "yes I'm a bonehead".

My bow now has a biscuit on it haha.

 

[OldNewbie]

7 hours ago, ApexerER said:

. Have never left my stand early since. 

Good lesson there!

 

Edited November 9, 2018 by OldNewbie

[Merlot]

I forgot the wine once...steak just didn't taste right...

[CanastotaCamo]

3 years ago, before I upgraded to my Matthews Z3, I was still using a 20 yr old Martin Jaguar with an old rest that was essentially a bottom arrow holder and a side arrow holder. First deer on the my new property. Mine. The property I dreamed of having to one day have this experience. I draw back, the arrow slips between the 2 springy arrow rest holders, and all you heard was ting ting ting ting of aluminum arrow.

[Nytracker]

Recently ... boneheaded  move dosing off only to wake up to the rearview of my number 2 hit list buck walking out of my shooting lane. Grunted at him and he turned  walked back up through the woods I dropped my call clanging on every step. He blew out of there giving me the whitetail salute. 

A few years ago  I had a dandy 3.5 year old 11 pt come in to 35 yds. Hammer back ready to start squeezing off the shot and it hits me.  I didn't reload my revolver after going in for lunch.

 45 colt loads don't fit a 44 mag

 on and on it goes

[ApexerER]

Ugggggg. Just shot under the wide white horned 8. Idk what I did. Figured 35 yds... he was 37. Shot right under him. I was shaking like crazy. I think plane old buck fever got to me. Idk if I used the wrong reticle in the excitement or what. I am thinking now peaked also. Basically probably did everything wrong....ugggggg

[Hunter007]

On a new popup blind a Arrow failed to clear the window of my popup blind on a 10 foot shot at a turkey one time put a nice hole in it . 

[wolc123]

PICKED THE WRONG TIME FOR A DRINK:

I made one this morning that cost me a shot at a nice buck.   One year ago today, I placed a hang on stand near the center of a narrow 7-acre block of woods that is part of my folk's farm, but I had never hunted it before.   It is 500 ft wide and bordered by a swamp to the south and a trailer park to the north.   A new owner had bought the overgrown field to the south of the swamp.  He left a note on a stand that I had mistakenly placed on his land, back when I did not know exactly were the border was.  He had it surveyed, and my stand was 10 yards on his side of the line.   After I moved it, I thought I would be able to gun hunt out of it last year but the trailers were too close for that, so I saved it for crossbow this year.

Today was the day and the wind was perfect.   I got an early start in another familiar stand, then made a move to the new one at 8:15 am.   I had tried and failed to locate the new stand a month earlier, on a squirrel hunt (with my pellet gun), but that was complicated by all the leaves on the trees.  With them all gone now and with plenty of daylight, I had no trouble finding it this morning.   The trailers also looked closer, with the leaves down, but they were over 250 feet away.    

The stand location was near the north edge of the swamp on higher ground with lots of mature oak trees.  The squirrel activity was heavy.  At 10:15 am, just as I was returning the cup on my thermos of hot cider, I heard a "squirrel" crunching the leaves behind me.  It turned out to be no squirrel, but a high-racked buck.  He was now stopped 40 yards away. in some thick cover.  He stared right at me, 8 feet up in that tree.   I did not make a move, but he did not like what he saw.   He changed course, never getting any closer or offering me a shot.  I tried a few grunts, but he paid no attention to those.  He was upwind the whole time.  I blame my shiny chrome thermos.  I have got to camo that, if I use it again in an exposed stand.   

Since this was my last day crossbow hunting this year, I moved that stand to a spot about 525 feet from the nearest trailer.  That might be where I hunt on opening day morning.  I will also have a gun with a 200 yard effective range and a camoflaged thermos.   The hunting has been a lot better over there since that new owner posted the heck out of his new purchase, and prosecuted a few tresspassers.   Prior to that, there was always hordes of aborigins (people I don't know) spilling over into my folks woods almost every time I hunted there.     

[The_Real_TCIII]

I was getting ready to climb down one year when a buck came in. I grabbed my bow and attempted to draw on him several times but never got a chance. Turns out my haul line was clipped to my cam the entire time. That would have been a mess

 

 

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[jmark]

On 11/9/2018 at 11:57 AM, DanD said:

Got in the stand Monday in the northern zone. Put the clip in my gun and tried to rack one in the chamber....bolt was still in the gun case in my truck....dohh

I gotcha beat - I left the damn bolt at home.  

[GR HUNTER]

The first deer I ever drew my bow on turned out disastrous. I had my rangefinder tied to a string around my neck. When I stood up and drew back my bow, unbeknownst to me, my rangefinder had slipped in front of my drawn back bow string. Needless to say, as I let the arrow fly, my bow basically exploded in my hand with the string jumping off the cable and making this horrific sound scaring me half to death. The arrow hit about five below the doe and I was left holding my string-less bow. Needless to say my weekend was ruined and I now tie my rangefinder low to my harness and keep it in my side pocket.

[UpStateRedNeck]

Missed a big 8 point at sunrise on opening day of my first day hunting.  At 10 yards.  With a shotgun.

 

Dropped my thermos of chicken soup last year with a nice 6 coming in.

 

Nudged that big 8 this past Saturday when I knew I should back out.  Probably cost me the deer.

[cas]

My biggest bone head move was staying out too long.  Back when we were still shotgun only, I used to like to lay out in the middle of a corn field mornings and evening. One evening I was fighting the cold something awful, really shivering, but just trying to stay out a little longer. "Just 15 more minutes." "Just 10 more minutes."  After a bit the shivering stopped and I started to warm up.  Time went by, darkness came with no deer showing. When I tried to roll over and sit up, I learned that the reason I'd started to warm up was my body had stopped sending blood to my legs.  There I am in the dark, 1/4 mile from camp, in the middle of a field with totally numb legs. Oh.. a bit of panic set in. lol   I started to rub and punch my legs trying to get the blood flowing. It worked. Lots of pain and my core temperature crashed. Violent shaking with the start of hypothermia. Wonderful.  I managed to eventually get to my feet and stumble down the hill and down the road. Not fun. I was truly scared. I never pushed it after that.

Edited November 15, 2018 by cas