Heart break Deer

[erussell]

Who has ever had a shot on a big buck and everything just gos to heck, or gives you one of those "are you kidding me " moments. The worst one I ever had was on a big wide 8 point of anyones dreams. it was on a 1st day of gun, Buck came running down the mountain right to me, 40yrds away turns right into the thickest jungle you could imagine and stands there. If he had run left or right this story would have had a different ending. Ive had them walk up to my stand under branches I never would have thought to trim off causing a no shot scenerio at 10 yrds on another great 8 point which then turned around and went back the same way he came presenting no shot. I had a wide 8 point come in behind me right in line with the tree and stand right under me on the opposite side of the tree presenting a shot only when he walked back the same way he came in and viering of to the left after 30 yrds which I missed right under him. I even had a big bodied 8 point walk right up to me on the ground one time and proceede to destroy a tree , after I had bow hunted all moring and not seeing any deer at all I decided to go home and trade out for the shotgun and hunt squirrel when he showed up. So anyone else have a scenario that left you with a sick feeling for a few weeks.

Edited October 20, 2011 by erussell

[sweet old bill]

I had in North Pharsalia on opening day almost the same thing occur. I heard a shot and turned and here come this big buck and he jumped a falled maple tree and stopped in brush so many branches, I could see his head and rack and not a opening to shoot at him. SO I let him walk.

[orion]

I had a buck walk in lay down 25 yards away for 2 1/2 hours. It got up and walked directly away from me.

[ny hunter]

I had a 9ptr come in from behind me,I had to take my jacket off it was real warm,so I leaned my rifle on a tree to do so,When I turned around I crouched and got my gun had a easy shot 30 yards tops.His head was down it was a chip shot.To this day I have no idea why I missed.......

[Lawdwaz]

These posts are the reason we keep going out............................................!

[pointman]

I was hunting on opening day using my 54 caliber muzzleloader for the first time. At about 7:30 I saw the biggest body 8point coming my way. When he got about 25 yards away standing broadside, I brought up my muzzleloader for a easy shot. I pulled the trigger and the only thing that went off was the percussion cap. The deer just turned and walked off. Afterwards I tried to fire the gun again and it went off.

[phade]

I've had three times.

Once was a brute of a buck being chased by the dogs (dog running in VA). I skipped the 7mm Mag right over his back at about 15 yards. I can still see him running in my head to this day and still see the dust cloud of the bullet impact just above and behind him.

The other was a complete failure of yardage...underestimated a nice 3.5 y/o broadside in a field. Arrow went right under his legs.

The third I can thankfully chalk up to a scope/rings/base issue. On the ground after a morning sit and walking a field edge before heading in for the afternoon to warm up. Notice a mature buck crossing a wide open field and was able to move into position within 60 yards. Buck stops perfectly broadside looking the opposite direction. I'm already kneeling against a tree with a crotched limbed for a rest. Slug took hair off his back and actually knocked him to the ground. I thought for sure I hit him at that point but no dice. He popped up and was into cover before I could get another shot. Turned out my scope lost zero...took me forever to figure it out as it would hold zero for 3-4 shots and then start to move. New rings and base fixed it. At the time, that was the 5th shot as I had taken a doe close range and completed a nice 3 shot group to ensure my scope was on the week of opener.

Edited October 20, 2011 by phade

[UpStateRedNeck]

Don't get me started, I'm right smack dab in the middle of this feeling right now. Missed a beautiful 8 this tuesday night, he came in and was eating apples for 15 minutes right in the middle of the tree, came out around 6:10 and was turned broad side to me and moving when I snort wheezed at him, he stopped, it was a hard quartering away shot but I had a shot at the bread basket. I didn't see the ONE FRIGGIN TWIG OF DEAD PINE that I hadn't trimmed, took the shot, it went right on target towards his boilermaker, hot the twig and veered 2 feet to the right completely missing him. He ran 20 yards, out of line of sight, then came back in and started chomping apples until dark, just out of shooting sight. So, down in the dumps right now. Was shaking like a leaf for almost 30 minutes.

Also when I was 16, opening day, first day of deer hunting ever, I missed a huge 8+ from about 15 yards with a 12 gauge. he came crashing through the woods at first light and scared the bejeezus out of me.

Edited October 20, 2011 by UpStateRedNeck

[screamon demon]

Several years ago I decided I needed to put a scope on my handgun. I got the scope sighted in and felt confident in shots out to 70 yards. Opening day of gun season that year I had a big boy following some does behind some brush. There was an opening in the brush that went a good 20 yards and the deer were 35 yards in front of me. I could not get that damn deer in the scope no matter how hard i tried. I just sat there and watched him walk away following three ladies until they were behind the brush again. Only afterwards did i figure out I needed to look at the deer and bring the gun up to eye level. Hard lesson learned.

[Fantail]

I'm in my climber 7r a few years ago and one nice morning 3 deer start tooling into my spot. Next thing i know a nice doe is broadside 25 yards. Catch sight of a nice buck and a smaller one behind him sniffing up behind her and now I got rack & tunnel vision. Well, the doe moves off and the bucks turn away moving behind the shrubs - and in a matter of seconds, I got nuttin.

[Pipecrew]

I think everyone that has ever hunted has had a good one get away. Here's mine:

I was bowhunting in late October when I had a nice 8 point approach a nearby scrape and rub. After watching him tend to the scape and rub he proceeded to walk to my right at about 25-30 yards. He didn't stop in any of the openings at this yardage so I picked a spot up ahead and waited. He was now at 30-35 yards and stopped. I took the shot and quickly saw him do the donkey kick! I'm thinking I put a good hit on him. I watched him for a few seconds as he ran off. There was rain in the forecast so I figured I'd wait 30 minutes to an hour before going after him. About 15 minutes later it started to rain a little. I talked to my buddy and we decided with the rain we better track him now.

When I found my arrow I was a little disappointed, it had only had blood on about 9-10 inches of it. I thought I had a good hit and coplete pass through bases on the donkey kick reaction. I tracked him for about 90-100 yards into an open field. The blood wasn't great but I was moving along. The field came to a point where there was a small thicket about 40 yards for the edge of the field. There was getting to be less blood. As I approached the edge of the thicket I looked across the field to see the buck walking slowly with his tail down. I pushed him out of the thicket where he was bedded down! You can imagine I am furiuos for going after this buck too soon. My buddy and I deceded to back out and get something to eat. I waited 4 more hours to look for him. I couldn't find any blood in the area where I last saw him walk off. There were large rolls of hay in the field so I didn't see exactly where he entered the woods. I looked for 2.5 hours and found no sigh of him. I was just getting ready to give up when I found one tiny drop of blood!!!!! I turned around and started following every runway I could find. I did start finding a littl more blood but it wasn't easy going. I could see a couple spots where he stopped, there was a couple drops of blood or a tiny pool of blood. I tracked him for another 150-200 yards. It was no getting dark. To say I was unprepared for this tracing job is a HUGE understatement. I went out thinking I'd find the buck bedded down 50-100 yards in the woods. BIG MISTAKE. I didn't have a flashlight, a compass, or my GPS. My cell phone battery was low and evevtually died on me. My radio didn't work well because of the heavy tree cover. This area is surrounded by roads so I wasn't concerned with getting lost. The area of woods I was in wasn't the property we hunt but we have a gentlemen's agreement with the guys that hunt it that if you're looking for a wounded deer then it's ok. I tried to contact my buddy to get an idea of where I was but my phone died and my radio wasn't clear. The only thing I had to mark my last spot for blood was a plastic grocery bag. I tied in on a branch hoping I could find it the next day. I started my walk out in the dark. I came to a dried up creek bottom. I marked where I crossed it with some rocks and sticks. After about 25-30 minutes of walking I came out on the road about 3/4-1 mile from where I was parked. I did see one of the guys that hunt the property and told him the story. He said you'll probaly find him tomorrow.

I went back the next day and tried to approach the last blood spot from a different direction. ANOTHER BIG MISTAKE! I looked for 3 hours and could not for the life of my find the spot I had marked! You could say I was a litttle upset! Here I lost out on a nice 8 point( probably around 120-125") because I tried tracking it too soon and because I was completely unprepared!!!!! I asked the neighboring hunter a week later if he or any of his guys found a dead 8 point anywhere and he said no. He thinks he might have survived but I don't know. There was good blood in the spot where he bedded down. I think I did hit him a little low and maybe a little back but after tracking him as far as I did I thought I would find him. I probably would have found him if I hadn't made the mistake I did.

Good luck. I hope noone else has to go through something like this. It is not a good feeling.

[BizCT]

Opening Day of Shotgun season in putnam county in 2006, at first light i shot a tight 8 pointer. He dropped dead right there. I was pumped. Called my dad on my phone, etc. While im making a raquet on the phone I see a 4 pointer walk out right in front of me. couldnt believe it, but i didnt mind because I got my 8 already.

Then it gets bad. While dragging my 8 pointer with my dad, we decide to take a break and we are standing there talking, etc. when 2 big bucks come walking by, both were 8's but much much bigger than mine. it was too late for me since i filled my tag, and too late for my dad since his gun was like 5 yards away against a tree. oh well. The 2 bucks run off and within seconds we here a shot. So we walk towards the shot and some kid hit 1 of them in the belly, we helped track it but he never found it.

[firehunter48]

i was 20 and it was the second year that we hunted the first piece of property that we bought outside of corning. i had been hunting for a few years and had only taken a 4pt (1st deer) and a couple of does to that point. I was up in my cousins tree stand, he didn't feel like getting out of bed, and all of a sudden i see this "moose" coming through the woods. i know we have all heard and probably even used the expression, "i looked up and all i saw was rack", well let me tell you that this was the definition of the phrase. there he was, standing broadside at 75-80yrds. pull the shotgun up,put the cross hairs on him, squeeze the trigger. what must have simultaneously as the gun goes off he takes a step and i see his body ripple and shake as the slug hits him. my father and long time hunting friend of the family come over to see what was going on (before we al had radio's) and i told them what had happened. they asked where he was and started looking for hair and blood. my father couldn't find any and chalked it up to a miss when our friend says that he has blood on the ground. we tracked him for about another 100yrds or so with good blood then nothing. we looked until last light and then started again in the morning to no avail.

i end up going home with only a doe that year. my father ended staying a few more days and called me when he got home to tell me the disappointing news. the guy on the neighboring land shot a 13 pt with a 23" spread that dressed out at 235lbs. the neighbor said the only funny thing was is that he had never seen the deer before and he shows up on his land and has a hole in his (what i would call) his abdomen. the shot, MY SHOT, hit the deer behind his ribs, below his spine, and never touched a single organ. wasnt a happy camper that year and still think about it and remember what NOT to do when shooting at a deer all the time. lesson learned i guess

[ncountry]

10 years ago or so. I am sitting on the ground. when a huge buck(one of the biggest I have seen to date starts coming down the trail in this cedar swamp . The only deer I have seen that looks 7+years old, gray face,sagging belly, looked like he weighed 250+pounds,and I have no idea how many points I did not even count I was already close to loosing my cool.He pauses behind the very same cedar tree I am hiding behind and stands there forever.15 feet away not yards! I thought for sure he could hear my heart beating out of my chest...... 2-3 more steps and he is in the clear to shoot. after what seemed like hours he takes a step.. I draw my bow back slooooowly. I have no idea how he does not hear the arrow rattling on the rest I am shaking so badly.I am holding, holding, still holding , when he turns around and slowly walks away. Never to be seen again. I am sure I would have heard about it around the neighborhood he was easily B&C material. I still get excited when I remember him. Still wish I had had my gun I am fairly certain I could have snaked a bullet through that tree .lol

[outdoorstom]

I received permission to hunt some property near Massena a number of years ago, so I grabbed my gun and stand and headed out. I did some scouting, chose a tree and hung my stand. I climbed up and was hooking up my safety belt when I heard a noise. I looked up and a huge 8 pointer was about 60 yards away, heading in my direction. The wind was perfect and he presented a broadside shot at 30 yards. One small problem, I hadn't pulled my gun up yet! As soon as he walked by I hauled it up, then tried to grunt him back, but to no avail. I went back out there the next afternoon and during that watch I heard a couple shots, then some hooting and hollering. I climbed down and found a hunter with the buck I saw the day before. He was huge, and would still be the biggest buck of my life.

[arrow nocker]

I was hunting on opening day using my 54 caliber muzzleloader for the first time. At about 7:30 I saw the biggest body 8point coming my way. When he got about 25 yards away standing broadside, I brought up my muzzleloader for a easy shot. I pulled the trigger and the only thing that went off was the percussion cap. The deer just turned and walked off. Afterwards I tried to fire the gun again and it went off.

HAHAHA.HAD THE SAME EXACT THING HAPPEN ONCE.I got one of the breach wires that you clean the plug hole with.Use it after every shot,.

[BUCKrub91]

I Had a big 10 point maybe 35 yards away a couple years ago during bow season in Indiana and I never let the arrow fly even though I had my sight pin right on the sweet spot for quite a long time

I guess this is just a case of buck fever lol

[BUCKrub91]

Oh I forgot to mention that deer is currently hanging on the wall... but im not the one who put him there LOL

[SteveNY]

5 days after the opening of the regular season, a blistering Thursday morning. Fresh 6" of snow on the ground and still snowing/raining with a whole lot of wind too. I decide to take a ride with 4 other hunters to a piece of state land I never hunted before. They told me about the abundance of acorns and apples in the area, and of all the deer sign they saw while bow hunting.

When we parked we all split up. I found a nice spot with a good view against a huge oak tree. I remember kicking up the snow and leaves on the ground before I sat and saw a TON of acorns on the ground. I took a seat, the wind and snow/rain was blowing in my face, could barely see at times... After about 15 minutes I hear a shot to my right in the direction one of the other hunters had walked. I turn my attention that way for a while hoping to see a big buck coming my way, but saw nothing.

After a few minutes I turn my head slowly to the left, and there he is, the biggest buck I have ever seen. Never heard a sound, he was just THERE! About 50-75 yards away, 10 pointer with brow tines to die for. I raise my fathers old 30-30 pump action, squeeze the trigger, BOOM! Buck takes off about 50 yards and stops and continues grazing like nothing happened. Now he is directly in front of me. I thank my lucky stars for another chance to take a shot at this big buck. I do the same exact thing, he takes off and isnt stopping this time.

I wait about 45 minutes and then start tracking in the snow. Find pin head size drops of blood, then a couple of quarter size drops, then nothing. I follow the tracks for an hour and a half. He never stopped moving. I lost the trail when his tracks mixed at a crossroad of what looked to be 12 other deers tracks as well.

Turns out my father decided to sight my rifle in for me that year, the day after I had just sighted it in my self to be exact... Now I have locks on all my gun cases.

LESSON LEARNED

[Fantail]

6k a bit after 8:30 this morning. Crisp calm morning.

Saw one of the largest bucks on my lease yet. Solid 8 if he was anything.

Edited October 30, 2011 by Fantail

[DeerStalker22]

Last year while still hunting I jumped a buck with a doe, a nice 8, i after the shot the deer stumbled and than kept going, i found blood for only a hundred yards than lost it, never saw the deer after, I hope i just led him to much and hit him in the front of his chest

[knehrke]

This past weekend I had an 8-pt with about 5 inch brow tines come crashing through a blow-down to my grunt. He was coming from directly behind my tree, so I had to swing and draw at the same time, and he must have seen me. He stopped at 20 yards directly facing me and looked up...we stared at each other until my arms couldn't take it anymore...seemed like ten minutes but probably more like two...then my cam tinked against the buckle of my harness and he was gone. Full draw, dead on and looking at me = no shot. I keep replaying it and trying to figure out whether there was some way I could have harvested that deer, and I keep coming to the same conclusion. I made a good choice. But it still sucks.

[WNYBuckHunter]

Last year I had 3 different encounters with a huge buck, 140 class all day long. First I saw him at a distance for a brief second or two through my binos, could only tell he was a mature, large racked deer. The second time, I had him come out and feed up on a knoll in the field next to my stand. I grunted once and he looked right in my direction, grunted again and he came in on a string. Problem was, he ended up coming in behind my stand, right where I wasnt expecting him to come. Due to my safety strap on my harness, I had a tough time trying to get into position for a shot, as he stood at 20 yards slightly quartering away. I drew my bow and accidentally dinked the riser on the rear section of my stand. Off he went. That encounter showed me what he really was, and from that time on, my season was all about getting another chance at him. Fast forward to the last weekend of regular gun season. I was in my stand, pretty discouraged at this point and about 1/2 hour before sunset, I noticed a large bodied deer about 50 yards behind me, standing in the field. I couldnt see exactly what it was due to the trees and brush, but then he moved a few steps and I could see it was him. He stood there and fed for a few minutes as I prepared myself for him to step into my open shooting lane. I kept thinking that I should just take the shot he was giving me, as there were just a few sparse twig sized branches between us, but on this beast, I didnt want to make any mistakes again. Slowly, he was feeding toward the lane, and when he got about 10 steps away, I heard a truck stop in the road that the field runs up to, and the buck got nervous, looking at the truck. Just then, the door of the truck swung open and the buck ran right into my shooting lane and stopped, looking back at the truck. I figured that was my chance, so I put my crosshairs on his heart and just as I pulled the trigger, the guy slammed the truck door shut, causing the buck to lunge forward. I knew I hit the deer, so I watched him run with his tail between his legs and I took another shot at him at around 100 yards, but shot just low and he disappeared into the brush. I waited until one of my friends came over, about an hour later and we grabbed lights and headed out to find him. We found a light blood trail and followed it for 2 1/2 hours and 200 yards or so before we called DSI and decided to wait for morning. At first light I was there, continuing the blood trail, and waiting for DSI to call. I went back to the point of the shot, and found all white hair. I had hit him low when he lunged forward. I spent the rest of the day kicking bushes just to make sure he wasnt dead somewhere.

Over the winter and spring, I was looking for his sheds, never found them, but did find plenty of prints that matched the dimensions of the ones we tracked, so I figured he was ok. I did catch a couple glimpses of him with no antlers in the spring, and heard that one of the farmers up the road had found at least one of the sheds, which were massive.

[HHC1]

Oh man...guys these are all great stories and some good lessons learned, unfortunately the hard way....but I have to tell you, I had to stop reading about half way through thread...TOO DAMN DEPRESSING!! Lol....I am going to stick to the success stories until the seaon is over! I don't want any negative vibes!!