I had mine yesterday morning. Im typically a ground hunter and rarely get up in a tree. So like normal I was leaning against a cluster or 10-18" diameter trees with a large 30" one right behind me forming a nice pocket to sit in that breaks you up well. I had a young doe working her way in. And she ended up walking straight down the path I walked in on that brings me around that large tree. I was in place to shoot when she popped out there at about 3-4 yards. But once she got behind it she turned and went the other direction. So once she was broadside I tried to swing and shoot in one smooth motions. I tried death staring a hole in her heart. Nope, I had to have shaved a hair or two off it was so close. She walked out to about 20 yards and stood looking for a minute, I was half expecting to see some blood flow, but nothing. So safe to sati missed that one. She went right back to feeding and gave me a 20 yard shot. I had hit switched from my 68# elb to a 45# bow for hunting since it's turning cold and I was worried about losing my form. Same thing happened again. This time I took the time to concentrate and Preston before the shot. The arrow was about an inch behind the shoulder crease, and right through the hair on the chest. I'd forgot this bow wasn't quite as flat as the heavier bow. She jumped a bit as the arrow parted hair. Then went right back to milling around, never giving another shot opportunity until she eventually meandered away, not realizing how close she came to getting a ride in a truck bed. I was so close on both shots I was expecting to see her start to get a little wobble legged as she stood there looking for the bird that tried to get her.
I think I got both my closest miss and my closest clean miss on an animal, within 1 minute in the same animal.
So how close have you had an animal and missed, I think this is mine at about 4-5 yards on the ground.
Kyle
Sounds like a perfect day to me. Don't get me wrong I do like to eat venison and have no issues taking an animal cleanly but there are some days when the whole experience doesn't need to end in a long drag back to the truck. You did everything perfectly and experienced a great hunt.
I can remember many misses but the most notable was a caribou that I bounced an arrow off his back.
I hear ya Pete. I agree. Having the experience means as much or more to me than the rest of it.
Heck, I had a great day a week ago. Wind was finally right, sat out there in my ghillie ( on the ground). lots of activity including one little bird, looked wren size and color but acted like a Nuthatch walking up the side of the tree, landed on the tree next to me.... maybe a foot from my face, maybe, with its mate about two feet away. It checked out that tree and moved on. THAT was cool.
The deer movement, though not quite close enough, was very close and fun, the geese and cranes and migrating blackbirds were deafening, and just at sunset, a big ol rainbow formed right in front of me, filling the sky.
Now THAT was a great evening hunt. No dead deer, not quite any shots ( but there was pressure on the string twice), but great memories and lots of smiles.
I never miss
..............Yea right
"Miss" what is that? Oh yeah, I have way too many of those which is why I try to forget them.
You hunt long enough you will have them. Just be thankful you are having the opportunities to shoot.
Well the first shot at a spike buck from the ground was 5 yards. He ran 5 yards and stopped and I missed him again at 10 yards. He ran and stopped at 15 yards and I missed him again. He ran 5 yards and stopped at 20 yards and I yelled at him to get the hell out of here cause you win. LOL
I missed a big grey-faced doe last week at 12 yards. Ever-so slightly quartering away...perfect shot angle for a fast, quick kill. I was shooting a new bow that I really hadn't shot a lot yet. It shoots flatter than my trusted old standby recurve, so I knew I had to hold a little lower. Well...I shot right under her. So close it almost had to shave hair off her underside. Perfect where I wanted left/right but low. The arrow hit the ground right by her with a "thud". She took a couple steps, turned facing me, looking around all over as if to say "what was that?" She head-bobbed and kept looking around, never at me up in my stand. She finally turned 180 degrees and walked away from me, not offering another shot. I sat there amused that I missed a perfect angle shot at 12 yards, the first time I've dropped the string this year on an deer also. There's always next time!
I hunt mostly from a tree so a really close shot can actually be the toughest. I've missed twice on straight down shots back when I shot 65-70 pounds which made those shots really tough.
The easiest shot I ever missed was a 5 yard sharp quartering away shot on a doe that had pegged me in the tree and approached head on....I ended up shooting right in front of her as she turned away.
15 yards in Missouri.........
I have shaved white hair with no blood
10 yards on a turkey this morning.
Shaved the back hair off a rabbit under 10 yards. Balancing on an unsteady a rock shooting down at it .
The only reason I've never missed one at 5 yards is cuz I aint had the chance. If a hunter aint missin he aint bow huntin!
Roy lol that's awesome I took the belly fur off a cotton tail at 5 yards the other night, so close but oh so far
I once missed an elk at 15yards. She thundered off. I promptly got out an arrow with a judo on it and center punched pine cone at the same distance.
If the length and intensity of post-shot laughter are significant, I offer the following:
A ground squirrel poked its head out out of small hole in the lava flow-stone cliff face just as I eased around a small around a small point. The shot looked on target, but the rubber blunt somehow slipped past the little beast and the tunnel wall, the shaft slid over half its length into tunnel, wedging the body against the rock. There followed an amazingly long interlude as I fell on my behind, convulsing, while the seed-lover struggled and twisted, biting the shaft and cursing at high volume. Eventually, he wiggled free and ran off, still screeching. I didn't pursue.
The first buck that I shot at when I was sixteen years old. He was literally two yards from the tip of my arrow and slightly below me.
Grouse
LOL grouse.
Probably a spike at about six feet, shot right over it's back. The most memorable miss though was back in the 70's sometime. The deer was right on the other side of a barbwire fence. One strand of wire bisected the chest. I knew I couldn't hit the wire so I aimed right at it. I split that twisted wire, sheared the blades off of my wasp broadhead, and left the arrow bouncing in the wire as the deer took off.
The part season that I had a two wheel wing cp. they talked me into getting one that had too long of a draw, and then talked me into getting green fiberglass arrows. It was a stretch. On opening day I climbed a tree to one of our stands. A little buck came almost straight under. In that position I had to cant and my draw was shorter . I got the weirdest loopy arrow flight that I have ever seen. I had three broad heads in that bow quiver. I missed the first shot by skating off of a branch, the second shot a shaved a swath of hair, the little bugger took one step. with my last broadhead I shaved another swath of hair. I cut nothing but hair. The nasty little bugger went about 20 yards down the trail and started browsing. I was half way to the ground to get to a now dull broadhead that was sticking straight up and the little buck went up the hill. Out of sight. While trying to replace the blades on those stupid Wasp three blades, I noticed my bow had a huge crack across the back of the bow right at the grip. Then to add insult to injury the little buck was standing with in 30 yards of my car when I was heading home. Later that year I shot a better buck with an autographed Bear takedown. The reason I had the compound was because I had a set of limbs blow on my takedown when my brother dry fired the Bear. Fred Bear sent me a new set of limbs when he was told what had happened. I think that is called mojo.
Had a rabbit in the garden that I had been feuding with all summer. I finally snuck around on him and had a shot at 15 yards. Right as I started to draw, he turned and started right at me. I ended up shooting about a foot and a half above is back at 3 yards. Then he just sat and watched me go get my arrow. When I turned to shoot again he took off.
I don't miss. I do "hit" right over their backs sometimes. I had a doe jump the string at 6 yards once (from a 15' ladder stand) where the shaft bounced off her back. I was shooting Simmons Interceptors, and when she stopped at about 20 yards facing the other way, I could see about a 1 1/2" cut at the top of her back where that big wide head just barely grazed her. She fed on acorns about 40-50 yards out for another 20 minutes or so.
All three with a bow this year. One under right under a yearling. The shot was further than I need to be shooting. But they didnt hear anything til the arrow hit the ground. So my bow must be quiet.
Then two today in a span of about 45 minutes. I was creeping along and walked up on some deer eating hickory nuts. A spike was chasing the does around til he ran them off into a no hunting area. Then he came back through at about 12 yards, broadside. I had just spooked a squirrel, so it was chattering a bit, not sure what I was. So as the spike came around the corner he was keeping an eye out for trouble. I got drawn back on him but he saw me first and took off.
Then a fawn came out of no where at about 20 yards. I drew back and shot over its back. Later in the same area the same spike, or his twin, popped out of the brush. I also shot over his back from maybe 12 yards.
After 4 years of bowhunting, Im glad to be actually getting shots off at deer. So I see this as progress, but I am bummed that I didnt find the second arrow yet. Oh well.