What's your closest miss?

[Mo_coon-catcher]

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

[Pete McMiller]

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.

[Pete McMiller]

[ChuckC]

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.

[vintage-bears]

I never miss
..............Yea right

[Rick Richard]

"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.

[Roy from Pa]

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

[DarrinG]

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!

[Michael Arnette]

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.

[ron w]

15 yards in Missouri.........

[dbd870]

I have shaved white hair with no blood

[JakeD]

10 yards on a turkey this morning.

[Ari_Bonn]

Shaved the back hair off a rabbit under 10 yards. Balancing on an unsteady a rock shooting down at it .

[Possum Head]

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!

[Kopper1013]

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

[joe ashton]

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.

[Yolla Bolly]

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.

[grouseshooter002]

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

[Roy from Pa]

LOL grouse.

[newhouse114]

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.