Ever miss the shot of the lifetime.

[Gateholio]

Oh I missed the shot of a lifetime. Shot over due to steep angle, even though I knew better.

I don't want to talk about it............................

[Zedbra]

I pulled a shot this year on a big black bear - I was retracing my steps back to a sit area I was at prior in the day, just wanting to look over the valley before calling it a night and as I briskly walked,not really caring about noise or scent, there he was about 225 yards in front of me. Being in the middle of an old windy logging road, I walked ahead about 30 yards to get an unimpeded shot, as there were small alders growing that I didn't want to get in the way (like the OP's video).

Just as I was taking a knee to take off my backpack as the strap throws out my LOP, the big guy decided to stand broadside and take a big wiff. Okay - this is it. Tried to slow down my heart rate, which was pounding at the thought of my first bear, and when I fired I remember seeing muzzle flash - I pulled up too quick. Yogi did a quick snap back, so I thought I may have hit him, and then ran off. I walked up cautiously but found no blood. Losing light, I followed his direction for about 75 yards but it came to a wooded ravine and I didn't feel like being ambushed by anything.

Lesson learned - follow through on every shot....then take a look.

[takla1]

Takla interesting you mention that one of my hunting partners only takes neck shots on deer to save more meat. Mind you he shoots them with a 338 win mag����

Well id say in my experience a Bull elk it a hell of a lot tougher than any deer ,the Bull elk I shot with my old german made 300 weatherby mag so its no light weight caliber.Last 4 pnt BT buck I shot hanging in my games room I shot with my 375 HH thru the neck only because it was my only shot as he was booking it out of there and it was a bang/flop like someone turned off a light switch.

takla

[Greg]

Out dall sheep hunting with my dad when I was 18 and full of piss and vinegar. The first day out we didn't see a single ram. The second morning and way further back we saw a band of nice rams way off in the distance. Then we notice another band of 20 some of rams. Then another large band of rams. I couldn't believe my eyes. Anyhoo we decided to try and work our way away the far group of rams then work our way back to the closer rams if things didn't work out. Getting to the ridge the furthest rams were on took a few hours, and by this time the two large groups of rams combined into one. We snuck into position on a ridge on the opposite side of a steep canyon that most of the rams were on. I was supper pumped, we counted 50 rams in the one band! There was a full curl ram bedded down on the opposite side of the canyon at about the same elevation of my dad and I. I looked at this ram then my dad says shoot the ram to the left of that ram. I panned to the ram on the left and it made the first ram look small probably at least 4 inches longer and thick. Greedy young me said no there has to be a bigger ram in the band so I started looking over the other rams even though they were spread out on the ridge enough I knew I couldn't shoot that far. After waiting awhile a ram walks up out of the canyon that we hadn't seen before and beds down besides the ram my dad wanted me to shoot earlier. This Ram was made the big ram look small!!! FEVER!!!! We guessed the small ram to be 33 inches the medium ram 38 and this cranker at 42! The horns dropped deeper then the other rams and came up 5 inches over full curl with flair. I got a rest then touched off a shot and the ram got up and took off for a few steps then started to settle down. I lined up again Boom. Then the ram ran away to never be seen again. I passed up over 100 legal rams after that hoping to find that Ram or one like him. Nope. Then I left the Yukon and moved to an island where a nice two point is a trophy. This is depressing.....

[338 whisper]

2015 elk hunting. After bugling in a bull to 15 yards not getting to see it. We got winded and elk took off. After sitting down wondering how I could have made such a poor decision for a place to set up I then said @##$##it lets walk back out to the truck. It had been raining for two day and were soaked. After coming out to a clear cut up above my truck the sun came out so we sat down in the sun to warm up for a bit. This is were I made my second poor decision I always check my scope after I have taken my scope caps of to make sure there is no water on the lens if there is I dry them off. But all the time on the way out all I could think about was how could I have just screwed up on that bull why did I just not cross the creek and shoot him on the slide?. As I was sitting on the clear cut I could hear this flat bed semi with an excavator on it stuck in a big mud hole about 1 km away from were I was sitting When to my left about 200 yards away 2 spike bulls 1 3x2 bull,4 cows and 2 calf elk come on the clear cut after watching them run down the clear cut because I was talking to my partner like a it was my first hunt. I then said I bet there is a bigger bull to come. After about 15 mins of watching nothing, nothing nothing. I should have been checking my scope and flipping back the lens covers but no not me. I got distracted bye the semi unloading the excavator. I turn to my partner and holy Poop there a huge bull 200 yards a way looking down hill at the same thing I was. I flip up my scope caps unfold the by pod look thought the scope to get a tine count. Nope condensation on the lens of the scope I see a very foggy clear cut with a tan thing on it after wiping the water off the best that I could I then decide to look through my binos I can only count 4 but not the brow tines then he turns his head and ya it's a 6X7 350ish bull I mean 18" splits on 5th and 6th with a 8" dagger on the left side between the 5th and 6th tine I thought it was a big 5 point until he turned his head to get the full count. This bull had my 323 bull beat all to hell. I put my gun back on him this time I can make him out but now he running away from me so I wait for him to stop. Dreamer once they run do they ever stop nope. I had one shot when he turn to go down the hill and I could not pull the trigger on him 230 yards moving down hill wet bush if I would have made a bad shot tracking would have useless so I did not pull the trigger. The other elk ran down to a lower clear cut but not this guy right into the alders gone. This still haunts me to this day I still see the big dark brown almost black with ivory white tipped tines with heavy mass and long beams. Just a bunch of bad decisions from a veteran hunter. This is my story of the missed shot. Note: To this day I have not seen this bull since that day. I hunted the area all of 2016 season and did not see any of that herd. I set up trail cameras,salt licks in the spring nothing. Next year I guess.

[hunter1947]

Yes I have missed a few times shot of a life time but that's hunting you win and you lose..

[untilthelastbeat]

The first time I ever got to go on "the big moose trip" with my dad we hunted hard for 2 weeks to not see a bull. On the last morning me and my dad hunted down into a swamp we had seen lots of sign in. We split up and said we'd meet at a certain point in a couple hours. About a half hour after we were supposed to meet my dad still isn't there and I start to hear a cow calling in the distance. My dad is never late unless he's got an animal so I start to head towards the calls and sure enough he's got a bull coming in from about 1000 yards. We watch this thing we've it's way in all the way to 200 yards just on the other side of a Creek. He's now standing still broadside at 200 and my dad won't let me shoot him until he crosses the creek. I'm antsy as all hell and we're trying to figure why he won't cross. A few min later of calling and coaxing he won't budge when all of a sudden around the corner we hear another bull crashing down river our way. I leave my dad with the still bull and go after the new one. As I creep through the trees into the opening I see the bush close up around him as he antlers the timber. He's standing on the treeline just out of site destroying trees with his big rack. I look up and through a gap in the trees I can see another giant bodied moose out in the next meadow about 400 yards away. His head is not in view but I could see a 1200 lb body with a gut sagging to the grass. I knew it was a bull but couldn't be sure so I focus on the bull right in front of me for a bit then all of a sudden look up and this massive bull out in the field is standing in plain view with his antlers stretching wayyy out above his hump. I panic and throw the gun up on a stump, settle on his chest and let one fly. Instantly remember he's 400 yards away and that bullet probly hit the dirt at 200 and every moose in the valley scatters..

[Rhyno]

I was pretty new to hunting the big stuff and had just pull my first moose draw, late season in 6-9. From day one we were seeing plenty of moose every day, all cows. On day 5 I parked the quad and walked up an new skidder road full of fresh tracks. A few hundred yards up it I throw up the binos to glass a "stump". While that stump moved and had a moose rack! In my excitement I wheeled the gun off my shoulder like it was a show down at the OK corral....which happend to get hung up on my pack.

Well the bull had enough of this and went into the bush so I dropped my pack and followed. Long story short I kept getting glimpses of him until I was straight up lost. I pulled my crap together and eventually found my way back to the quad. I was devastated and considered heading back to camp to drown my sorrows, well I felt I should at least carry on the the end of the road, as I got back to the same spot I spooked the other bull I heard a snap and looked up to see a small 3pt almost in the exact same spot behind some fallen trees, one shot in the neck and I had my first moose. Sure glad I didn't give up!

[sawmill]

Busted my scope on a trip with a buddy so rather than iron sights at 300 yards I used his rifle, a .270 with handloads, a bit faster than my factory rounds.Lined up on a monster non typical mulie we called Black Bart because of his body colour.Monster 8x9 beast . Shot right over him. He was huge, I know this because he got hit by a truck on the hiway 2 days later and I got to see him up close. I still feel like puking and it`s been over 30 years.

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Thankfully, no....but I've certainly tried my best over the years. Too many spines for my liking...which is pretty close to a whiff.

SSS