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Dumb decisions 2022

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Dumb decisions 2022

Postby Jhg » 11 30, 2022 •  [Post 1]

Share a dumb hunting decision you made this 2022 season. It can be anything as long as you were hunting when you made that "dumb decision"

I know Swede can't participate since he never makes mistakes. But this should be fun for the rest of us.

Here is mine: I had hunted up into a burn scar and at about 7800'. It started to drizzle, but I was on the move and I told myself my wool would handle it. Well, drizzle became rain and by the time I put on my jacket I was pretty wet already. The rain then became a steady downpour and it overwhelmed all my wools- my pants were like totally soaked, dribbles down my back and my hat, oh lordy, my hat just gave in and basically was a sponge with a brim. My thin hunt gloves were wet sopping things that made my hands into puckered white wet skin cold stubs of discomfort.
Now, had I:
1) got into my jacket right away and 2) just brought along my rain pants too and 3) had a half decent HAT, all woulda been more or less okay.
As it was, enough dripped off my wool pants to wet the tops of my socks, the socks then wicked the water into my boots and well you get the idea.

Did I already mention the water running into my back crack? Is there anything worse than that short of a slow agonizing death?

Fact: I will NOT, I repeat, will NOT hunt in wet underwear.
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Re: Dumb decisions 2022

Postby Swede » 11 30, 2022 •  [Post 2]

A decision is only dumb if you had plenty of information to know better, but you did it anyway. I may or may not make a dumb decision. It does not matter as long as I end up filling my tag. :D
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Re: Dumb decisions 2022

Postby 7mmfan » 11 30, 2022 •  [Post 3]

Didn't refill my water before a 2500' climb because I was confident there was water up there. There wasn't.

Didn't climb back up the next morning before light because I wasn't sure the bear would be there, even though deep down inside I did know he would be there and I was just tired. He was there at first light the next morning and I didn't have enough time to go after him.

Ignored a hotspot on my heel for about a mile. By the time I decided to do something about it, I had a pretty good blister. It was the hike in for a 5 day backpack hunt. That was pretty miserable. Should have just taped them up before I left the truck.

I played my deer and elk hunts pretty well this year, no dumb moves that I can think of immediately.
I hunt therefore I am. I fish therefore I lie.
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Re: Dumb decisions 2022

Postby Indian Summer » 11 30, 2022 •  [Post 4]

I hate to say it but that’s an easy question. :cry:

Walking along the edge of timber this where I know elk bed. The elk are unpressured and it’s 15 minutes before dark. It’s uphill to my right into the timber and the thermals are doing what they’re supposed to do. I come to a familiar gap in the trees above me and there’s a cow there at 60 yards head down feeding. I hit the dirt.

I squirmed out of my pack and got the gun up. There are elk above her in that open grassy area. Wait there are elk ahead of her too which is in front of me. I’m panning around looking for antlers…. A spike steps into view. Looking looking…. A minute or two goes by and no branch antlered bull yet.

It’s not easy holding a rifle up that long. The grass is too high to drop to a knee and use my rest, a Bog Pod that’s sticking ip out of my daypack. So I lowered the gun and went for the binoculars. Big mistake!

I look ahead as most of the elk, about 10 of them, have moved along in that direction. Within 30 seconds of peering through the binos a real nice 6 point bull walks from left to right across a 10 foot gap between the trees.

You can’t kill an elk with binos so I dropped those and scrambled for the gun. The direction he was heading is mostly wide open. But he turns directly away from me and never comes into view again.

I have several little “video clips” that play over and over in my mind of nice 6 points bulls that walked away at close range that should have been dead. These bulls lived another year because of one bad decision. Those decisions haunt me forever! Ugh
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Re: Dumb decisions 2022

Postby Jhg » 11 30, 2022 •  [Post 5]

Amen brother. Been there, done that.
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Re: Dumb decisions 2022

Postby Wyo67 » 12 01, 2022 •  [Post 6]

20220901_071840.jpg
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Watched these guys feed and play spar on their way up the hill towards me on the opening morning of archery. Stayed where I was instead of re-positioning to get out of what was sure to be downward thermals and sure enough got winded when they were about 70yds out...
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Re: Dumb decisions 2022

Postby Lefty » 12 01, 2022 •  [Post 7]

Maybe my biggest regret. bugling below us 3/4 mile away and 300 loss of elevation. 45 minutes of shooting time left. I was beaten. My daughter and Andrew went after the herd. My daughter held up on one side of a tree, the bull on the other. She thought she could wait the bull out and have a close easy shot. I would have sent her around the tree,,,, the whole hill was elk,, that bull would have never known.

We had spotted a big buck early on,, should have put more effort into that buck


Oh my this list could get long!!
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Re: Dumb decisions 2022

Postby saddlesore » 12 04, 2022 •  [Post 8]

Don' t know if this would fit into dumb decisions or not.
Back in the early days when muzzle loaders were just becoming popular in the 70's ,my brother and I jumped into the fray. My brother would come out to Colorado each year from Pennsylvania and we hunted together. Bull tags were easy to draw back then even for Nonresidents.

It was a 9-10 day season and we were getting up at 3 AM every morning. Saddling the mules, cooking and eating breakfast, then riding back in 4-5 miles to get to the hunt area before first light. Being a lot younger then we didn't need to hit the sack at 7-8 o'clock and a stiff toddy of Jack Daniels was common in the evening after the hunt.

Bulls were easy to find in that particular unit and I had killed a few bulls to know enough right where to sit. It was a Thursday. We had already spent five days of hard hunting. Obeying all the truisms covered in another thread here, but bulls were slipping past us, either too far away or in too thick a cover denying us a shot.

I had set up on a little ridge where I had a good view below me and had set my brother down a ways on the other side of the ridge . Four hours sleep each night and undoubtedly a soggy head from the Jack Daniels had taken it's toll. As the sun came up, I had drifted off to a half sleep/half awake stupor. With me leaning against a tree and my rifle on a tree next to me.

Half awake, I heard some foot steps behind me and turned a bit to ask my brother if he had seen anything. I got the "Did you see" out and and was confronted by a bull elk with his nose down, looking at me. Following all the advice to move slowly and not spook it, grabbed my rifle threw it to my shoulder and yanked on the trigger. Nothing happened, the bull didn't spook, but turned a bit. I had forgot in my frenzy to cock the rifle. It took a few a seconds, that seemed a lot longer, to realize it and got the darn thing cocked. By this time the bull must be wondering what the heck and had turned broad side, but still didn't bolt.

I swung the rifle and pulled the trigger. What I didn't see was a four inch or so pine tree about a foot in front of the muzzle. Most folks would not know what happens then, but I can tell you, that pine tree exploded. The bull didn't move. What the heck?? As it stood there watching me at less than fifteen feet, I pulled my quick load tub out, dumped the powder in, and seated 370 gr Maxiball.

I might mention that in the early days,Thompson Center supplied hickory ramrods with their Hawkins, muzzle loaders, of which I had. I pushed that maxiball down the barrel and it hung up about halfway down and in the process that ramrod snapped in two.The bull was still standing there. :o

The bull eventually walked off and headed down towards my brother. Leaving me with half a ramrod in the barrel the the other half in my hand. Less then 3 minutes later, I heard his rifle fire. I waited a bit and then worked my way down towards my brother expecting to see a bull on the ground.

No bull and my brother was sitting there shaking his head with grin on his face. He had heard my shot and was watching for the bull that walked right to him. These rifles had two triggers. The first was a set trigger and the second one fired the rifle. He had set the first trigger and was bringing the rifle down to put the sights an the bull when he touched the 2nd trigger ever so lightly. Sending a 370m gr maxiball into the heavens before the rifle was even close to being pointed at the bull. :oops:

Feeling pretty frustrated, we hunted the next four days together sharing in his ramrod, bun never had another shot.

The almost good news is a friend of mine was taking a newbie elk hunting to the same location in the rifle season. I advised him to set the guy in the same location. They found the splintered pine tree and shot what we thought was the very same bull on opening day at about 20 yards. It was his first elk hunt, first bull, and I don't remember him ever going elk hunting again .Good thing he had guru telling him how to do it. :lol:
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Re: Dumb decisions 2022

Postby Lefty » 12 04, 2022 •  [Post 9]

-9


Shovel and Jack handle in the other pickup .
Chains frozen in a bucket that had water
1.5 miles to cell /text service


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-9
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Re: Dumb decisions 2022

Postby wawhitey » 12 04, 2022 •  [Post 10]

Mn, what kinda fool goes out without shovels etc and buries his truck??? Ive NEVER done that lots of times!. :roll:
Real eyes realize real lies
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Re: Dumb decisions 2022

Postby wawhitey » 12 04, 2022 •  [Post 11]

My biggest screw up this season, cold calling bears, heard one coming in from straight behind and slightly uphill. Heard him moving towards me through the brush, and heard him breathing. Resting my back against a large tree. Decided i could stand up, turn around, and shoot him. Didnt work out, just saw his face sticking out through the brush, staring at me for a second or two then he changed course.
In hindsight i should have stayed low, just rolled over laying prone. He wouldve popped out of the brush maybe 5 yards away.
I always seem to think of the correct course of action after i screw up. Pretty easy to do when youre kicking yourself in the ass for a few days.
Real eyes realize real lies
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