Your most memorable 'MISS'

[cnelk]

Everyone has missed an elk.

What is your most memorable 'miss'? [any weapon]

[Buglemaster]

My "mmm" was on the first bull I had ever called in as well as the first shot at a bull with my bow.I was setting by the only close clump of willows near a small water hole.He was a decent 5x & came in to 35 yds.A perfect broadside shot but that arrow flew real crazy & missed by 2'...It tormented me for 2 days. The bow was shooting darts & I had been shooting broadheads for a month prior to season.I went back to that small clump of willows & upon further examination found 1 spindly little branch that was cut clean directly in line with my shot.The little cut twig was still laying there! It does'nt take much interfearance to blow a great shot. Lesson learned.There was another miss involving a big tom turkey & a fall away rest that malfunctioned, but thats another story directly related to the whisker biscuit that is currently on my bow...

[Lefty]

Dont make me cry

11 years back I owned 2 Redfield scopes I bought for my squirrel and deer gun in the 70”s as a kid.

30 years later on a depredation hunt where I killed 2 doe mulies the gun had been off , 5 feet at 80 yards. Thought I had it taken care of; the problem

6 weeks later: Deer hunt I had been glassing for 1 ¾ hours I stood up to leave during my last day of the season, as Im relieving myself a 9x11, 27 wide massive heavy buck stood up 40 yards away , at 120 I took the perfect broadside shot.. A clean miss

It was my wife’s Browning 30-06,.. I messed with different factory loads and was only getting 2 ½ inch groups, switched scopes same thing.
4 weeks later in Montana, 200 yards broadside I touched off a round at a nice bull. Big miss. He was killed ¾ mile up hill minutes later, green scored 357
Found out both scopes the lens has had dropped loose: missing 2 B and C in one year.

First year archery hunting 6x6 bull at 11 1/2 yards head all the way back glunking Struck the crotch of the G5 and sent the arrow skyward

Then a year and ½ ago
Short version. 360 bull side hill at 63 yards. Cows 13,14 22 yards away. No cover. I sit up the bull looking at me. I m rock steady; put my 35 yard pin on the top of his back, the bull faces me. Holding holding holding, no shot, Swing to a cow, the bull turns. front leg forward. Everything is perfect. 35 yard pin high on the heart
Soon as I release I realized my mistake, 35 yard pin . The big bull looking at a nearby bull . I could see where the 3 blade hit the bull low on the bottom of the ribs , the arrow hanging by the fletchings out the far side , after some bugling pawing and raking he runs off another bull. Minutes later I hear a crash. I run over the ridge and the big bull is locked up on another bull,.. further away another bull bugles with the herd, the big bull runs off,.. bull dozes the other bull 60 yards up against a fence and trashes the bull,..5 satalite bulls go one direction the big bull moves his cows off another.
Spoke to the rancher; one of his hands killed the bull in a hay yard 8 weeks later. the arrow had cut through ribs and had healed fine, scored and even 360 a month after it was killed

[elkmtngear]

Here's a good "miss" story from one of our Customers:

"Jeff,
So I thought that I would write a product review for the slip system that I got this year. I had an amazing encounter with a massive bull while bow hunting here in Montana. I was hunting with a friend of mine, when we spotted 3 bulls bedded down on the edge of a timber patch that was surrounded by open sage brush country. We quickly closed the distance, and we able to get inside 100 yards of these bulls, and I set up with the slip system while my partner moved ahead of me. I began to call, and a bull immediately started to bugle.
After sitting there for about 20 minutes my partner came back to me and said that he thought the elk had moved through the timber, so he decided that he would follow the elk while I hiked about 1/2 a mile to the top of the timber patch to see if the elk came out at a different place. Once I got to the top of the hill I could hear a bull bugling just down in the timber, so I once again set up my slip system and began to cow call. We played cat and mouse for a little bit, and I finally found myself on a little ridge with a small ravine in between the bull and myself. The bull had moved out into the open sage brush, and I was set up on the edge of the timber.
Finally the bull came to his side of the coulee, and I ranged him at 80 yards. When the bull disapeered over the edge of the hill I moved the slip system out into the wide open and staked it in the ground, and I then ran down the coullee and made it half way up the other side when the bull came back to the ridge. The bull immediately locked onto the decoy, and was staring right over the top of me.
Now here comes the best part, and the worst part. I ranged the bull and he was 42 yards on the dot, and uphill from me. I drew my bow back, got a solid rest and let the arrow fly. To my disbelief the arrow sailed right over the top of the bulls back, he jumped a little bit and spun 180 degrees, never taking his eyes off the decoy. I once again ranged the bull and he was now 40 yards. I put my 40 yard pin dead center on his chest and let another arrow fly. Unbelievablely the arrow once again sailed right over the bulls back. I could not believe what was happening, and you might think I am lying but the bull just stood there and kept looking at the decoy. I again ranged the bull and he had not moved and was 40 yards on the money. This time I put my 40 yard pin on the bottom of his chest, got a solid rest and squeezed my release. The arrow flew true, and you would never believe it but I hit him right in the brisket. It was just before dark so my partner and I backed out and decided to come back in the morning.
After a sleepless night we went back and found some blood about 400 yards from where I shot the bull, and he bled only a little bit for about another 400 yards, and then the bleeding stopped. To my dismay we never found the bull, and I am sure that he is still alive and well. My partner guessed the bull at 350+ and I only knew that he was big. I shot my bow the next morning, and I hit the target dead on at 40 yards, so I am still trying to figure out where I went wrong.
The point of this story is that without the Elk Mountain Slip system, there is no chance in hell that I would have ever been able to sling 3 arrows at a herd bull. This system without a doubt works, and will keep bulls interested even if a hunter makes a mistake. Even though I don't have the massive bull on the ground, I still can not thank Elk Mountain Inc. enough for producing such a great product. Thanks.
Justin Jenness"

[WapitiTalk1]

I've had a few misses but the one that is the most memorable is on a pretty nice 6X roosey I called away from his herd. He stopped broadside, 45 yards uphill and I touched off an arrow. I heard a "crack" and he bolted.. I figured I may have hit a bit low by the arrow trajectory. Waited 20 minutes till everything quieted down and slowly moved towards the place he was standing to check for arrow and ready myself for the tracking. I found my arrow in the ground just beyond where he was standing, trashed, but completely void of blood.. Must have hit just inches below his chest .. I underestimated the arrow drop on this uphill shot.

[Trophyhill]

i missed a cow at close range this past season. not once but twice

[cnelk]

I have a few misses and they ALL are memorable!

The top 3...

1- I missed a bull 3 times once. And my buddy missed him too!

2- I missed a big 6 at 25yds when my call lanyard got caught on my string. The arrow went around his rack about 4 times and ended up in 27 pieces.

3- I walked up to a bugling bull by cow calling to him. When I ran out of cover, I drew my bow and stepped out from behind a tree at 40yds. We had a stare down and as I settled my pin, he wirled and he did, his rack swept down along his side and my arrow lodged at the base of the 4th point.

[Swede]

Several years ago during a rainstorm I was spot and stalk hunting. I was seeing fresh tracks on the ground and was able to move around quietly on the soft wet forest floor. I finally spotted a nice elk and slipped in close. At last, I was just 30 yards away. I set up next to a tree and drew my bow carefully. Then I had to let down and break off some branches which were in my way. That was accomplished and the elk was still broadside with his head behind some other brush. It was going to be an easy shot. I drew back again, aimed and released. I saw the arrow arc and strike a little branch that I never thought would interfer. The elk wheeled around on the spot and just left me to ponder what might have been. The arrow I released was sticking up from between, where the legs of the elk had been.

[POk3s]

This year.

Hunted this bull the better part of 2 days. Saw him down in a creek bottom I had just left. Climbed all the way up the ridge only to see him 100 yards from where I just was. Back down I went and "lived" with his herd of 20+ cows for the better part of an hour. Actually called a calf right into my lap but the big bull wouldn't budge. The next morning he was in his bedding area real early. Finally at 3:00 PM I found him away from his cows and drinking out of the head of a spring I had planned to set up. I snuck up to him and he started to leave while I was sneaking up. I had one more shooting lane before he was gone so I cow called, and drew at the same time. He stopped and my 60 yard pin was sitting on his heart. I said to myself "nope, he's 70". Raised my bow up and settled my 70 yard pin and watched the arrow fly right on line only to take hair off the top of his back. I fell to the forest floor in disappointment and just closed my eyes for a minute or two trying not to explode inside. I got back up, ranged the spot and he was 58 yards. TRUST YOUR FIRST INSTINCT! Conservative guess at 320" .

[easeup]

thats easy...........the first one ever with a bow.
get this.....several cows calls brought in a little scraggly satellite; to 15 yds.
my first ime out with a bow..........to this day I stil dont know where my arrow went ( I mean I found it clean in the mud on the other side later).
the truth is I think I closed my eyes to pray.......LOL

[pointysticks]

i only have one painful miss. sorry, it is on a public land hog. it was at a mere 30 yards. my hands were shaking so bad, i ranged something at 60 yards. i put the 60 pin on it and watched my arrow go faaaaaar over the hog and into the woods. my friend looked at me and said, "are you shooting at THAT hog?' that hog turned and ran so fast at my arrow clattering into the canopy of trees. i totally blew it with the rangefinder.

elk. i have only shot at one elk..and its antlers are on the wall at my sister's house. technically, i am at 100% hahahhaha.

[bullelk]

Soon after I began archery hunting for elk I got into a situation where it was literally nonstop bugling all day long. I was hunting a new area so I figured out a way into the spot where I could park and possibly hear the bulls from the road. At daylight I heard three bulls bugling and walking parallel to each other, moving slowly away from me. A fourth bull was giving an occasional bugle and walking behind them. I was moving behind them and slowly catching up, when the straggler bull, which I assumed was an inferior animal tagging along, let out a squeal. I gave him a cow call and he started walking directly toward me. When I saw him I nearly fell over. Never have I seen a rack like his. He came toward me on a string, and walked straight at me. When got within 10 yards he turned to one side and looked directly at me. I took a hurried shot and stuck my arrow into a 1 " sapling that I looked past when I shot. He was at 8 yards when I dropped the string. He ran about 60 yards away and looked back at me for about a minute, then melted away. I still think about him. I often wonder if I will ever get a chance at an animal like that again.

[BowKill]

Missed a beautiful 14-15" pronghorn at 30yds. Still kick myself for that one.

[eriks.]

Well, I met her back in high school. She was a good looking blonde with blue eyes and her name was Miss Amy. I ended up marrying her and we've put over 28 year together behind us so far. Sorry, that's the first thing that I thought of when I saw the thread title.

Years ago, I missed a really nice 10pt whitetail that was right under my stand. Instead of letting him walk off a little way and then taking the shot, I bent at the waist, leaned into my harness to get past the platform and sighted between his shoulders. When I squeezed the trigger on my release, I felt a tremendous tug on my neck and everything went black momentarily. When I recovered from the sudden jerk, I saw the buck running off through the woods, tail flagging goodbye and my arrow sticking out of the ground beneath me as clean as a whistle.

I didn't notice the binoculars that I was wearing swayed out and when I shot, the string caught them and jerked them right off of me. They were lying right next to my arrow. The next day I went and bought a harness and have never had that problem again. I decided also that if there was a chance at a different angle, I would rather take the shot then instead of directly beneath me. I haven't regretted it yet. Lesson learned!

[Sean_TeamNWHunting]

A 4x4 Muley patiently allowed me to miss him four times within 20-30 yards when I was a young archery hunter in high school. I thought it was odd that every arrow flew off of the bow differently every time. It wasn't until later that day that i discovered fiddling with the bow sight guard earlier that morning when I was bored causing the base of the guard to contact the top vane of my arrow every time I released an arrow. Moral of the story is to not fiddle with any settings on your bow while out in the field. I still have a vivid picture of that deer in my mind.

[Jaquomo]

A big 6 point bull in my first season of elk hunting, 38 years ago. I shot three arrows at him at 25 yards while he stood there watching, dumbfounded. One just under him, one over his back, one through his antlers. The fourth sailed way over him and into the trees somewhere.

Adding insult to injury, he fed around the meadow like a moo cow while I searched for my arrows.

[otcWill]

I guess I'd better own up to mine now that Jaq has bumped this back to the top. Three years ago while elk hunting, we came upon a bachelor group of bulls bugling their heads off on Labor Day weekend. We got within 100 yards of one of em and my buddy backed off to do a lil raking/calling. We couldn't get the 5X that I could see to come closer than about 65 yards. While I was trying to sneak a lil closer I heard my buddy drop the string. He had just shot a total dream bull! A 320 OTC monster! Only he hit him "back" and we were going to have to wait most of the day before attempting recovery. We decided to go sit a wallow for the day while we waited. So we turn to make the short walk away from the bull and towards the wallow and within 5 min. of him releasing the arrow we look up and see only anters. A monster (180-190) muley is coming right at us on a path that will bring him to less than 40 yards! My buddy ranged him at 35 yards as he was still walking and my mind went totally blank. I settled my 30 pin just at the top of the lungs and let fly. I do remember my buddy saying something while I was at full draw but I was already deaf . He had said "27 now". I hit him above the lungs and below the spine . I knew we wouldn't recover him as soon as the arrow hit him. The good news is I think he survived. No blood, just fat on the arrow. More good news, we found my friends bull but just missed a once in a lifetime double!

[Seminole]

Paul, I think I was with Paul Jr....

[scrubs]

My most memorable miss was my 1st and only miss on an elk, on my 1st shot at any elk, on my 1st archery elk hunt, in the 1st day of said hunt, and the 1st day in a new area, and the 1st day with this particular hunting partner. There`s a few firsts there lol.

We split up at the truck at first light on opening. We were hunting a hill side of a large bowl with roads all the way around the top. With me being new the new hunting partner figured it was a safe bet. I very slowly i hunted my way to the bottom of the bowl where i ran into an abandon road. It was about 11 am when i hit the road, the sun was shining, it was getting hot and i was getting hungry and thirsty, so i dropped my pack a dug some grub and water out of it. While sitting on burn enjoying my water and grub, i hear quite the racket in the brush about 50 yrds up the road.
I figured it was my new hunting partner working his way out of the brush and onto the road. I was quite startled when big cow stepped out onto the road at about 18yrds . I hesitated before it dawned on me I should probably drop the sandwich and grab my bow, so I grabbed my bow. The only that saved me from her spooking was that when she stepped onto the road, she looked down the road away from me ( remember the rustling 50yrds down the road?) I knocked an arrow, drew, aimed, pin tight to the shoulder, and thought, I got this, and released, I was so sure i had it , i dropped my arm to see the impact just a little too soon I couldn`t believe it when i watched the arrow hit the ground under her, and go sailing down the road . She blew out of there, remember the rustling down the road, yep, you guessed it about a dozen more elk crossed the road, while I stood there in disbelief

About three days later some guys stopped by our camp, and said they were hunting that big that morning and mentioned they found an arrow stuck in a sapling along side the road about knee high. Sure enough, it was my arrow, at least i got it back

I will never forget that one......

[JohnFitzgerald]

Called in a satellite bull one year. I was so focused on his vitals that I didn't notice the 3" lodge pole between him and I. Sunk my broad head deep into the tree.

More memorable are the times that I didn't shoot. Sometimes I kick myself for not taking the shot and yet proud that I didn't. Weird feeling!

[Bartfrncs]

last season missed a cow 75yards. My fault I rolled my saddle around my horses belly hitting the ground didnt check the zero of my rifle big mistake.

[JJ Overkill]

my first elk i ever drew on, lead cow at 45yds. broad side shot (perfect shot opertunity) she stopped and the herd had no idea i was there. i drew settled my pin, released...... and.....dropped my bow so i watch my arrow fly. i watched it fly alright, right into a log in front of the cow. im still depressed over that shot. but learned a lesson from it

[MTLongdraw]

I know one thing for sure from this post. ElkNut has never missed I missed a huge 6x6 on the second day of my hunting career. Then I missed him again a week later. Although I still shake, I can control it just a tiny bit better now than I could when I was 12. Still, it's somehow one of my most memorable days hunting.

[JohnFitzgerald]

I know one thing for sure from this post. ElkNut has never missed I missed a huge 6x6 on the second day of my hunting career. Then I missed him again a week later. Although I still shake, I can control it just a tiny bit better now than I could when I was 12. Still, it's somehow one of my most memorable days hunting.

Lol!

[caperoll/Scott]

Several years ago I found a honey whole in the little wood river area that had a lot of bull elk in it. It was close enough from my home that I could leave at noon and be on the mountain by 3:30 and set up glassing the ridges and the two bowls, normally I hunted this with my partner but he was not able to go. I climbed up on the center ridge and started glassing. I located a nice 6X6 walking over the ridge down to a water whole, he got a drink, beat the hell out of a few small trees then walked back over the ridge into a small draw with heavy timber. When he crested the ridge he started bugling. This helped in keeping track of his location. I beat feet off the ridge through the bowl and up the other side into his draw. I let a couple short bugles and received a long a load one in return. I set up on the uphill side of the draw with good cover in front of me and several shooting lanes in the area that I thought the bull would walk out in. He keep bugling and walking in the direction I needed him to go. At the last second he turned and went uphill and came out above me and stepped out in the open, turned broad side to me at less than ten yards. I had no cover from the direction that bull came from I was hanging out in no man’s land. The Bull stopped and looked at me. He would turn his head looking away than turn and look at me He did this several times. He would lower his head than pull it back up fast and look at me. He was trying to get me to move. I froze did not move, I don’t think I even took a breath. The only thing between the Bull and me was my bow. After what seemed to be a very long time of sitting on my knees and feet my legs from the knees down began to fall asleep, my feet were getting that tingling feeling and it was working its way up my legs. I just could not take it anymore. I thought to myself the next time the Bulls turns his head I’m taking the shot. The Bull started to move his head away I started to draw, the Bull started to run, when I got to full draw and shot the Bull was about twenty yards and running fast. The arrow was head right for his right front shoulder area, the bull was running down hill and the arrow went right over the top of his shoulder. Ya I missed him by that much. It was one of the close encounters that I will never forget.

[Moose-head]

My miss was my first encounter with a mature bull many years ago. I was bowhunting and a 5X5 bull came into view from a direction that I wasn't prepared for. I panicked and never pulled on the string. Later (after tag soup) I paced it off to a bush nearby and it was a range that I had practiced and was comfortable with.