Do you miss game often?

[Bjorn]

I missed the same hog 3 times in a few minutes, a coupla years ago..........even after the third shot she never ran away. I hung my head in shame, gave her the finger and walked off. All were 15 yd shots.

[sledge]

yes, i do.

hunting hogs with dogs is a wild endeavor, and the shots come as they do.

that is my excuse.  

joe

[Guru]

No....

But if you hunt a lot, and a lot of different critters it's bound to happen....but it always surprised the heck out of me when it does   :mad:

[Lordswarrior]

hate to sound critical of a legend, but maybe this will put things into perspective:
i'm about 2/3rds done reading fred bears field notes "the adventures of fred bear" and i have to say those guys missed a lot! and took some wild shots! lobbing shots over a rock into a bighorns ribs! running bear! etc. great book by the way.

anyway, i think we all miss in some way or form. maybe not the animal but how about the spot? if you were aiming at a tuft of hair behind the shoulder and stuck it in the liver is that a miss?as long as there is a recovery i guess it doesn't really matter?
what does everyone think?  

[YORNOC]

I have only missed once in my trad lifetime. But I put enormous restrictions on myself and have probably cost myself many possible trophies because of it. But I'm okay with that...I've done pretty well so far!

[frassettor]

I've missed, mainley a dirrect result of my lack of concentration caused by "buck fever". I have found out that since I started Traditional years ago that if I just STOP PUTTING SO MUCH THOUGHT INTO EVERYTHING,AND JUST SHOOT, my results have turned around 110%

[Blaino]

not with deer and pigs. i set up for 10 to 15 yard shots. squirles are a total different story though. the funny thing is i'm always blown away when i miss one and i have missed hundreds      

[Cory Mattson]

No

[Glunt]

I've missed my share.  Many years ago I missed 3 elk on opening day.  First was a cow that came by me as I was tucked behind a small pine in a meadow. She caught me drawing and was on alert.  She simply was gone when the arrow got there. Next was a small bull at just under 30 raking a tree and my arrow sailed over his back.  Disgusted with my shooting, flustered, and ticked off, I decided to go back to camp and just shoot.  I ran into a herd on the way back and they filed by me at 15 yards. A couple young ones saw me but I was frozen and had the wind so they shrugged it off.  Finally the little 5x5 at the rear came into a shooting lane.  I proceeded to bounce an arrow off his antlers. Hmmm wonder what I was looking at?

I went back to camp and (of course) couldn't miss if I tried :^)

I am much calmer nowadays and without that artificial pressure a young man can have to fill a tag.  Makes for more predictable outcomes when the string drops, but I still toss up an airball now and then.

Shot plenty of critters where the arrow didn't go exactly where I wanted it.  If they run 30 yards and tip over, its pretty easy to wipe that "miss" from the memory bank.  Other times that kind of "miss" results in a trail with no end and will stick with a guy a long, long time.

I try and learn from it and take the steps to prevent it from happening again, but shooting wild game with a bow is an imprecise venture with the potential for serious success or failure looming over every opportunity.

[Onestringer]

Sure I miss, some of my most memorable moments are misses.

[RK808]

Recently letting go my "training wheels" a couple years ago, I can say I've missed less with the stick than with the wheels.  But then again, for every one shot taken with the stick ... I've probably had something like 20 for the wheels.  However, I think the percentages are close.  

Turkeys are another story for me.  I've got a horrible track record with turkeys ... I seem to always shoot over those things!!! Ok, not "always," but it feels like that.

I think you're right, generally, that a trad hunter considers they're shot more deeply than a wheelie hunter.  Yet, I hope it's probably more a function of the hunter than what they're shooting.  I've got to imagine the passionate ones take the same deep approach to their trad hunting as they did any other hunting.

[buckeye_hunter]

The misses can be caused from a heightened level of respect for the animal. For instance; I have never shot at a deer over 14yds and have managed to screw it up every time. I am so careful in my shot selection, that when the time actually comes, I am way too excited and mess up.  

I should have had at least one deer for every year I have been shooting with traditional equipment. I don't get as excited with groundhogs for instance and have no problem with them.

Rabbits seem to be another problem for me altogether. I'm not even going to get into that...

[Izzy]

Not often, if I did Id have to strongly evaluate if I really belonged in the woods with a stickbow at that particular stage in time. Missed more small game than I can count but not big game. I tend to get Elvis legs after the shot, not before.

[Biggie Hoffman]

No

[RC]

I was`nt counting squirrels. Heck I miss 80% of them.RC

[threeunder]

Thanks guys....after starting to think about it, that's what I figured I would hear.
Oh, and Elvis legs!  LOL....gotta remember that one.
Ken

[BUFF]

No
I expect to kill every time I draw my bow

[joe ashton]

the more particular I am about animals being; calm, close, broadside, and unaware of me.  the less I miss.  I'll go 7, 8 in a row  then blow one. be particular.

[WRV]

I have missed a few....

[Looper]

I haven't missed on a hog, whitetail, or turkey. I take that back. I did miss a buck a couple of years ago, when my string hung up on a strap. The arrow went right between his legs. Other than that, no I haven't missed. Now, I've missed my aiming spot by a few inches, but those shots were still within my margin of error, and I ended up with clean kills.

In 30 years, I've only lost one animal. It was on a turkey, and I made a killing shot, but he had enough energy left to fly into the thickest swamp imaginable. I'd have had to actually step on it to find it.

I have had a couple of liver shot deer that made for difficult tracking jobs, but, with the help of my dog, I was able to find those animals.

I'm pretty cautious when it comes to shot selection, though, and don't mind letting something walk if everything isn't just right.

On coyotes, I have missed a few shots. Those shots were at pretty long distances, at night, and at some pretty skittish critters, so I don't feel too bad about those misses.

On squirrels, I probably kill about 1 in 5. I do give half of the misses haircuts, though.