My son missed his first this past weekend. He insisted on the 1, 2, 3, Boom countdown. Mine was flopping and his was running. We looked for 30 minutes in the direction it ran off. I'm fairly certain he yanked the shot and flinched when the guns went off. We were a little off on the execution of the Boom part.
His last shot patterning was a miss on the turkey target. He opted not to shoot again that day. In hindsight I should have made him take another.
Vegetarian: Native American for Piss Poor Hunter
I’d never missed one, until I said those exact words and damn if I didn’t in short order.
On cripples, always look whether you think you missed or not. I shot a bird last year at 10 yards, not noticing my right barrel cut a sapling in half, I gave him the other, bark goes flying, nothing, no feathers, lost sight of him flying about 100 yards away. I looked for an hour before going back and figured no way at that range, even with the trees, he wasn’t hit. 250 yard away I’m standing on a logging pile and look down to see a small piece of red head, he had buried himself and I quickly finished him.
My last miss I drove back in to the spot to double check myself and proceeded to back into a tree when leaving, It was a wonderful morning. It was a gun malfunction followed by a rushed shot after I reloaded and he was running off. My other 3 misses were shots that were to far. I can remember all 4 vividly though.
I have a small holler I truly believe I am cursed in. I have missed or lost 5 turkeys that I can recall, and 3 of the 5 were inside a 50 yard circle near the top of that holler with a 4th another 70 yards away. 5th was a week ago today. Called up a really nice bird that came around a small pond in the woods on the side I didn't expect. This kept him out of sight until he popped up at 9 steps. Totally wide open woods for about 30 yards...not even a tiny vine or briar. Beautiful spot I have always wanted to call one to and I have him at 9 yards. Moving at a normal walking pace and looking for the hen, he is going behind a 12-15" tree and will be right behind it so I will have about a second or 2 to get my gun over on him. I moved a tiny fraction of a second too early and he freezes for about a second. Left side of the tree is dividing his head and neck vertically so don't shoot. Doesn't matter in my mind, at 9 yards with no cover it's impossible for him to get away. Takes off at a dead sprint, on him perfect with a green dot at about 20 and 2 steps after I shoot he is in flight. Bunch of feathers cut in half laying around my wadding which probably hit him too. Left leg dangling as he crossed the trees on the other side of the pond and went out of sight. Looked for probably 2 hours and never found him. Pretty disgusted to say the least.
ETA: Guess I should be using a red dot instead of a green dot.
Last edited by Big Timber; 04-18-2022 at 01:57 PM.
I told a buddy the other day after we searched every log pile and briar mess for one he barrel rolled at 30 yds. I can’t remember details of everyone that I’ve killed but I can remember in detail everyone of them I’ve missed or boogered up.
"George Washington didn't use his freedom of speech to defeat the British, he shot them."
I had three misses in a row last year. 5,7, and 10 yards. It happens.
Silver lining to everything - it did make those hunts a vivid memory having them that close.
I was trying too hard, and had to quit being poetic and get mad at them.
Missing is the only way you'll learn.
A friend and I called a jake and a big gobbler across a corn field and I shot the gobbler with a bow, hitting a little low. He ran 50 yards, stood there for a few minutes with heavy blood running down his leg, then picked up an flew across the field, kind of crash landing on the other side, got back up and walked in the woods. We went and got shotguns to follow him up. About 50 yards in the woods, my friend walked up on a big hole caused by a fallen tree. The gobblers head popped up and he took flight. My friend missed with the shotgun, and the turkey flew up above the trees and pitched way off down a pipeline. We looked for him for a couple of hours and gave up. On the way back I decided to look in that hole and see if there was any blood in there. We were shocked to find the gobbler stone dead in the hole. Took us a few seconds to figure out that the jake had gotten down in the hole with his wounded buddy, and then the jake flew off when we approached.
That's a good story, Acebasinman. I've missed lots of turkeys. Lots. Like double figure lots. That's over 35 years of chasing, but embarrassing nonetheless. When I switched to a dedicated turkey gun, my percentage went up dramatically. Since I added a red dot, I haven't missed, but I'm sure I will again soon (if I ever hunt without kids again).
Carolina Counsel
thats awesome, acebasinman
buddy shot one with the bow last week. similar situation. bird flew 200 yards to the top of a knoll, stood there for a minute or two, then proceeded to roll back down the hill. buddy went to get him and couldnt find him. darn bird had wedged himself in between two rocks that you wouldn't expect a turkey to fit in.....
Ugh. Stupid people piss me off.
I’ve missed a few. I spent a bunch of time and put a lot of effort into finding each one despite knowing I would not find them. My misses have been because the bird was too close and all were moving out. I have not had a miss since installing a red dot…money well spent.
Actually, one was at a good distance, but I was shooting across body to the left and did not have a red dot…bad choice to even try it on my part.
Last edited by WhitewaterDuck; 04-18-2022 at 05:29 PM.
“I can’t wait ‘till I’m grown” is the stupidest @!#* I ever said!
Misses and missed opportunities make you want to wake up early and burn their whole town down.. Deer, turkeys, pigs, ducks, coyotes, stray dogs, alligators, so on, so forth..
But the misses and mess ups, build character.. We need them to be better people.
Natural Born Killer Prostaff - Killing Tomorrow's Trophies Today...
TFC -"Be tough or get tough"
Conservation Permit Holder #5213
i’ve missed a pile of them. one year i missed 5.
shot one at 40 steps and watched it fly away. i walked 100yards and there it was. i found another like that one day and probably thought i missed 3-4 more that flew away, that was before Tss. i took my dog to look for two that were rolled and she found both of them and both times they were in a swamp still alive.
Windows Down!
I have had more than one person get aggravated with me for spending so much time following up after a shot that appeared to be a miss. I took a friend deer hunting with me one time a few years back, and he shot at and "missed" two does, about 30 minutes apart. When I got back to pick him up, he was ready to go but about 90 minutes later I had recovered both deer within 150 yards of where they were standing when he shot, even though there was no blood at the impact site. I missed my first deer (ever) with a rifle in 2020, and I spend the better part of 2 days looking for it. Still don't understand how I missed, but you folks who said sooner or later it would happen appear to be right.
When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with the fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song and die like a hero going home. -Tecumseh-
Yup. I look till Ive exhausted all reasonable possibilities of finding an animal…then some. I shot a big old wide buck on a friends place…huge Fairfield co property…and I hit him in the shoulder at 30 yards on the button. Arrow said 5-6” of penetration. Deer bled good on flat ground and downhill, but we lost blood where he crossed creek and started up a small hill…about 80 yards from where I shot him. He was in bat-out-of-hell mode from the start, and he’d covered that distance in a couple of seconds. When I went to go up over that hill to start doing half circles to pick up the blood again, my bud said “no way that was enough penetration to kill him and we are getting near where (his bud and co-owner of property) x has a stand, and we don’t need to be tromping around messing up the hunting.” His land; his call, but I never attempted to kill another deer there again.
Now that I’ve said I’ve not missed since getting the red dot, I’m sure I’m about to go on a miss streak! Dammit!
Last edited by WhitewaterDuck; 04-19-2022 at 11:38 AM.
“I can’t wait ‘till I’m grown” is the stupidest @!#* I ever said!
I have always said that if you say you have never missed a turkey that you are either a liar or have not shot very many. I have missed them every way that you could miss one, but have killed way more than most on here I am sure. I have been hunting them all over since 1978.
I only hunt on days that end in "y"!
I have killed a couple few. I am not a turkey poet or a captain in the legion. I have, so far, recovered every one I have shot at, but realize that there is always tomorrow. When I do whiff on one, I am sure I will be humbled.
When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with the fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song and die like a hero going home. -Tecumseh-
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