Why have you missed?

[Mrvmax]

I was hunting feral hogs with a new to me Freedom Arms revolver in 454. The hogs were 95 yards out and my first shot took a sow down. I was able to call the hogs back and took a shot at another sow but to my surprise it never dropped. Later after doing some load development I was trying to figure out why at 50 yards I could get it zeroed and then later it would be 2-3" off. I thought it was due to recoil (it hurt to shoot, my S&W 500 was easier to shoot) and I was flinching or the scope was bad. It turns out the factory load I was using would shift 2-3" after the first shot when the barrel warmed up. If I zeroed when hot it would be off when cold and vice versa. So that pig I thought I missed was due to it probably being off 4 or more inches at 100 yards since it was zeroed cold.

I bought the revolved off Gunbroker and it looked new, very light drag marks. I called Freedom Arms and they gave me a manufacturer date of the 90's (this was several years ago). I think the recoil was so bad the original owner did not shoot it. I sent it off to Magna-Port to get ported and have an action job and it is night and day to how it shot before. The porting was a game changer. I also started hand loading and have not had it shift off zero but I have never had a firearm shift that much after the first shot.

 

[mtwarych]

I was referring to my time when I didn't have a range finder. Due to the fact that I couldn't judge range much more than 200 yds, that was my maximim distance I would shoot at an animal.

Are you not using a rangefinder at all? Or just under seemingly rushed scenarios at a relatively closer yardage?

 

[Wyo37]

Missed a nice aoudad ram last year because I didn't follow through. Keep your face on the gun.

 

[Calvin45]

I've missed for a few of these but selected "other" because the biggest two have been "overestimating range" and shooting clean over a critters back or "failure to follow through" and ceasing to maintain a lead on a walking or running animal upon pulling the trigger and shooting the dirt a foot or three behind said animal.

 

[ATH]

I haven't missed a "long range" shot on game with a centerfire rifle. Given those typically allow lots of setup time I've been able to take my time to make sure I connect or decide to pass.

My misses have been closer. A decade ago I missed a deer at 250 yards with my muzzleloader, which it was set up to do. Turned out after that gun went for a 3000 mile ride to Montana and back on its side in a case the scope had crapped and the windage was way off. Last year I made a wounding hit on a deer with a muzzleloader at 50 yards, deer survived the grazing wound. Learned I'd zeroed with one bullet but shot a different one that looked the same visually, once removed from original packaging I hadn't realized they were different. Next week after correcting error I dropped a doe perfectly at 125 yards with open sights with that rifle.

Missed a nice buck 2 years ago at about 80 yards, quick shot in the woods but it felt good threading the bullet between a couple trees. But I hit a tree. Sighted in at home and yup...4 inches left at 100 yards...but that was enough to hit the tree. That scope went in the round file too.

 

[comfisherman]

Huntnful, I remember back in high school going out to the range with my first hash mark/mil dot scope. Got good and practiced up, then went out after squeaks. With the 3x erector my fov was way to narrow at max, so dropped it down to help spot them in the alfalfa. Missed almost every hold much to my dismay. Took a fair whack of trips to and fro to figure it out, definitely a big fan of ffp. Heck most were set for max power, but I had one that was a 6-18 and the powers that be the mil dot was only accurate at 15.

I still hunt with sfp scopes but only buy #4 or duplex.

Probably whiffed a lot more first starting out from being in a rush. Less so now, life is such that in the middle hunting trips are dwarfed by range trips. Can afford to shoot a lot, but don't have the time to wander around the woods every spare day all year. Way more practiced up when shots come around, and probably have a different risk aversion.

 

[dogz]

thing is, it's intersting to talk about the misses might maybe...be interesting if everyone was as honest regarding their woundings...?

 

[SamuelBerryhill308]

I've missed two deer due to bad scope mounts but that was my fault when I was younger not really thinking about it..and I've missed one due to bent scope tube from it falling off a four-wheeler and not being told about it and one or two times due to rushing a shot and adrenaline other misses have been due to limb or something unseen being in the way.now I use better scopes and mounts than I did four years ago and I am constantly checking scope mounts while hunting and try to look better for limbs and such and it helps that I wear Glasses now

 

[Calvin45]

I'll be honest and state that last November i made a bad hit on one of my deer because of that failure to continue leading the animal when the trigger broke. 400 yards, the deer was walking at an even pace and I went for it and made that rookie mistake just like I was 16 again or something. Was so mad at myself.

Recovered and dispatched the animal after not too long. Totally destroyed one of hindquarters. Again. Was soooo mad at myself. But the important thing is that I did track it and finish the job! And this is a good argument for overkill always beating the alternative; this was with a 300 win mag and i was following a blood trail ray charles could have tracked and finding legit chunks of bone and subcutaneous fat just laying in the snow along the way. Had no trouble finding it. And the damage was severe enough the animal made no effort to flee when I came upon it and quickly dispatched it with a shot to the base of the skull - it was still standing but it was done. I'm 100 percent certain it would have bled to death within the hour, before the coyotes got to it.

I actually feel sick about this whole thing BUT not as sick as I feel thinking about what might have happened with that same shot if made with my .243. Might have never recovered it, might have been eaten alive by the coyotes after 2 days of horrible suffering.

Bring enough gun (and Lord willing don't repeat your mistakes!!!! I sure hope I don't).

 

[Calvin45]

thing is, it's intersting to talk about the misses might maybe...be interesting if everyone was as honest regarding their woundings...?

I just replied to this above but some reason it didn't quote your post so here it is. See above for some honesty.

 

[LVJ76]

thing is, it's intersting to talk about the misses might maybe...be interesting if everyone was as honest regarding their woundings...?

I lost one deer, back in 2008. I jerked the trigger. Didn't practice or shoot much that year, and that deer paid the price, and to this day it still makes me sick.

I've had 3 bad hits on deer. 2 were gut shots, and I was able to put both deer down within minutes, thankfully they didnt suffer much. On another deer I hit it twice, 2 shots 1" apart behind the shoulder and high, missing all organs, then took off and finished him off while he ran, got him on the shoulder and down it went. In all 3 situations the rifle was dead on, but I was not.

One bad shot on a javelina, hit it in its hind leg and it rolled down the hill and out of sight. Put him down when I got to it, took me about 20 minutes or more to get to him. This one I still cannot forget either.

I've had more misses than the one I posted earlier, was just one example. Growing up we didn't have range finders, but I got better as I grew up. To this day when we are out and about I try to range it myself and then verify with range finder l, and I am pretty good at it, but not perfect by any means.

 

[comfisherman]

Had some really bad tracking of gimped animals as a kid when tagging along, then had some even worse experiences with idiot fiends I didn't know were idiots till they gut shot an elk and prompted the longest track of my life....

Around age 25+ my shot selection was rather stiff, my hunting associate selection even more so. The latter being influencing the misses even more than the former

 

[bigngreen]

Prior to really getting into long range hunting there were some definitely misses and ranged the whole gambit from starting out learning to just poor excited first shots, wounded animals definitely happened but I can count on one hand me and my buddy lost an animal for sure and probably even between archery and rifle. After a couple opportunities to be in some high volume guiding situations the realization the system I was running was not at the level I thought it was pushed me to find this forum, that's when the learning started, retooling from top to bottom with an emphasis on precision hunting, putting myself in the best position to make a clean one shot kill not just getting as close as possible and in a fleeting second try to pull of a shot.
Dropped down in chambering and power level to aid in precision, complete new approach to bullets, new approach to optics, I already had parts since I grew up with a passion for shooting and competition but had never put all the puzzle pieces totally together for hunting.
Having a shot process completely killed the miss or bad shot placement because of nerves, dry fire before every shot all the boxes checked then send it, if they get out of position before the process was complete so be it. Removing the range issue and pressure to be at a certain range allowed me to put myself in the absolute best shooting positions for game in the best positions, it honestly lowered my shot opportunity but really put hunting back into it for me.
The most important thing is I've started the next generation from my lessons, my daughter has never lost an animal, she has had one bad hit on her very first deer but she quickly recovered and put the next one perfectly, she's in her 7th year of hunting and every picture is a success story, she's never dispatched an animal from a poor shot except for other hunters messes and she has a passion for hunting and I give LRH a LOT of credit for that!!