#1 Chance - Did it Work Out?
General Topic
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A little bit of a spin on the thread running now about worst miss..............
Fortunately not all of our top opportunities result in a miss...............but some do.
However you would choose to define the single biggest opportunity you to ever had, the one shot you would want to have resulted in a kill above any others to this point......................... did you end up getting the animal or not?
Actual shots only............not encounters that did not result in an arrow launched.
Yes. My first P&Y whitetail was a booner. 24 yd shot, 5 minutes of legal light left.
yes - Colorado DIY National Forest 9 day of the hunt. Only chance I had. All came together. Seems like yesterday, but was 2011.
Yes, on a 210 net muley. As he came closer I visualized my longbow shot sequence and follow through over and over. It worked, and I got to watch him fall.
On whitetails, yes. Elk, not so much.
On both my biggest muley, and biggest elk, yes!
There was a 20 year span, between those two encounters.
Thank God, yes. I’ve missed a few in my day and gotten over those. Had I missed this shot, it would’ve haunted me for the rest of my days!
Yep, this year on my bull. The best part was that I'd been practicing holding my draw as long as possible, and I had to hold a long time waiting for him the clear the brush and trees.
Yes, on my biggest whitetail. Last day of the season with 8 minutes to go. Watched him fall.
Yes, on bighorn sheep. Took 24 years to draw the tag. Did not want to eat that tag!
No. I shot a giant 10pt right through the backstraps. Perfect setup. 8yds quartering just perfectly. Looking away standing still. That was the last time I ever let target panic affect me. He was killed by a neighbor three weeks later during gun season.
I still wish I could have a redo on that moment.
Yes.....150ish whitetail. I had shaved an nice 8 pt from same stand 2 days before. Redemption and worked out better in the end!
No. I had a fleeting opportunity at a nice palmated buck and I think he saw me start to draw. He froze, I froze, he walked into the brush. It was over. Wish I had that do-over.
Yes, no and yes (whitetail, muley and elk).
I’ll throw another NO in there for my first ever mid-October rifle elk hunt from this Tuesday. Fortunately...I made good on my second shot!
Well my most memorable close call was a cow elk at about 10 yards.
I stalked to this distance, breeze perfect, fresh rain kept the footsteps silent. I drew my bow dead silent, the sun shined off that gorgeous cow's coat. I slowly lifted my bow just a bit higher to settle the pin. Top limb hit a tiny twig, oh so slight sound, she looked right at me and was gone.
Yes... 2 months ago, 192" mule deer... hit the 12 ring. Quickest deer kill I've ever witnessed. Ed F
Hard to say because I can't choose which one I'd want more than all others. First/biggest Mule deer, no. Elk, yes. Mountain Goat, yes. Dall sheep no. There's 4 animals that meant the most to me, so I guess I'm 2 for 2 "the big shot."
Looking back at all the shots I've taken over the years, I would say yes I've made all of the top 4 or 5 shots that are most important to me.
Any more.
Everyone has a #1 opportunity.........did you make it count?
Although I have missed mule deer and Coues deer over the years that might have topped the books, those animals are hunt able every year so there is always a chance to get another crack at one like that. Just gotta get the time in the field in the right area to find one of their relatives or offspring:)
Whitetail-yes. Mule Deer-yes. Elk-mmmm no.
Whitetail bow, No. Whitetail rifle, Yes. Mule Deer rifle, No. Elk rifle, Yes.
I should get a few more cracks at the Whitetails and maybe another crack at the Mule Deer but I doubt I'll ever get a chance at another Elk.
Yes after seeing him several times and just a few minutes of last light.
No... it wasn't a miss but it also wasn't a fatal hit
The first deer I ever released an arrow at- the evening of my first day ever bowhunting.... in NY.... at a mid to upper 120s 8pt! Watched him all summer and set a stand in the perfect location, only facing the wrong direction for a right handed shooter ( he approached as expected from my right). Had to turn around on the ladder stand platform to make the 20 yard shot, stopped him, released, he 'jumped' the string and my arrow went through his back just over the spine. Very little blood to follow and fat on the arrow. To this day he'd of been my largest bow kill - considering that was an encounter where I took a shot. A P&Y class buck in NY for my first bowkill ever would have been amazing. He survived for a while but the neighbors eventually put a fatal wounding hit on him as well unfortunately.
If i could pick an encounter no arrow was launched it would be last year...I had a mid 180s at 10 yards, again in NY, but it was a wee bit before legal shooting time!
Had a shot at a nice brown bear in Alaska this past June. After the shot I was not certain of shot placement. Found him dead at about 80 yards, and the bloodiest blood trail I have seen in 42 years of bowhunting.
Yes! Got to watch him go down. Lots of practice with a recurve made it simple.
Yes... 1.5 hrs of cat and mouse, shot from the ground with my climber & pack on my back. 12 pt, dressed out at 195, 37 yard shot, dropped in his tracks... Oct 31, 2015.
ALLL luck that I was able to put it together - and I was only in that area with my climber because our stands had been vandalized by a trespasser(s).
Tough question to answer if you’ve hunted a bunch of different stuff over a lifetime. From a financial perspective....miss this and I can’t afford to go again....luckily I’ve collected on them (white sheep and bear).
From a dang, that is a really nice critter perspective, yup there are some dandies that I missed....B&C candidates include the following: Coues buck that jumped the string in AZ, WR candidate antelope in WY where the recurve limb hit my leg...I’m not a recurve shooter except that year. Also a very large CO Bighorn where I grazed his brisket. The whole cheap sheet metal bowsight was bent on that one causing the miss.
Recently a massive Mt Caribou in the NWT where an unseen willow twig deflected the shot to who knows where, but nowhere near the caribou.
There are plenty of others along the past 40 some years but those monsters that got missed replay in my head from time to time. Good luck on your opportunities everyone!
No, followed by a few more no's, then eventually a YES.