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No one's perfect.

This is an interesting thread to say the least. We have all been there or at least seen it.

November 2009. Hunting northeast Iowa at the confluence of prairie edge, and ravine. Had a 158" come up the ravine side, as usual not where I expected. He stopped perfectly broadside at 22 yards but was down slope of me and I was in an 18' ladder. Watched him for 20 minutes before he left the area. Hit him in the "black hole" just under the spine and behind the lungs. Clean pass thru with a slick-trick. Trailed 600-700 yards before he crossed the upper Iowa River. Landowner's son saw him cross the road two weeks later and they found his sheds the next season. Happy he lived, bummed he's not on my wall.
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Starting out, I limited myself to close shots and trying to kill a few does first. Well as luck would have it the first deer that came by was a 160 inch. Came perfect under the stand at about 8 yards and I blew it. Being my first deer and being 12 I didn't quite figure on the angle and hit above the lungs but below the spine. Trailed him for about 1000 yards until the blood dried up. Never found him. 2 weeks later I was still trying to get a doe within 15 yards to kill and wouldn't you know it a bomb of an 8 comes in. He comes in at 10 yards and catches me drawing. He skirts to 15 yards and stops in an opening. I hit a limb and hit him in the hind quarter. Trailed him for awhile but deemed he was still alive. Never saw either one again. That was a season made of nightmares. I was hooked from the first sit, but am glad Dad was there to reassure me that things like that happen and keep me keepin on.
 
Only one comes to mind...he was a big (150")main frame 8 with matching kickers on his g2's.. I'll say that I honestly got impatient and hurried the shot.. he was at 16yds (hunting on the ground) and had I stayed at full draw for another 30 seconds I would have had a taxi bill. I tried to slip the arrow in front of his shoulder as he was quartering at me, and I hit the bone! 4" was all I got for penetration, and he ran to 80yds and looked at me before going into the corn. I waited all day before tracking him and came up empty, only to see him still on his feet across the crp. I followed up for 2 days straight with nothing. Still bothers me to this day... but I am proud to say that it has taught me to be more patient. And patience has been rewarded! I could have shot my buck this year a dz times but I waited for him to get right where I knew I could make a good shot.
 
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Never have wounded one, but I have missed some opportunities on some Iowa giants. Shot over the back of a 160" class buck this year and under a 150s. But the worst of them all was a giant 12 that caught me off gaurd this fall and came trotting it right after I hit the horns together. Easily the biggest buck that I've ever seen on the hoof. Never even got a chance to draw on him. From the sounds of it he made it through the winter though so hopefully I get another chance.
 
Have not had the unfortunate experience of wounding a good buck yet. I have lost a couple of does with a bow, and one with a shotgun. They were heartbreaking enough in my younger years. I know as well as any bowhunter that having your heart broke on a nice buck is always a possibility. I'm just glad I stuck with it.
 
I have been fortunate to not wound and lose very many deer over the years, but I did screw up on a nice one about 5 or 6 years ago that I did kill. The neighbors found him later during the shotgun season. He went about 160", which is right about what I thought he was when I released the arrow.

At the time of the shot, I was having trouble seeing my peep sight well due to my prescription/eyeglasses needing to be upgraded. I hit him too far back and took up the trail too soon for that type of a hit. I bumped him out of his bed about 100 yards away from where I hit him. Now, I wait at least 12 hours on a gut shot.
 
I only have one that comes to mind that I hit and didn't recover. It was last fall, the saturday morning after Thanksgiving I hit a buck I call Curly high and forward in no mans land. Went back later that afternoon and saw him alive so we left until Sunday afternoon, found 1 tiny spot of blood where we saw him the afternoon before and nothing other than that. It took about a month to get pictures of him alive. Next time, I won't hurry the shot so much....

I have missed a bunch of nice ones with my muzzleloader. Hunting years 5-10 were really tough on me. I had a REALLY bad case of buck fever and would jerk the trigger like nobodys business. I have since learned to squeeze nicely and that has made a remarkable difference!
 
Oct 22nd 2007 on an evening hunt. I had taken my climber in and set up. I had just had a big buck run a doe out back behind me and I hit the horns and grunt tube at him. After 5 minutes I could hear the crunching and a tall 11 came in to 20 yards behind me and proceeded to trash a tree and make a scrape. He walked directly at my tree and veered at 8 yards. I went to draw and he ran to 30 yards and skirted me 270 degrees. He then walked away and once out of sight I grunted again. That brought a little fork horn in from the same direction and the 11 came back to walk him off. He came to the scrape at 16 yards and worked it quartering away with the little buck watching. I drew again and got made by the youngster who bolted away. That caused the 11 to move with him. He came through an opening that I thought was 45 yards and I stopped him and released the arrow. He was on full alert and it was 38 yards. I hit him high and back. Complete pass thru and he took off. I tracked him for 259 yards and lost blood. I spent 3 days scouring the area for him with no luck. In the last day if muzzleloader my buddy killed him. The wound had healed shut and he was no worse for the wear. I hit him right in front of the hips below the spine. He was a 150 inches on the nose.

Still haunts me....
 
I missed this buck in 2009, but I don't feel too bad about it. I mean, he was a whopping thirteen yards from my treestand, after all. Don't think I ever got my eye to the peep.

I then shot him the day before Thanksgiving of the same year during Oklahoma's rifle season. Trailed him onto the neighbor's place before I lost the blood trail in some high grass. I literally looked for weeks, but to no avail.

I've killed bigger deer since, but this is the one that haunts me.

 
Oh the humanity!

I've never lost a deer, but have had my share of bad luck/stupidity. Keep in mind that I've not yet gotten a deer with my bow...

Growing up out west, I took my share of mule deer. We spotted a HUGE buck from a ridge and my uncle went nuts and started shooting from 500 yards. My brother and I were walking (I had my deer so he had the gun) when the buck doubled back and we caught him walking up a hill at about 75 yards. My brother took three shots and I grabbed the 30-30 and squeezed off two more...nothing! Biggest mule deer buck I shot at.

My first season bow hunting in Iowa, I had a nice 10 pointers with a wide rack at 20 yards, but he came in opposite from where I expected. I rushed the shot and never saw the branch just in front of his chest. CRACK! Not a sound I like to hear.

Finally, two years ago I was hunting on a work day. I had an appointment that I needed to get to, so I set a time I needed to get down from the tree. A high 8 point was coming in from the prairie grass to the north and I watched him while looking at my watch. I wasn't leaving :). Anyway, when he gets to 100 yards, I pick up my bow and find that the tubing keeping my peep straight is off! I start to put it back on the peep when my arrow falls from my string and hits the floor of my stand. CLANG! Oh well, I made that appointment :(.

Brian
 
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