The One That GOT AWAY!!!???

[MeatGETTER24]

alright guys, im sure we all have the "one that got away" buck stories, im sure this has been brought up before, but lets hear it, how big was it(or wasnt it) i personally missed my only HUGE buck back down in OR by lake wallowa, wasnt quite 30 inches but great mass and tall as the dickens(ouch it hurts thinkin bout him!!) anyways, cant wait to read your replies!!!!

[andrew_12gauge]

well in 2000 i didnt have one that got away I had 3 in one week, the first one was a small 3 point i missed on opening day at about 250 yards as he fed, then 3 days later I missed a big non typical that prolly wouldve gone about 180 with my shotgun shooting slugs at about 50 yards(I was hunting on a refuge that day so couldnt use rifle) and then on the final day of season i missed another big 4 point probably about 26 inches wide with good tine lengths he was probably about 100 yards away and stood broadside to me so i missed him 3 times, The next year i changed guns and havent missed a deer with a rifle since, and my dad has the rifle i shot that year and shoots just fine with it, I cant hit anything with it though

[Little John]

My first out of state hunt, I was bow hunting elk in Idaho. I was so jacked up to be bow hunting out of state!!! Very first afternoon me and my partner called in a 340 6X6 and I dropped the ball I shot over his back at 18 yds. Wide open shot broadside. That bull had me shaking and so flustered I completely lost it. Punched the trigger and flinched so bad I never touched him. That is the ONE I think about more then any other ONE THAT GOT AWAY.

[BLUEBULLS]

I'll make mine short. Had a definite 180" 4pt at 40yds broadside after a perfect mile long stalk. had the muzzy on the bipod, squeezed the trigger and pop. powder wouldn't ignite, happened 3 times before he was out of range. learned a good lesson!

[boneaddict]

He was 35 inches wide at the frame and then had a poin that flared on each side.  Basically a gigantic deer.  I belly crawled in the snow form 800 to 500 yards and was contemplating my next move or to shoot and some dingbat in a flourecent green hat came be-bopping up behin dme and spooked him.  He saw my belly crawl tracks in the fresh snow and wondered what was up so followed them.  I got one crack at him but it was a bad shot.  I wouldn't even take that shot now.   I found him on the winter range later and hauled Idabooner up to see him even though he had like a 102 temp and pneumonia.  Two reasons, one this buck was worth dieing to see and two I wanted someone to believe my story.  I spent the whole next spring looking for his bones, even took hornseeker up there and the posse and looked and looked but never found them.

[finnman]

Back in '94 first time ever hunting on Vulcan Mt. the wife and I hike uphill just before dawn in the snow, we get about 1/4 mile up the open face and the wind is blowing pretty good, the clouds are coming in and out like the tide, one minute you can see the Kettle river next minute you can't see 100 yards, just as the clouds start to let up I look across the slope to see a large buck, estimate 26 wide nice and heavy, stotting up the hill, he looked like a ghost! All I could make out was him, no brush, no ground, just him in all his majesty heading up the hill, I had time for 3 quick shots at about 300 yards, no dice, walked over found his tracks, followed them for 1/2 a mile up over the hill into the thick dark timber, never saw him again, I still can see him...............DANG!

[rasbo]

wow! the first liar dont stand a chance.{just kidding}The first deer that got away from me was a 3x4 muley,in northern ca.I was 12.he was comming towards me and I started shooting,then I heard a bang.And down he went.I yelled I got him to my dad.Dad said no I got him.Well come to find out I was ejecting my shells instead of shooting.that was the only one I missed and the last time I got buck fever.

[bankwalker]

mine was a 160" 5x5 mule deer right along teanum creek.

i had ran into a couple guys out of breath from a hike. they told me they jumped a BIG 5x5 and a few does just over the ridge and it headed my way. they never could catch up to it nor did the find any tracks. but you could tell in thier voices that they werent *censored*tin me.

i know the area very well and knew where a the buck would be headed if he indeed did come this way. so i told them good luck and went on my way. i drove down the road to the bottum of a deep draw and got loaded up for the hike to the bottum. i grabbed my ruger redhawk 44mag, and ruger m77 7mm wsm and went on my way. not 5 minutes into the hike to the bottum i heard a crunch, then crunch. as i turned around and looked across the draw 40yds away from me a couple does ran by then another. i knew that buck had to be right behind them so i hunkered down next to a stump and got my shooting sticks out. no sooner did i do that and that big buck came trotting down the trail fallowing the does. again not 40yds from me. in a plsit second desision i decided to put down the 7mm wsm and unholstered my 44mag and centered it in the shooting sticks. i waited for the buck to get as close as he was gonna get before the trail turned up the other side of the draw and out of site. i hit my cow call and the buck stopped perfectly broadside to me. i took a deep breath and squeezed a round off. MISS! and the buck was gone.

this buck ive have see 3 times sence he was a little 3x3 and put a nice stalk on him with my bow the year before that when he was a little 4x4. i didnt hunt that area this season so idk if he made it or not.

note to self. when put in the situation to kill a big buck with handgun or rifle, even at close range. CHOOSE RIFLE!!!!!!!!!!

[7mmfan]

I've missed opportunities on my fair share of bucks, just like everyone here, but theres only one that dwells on me. In Wyoming in 06' 5 of us went back to Sheridan and hunted with family and had a great time. The prior 3 times i'd hunted there I'd shot decent bucks in the first 2 days of a week long hunt so i decided to hold out this time. The second to last day I broke down and shot a nice 4x3 with brow tines and was happy with him. The last morning went out with my dad because he hadn't filled his tag yet and was pushing down a brushy draw for him when BEHIND me i hear a deer break out of the brush. I get out the brush just in time to see this big ol' boy bounce to the top of the ridge and stop just like they do. I'm not great at judging width and all that but i'd say that he was over 30" wide and very tall and very non-typical. Hands down the biggest buck i'd ever seen. Sucker just layed there hunkered in the brush till I got by him and then bailed out the back instead of heading down the draw to pops. he didn't that big being stupid i guess!

[BC CHASER]

I have a few,  First time I was 17 or 18 and bow hunting blacktail.  A friend and I found 2 bucks feeding in the heavy timber.  I circled around to the meadow on the out side and he began to put the sneak on them.  He jumped them right to me.  the first to come out was a 145'' 5x5 and the next was a 6x6 that was in the mid to upper 150's.  I whistled at him and he stopped.  I let the arrow go and watched it pass through him.  We let him go for an hour and the search was on.  We found the arrow covered with blood and the blood trail ran out quick.  We looked for 5 days and never found him.  We even sat out at night to listen for coyotes and nothing.  A few weeks later we saw him alive!  My arrow had passed under his spine and above his lungs.  We even saw him the following year and he was very healthy.  I missed a MASSIVE blacktail that all he had were clubs for antlers and a few stickers on them.  Shot right over his back .  And one final one to add (I hate talking about this stuff!)  At whitetail camp a few years ago I was on my way back to camp for some lunch.   I never use my sling while walking,  well I had it on my shoulder and was looking at the fresh tracks on in the snow on the road.  I heard something off to my left and looked up to see a MONSTER NT whitetail looking at me.  Before I could get my rifle off my shoulder he was gone.    I guess he was 180-200''.  He was only 150 yards from the wall tent when I jumped him.  

[GoldTip]

Definitely one of the biggest that ever got away was the first year I hunted WA. after moving here from Montana.  Wife and I went for a drive to check out Priest Lake and thought we'd make the circle and drop in above Sullivan Lake and into Matalline Falls, just see some country, ya know?  Was dropping over the top and looked down into a clear cut and saw a huge mule deer doe watching us from 200 yards.  Raining like crazy and just standing in the middle of the clear cut at 3 inthe after noon, I stopped truck and grabbed bino's and looked her over and could not believe how big she was.  Just a pig.  Kept looking at her and looking at her, wondering what made her look so wrong, something just didn't look right.  Then I noticed that she looked funny because she was a enormous HE!  Horns were so wide (and it was raining hard) I just didn't see them.  An honest 35-38" mainframe slick four by four.  Unbelievable.  My wife looked at him with my leupold bino's and her quote was, "I've never even seen one that big in your hunting magazines."  My bow was in the truck and he had us pegged, I slid under her and she took my spot in the drivers seat with my bino's and slipped out the passenger side of the truck and down the road about 400yards.  I dropped down below him and got the wind right and put a stalk on him, wife watched the whole thing, got with about 80 yards and he just slowly moved away from me, followed him in sight of my wife for close to 300 yards across the bottom of the clear cut.  he never ever winded me or looked at me or appeared nervous, he just knew when it was time to move on.  This whole thing took probably 2 hours.  Have hunted that area multiple times since and never seen a buck that even approached his size.  Unbelievable buck, what I would have given for my rifle and a open rifle season.

[strutnrut1984]

oh boy ive had many over the years. probobly the one that hurt the most. i was hunting in ashtabula county ohio with my bow. on the edge of an alder swamp and a crab apple thicket i had about 15 min of decent lite left. when a giant 7x6 came up behind me to my scrape dripper.i waited til he went behind a crabapple tree and drew back. 20 yd quarting away. i hit the trigger on my release. heard a loud crack and saw him lurch forward. i was like yes as i saw him take off. i went to lower my bow down and saw my bottom limb was shattered. it had struck the rail on my summit viper. i went over to where the buck had been there was my arrow and a pile of belly hair.no blood looked for 2 hrs nothing found. i learned later on he was taken opening day of gun season. by an amish hunter. 7x6 23in spread 10 in brows scored in the 170s. oh well the season wasnt a total loss. i scored opening day of gun that year on a real nice 4x4

[Elkstuffer]

A shorter list would be the ones that didn't get away. LOL

[BuckHunter23]

In 2007, I was hunting for the first time on an exempt license (hadn't taken Hunter Ed yet).  My good buddy jjdavis2222 invited me to go along with his group up to Teanaway.  The group was comprised of several friends and a couple of their dads, all good people and encouraging towards me for my first hunt. 

I was somewhat familiar with the area, as we had camped and hiked around the area over the years.  Since I was new to hunting and hunting on an exempt license, I had to stay close to jj per the regs.  I was a bit uneasy about the hike in the dark, and having to sit and wait while things started to move around.  Needless to say, it was quite an experience and not as bad as I had expected. 

We got to my spot around 4-5 AM, pitch black and freezing ass cold.  I was starting to rethink the whole hunting thing.  As the light started to come up and you could start to make out the trees and stumps and everything else, I hear what sounds like a freight train coming down the hill behind me.  Now, to explain further, I was sitting in a small little bunker of sorts that another buddy, Right Place Right Time, had made several years before.  They told me I should sit down in the back left corner, which would give me a great view of both the draw to my left and the draw to my right.  As I hear this thing coming down the hill, suddenly I hear a loud breaking of a stick right behind me.  I was extremely nervous to say the least.  I happened so fast that I hadn't even turned around at this point.  I could hear him breathing behind me, so I knew he was really close.  I didn't want to spook him more than I had to, but I had to see what he was.  As a slowly turned to look over my left shoulder, all I could see was the silhouette of a big, tall rack and a huge deer.  He was less than 10 feet behind me.   

By this time we had made eye contact, which I found out later is not such a great idea.  I knew I had to move quick at this point or there would be no chance at all.  Like any stare down, we both were trying to figure out what the other would do.  I had already taken the rifle off safety and was slowly starting to bring it up.  My thought was I could get in a good enough position with the gun that I could quickly turn and put the gun right on him.  No sooner than I got to where I felt comfortable to make my move, he made his first and started on a dead sprint behind me to my right.  I quickly turned the opposite direction and brought my gun up, only to see his ass end bounce over the ridge line.  I hurried to get to my feet and moved quickly over to the ridge line.  All I saw on the other side was think trees and no sign of the deer anywhere. 

All of this happened within the first 5 minutes of daylight, on my first day ever hunting.  Even though I didn't get to take a shot, it was an experience I will never forget.  i ended up seeing a couple more small bucks that day, but was not able to tag out that year.  Same luck this last year up in Winthrop.  hopefully with patience and more experience, and taking the time to really get to know the areas I am hunting, I should be on here posting my success story in October!!  Man I wish we didn't have to wait that long.

[croix]

My first year rifle hunting whitetail in the NE corner of Wa. I had worked my way down an old skid road and hit an opening just as day broke. I saw two large bodied deer heading into the timber on the other side of the clearing. The next morning, I had a better idea of where I was going and headed to that clearing before sun up. Sure enough, as I sat up on a little knob to the left of the road where I could see the whole clearing, as the sun came up I noticed a deer sneaking into the clearing just the other side of the road and he stopped behind a small fir tree at about 40 yds. I thought that he had a strange looking rack through the tree because it looked kinda lopsided. Turns out that was only half of his rack and the other half was on the other side of the tree. I couldn't get a good point count but knew there were enough on one side to make me think that was his entire rack and he was obviously wide. I was waiting patiently for him to come out from behind the tree and offer me a shot when a second buck (small 3 pt) walked right out on the road between me and the big guy. He would have been an easy shot at 30 yds, but how could I take him when I had this monster right there at 40 yds. Ultimately, the smaller guy sensed something he didn't like. He stamped his foot once and I got nervous because I knew the jig was up. I briefly considered taking the smaller guy (that whole bird in the hand thing) but before I could bring the scope over to him he snorted and they both ran straight away from me at full speed. I never did get a good point count on that first guy but I'll never forget watching him run into the trees on the other side of the clearing at about 125 yds and his rack being widest part on him. I've hunted that area six times since then and never even seen a deer in that clearing much less a buck - but I keep checking it every year.