Why do they miss so much? 30 YDS and under!!!

[rtspring]

Are you talking about Tim wells?

Nope, just in general people who have hunting shows.

Tim is not right in the head though

[usmc74]

1st year Colocum opened for archery, I shot a grouse at 30 yards with my bow.  Next day, I missed a bull at 30 yards.  I had watched the bull approaching, and in my mind I said when he comes out he will be 45 yards.  He got a lot closer, but my mine was still "locked" on 45 yards.

Also, I almost missed a buck at 6 feet.  Too dang close, almost gumped it.

[jackelope]

Maybe I'm not as good as everyone else. I missed an elk a couple years ago for no reason other than operator error. Stuff happens.

Most logical post in this thread. Stuff happens.

[pianoman9701]

Some of the shows never show misses. Not very realistic. I missed the bull of my life 3 or 4 years ago by under-ranging it. Stuff happens.

[theleo]

Between human error and highly pressured animals being on top of their game, the list reasons why you'd miss an animal that close gets pretty long. Shared a camp with some guys that videoed one them hitting a bull poorly at 40 yards. Watching it in slow motion, any distance between about 20-35 yards it would have been a clean miss, 5 yards further they'd have missed him also. If the bull would have been at 15 yards or closer the shooter would have been able to hang his tag and solid 6 x 6. Seeing a bull be able to jump the string like that makes it plain to see how much easier it would be for a whitetail to do it. 

[JDHasty]

I love all the ridgeline shots they take with a rifle....always a good example of safety

Relatives in Montana and other locals told me about some show that showed up and was shooting at mule deer @ ~ 1,200 yards.  At least the video they published claimed that is how for they shot the trophy they bagged... after taking IIRC three shots.  I saw a video of the incident, but don't remember what the name of the show is, I think it is Extreme _______ .

What was not on television is that in the eight or ten days they were hunting they were observed shooting at a half dozen trophy mule deer from distances of over a half mile away.  They were shooting across broken ground, across canyons, and the country is covered in heavy sage brush.  After the hunters and production crew had pulled out locals located a couple monster mule deer dead and another wandering around with a broken front leg.  The F,W & P were notified of what had went down, but said they lacked proof of who exactly was responsible.

I have spent a lot of time in that country and it takes at least a good half-hour to get from one of these ridges to another and frequently it takes twice that.  Every one of the draws has a creek bed in the bottom and is choked w/brush and aspen trees making it very difficult to get around and track an animal through.  These bottoms are where the deer were found by following up where ravens and magpies were congregating. 

I have never had much use for any of these "outdoor" shows, but considered them to be more or less harmless.  I have a friend who is retired and spends most of his day watching these shows, so I get to see them when I visit him and I'm not so sure anymore that they are "harmless."   I'm more and more am coming to believe that they are a net negative.   

[PolarBear]

I know plenty of folks who shoot alot of 3-D shoots and are even pro staffers that can't make a good shot on a live animal. 

[scoutdog346]

I dont suck that bad and i have probably missed over 5 under 10, 30 yard shots on elk and deer. At the range i average hitting a playing card 1 out of 5 times at 90 yards with a 10' group at 90 yards. Its all about awkward shots battling all the other factors that come into play when u got a harvestable animal in front of you.

[demontang]

Here is one thing to think about. I shot a smoker round this weekend with shooters that scored almost perfect scores during the regular 3d. Now put them with the same bow shooting through openings that where small and with obstacles  and I whooped them bad. Practice shooting open targets all day but if you don't have distraction and obstacles guys miss simple shots do to over thinking or rushing the shot

[JimmyHoffa]

I love all the ridgeline shots they take with a rifle....always a good example of safety

Relatives in Montana and other locals told me about some show that showed up and was shooting at mule deer @ ~ 1,200 yards.  At least the video they published claimed that is how for they shot the trophy they bagged... after taking IIRC three shots.  I saw a video of the incident, but don't remember what the name of the show is, I think it is Extreme _______ .

What was not on television is that in the eight or ten days they were hunting they were observed shooting at a half dozen trophy mule deer from distances of over a half mile away.  They were shooting across broken ground, across canyons, and the country is covered in heavy sage brush.  After the hunters and production crew had pulled out locals located a couple monster mule deer dead and another wandering around with a broken front leg.  The F,W & P were notified of what had went down, but said they lacked proof of who exactly was responsible.

I have spent a lot of time in that country and it takes at least a good half-hour to get from one of these ridges to another and frequently it takes twice that.  Every one of the draws has a creek bed in the bottom and is choked w/brush and aspen trees making it very difficult to get around and track an animal through.  These bottoms are where the deer were found by following up where ravens and magpies were congregating. 

I have never had much use for any of these "outdoor" shows, but considered them to be more or less harmless.  I have a friend who is retired and spends most of his day watching these shows, so I get to see them when I visit him and I'm not so sure anymore that they are "harmless."   I'm more and more am coming to believe that they are a net negative.

There was a guy that guided for some TV host for elk somewhere I don't recall.  Think it was antlerless/management type hunting.  The TV guy brought his kids and talked them up as being better shots/hunters than 99% of hunters out there.  The kids had .243 Wins and were taking all kinds of wild shots (long range/off hand/moving) and wounded something like five elk.  For the last day, the TV host broke out a .300 Win and shot his cow, but once the TV show aired, the editing made it look like each kid also shot (killed) a cow.

[Reidus]

Rushing the shot is what caused me to make some poor shots. Its hard to stay calm and execute a perfect shot when you got an animal in front of you that could blitz at any moment.

[Rainier10]

Not getting a good reading with my rangefinder, rushing the shot or moving the bow out of the way to see where I hit are the three that get me.  Best shots are when I take my time, get multiple readings with the range finder and keep the pin on the animal until the arrow hits.

[bearpaw]

pure and simple excitement...

When I was a kid I got buck fever so bad, the first deer I ever shot at (rifle) was bedded on top of a cut bank at 80-100 yards, I was so excited I hit about 6 or 8 feet under the deer, I shot 3 boxes of 30/30 before I ever got a big game animal, finally killed a bear after 4 years of shooting and missing, I learned to control the excitement after that.

I missed an easy shot at an elk later in life, hit a small sapling dead center that was in front of the kill zone, I hadn't even seen that sapling until my arrow found it. 

I see excitement in hunters all the time, most of the time it means they are having fun, I just try to calm them down so they can make a good shot. I've done quite a few tv shows through the years, some tv hosts get just as excited as other hunters, I'm glad to see they are enjoying the hunt, I have a lot less fun with a guy who shows no excitement.

I've seen a cougar wounded in the front leg at only 6 feet away, the guy was scared and trembling, his arrow missed the body completely, it ended up with my foot in the cougar's mouth after kicking the cougar trying to save a hound, cougar bit through the leather on both sides of the boot, the sole being sideways in his mouth saved my foot from being crushed, I fell with my foot still in the cat's mouth and was pulling myself backwards and dragging the cat along, the hunter was going to shoot at the cat again right then! No, no way was he throwing another arrow, not until I got free from that cougar!   

We've seen lots of standing elk missed as close as 10 yards, unless you have had a bull screaming at close range it's hard to understand how anyone could miss an animal that close, but it happens a lot, more than most hunters will publicly admit.

[JLS]

I missed a deer once at about 9 yards.  My closest pin was a 30 yard pin and I had no idea that I could miss high (which I did).  I shot my target later that morning and confirmed that everything was just as it should be.

I missed a bull broadside at 20 yards.  I ranged him at 40, then failed to take into account that I was 20 yards closer by the time I was done crawling through the willows.  Shot right over his back.

I missed a spike at 40 yards when he did a whitetail and ducked the arrow.

I missed a deer at 20 yards when I second guessed my range finder and used my 30 yard pin instead.

Stuff happens.

[Tbob]

Dang Bearpaw! Those are some crazy stories!