seasons are over, now 4 the not so good stories

[belkaholic]

we have been reading stories all year about the animals people got, and they are great stories. but i think that the " almost got him" stories are just as fun to read. i like to hear that i am not the only one who messed up or just got close.  So lets hear , in short, how close you got or how you missed the big one.   Here is mine, went 9 days in sept. chaseing a 6x6 bull around  almost every day. saw no other elk. had him at 50 yards 4 times trying to call him in by myself. frustraiting as hell. then i tried to fill my multy deer tag. passed on a couple small mulys and then a big heavy 3x3. one of the biggest 3 pts. i have seen. did not pull the trigger .  went back to same area for white tails in late bow. missed 4, 3 pts pluss eye guards and two 4 pts. pluss eye guards. didnt have time to use range finder and in the open grass hills i under shot 4 and hit 2 limbs in the thick stuff on the other 2. then came back here and missed a 2pt. black tail and a doe at 25 yards, hit limbs again. yes i hunt vary thick stuff and my eyes are getting bad. cant see the smaller limbs. then on the last day i finaly hit a doe, head on ,at 65 yards. my best and longest shot ever. all my other shots were less then 45 yards. to finish it off, as i walk up to the doe i saw a big 3x3 pluss guards standing there at 20 yards just watching me. MY BEST WORST YEAR EVER. man what fun.

[alecvg]

Missed a nice buck at very close range, no idea what happened.  Missed a bear because of my lack of rangefinder.  Should have of had a bear a close range, but my scope covers were on.  The buck is the one that really hurts... I just don't think about it.

[saylean]

I hiked in 3 miles and stayed the night (never done a pack in by myself and an overnighter, so it was all fun). Full size 2 man tent, sleeping bag, etc..I am new to the back pack thing, so it was a learning experience. It looked promising, I had deer the day before opening, crossing right infront of my tent and smelling the fire with me.

Opening morning was nice and cold....I hiked down to the creek bed, crossed the icy rocks, went up to a shelf that looked good. Jumped a few does.

730 am, I am "still" hunting, I glass in front of me on the shelf with the binos, and put them down. I hear a stomp, turn to my side, theres a smaller 4 pt just to my left about 50 yards, must have been bed down along a log there. He bolts but doesnt go more than a few yards, the deer looks frantically all over for a way off the shelf, I bring up the gun, and think about the shot...

bah! Its opening morning, I am bound to see a bigger one in this canyon me thinks, so I let him pass....I later dropped my GPS not long after I told my pops I would be back at camp the next evening. I would have loved to stay in there a few more days and am sure I would have succeeded otherwise.

But still it was a great experience and I am totally doing it again next season.

it was the only shooter buck I saw that season.

[Rainstorm Hunter]

Early rifle deer season.  I hunted a spot for the whole season and extended buck. opening weekend I had found where a buck was coming up and rubbing on a landing. Then heading back down into the clearcut near the edge of some alders. There was a little bowl with a big log laying sideways right next to the brush. So it was off the road and no one had walked off the road in this spot so I decided to go and check it out.  As I approached the spot I found even more rubs and big buck track. The jack firs were in the way so I could not see the big log.  I went to the stump in front of me where I could see better.  Right as I got into view of the log the biggest blacktail I have ever seen stood up and started trotting for the brush.  I pulled up my rifle put the crosshairs behind the shoulder and squeezed and Squeezed and SQUEEZED the trigger. And he was gone and the gun never fired it was then that I realized I forgot to turn my safety off  hunted that spot every weekend of the season and never saw him again only the rubs he was leaving.   Then Rifle Elk had a herd spotted out with about 15 cows a 4 point and a big 5 point bull.  Opening morning comes and we put a hunt on em. Ended up chasing them out to the road where a couple road hunters shot both the bulls. Pretty nice bulls too both dropped right by the road.  A little dissapointed to say the least. We were lucky though and did end up running into a 4 point bull in the timber the next day and got him so it's we did end up getting something this year.

[MLhunter1]

I put many many miles on the boots and only squeezed the trigger once on a doe on the last day and missed at 70yds somehow, rained a lot that day powder may have been a little wet becuase the smoke pole didn't feel right when I fired.  Followed a nice 5x bull all day but never could get any closer than 220yds, he teased me.  Next day found the herd in a cut at daylight with 2 smaller legal bulls in it.  As I was closing in and getting close to my 150yd range out of nowhere another ml hunter with a cow tag drops a cow out of the herd and they dissapeared quick.  I never knew anyone else was in there, the guy was dropped off by another buddy and then they chased the cow all day and continued to push the herd, he obviously put a bad shot on her.  In the early season I convinced a mf buddy that there were a lot of bears for him to hunt where I was deer huntin just so I could have some company for a change and surprisingly we saw 2 bears.  First one was a cinnamon bear that was gone soon as we saw it.  Next one was a large black bear about a mile down the road.  He was about 15 yds off the road in the stickerbushes and we could hear him walking towards us.  My buddy says he saw horns so I get ready to shoot and Mr bear steps out.  I wanted to shoot it but since I used bear huntin as bait to get him to go I tell him shoot it and he misses at 15yds, I should have shot.  First time being that close to a bear what an adrenaline rush.  Weird thing it didnt even run away just walked stopped and looked back a couple times but never presented me a shot, no cubs with it.  We spent the rest of the day lookin for blood and 3 of us the next day put a good search on so I was confident he missed.  Bad season for me wish I had more days in the woods, looking forward to next year.

[Tman]

Missed 2 bears this year.  Grizzly95 can verify, he was present.

[Tony]

Early Archery season i was Hunting Little Naches. About a week into the season i was checking out an area a couple of guys in our group and been hunting and seeing elk pretty regular. It was getting close to dark so i decided to take my time and walk the motoer cycle trail out when an few cows stepped out and looked at me broadside. I immediately thought they were 50 yards and after i raised the bow and got to full draw i second guessed myself and shot 40 yards and what do you know i shot right under the lead cow sticking the arrow in a log  . Since they decided not to stick around i went ahead a ranged were they were standing and it was 51 yards so i am still regretting second guessing myself.

[whacker1]

First weekend of Archery Elk, I have a bull at 20 yards, but I can't see him.  I waited for a few minutes and attempted to call him out of the brush to only hear antler tips crashing through the brush.

Second weekend was the real fun.  my hunting partner and I spotted a herd at 900 yards across this bowl on the edge of a clearcut.  We used some old skidder roads to cut the distance to 400 yards.  We started calling and watched the most amazing display I have ever seen from a Bull.  (I am new in the last 5 years of archery, and have had very few close encounters).  The bull started bugling as soon as we started cow calling.  He chased off a spike, and then rounded up his cows and pushed the cows over the hill away from us.  He then circled back up the hill toward us.  He was bugling about every 10 steps or so.  The bull crossed the upper skidder road and into the young reprod.  He came to about 150 yards out and started tearing up trees.  Bugled again and continued forward directly above me.  He stopped broadside at 75 yards up hill from me and raked another tree over.  Again he pushed forward and I could hear him directly above me.  I was at the end of my skidder road and trying to get him to step out from behind some trees. 

Ultimately the wind shifted and he winded me, but I was within 35 yards, and couldn't get a shot.  My hunting partner, who was not hunting archery had a clean shot at 60 yards, but all he had was a cow call to be dangerous with. 

This was by far the coolest experience I have had with a Bull during the Bugle.  Mainly because we got to watch the entire show in the mostly open country, which transpired over the course of a 1 1/2 hours.  He bugled about 25-30 times during that time frame.  It wasn't a spectacular bull, but a very vocal 5 x 5. 

I learned alot about that herd as I saw them a few more times, but never saw that 5 x 5 again.  I did see the spike again, but couldn't get positioned for a shot during the modern season. 

Yes, I did have the multi season elk tag.

[belkaholic]

these story's are so awesome. you can learn so much from the days that didn't work out the way we wanted. keep them coming.

[wsucowboy]

I'll keep mine short and sweet. Opening morning of modern deer missed a broad side shot at a 3x3 mulie at a little over 100 yards. Only legal buck I was able to get into range that weekend. Ended up having tag soup with my beer this year 

[Armadillo]

Early season muzzy deer hunt, hunted hard for a week seeing all sorts of small bucks and does. The last day we were there I jumped a nice 3 pt out of his bed and shot at it from almost 100 yrds, MISS. He was standin there motionless while I was trying to slam another maxi-ball into the muzzy then before I could bring the gun up he trotted over the next ridge, I hightailed it over there but never saw him again. Late season muzzy I was seeing deer everyday but the only legal deer I saw was a spiker who didnt allow for a clean shot, he was downhill maybe 75 yrds quartering away with a small tree in front of him. Still had a great year though its been my 2nd season eatin tag soup

[kramman]

1st yr hunting for my12 yr. old son.Opening day muzzy season we set up in a clear cut were we saw numerous bucks the year before. We sit and watch for about an hr. could tell he was getting bored as hell.So I told him we would slowly move to another location, I am leading the way when I look up on the ridge above us there is a huge muley buck standing in the brush about 120 yds. looking rt. at us .The buck turns and walks about 5 yds. and stops and looks at us broadside all I could see through the binos is horns sticking up everywhere I am begging my son to shoot,SHOOT, SHOOT well hes squeezing the trigger as hard as he could but he forgot to take off the safety.The buck takes 2 bounds and drops over the top,neveer see him again.Next day  he misses a 3x3 whitetail and a 2x2 whitetail all in about 30 mins. clean misses on both.Never did get him on a deer.Thats hunting!

   

[buck man]

 :bash:Late archery elk season this year I guessed the yardage wrong and shot right under a big cow. Told my bro.in law that I was never lending him my range finder again. He has since bought his own.

[SirSpencer]

Missed a really heavy 5x5 whitetail on a desperate shot. There would be a photo of it on here if my hunting partner had decided to hunt with me rather than meet his gfs parents...who ended up not even seeing him till 8pm anyway!

[Ellensburg]

Missed 3 easy pheasant shots in a row.

Missed a sitting grouse at like 25 yards.

Missed a few running coyotes.


Other than that, it was a very successful year.