Excuse List

[Sitka_Blacktail]

Was just going through my deceased father's (He died a year and a half ago) pictures and I found a copy of our old "excuse list" we made from the days when we had a big black powder camp with uncles and cousins in the Lincoln unit. We used to joke that some mistakes were made often enough that it would be simpler to make a list and when you got back to camp you could just say the number instead of spending the time explaining what went wrong that day. Some days you might toss out two or three numbers. 

Part of the the fun of black powder hunting for us was the uncertainty of your gun going off, especially in the wet climes of coastal Washington. It can be a bit of a challenge at times. But in spite of all the excuses on the list, we were pretty successful in the long run. We had a fluid group of 8 to 10 of us who would camp and hunt together depending on who was in camp at the time. Dad and the uncles enjoyed camp life as much as hunting it seemed and they were quick with a good story, especially if it involved one of their brothers. Many laughs and good times were had by all.

Without anymore ado, here is the list.

1.  Forgot to load my gun.
2.  Forgot the powder, rammed home a bullet.
3.  Forgot the cap
4.  Forgot my possibles bag (For a follow up shot)
5.  Misfire
6.  Hangfire
7.  Hadn't sighted in my gun (A) since the start of this season (B )since last season (C) since 1983
8.  I thought they were sighted in when you bought them.
9.  Didn't fire a cap to clear nipple before loading this morning.
10. We were only hunting an hour so gun was still in the case in the back seat.  (Dad and an uncle had disabled hunter permits and road hunted)
11. Couldn't get the seat belt loose in time. (a road hunting problem again)
12. Driver honked horn and scared deer.
13. Driver didn't stop in time.
14. I just walked over to look off the landing and didn't take gun.
15. Partner shot and spooked deer so I couldn't get a standing shot.
16. Was laughing so hard at my partner's mistake, I didn't get a shot.
17. Partner didn't come with me and deer got away when my gun misfired.
18. I could have shot him in his bed, but was trying to get closer.
19. Was afraid I'd hit the doe he was mounting.
20. I thought my partner was going to shoot, so I didn't.
21. Bad powder from leaving gun loaded several days.
22. I was squatting with my pants down and couldn't reach my gun.
23. Lost my ramrod and couldn't reload
24. Knocked my sights loose when my gun hit a tree
25. Bumped trigger while I was bringing gun down on a deer after setting the hair trigger. Shot into the air. (or the moon shot as we called it)
26. All I could see was his feet. (hunting in a thick reprod unit)
27. I was busy ducking when he jumped over me. (explanation below)
28. I was holding onto branches trying to climb a steep bank and couldn't let go to shoulder my gun. (Same buck as 27. explanation also below)
29. Sweating too much from hiking and glasses fogged up.
30. I'm not perfect and I don't know anybody who is. (a catch all excuse, used when a hunter didn't want to embarrass himself)

I'm sure there were a few more we added later that weren't on this list.

Explanations. 26, 27, and 28 all involved the same buck which was legendary in our camp. He either had super powers or super luck. My dad and two uncles had decided to check out the Satsop unit one day and were looking over an old reprod unit when they spotted a huge 3x3 with an extremely heavy rack. It got into the brush where they couldn't see it, so one uncle went around behind it to try to chase it to one of the others. He jumped it and got a shot, but missed and then the fun began. Dad had gone into the brush on the next ridge and the buck ran by him at pretty close range, but due to the thick brush, all he could see was the lower legs and feet. It then ran towards uncle #2 who was waiting on a skid road with a high bank in front of him. He heard it coming, but thought it was my dad so he wasn't prepared when the buck dove out of the brush and landed right beside him on the skid road. By the time he'd gathered his wits, he missed a shot as it ran up the road and back into the brush towards my dad who was climbing a steep bank to get a better view. He was holding on with both hands as the buck ran by him again. This time he could see it fine, but couldn't let go to get a shot. They never saw it again that day, but did see it once more that season only no good shot was available.

Anyway, this list brought back a bunch of great memories of relatives who are no longer with us. I sure miss those guys.

[Smokepole]

 

[Mark Brenckle]

Those are great, thanks for posting.  Hope I can use one someday, my only excuse so far is "Didn't see a dang thing!"
 

[Mark251]

Great post 

[Sitka_Blacktail]

Might have to try to remember some of our other excuses.  It was fun coming up with "The list" and we all chipped in as we all made mistakes over the years.

[kellama2001]

Those are great!    And will come in handy...you don't mind if I "borrow" the list do you?

[Sitka_Blacktail]

Those are great!    And will come in handy...you don't mind if I "borrow" the list do you?

Not at all. And if you have a few, maybe we could start a Hunt Washington list in memory of my dad. Feel free to contribute.

[Chesapeake]

The only one that jumps to mind that I don't see on your list is:

I left my ramrod in on the reload and launched it into oblivion.

Many of your list bring back fond memories that weren't so fond at the time they happened.

[HUNTINCOUPLE]

Very funny and truthfully! Thanks for the post!

[Sitka_Blacktail]

The only one that jumps to mind that I don't see on your list is:

I left my ramrod in on the reload and launched it into oblivion.

Many of your list bring back fond memories that weren't so fond at the time they happened.

Hah! That must have been exciting!

[superdown]

  That's awesome

[Bean Counter]

I just closed my eyes and slammed the trigger   

[bracer40]

Great list and stories!

[b.roberts]

Thanks for sharing.   Great story, love the list.

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