Thread: Still making mistake's ....

I buggered my knee on my last hunt ( walked into a bog in the dark carrying a fallow buck ) so had to hatch another plan from the usual haunts. Teacher only day so Charlie and i set off on the quad to a likely looking area and set up camp. That evening we were hunting into the wind quietly pushing through scrubby mountain country. Half an hour from camp i poked my head around the next bush and there was a deer feeding 80 yds away. I motioned for charlie and he came closer to look. 1 turned into 3 and i offered him the shot. Because it was a standing only shot quartering downhill with no rest he turned it down.

MISTAKE 1 I left the .223 at home and brought the 708 thinking being in open country we might need a longer shot .

MISTAKE 2 Like a plonker I had no patience and just wanted some meat on the deck and hurried my shot . The sound of a hit came back and charlie said the deer lurched at the shot. Confident of a clean kill we wandered down to find it. After looking and looking where we thought it should have been Charlie lets out a yell. The deer which now turns out to be a hind ( and a very sick looking one ) is departing stage left very quickly leaving a solid trail of intestine's to follow.

MISTAKE 3 Identify our target properly. There were 3 deer and i thought i was lined up on the spiker but clearly not. I don't usually shoot pregnant hind's unless I'm desperate for meat. Following in the general direction id gone another 50 meters when I saw it standing there watching me. Boooom clean missed its head and it was off again. This was turning into a cluster fuck quickly. Gave it 5 minutes then begin tracking again. 20 Minutes later here it is laid down on top of a bank. Booom one through the shoulder. Thinking thank god that's over I approach it only to have it get up and go again !

MISTAKE 4 SEE MISTAKE 2 - PATIENCE Tracking again i finally caught up with her and dispatched it with one behind the ear . 4 shot's later and a shot up hind. Great going . I have not had that happen for a long time. My unprecedented run of one shot kills was well and truly over. My head had come back to earth with a thump.

MISTAKE 5 Just because you are using a bigger calibre don't assume it will kill better. Place your shot's.

Anyway the boy was happy we got a deer and the back straps, Eye fillets and back leg's were fine . At 46 im still learning ....

We all fuck it up occasionally, anyone who doesn’t probably isn’t doing much.

We all have those from time to time. I have learnt from those gave myself an uppercut, adjusted and carried on. Your lad was happy and there meat as well so not all bad in the end. Thanks for sharing.

thats how i broke my leg chasing a blood trail into real shit wind smashed scrub that i would normally stay out of because i know better @67 years old you think i would know better BACK STEAK FEVER strikes again!!!

at least you had enough ammo to finish the job.

If you never make mistakes, you never learn.

At least your out there. Funny how sometimes we all get a little bit to cocky and totally forget all the basics. Happens to everyone at some point...

that sounds like half of the fallow I have shot over the last 10 years....dont know what it is about them...they just dont do what they supposed to do after I squeaze off the shot LOL.

Not everything drops like a stone when you shoot it - but it bloody helps when it does !!

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Dont worry Nathan,if you dont make a mistake.You dont learn anything.Theres no manual out on the hills how to hunt.Enjoy yr veni and more important,you son had a great time.

We never stop learning ...... those who think they have, make the most mistakes

Glad I'm not the only one......
Made myself feel extremely foolish with some actions. The good thing was I was the only one present at the time feeling embarrassed.
Have learnt quickly from some mistakes, less quickly from others. Feel that overall the lessons learnt helped make me a better hunter. At least I've tried to better myself.

When I do that it's bound to be in front of someone. Im more relaxed by myself.

I don’t get a chance to make a mistake, my lad like yours will soon, takes all the shots. Much easier to be critical of their performance! As he gets older I think he gets worse. His first half dozen deer never missed, now it seems like every second shot he misses.

I’ve got a new iPhone any idea why I can’t upload photos like I used too ?