Hunts that didnt go according to plan

steve45

Last November I had a Coues whitetail hunt in Arizona, about three miles from the Mexican Border. Because of foot problems I walk 1/2 mile out of camp and set up in the dark on a hill overlooking a valley. My 30 power spotting scope is set up in front of me, my rifle is beside me with the chamber empty. Im in camo from head to toe, and in front of a bush to break my outline. At first light Im glassing the brush immediatly in front of me when I hear a noise to my right. I leave my binoculars up and swivel my head to see, and 20 yds away walking towards me is a doe. I freeze as she comes closer and right behind her is a nice buck. When the doe gets to 10 feet from me, I see her eyes dialate and know shes seen me so I grab for my gun. The deer (there were three of them) scatter and when I get them in the scope their far enough away that its still too dark to spot the horns. So I end up empty. I know I should have been ready, but these deer are known for their eyesight and awareness. Spotting them at a thousand yards and sneaking to within 400 or better is the usual method. Im laughing at how they popped me, and it turned out that this was the best moment of the whole hunt. No venison for me this year. As I sit here eating pizza Im wondering if anybody else had an "experience" this year.

idsman75

I was deer hunting this past deer season. I saw many-a-doe from the tree stand in the morning and a few more just before sunset. In the afternoon I went to a different location with friends and sat on the ground with my back to a good-sized tree with many smaller trees around me. I was a Mossberg 835 Ulti-Mag with a slug barrel. It was loaded but I didn't think to load the S&W 686 that was on my hip. I sat silently and enjoyed the afternoon sunshine. I began to hear a "crunch crunch" noise behind me. I hadn't seen a buck all day long. The crunching noise got closer and I figured I'd better turn around and get a bead on my quarry. Well, I reached for the 686 on my hip and realized that I hadn't loaded it yet. The Winchester Supreme 180gr Nosler Partition ammo was in my pocket and I knew that, whatever it was, it was well within range of my revolver. I didn't want to give the animal knowledge of my presence so, with shotgun still on "safe", I spun around and smacked the barrel against one of the smaller trees next to me. Before I could recover and get a good sight picture, the buck had disappeared into the brush and I never saw it again. I would have gotten my first deer if I had only thought to load my revolver.In retrospect, I almost wish that I would have sat perfectly still and had a little more patience. He probably would have walked right past me if I had just sat still.[This message has been edited by idsman75 (edited 02-24-2002).]

Richie Rich

Steve45, as I also hunted in az 36c early whitetail(king anvil) ranch, the only thing that I could have honestley limited on was illegals. Man It is getting so bad down there my buddies and I are going to look for new turf.

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Remember,"your woman may not find you handsome, But atleast she'll find ya handy". I love that show..............

steve45

Richie Rich, went to another canyon before daylight. After the sun came up found it full of illegals who had lit a concealed fire to keep warm. No deer at all, they must have left in the night.

concealedG36

Are you guys saying that you're finding a whole bunch of illegal aliens coming into the U.S. from Mexico during your hunts? God, that has to be a weird feeling? I mean, what are you supposed to do? I've never heard of such a thing.Where are the border patrol cops? I guess I didn't realize how big this problem is/was..

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Gun Control Disarms Victims, NOT Criminals

salzo

My first season bowhunting, and I spent the entire season in trees, on the ground, and the only deer I saw was a doe, that was just out of range.Last week of the season, and I have a ground blind set up, and I put up scent in a half circle 20 yards from where I was standing. I was out for maybe 20 minutes, and I hear a ruckus. Must be a squirrel I thought, after not seeing any deer all season, the last thing I thought was making the noise was a deer. Heard the sound again, and out comes a huge buck, with his nose to the ground, who walked at a "jogging" pace around me in a half circle, just inside the half circle of scents I placed. I stood up, drew my bow, and followed him with my sight right behind his shoulder as he walked along my scent/marker lines. Then he was gone. I sat there thinking "You idiot, why didnt you make a noise to stop him in his tracks!" All season, this was what I was waiting for, and I blew it. He was obviously rutting, because he was totally oblivious to my presence, which was less than 20 yards away.

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Happiness is a warm gun

salzo

One spring gobbler season, I went out for the first time with the guy I go out deer hunting with. He loved deer hunting, and this was his first time turkey hunting. He was more focused on looking for deer, and was turkey hunting "in passing". We were out all morning, and it was about a half hour before quitting time. We were standing in the middle of a trail, and we were talking about deer, and I was kind of goofing off with one of my calls. We had pretty much given up, and we were just fooling around.All of a sudden up the trail something is walking. "What is that, a coyote?" "Maybe a fox?" "A dinosaur?" "S@#$ its a gobbler!"We both ran for cover, and the bird bolted out of there.My partner looked over at me and said "We screwed up, didnt we"(though he used a more colorful word)? It just goes to show, if you are hunting, you better always be expecting the game to appear at any time. Cause as soon as you are off guard, thats when they come out.

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Happiness is a warm gun

garandfan

I just got back yesterday from a javelina hunt here in Arizona near the border. On Sunday, my friend and I were sitting on some rocks looking around. We hear the brush rustling behind us, so we get ready. Out pops about 8 illegals about 10 yards from us. We are both only 17, and it made us a little nervous to see a bunch of grown men like that. I guess they got a look at our 30.06 and .357 mag, cause they all darted off very quickly. I'm sure they scared off any pig in the area, because we didn't see a thing for the rest of the day.