Worst one that got away story?

[Monster Raxx]

What is the worst story of one that got away from you?

[Monster Raxx]

Unfortunately I had to think about this because I have had a few terrible things happen on some giants. The worst though happened last season. I was on a DIY bow hunt in Kansas with a few friends. We scouted the first day and a half and found a few nice spots and saw a nice 160" 11 pointer and we went in and hung a set. I lost the coin toss and was the camera man for the evening. That buck came in to 23 yards but was on my side of the tree, my buddy never got a shot amd all I could do was film him as he walked right in front of me . I hunted that buck for the next 2 days from dark to dark. My buddy moved to another area and said I should come over by him. So we decided to hunt our stands that morning and meet up at 10 to hang a couple more stands. Unfortunately that morning he got a flat tire, so we had to go into town about 30 minutes away and get it fixed. When we got done we got re showered and walked back in just over a mile to where he thought we should hang the stand. The tree's were really crooked and we finally got a stand hung, and he left to go back to his stand from the morning. I was going to self film my hunt, and was trying to get my camera arm strapped to the tree, but it wasnt going well because of how crooked the tree was. I was kneeling on my platform strapping the arm in the only spot that would work on the side and just below my seat. Only 5 minutes had past since my buddy had left, I herd something and looked over and a 180" bruiser was walking 25 yards from my stand. I was not ready since I was trying to get ready to film. I got ready quickly and the buck did not know I was there. He had moved into some really thick brush and I had no shot. I grunted and used my can twice, the buck worked his way into the CRP 80 yards away, but was turned to come and check it out. Just as I thought I was going to get an opportunity at this huge buck, I felt the wind hit the back of my neck and it was over just as fast as it started.

[BigHunt]

can it be a turkey hunt

[Spysar]

The worst ones aren't the ones that eluded me, it's the ones I hit with arrows and never recovered. And there's a few through the years..

One was up in Saskatchewan. I self filmed myself on a real nice buck, and I was bowhunting during rifle season. I had the buck quartering away, with his left side facing me and his head turned left. Just at the very second I hit my release, he swung his head around to the right. My arrow hit right behind the shoulder, but it should have been further back. I thought I drilled him. But I must have slid the arrow right in between his front leg and his ribcage. It didn't help that he swung his head right around at the exact time I released. I tracked him for miles, and I don't think he was dying at all. I would practically cry when I watched that video over and over...

[straitnarrow]

It happened 2 years ago second weekend of rifle season. We got a realy good snow storm the wet sticky big flakes. I was sitting on a dead fall off of a point that went out to a patch of dog wood brush (had no idea it was a buck bedding area ). Just after sunrise I was reaching down for my thermos and seen a huge buck at 20 yards. He was staring in my direction for what seemed like forever when he put his head down I shouldered my rifle and could not see through the scope due to the snow. I cleaned it off and before I got to find his shoulder through the scope it was covered again. So I flipped the scope over to the iron sites and the same thing happend. The snow built up so bad I could not see the pin on the end of my barrel. I cleaned it off put it on his shoulder and let a shot off. When I pulled the trigger the snow had already built up enough to put me off aim. I missed and he took off like an olympic sprinter and I never seen him again. Not one of my prouder moments.....should not have taken the shot.

[blackwolf]

Spysar, I feel your pain on that one. I did a similar thing on the biggest buck I ever had a shot at in Wis about 12 years ago. A 170 + class buck came thru with a doe, turned and stopped at 25 yards broadside. I thought I made the perfect shot but took up the trail which was easy with a fresh inch of snow and soon realized I had just clipped his front shoulder brisket area and he was fine.

[tim]

again like spy back in 07 i shot a buck on my property down in my valley . i hit him in the left shoulder too far forward ,in disgust watched him trot 60 yards turn look at me then trot off , i thought he was going to drop when he started climbing that mountain like bluff i knew he wasnt going to die. 2 days later he strted showing up on trail cams with a huge gash. then in 05 i sailed an arrow right over the back of a 160's 12 pt. and back in 93 i believe it was i was gun hunting and missed the widest buck ive ever seen on the hoof, i still get sick thinking about that one........ill stop there, but there are more, if i would have have half those bucks on my wall that i have missed over the years my wall would be rediculous but thats hunting and part of my learning curve. those misses are all so vivid in my memory and i believe they are part of what keeps me loving hunting so much. it aint easy killin the big ones.

[jlh42581]

The biggest buck I have ever seen on the hoof while hunting came in 06. I had to hunt out of a ground blind as I had just had a metal plate fastened to my tibia. I hobbled down into this field where I could set the blind up. It was roughly 500 yards from the road, the first 300 of it was corn, then it opened to alfalfa. This spot seemed like a good idea, I knew the deer bedded in the bottom as I had shot them walking out of an old logging road in seasons prior.

I got the blind setup, got in. It was pretty warm. About an hour before dark the deer started pouring out. Doe after doe after doe, no bucks. About 20 minutes passed and I see the doe's staring into the woods. What stepped into where I could see was what I had always dreamed of seeing. A main frame 10 with double drops. Couldnt believe this was going to go down out of a ground blind. The buck stood at the edge for what seemed like an eternity not wanting to step into the wide open. When he finally did, I had to bring him 40 yards closer for a shot. Thinking it wouldnt happen I got a bright idea... rattle... boy was that dumb.

I smacked the horns together and he locked up. Swiveled his head around, saw that blind and was GONE. I tried to get on him again but couldnt and the corn came down about 3 days later and the deer movement to that field stopped completely. A buddy of mine from school who lives in the area and hunts roughly the same area but across the valley shot that deer on the first morning of gun season. He scored 173". When he got the deer home he found an arrow in his neck and the whole deer was ruined except the rack.

[Scot]

If I don't think about it,it didn't happen! It is way to painful! I can't go there!

[Hodag Hunter]

It was early Novemeber and bucks were on the move. I had a few days off work and went to an area where I knew a big buck for me was tearing things up. I only ever got (2) trail camera pictures of him about 200 yards away from where I planned to hunt that night but guessed the sign was from him.

It was raining pretty good when I parked the truck but planned to hunted anyway. Once in the tree the rain picked up but it wasn't an overly cold day and figured deer were going o be on the move. I was hunting a cedar/spruce swamp edge that met up with hardwoods.

Seen my first deer after only half hour in the tree out in the hardwoods.....they came from the swamp but out of range for me to quite see what they were. They were about 80 yards away and pretty sure they were all does and fawns when I just felt something was behind me, never heard a thing in the rain. Slowly turned around to see a deer walking parrell to the edge about 25 yards in further than I was. Had my bow in my hand already figuring the deer would continue past and exit the swamp the same trail the other deer did which wouldn't give me a shot.

When the deer was now 30-35 yards away it stopped and I still couldn't tell if it was a buck or doe and could have taken a shot thru a small opening. The deer just stood there for a good 5 minutes. I should have shot, I was thinking only a buck would act like that and be all by itself.....hind sight is 20-20.

When the deer started moving it turned 90 degrees and strated heading my way to the hardwoods and would pass by me about 15-20 yards away. When it took only 4-5 steps I could see it was a buck and the one I was after but was now quarting hard to me. I needed it to take at least 10-12 steps for a good shot. The buck stopped again and looked out at the does feeding......my heart was going 100mph. Finally it slowly started walking again and when it passed a small Christmas tree size pine I drew my bow, the deer stopped instantly. I could only see one side of its rack, telling me it was looking in my direction, and it's rump end on the other side of the tree.

Long story short, the deer was looking my way for a while and then out at the does, then back my way while I held my bow at full draw. Finally I had to let down when he was looking at the does one time and he spotted the movement. He never ran but slowly turned and dissapeared back in the swamp never offering a shot after I quickly re-drew.

Never saw that buck again.....from stand or trail camera.

[G3s]

The worst one to get away didn't actually get away...but I screwed up an otherwise fantastic hunt in 2006. I was hunting with my brother during opening week of gun season, we heard some deer running and some loud grunting...I turned the camera on and got the deer in the view finder just as they came out of the swamp onto our ridge...he was huge! I got on him as he stopped next to a jack pine...my brother asks, "do you got him?" I say yeah and BANG...he drops in his tracks....we try to watch the footage over and realize I either doubled the record button or never actually pressed it in all of the excitement.

[Uncle Lou]

The worst one to get away didn't actually get away...but I screwed up an otherwise fantastic hunt in 2006. I was hunting with my brother during opening week of gun season, we heard some deer running and some loud grunting...I turned the camera on and got the deer in the view finder just as they came out of the swamp onto our ridge...he was huge! I got on him as he stopped next to a jack pine...my brother asks, "do you got him?" I say yeah and BANG...he drops in his tracks....we try to watch the footage over and realize I either doubled the record button or never actually pressed it in all of the excitement.

Folks just for the record that is a MI buck. Now stay away we dont have any big bucks or cheap non resident tags:lol:

I once just got done tying my gun to a pull up rope when a buck came running right by me. If I hadnt just unloaded my gun too, I would of shot him with the rope on it.