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I found the meaning of heartbreak this morning..

mitch_foster15

Junior Member
26
0
Geauga
All spring/summer i got pictures of a nice 14 point that i had on a schedule(the buck in my avatar).. about a month before the season began he dissappeared never to be seen again. Until this morning...

i decided to try rattling today and proceeded to do a 30 second sequence every 20 minutes or so starting when i could see my pins. At nine o clock im about 5 seconds into my sequence and i hear "crunch crunch" behind me. Knowing that a squirrel had been there all morning i thought it was a little to loud to be the squirrel... i was right, and i was unprepared.. the buck i hadnt seen since summer made an appearence and he was less than thrilled. he meandered his way to ten yards away, but i havent had a chance to get up, because i never had a chance to put the antlers away!:smiley_confused_vra as my mind is racing to figure out what to do with the antlers he takes his time slowly walking around behind me out of view. when he appears to my side hes staring right at me. after about 2 minutes of staring he shrugs me off and makes his way away from me. Running out of time i stand up, shove one antler in my muck boot, and squeeze the other one between my legs. The buck bounds over a downed tree and turns right into a shooting window at 30 yards! perfect! i release and the deer takes two bounds with his tail down, looks my way and casually walks away as if our encounter never happened.. upon review of my shot i probably rushed being excited.. and when i found my arrow it appears that my "shooting window" actually had a decent amount of vines that i couldnt see through adrenaline fueled excitement. definately crushed my morale this morning. went home and shot a broadhead at 30 yards boom, bullseye..

Ive been hunting deer for 10 years and as of yet ive always killed does/small bucks. I love the meat(and it takes less skill..), but this year i decided now that i have a private place to hunt and i put the time in to micro manage it this summer im going to hold out for my first big buck. im gonna give it a go this afternoon, and the next two weeks should be exciting. just gotta get over this miss.

Hope everyone else's season is going good! just wanted to share!
 

giles

Cull buck specialist
Supporting Member
You will learn to be happy to have a clean miss. Much better than a bad hit! I'd move to a different area and use the same tactics, you know it worked on him this morning.
 

mitch_foster15

Junior Member
26
0
Geauga
You will learn to be happy to have a clean miss. Much better than a bad hit! I'd move to a different area and use the same tactics, you know it worked on him this morning.

your right, better he walks away fine than the feeling of injuring one never to be seen again. we will see how the antlers do this afternoon
 

Dannmann801

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
10,640
191
Springboro
Before every hunt I say the same prayer, asking for 3 things:
My safety and the safety of all my brother afield,
Opportunity,
And a clean hit or a clean miss.

You're home safe, had opportunity, and the deer you want is out there unharmed.
While understandably heartbroken, I'd call it a win. Well, maybe a draw.

But dude, what an adrenaline rush you must have had! Go get him! :smiley_coolpeace:
 

Bigslam51

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
25,778
127
Stark County
Yep, better to miss clean vs a wounded buck. You have plenty of time left, he'll forget about it when there's a hot doe around.
 

Dustinb80

#FACKCANCER
Supporting Member
18,172
187
S.W. Ohio
Damn it man. Sorry to hear that. But like everyone else has said, better a clean miss that a sloppy hit. Better luck next time
 

MaineMan

Junior Member
14
0
Every Bowhunter in the world feels your pain! Blow it off and be happy that you managed to do enough right to get a legitimate shot off. The bright side? :)
Stay after him! And good luck!
 

Joel

Senior Member
3,049
113
Centerburg, Ohio
A clean miss is so so much better than a bad hit. I wouldn't be shocked if you get another chance from the same stand. Best of luck and keep your head up.
 

giles

Cull buck specialist
Supporting Member
BTW, in call it humbled, not heartbroken. Now gather all you feelings back up, put them back in your purse, and go kill that mother Fugger. Go gettem Mitch!
 

mitch_foster15

Junior Member
26
0
Geauga
Thanks for the positivity guys! all of you are right, ive wounded and lost deer before and its a terrible feeling. As said, chalked up as a great encounter and hopefully our next one, will be his last
 

rsmith

Member
1,835
52
Get back at Em' he will be back again. Keep practicing and hunt smart and you hopefully will be able to capatlize on him. I did the exact same thing 2 years ago as you, litteraly identical didn't see the small vines in the shooting window and arrow went MIA and so did the deer. I see you're in Geauga county as well. I'm in Geauga county too so if you need help tracking let me know.

 

Curran

Senior Member
Supporting Member
7,971
172
Central Ohio
"You'll miss 100% of the shots you don't take." - Michael Jordan

If you bowhunt hard you're also gonna miss some of the shots that you do take too. Just learn from it and get better. That's all you can do.