This story hasn't ended yet but I'm putting in in the unsuccessful hunts thread because I screwed up. Tonight I took a shot that I should not have taken. I'm not making excuses for myself but rather doing some self reflection. By the time the shot occurred I was pretty emotionally compromised tonight and I feel that it led me to make a bad decision on taking this shot. Usually I limit myself to a 20-25 yard shot but tonight I took a 35 yard shot. The buck stepped out in an open area exactly where I had ranged so I knew the exact distance. I had been practicing out to 40 yards this year and in the 2 seconds I had to make the decision I went for it but I know I shouldn't have. I have a history of bad buck fever and I will never say I've overcome it but I've managed to control it by doing a couple things. I do not take shots from the ground on my way in, I only take saddle shots. This puts me in an environment that I'm familiar with and I make less impulsive decisions. I've limited myself to 20-25 yard shots. Ultimately at this range I'm less likely to make a bad shot.
So why was I emotionally compromised? I have a few things bothering me going on with out house and my personal life but that is life and you always have to juggle stuff. That state was raised by the frustrating chain of events on my way into my hunt. Tonight was a kayak hunt and I've been using my nucanoe with a trolling motor. The motor died about 200 yards out so I had a long paddle to get to my spot and then I'm running late. I got set up and started settling in and then 15 minutes later 2 shotgun blasts nearly knock me out of the tree and the steel shot rains down over my head. Next time I hunt that spot I'll have to consider when duck season opens. At that point I decided I needed to get the hell out of there so I bailed on that spot and headed to the other spot I have set up in the area. I finally get set up in that spot with an hour of shooting light left but I'm just in a generally grumpy mood. The buck walks out 10 minutes before dark and I let it fly. I'm not exactly sure where I hit but I am guessing it is low. He dropped and turned. I thought I might have shot under him but I found a little blood on the fletching and the start of a blood trail. It was wet and the arrow buried deep into the mud so that degraded that sign a bit. As soon as I saw blood I turned around and backed out. I already made 1 stupid decision tonight I wasn't going to make another. I'll go back and pick up the trail in the morning but I'm less than optimistic. My impression of the shot and how he ran off lead me to believe I just caught some meat but I won't know until I try.
I'm not posting this looking for any pity or even any advice. I've been through this before and I know what I did wrong and I know what I need to do now. One of the things I try to do on this site is keep it real. I hate the popular hunting culture that tv has created. Unfortunately this stuff happens in hunting, bow hunting in particular. I always try to learn from my mistakes but I'm only human. Tonight I'm going to bed and I feel like I'm going to puke. And it's my own stupid fault. I felt like I needed to write this up while I'm sitting here feeling like this so that others can understand that when this happens to them they are not alone. When a new hunter posts that he feels like this and I tell him it happens to us all, well here it is. I have been bow hunting for 21 years and it happened to me tonight. It is not the first time and I'm sure it won't be the last time but it still sucks.
I'm going to go out in the morning and put in my best effort. Remember when I said I get buck fever bad? Yea, that means I have a lot of experience tracking. I've gotten pretty darn good at it and if this deer is dead I'll find him. But if I do it won't be because I made a good shot.
So why was I emotionally compromised? I have a few things bothering me going on with out house and my personal life but that is life and you always have to juggle stuff. That state was raised by the frustrating chain of events on my way into my hunt. Tonight was a kayak hunt and I've been using my nucanoe with a trolling motor. The motor died about 200 yards out so I had a long paddle to get to my spot and then I'm running late. I got set up and started settling in and then 15 minutes later 2 shotgun blasts nearly knock me out of the tree and the steel shot rains down over my head. Next time I hunt that spot I'll have to consider when duck season opens. At that point I decided I needed to get the hell out of there so I bailed on that spot and headed to the other spot I have set up in the area. I finally get set up in that spot with an hour of shooting light left but I'm just in a generally grumpy mood. The buck walks out 10 minutes before dark and I let it fly. I'm not exactly sure where I hit but I am guessing it is low. He dropped and turned. I thought I might have shot under him but I found a little blood on the fletching and the start of a blood trail. It was wet and the arrow buried deep into the mud so that degraded that sign a bit. As soon as I saw blood I turned around and backed out. I already made 1 stupid decision tonight I wasn't going to make another. I'll go back and pick up the trail in the morning but I'm less than optimistic. My impression of the shot and how he ran off lead me to believe I just caught some meat but I won't know until I try.
I'm not posting this looking for any pity or even any advice. I've been through this before and I know what I did wrong and I know what I need to do now. One of the things I try to do on this site is keep it real. I hate the popular hunting culture that tv has created. Unfortunately this stuff happens in hunting, bow hunting in particular. I always try to learn from my mistakes but I'm only human. Tonight I'm going to bed and I feel like I'm going to puke. And it's my own stupid fault. I felt like I needed to write this up while I'm sitting here feeling like this so that others can understand that when this happens to them they are not alone. When a new hunter posts that he feels like this and I tell him it happens to us all, well here it is. I have been bow hunting for 21 years and it happened to me tonight. It is not the first time and I'm sure it won't be the last time but it still sucks.
I'm going to go out in the morning and put in my best effort. Remember when I said I get buck fever bad? Yea, that means I have a lot of experience tracking. I've gotten pretty darn good at it and if this deer is dead I'll find him. But if I do it won't be because I made a good shot.
