EXCUSES???

With opening morning of rifle season right around the corner there are bound to be plenty of missed shots. Lets hear some of the excuses you have heard over the years. Probably the one I hear most often is "I didn't shoot, I don't know who that was but it wasn't me".

Not so much missed shots but my least favorite excuse..."it was still kind of dark and I was pretty sure it was a doe" when a nubbin' buck gets killed. Kill a nubbin' on our place and you'll get a stern talking to from me. Do it twice and you won't be back.

Two of my friends have said at one point in their hunting career, "well, it looked bigger in the scope", after shooting a smaller deer than what they thought they shot.

"Don't know how I missed, the guy at the store said it was perfectly bore-sighted."

"Somebody must have swtiched ammo with me."

"They went behind a bush and I guess they switched spots when they came back out."

It's the guides fault!!!!

Safety on, true story

Some of these are more legit than others...

1. Bad ammo
2. He jumped the shot.
3. I lost him in the crosshairs.
4. The bullet must have hit something.
5. Wasps
6. Too hung over
7. I must have bumped my scope.
8. I let someone borrow my rifle.
9. Who, me? You must have heard a shot from someone on that other lease.
10. I just missed him.

One thing is certain, the buzzards never lie.

Only one I have ever offered was I just plain missed. Id hasn't happened often and the last time I was still a kid probably should have listened to my dad and calmed down a little more!

If the deer was running, I don't need an excuse. Everyone that hunts with me knows I can't hit squat with a rifle if its moving. And to add insult to injury, I'm a much better than average wing shot with a shotgun. Go figure...

Friend Farted at the same time I was pulling the trigger. Scared me.

I sat through a seminar a several years ago. Wish I could remember who it was but he was telling a story about when he use to guide for an outfitter and one of his clients was aiming at a huge buck. He said the guy was so excited he thought he was shooting at the animal and after each shot he would work the bolt and chamber a new round and repeat until the rifle was empty. When the rifle was empty the client turned to the guide and asked if he got the deer. The guide had to break the news to him that he never even fired a shot at the deer despite the fact that his gun was now empty.

A good friend told me something very similar happened to his brother. He saw the biggest buck of his life and just worked the action repeatedly until the gun was empty without ever shouldering it.

My kid is a life long baseball player so when I missed one time for no reason what so ever he said, what are you doing? I said I missed it happens. He said it don’t ever happen to you so what happened? I looked at him and said you know how sometimes when you play short stop you pick up a ground ball and then for no reason when throwing to first you throw it into the dugout? He said yes. I said well I just threw it in the dugout. He says oh ok. And he never brought it up again.

I have to clam #4. I do have pics of a cattle panel wire I split into. I knew I would need the pics of it as proof for the guys on the lease. Not that anyone would tell a STORY. I would load them if I could.

Well don't feel bad because I have done the same thing. Walking back to my ATV after a afternoon hunt I encountered a large red boar at my feeder. I took a broad side shot at him from 10 yards away with my 7 Mag and missed. Hit one of the strands on the hog panels and split it in two. I got him a week later though.

I shot a t-post while trying to kill an 8pt from an elevated blind... that was years ago and I bet that deer is still running for his life

My dog ate my homework.

I had too much Mexican food the night before...

A guy on our place did this 3 years ago. He said he was watching a wide, heavy, tall tined 7 running a doe. Said she and he ran into the brush and when that 7 stepped back out, he shot. Turned out it was definitely a 7 point, but "it was a different 7 he was watching before"


I've done the same and it sucks. I've got the pic of it somewhere too.

I forgot to put one in the chamber,,, align the perfect shot, flip safety off, mash trigger,,, click.

most common without question is guys not firing their rifles in - "it was on last year so I am sure it still is this year"

I didn't miss, I was practicing shoot and release.

I haven't missed a shot yet! *yet*

Sun was in my eyes.

Proof that my excuse is more than just an excuse.

Bad ammo!...Had a box from several years back!

I've heard this firsthand.

Cracks me up

Had a guy I was hunting with on a lease in Menard. Heard him shoot, sounded like it hit. Five mins later I shot an 8pt. Headed over to see what he shot pulled up to find a young 6pt laying in the feed pen. I knew there were several nice 8's and a few big 10's coming to that feeder so I asked him why did you shoot that? He said, "I was aiming at the 8pt in front of this one!!!" I still laugh thinking about it. He was in an elevated blind 8pt was broad side facing left 6pt was broad side facing right. Bullet went right over the 8 and dropped the 6.

" He was bigger in the scope."

NO excuse... rifle I owned a few years back had a lot of trigger creep. The one year I did not go to the range, it got me. Found a place on public land were I had a buck pattered. Got there well be for sun up and lay in ambush. 1hr after sun up he was there. From about 60yrds he hit the opening. I started to squeeze the trigger and pulled when I thought the gun was going off jumping the recoil. Shot over the deer then spent an hr making sure he that I missed and did not leave a wounded deer in the woods. Sold the gun the next year. Killed several deer with that gun but after that, I just had to let her go.

My.280 has never failed.

I knocked it down, but it ran off.
Must have just grazed it.
I dunno what happened

forgot to account for the wind...
when i ranged him in the field i must have picked up the bull mesquites way behind him on the fence line
i hit no mans land between his vitals and his spine (this always makes me laugh when gun hunters say it)
from my 8 year old to me on his first buck attempt, ugh you were shaking so hard you were making the blind move (this may actually be accurate as i was way more nervous than him)

My gloves were too thick. I couldn't feel the trigger very well.

Different grain ammo. I forgot to compensate.

Just thought of another one I've heard way too many times....
"I never get buck fever!"

I dropped my glasses this morning getting in my 15' tripod

^^Guilty. But my buddies still don’t know.

Heard a story similar to above as well.

Guided hunter lined up for the shot on the biggest buck in the group. Took the shot and immediately reloaded and shot again. Looked at the guide and said, “can’t believe I missed him on the first shot”. Guide says “you didn’t, you hit on both shots.” Took a few seconds for the hunter to realize what he did. Very expensive hunt for that guy.

I Did last night and it cost me a dandy buck.