Just wondering if anyone had a funny story about goofing up a hunt?

I somehow spent at least 3 years bowhunting before taking a deer. I think I found almost every way there is to flub a shot. I've walked a half- mile to the stand only to find I've forgotten my release. I've dropped arrows while trying to draw (wonderful old flipper style rests), I've deflected arrows off of a limb and a feeder leg. Probably the one that would have looked the funniest if it someone could have seen it, was the time I accidentally walked into a little pack of javelina on my way to the stand. I pulled a muscle trying to scramble up onto a ridiculous little platform stand that was about 6 ft tall. I had to sprint about 10 - 15 yards, toss my bow up in front of me and drag myself up onto the platform. I took a couple of inches of hide off of my stomach as I went up.

It's almost amazing that I ever killed anything with the way I started my bow hobby. Lots and lots of trial and error.

Biggest mistake I made was hunting out of a blind without shooting from it first. Hunted a buddies stand and was going to shoot a doe. Made the draw, set my pin and let it fly...right into the bottom of the window. His blind was made out of wood and it made the loudest noise I have ever heard. Pieces of shrapnel went everywhere, I was lucky I didn't get hurt.

It will be shocking to some on here, but believe it or not, he is a little taller than I am

Im in the same boat you were, ive been at it for 2-2.5 years and still havent taken anything! But the reason being, I want my first kill to be a really special one lol.

First time i ever drew back on one was last year, opening weekend, i was hunting out of normal 2 seater tree stand and had the rail down in the front. Buck snuck up on me out of no where, and for some reason i turned to the side to pull back, i was going to shoot sitting down, as i turned to the front of me i ran into the bar buck just looked up stared at me for about 3 min. The whole time I stayed drew back until he ran off. Needless to say i was more sore than i had ever been the next morning lol. So I agree with txshntr in practicing shootong out of stand first!

When I first started bowhunting I had a climbing stand, as a doe came into the feeder, I picked up my bow and banged it right into the rifle rest. Doe was gone in a flash.

My son killed his first whitetail (doe) with a bow when he was 12. I had him in a tripod on my main setup that has a rifle box blind set up on a bluff 100 yards away. Well I wanted to help him as much as possible so I told him that when the deer hit the chum corn I had put out 17 yards from him that I would doe bleat from the box blind so that they would look up at the blind and give him a better opportunity to draw his bow. Thirty minutes into the sit, four doe come in…get broadside to him…I doe bleat….and they scatter like a covey of quail. First one that came back to the bait squared up to him and I’m wondering if I should even do anything when I see Jr. drawing and then Thwack! Perfect double lung and the deer didn’t go 60 yards. I get down to the stand and he says “Thanks for trying to help dad…but I think I got this”

during my first bow hunt of my life i had a stud of a 9 pt walk out... drew the bow and hit the release as soon as i got pulled back from the excitement of buck fever and being 14 yeras old...i shot so high kareem abdul jabar would have been out of harms way even if he was standing on shaqs shoulders... literally shot 16 feet over his back

First off, I am a traditional archer. I shoot recurves and longbow. This year, I have hunted with nothing but my 21st century longbow. I use a traditional quiver when I hunt with this bow .... the quiver hangs in the back. The other day I went hunting behind my house in a 15 foot ladder stand where my son-in-law had seen a couple of good bucks a few days before. They are just traveling through that area checking on rubs and scrapes. Anyway, I sat there for a couple of hours or so and did not see anything. I still had 10 to 15 minutes of light left, so I decided to get down and ease over to my small oat field and see if anything was there. I unnocked my arrow, put the arrow in the quiver that was hanging on a little branch next to me. Picked the quiver up.... put my head and arm through the quiver strap and lowered my bow down with a small rope. I climbed down the stand and eased toward my field, nocking another arrow as I started out. As I eased up to the field I pulled my binos up to check everything out there, it was getting pretty dark...... there were deer out there and one of them was a nice buck!!!! Suddenly, they started running from the far end of the field, some 275 yards away, off to my left and as they got out of my sight, I decided to ease up closer. I slithered low to the ground and as I approached the situation, another buck and 5 does were hauling anus away from me like I had a Billie Goat under each armpit. I said to myself, there is no way they could see me and they sure could not have smelled me. I decided to back out of there and walk back to the house and let them settle down. As I walked away, I took my nocked arrow off my string and looked over my right shoulder to put the arrow in my quiver and there was my problem...... I had a luminock on one of the arrows and it was shining in all it's glory. No wonder they knew I was there. I had a good chuckle and walked on up to the house. Had a good time out in God's creation, saw some deer, and got a good laugh at myself. It was a complete day.

Another story about shooting from a blind before hunting it. I was in a popup last year when a nice 8 came to the feeder. As I went to draw, the bow was all up on the front and my elbow was pushing the back wall out about 6". Think I was in a youth tent or something, Lol. Anyway, I finally got positioned and to full draw. By the time I got my pin on him he decided to reposition himself. As I started let off, the broadhead brushed the front wall and the 8 was gone without hesitation. To top it all off, before I got completly let off and after he was gone, I hit the release and shot the arrow thru the tent and into the ground at about half draw. Felt like a total dumb ace and never saw that 8 again all season.

I've had two this year. Opening day I had a spike and 3 does and a fawn long story short they were all looking away from me and I went to draw back to pop the spike and the fawn was 10ft from me staring in my blind and blew they all took off. Then the 30th it was raining nothing came in so I took a walk through the woods and came up on some bedded deer they stood up and there was a nice 8 point 20yrds I drew back and my rubber peice was wet and slid off my peep sight so I let it down and the buck ran off. I fixed it and started to walk and the doe was 10yrds from me and stood there the whole time. If I was paying attention I could have drew back again and probably got her.

I was once watching 3 bachelor bucks at a feeder. One of them was tempting me, but I just couldn't decide if I should take him. I decided to see if I could draw on him and had just come to full draw when one of them caught movement and stared at me in my platform stand. I held for a minute or so until he decided I was a tree branch and lost interest. About that time I decided not to shoot and started to let down and I accidentally triggered my release. I'm not sure if I was more surprised and spooked or the bucks. Thankfully I put the arrow into the dirt, but those milliseconds seemed to last forever as I tried to figure out if I had hit one of them. I related these to archery, but if I included rifle hunting I could add at least a couple of more stories.

I was drawing back in my stand trying to keep from getting too stiff one morning when I accidentally hit my release and stuck an arrow about 25 ft up in a tree across from me. That was 3 years ago and its still stuck there.. a nice little reminder of the incident

I was elk hunting in CO about 5 miles into the wilderness from the trailhead. Hunting with my recurve, I bumpped into some grouse right where I was going to make camp and they looked mighty tasty compared to freeze-dried food. I had 4 arrows in my quiver. . . shot 3 at the grouse. I actually knocked my 4th arrow and thought better of it. . . . good thing, because I couldn't find a single one of the arrows I'd shot. Needless to say, dinner was freeze-dried.

I also shoot recurve, I shot at one doe about 3 times once. Every time I missed, she'd jump, stomp, look around and stand there. AFter the 3rd shot she finally left. I was way up in a tree and just couldn't get it right.

Last year I was farting around behind the house. Rattled some antlers and this buck came charging in... stood broadside at what I thought was about 30 yds, shot right over his back... I stepped it off and he was actually 22 yds. I might have forgot to pick a spot...

Still fun!

Wasnt funny for me, but I was still working on my first kill with a bow. Had a pop up set up about 20 yards from a feeder a couple miles SW of Kurten. Got in the blind with a buddy of mine set stuff up.

buddy- You think we should close the front window more?

Me- No I need that much room for the site and arrow to still clear the bottom.

Buddy- Oh ok, why dont you go trip the feeder.

About 5 minutes after tripping the feeder we hear some leaves crunching coming from the right behind us. Peak through a small hole in the corner and there is a nice doe coming straight to the feeder and will cross LESS THAN 5 YARDS from us. Doe comes by stops PERFECT in front of the window quartering away at about 5 paces, I draw site and shoot I hear a funny nois and see my arrow fly way hi over her back as she hallllls but!

Me- FUDGE! I hit the window

buddy- Sorry I closed it some when you went to trip the feeder...

Me-

My first bow kill was in Oct 2002 on Ft Knox KY, I was hunting a doe only area I walk in climb a tree about 15 min later three doe came walking in I was so jacked up I got to just about full draw and my arrow came off the rest, I let it down got my arrow back on I judged her to be about 30yds still so excited I put my 20yd pin on her arrow went right under her belly they spooked a bit but calmed down and started making their way to me. I got another arrow knocked when the biggest of the group was about 5yds I took my shot I wasnt paying attention to the pine branches in my shot path the arrow made a right hand turn and it hit her in the hind quarter the muzzy shattered her hip and exited on the other side of her tail I guess I hit artery she went 40yds and was done. Wasnt the prettiest kill but it was a mighty lucky one.

A buddy of mine killed a P&Y elk with a lucky shot. Let an arrow go and the string slapped his arm. The arrow veered off and happened to hit the bull in the throat. When I screw up it never seems to work in my favor- But i guess somebody has to get the luck.

After sitting in a 10' lean to stand for a few hours during a morning hunt, I got tired of listening to all the squirrels bark and make all kinds of noise. One was sitting in a tree at 19 yards eye level, directly across from me. I decided to shoot this squirrel. I switch broadheads to my old 2 blade Muzzy. When I shot this squirrel, I hit a little low and the broadhead cut the squirrels tail off right where it meets his body. The tail fell and fluttered all the way to the ground. As the squirrel ran up the tree with no tail, I could not stop laughing! I laughed for several hours about it. I took the squirrel tail to camp to tell my story, where we all laughed about it. Still one of the funniest shots I've made.

Thats good stuff!

a Pack of muzzys 40 bucks
tree stand 150
shooting off the tail of the anoying barking sqirrel....freakin AWSOME... wish that was on you tube!

I have two:
First deer I ever shot bowhunting...sitting in a tripod stand over a feeder at first light and was "very" excited to get my first bow kill. A doe steps out in a perfect broadside position, so I quickly drew and let it fly on a 25yd shot. Made a bad high spine shot and this poor little doe bleated the loudest I've ever heard for a full minute or more. She was now behind the feeder pen, so I had no shot. I got down and went over and put her out of her misery with my skinning knife. Funny part is, when I got down there I realized I had just shot a little yearling doe that was so small you could have curled her up into a corn sack. We had to weigh ever deer harvested, and she tipped the scales at 47lbs. You can only imagine the ridicule I got back at camp. She came to be known and my "corn sack deer". lol!

Second one was a little mechanical problem. Fast forward many years later, and I was working hard to get a kill on camera and had everything lined up on a good mature doe. I drew and pulled on my release, but for just a second nothing happened. I cut my eyes and tried to just glance down at the release without moving, but just as I did the arrow flew. Needless to say it missed it's mark and stuck right in the doe's back hip. Apparently it hit bone, because there was almost no penetration. I had recently added a metal loop and the metal on metal caused the release to hang up somehow. The arrow fell out, but there was an obvious wound. At first I wasn't even going to mention it back at camp to avoid the traditional hastle for that type of thing, but when the wounded deer was spotted by another hunter, I had to confess. My daughter shot the doe the next morning, but the damage was done. I took my share of crap for the rest of the season. Any mention of me and bow hunting always seems to lead to some comment about a "butt shot" verses a heart or lung shot. Heck, I still hear about every once in a while years later. lol!

I've hit the window before and missed a doe at 10 yards, but drilled her at 40 yards. I've also forgot my release a time or two, now the first thing I do is strap it on before I even pick up my bow.

Repeat after me DO NOT CHANGE YOUR BOW SITES JUST PRIOR TO YOUR HUNT.....EVER! I had the horizontal axis dialed in...under the porch light pre-dawn but damn I'm outta time I gotta go. (Yeah I know should have taken care of my business the evening before instead of loosing my money at Hold'em) I'm about 7-8 inches high at 20yds on the first pin haven't worked the others yet. It's a new ground blind set up probably wont see anything anyway. Just make a mental note to adjust hold 8 inches. I had deer ALL over me that morning at 20 yards and got off four arrows, my entire quiver. I hit every shot perfect... just over the back of each Doe. I could not override my "autopilot" when I took a shot. Hell, that was all my broad heads. Had to get the guys out with me to help find my ammo!

Ordered a new 2011 Firecat 400 last year. When it came in, I took it to CCR and had it tuned, sighted it in, got it all set to go. Couldn't wait to get blood on it, so I made arrangements to hunt JJ's place for hogs up near Lake Texoma.

Got 16' up a tree, got all set with my bow hanging from a hook just to my left. @ 30 minutes after it got good n dark, I heard 'em coming. I slowly reach over to my left, eased my bow off the hook and promptly jammed the lower cam into my left thigh, losing my grip on the bow. It fell 16 ft. and hit directly on the top cam making a load of racket. I crawled down & got it, looked it over as well as I could with my headlamp and I had knocked the string out of the notch on both cams.

Sat for another hour or so just to see what would come in, but nothing did.

Took it back to CCR the next day to have it looked over & get it all re-sighted-in. It was O.K. and didn't need any parts, or anything, but I sure screwed up a paid hunt.

I had an old wiley doe come in at 40 yards and I tried to swing around to get over on her. well in the process, I hit my rangefinder hanging from the tree making a loud CLANK. I never saw that doe close enough for a shot again!!

I have too many.I am a master at getting within range of wily public land bucks that make pope and young.I am also a master at screwing it up.I actually rattled and grunted a big 10 on public land using a decoy.Came in side walked up to my decoy.I drew at 15 yds and shot my arrows hanging in quiver tht was hanging on tree.Ruined two good arrows and the buck walked away.Hit it dead nuts on.I had no idea what happened until I noticed arrow peices everywhere.Found my broadheds that were still good and went home empty handed.I leave my quiver on these days.Also forgot to range another big buck on public land that I rattled in.It was right in fron of me I just forgot to pick it up and use the damn thing.He was at 40 ydsI thought 30 yds.Shot under.Enough said Im an idiot.Same year too.