It's the main reason why I seldom use a game camera. I have no regrets in what I never see.

Most of these issues are with new hunters I sound like. A deer is a deer to a new hunter. I made a few mistakes but no way would I make them a big deal. Luckily I was not on a trophy lease as new hunter or I probably would have been kicked off.

Mine is not hunting the big open country of northwest Texas sooner in my life

hard to narrow it down to just one with over 55 years of hunting ... but a couple come to mind.

squeezing the trigger to hear a "snap" from forgetting to chamber a round upon getting in the stand.

Putting my rifle over my shoulder on the sling while riding my dirt bike up a muddy forest road in CO, spotting a decent mule deer on a ridge, shouldering my rifle to realize there was about 3 inches of goo mud slung up from the rear tire caked all over the rifle and scope.

I'm sure others will come to mind ...

I shot a nice buck right on my way out of my hunting area one evening.. he'd chased a doe right past me, she presented then he followed. I grunted and he paused so I released on him. I didnt wait long enough for him to expire but got nervous because it was getting dark fast and I was excited. He dragged himself into a swampy area and I never did find him. I looked the next day until I got muscle cramps from crawling through the brush. I will say that late the night I shot him, I heard the coyotes in a frenzy somewhere down in those bottoms. I hope he died before they got to him.

I took a buddy on his first deer hunt. Doe only for him. He shot and I thought he said he missed. He just said he didn't see her go down apparantly but figured he would have looked. It was freezing and super muddy from lots of snow. I didn't look and my mistake. We heard yotes going crazy while at camp. Next day I put him in same stand. He couldn't open the windows from his moisture the night before. He saw a ladder stand and sat in there. Was 18 degrees and he had no thermals. At 9:15 am I hear a shot. I get in the offroad rigged golf cart a guy left at camp. Ground completely frozen solid luckily. Said he shot a doe and still not located it. I see a small blood drop in the snow below the ladder stand and said that is no where near where he shot the doe. Uh oh, that was from last night. Found some more in what snow was left. 50 yards later found a leg and 20 yards past that was doe with 1 inch spikes with only a skull and spine left. oops. Yotes left nothing. Found his doe which actually was a doe thankfully from that morning other direction pretty quick. Lesson learned and he got his first two deer but only one with meat still on it.

Another one came to mind that still bothers me more than any miss I've made.

Shot a doe that walked into an old logging road while hunting many years ago in Mississippi. When I got out of the stand, a young fawn still in spots was standing nearby and off the road where I couldn't have seen it when shooting the mother. It was still in the area the next day.

I haven't shot a doe with so much as a yearling with her since.

I let my son shoot at a 170 inch deer and he missed... Considerably bigger than any other animal ive ever seen personally on a low fence!

I did this exact thing. Loaned rifle to nephew and got back on time. Missed nice 10 pt buck at 75 yards. Took gun to range and found it wasn't even on paper at 100. He didn't drop, but fessed up he had "adjusted" scope.

Also did the click thing on the largest buck I've ever seen. I was late into the stand and had tried to chamber round quietly. Didn't seat and I was sick. Fortunately, 10 minutes later a 13 pt wandered in and I got that one.

Yup I had that same thing happen. Lend a rifle to a 16 year old. He hunted by himself. He shot a few times and missed every time.
The rifle had a tactical scope on it. At breakfast he talked about how solid he was and kept asking if maybe to gun was off. This gun had only been sighted in once and it was years ago. I never had any problems with it.
After our talk I went back and looked at the scope. One turret was on 6moa. The other was on 11moa...
I got a little angry. I asked him why he moved them. He said he thought it was for focus....this is a kid who's hunted 5 years. You just never know.

Last January I hunted West Texas mulies for the first time. Within a few hours of arriving the first afternoon, I had an amazing encounter with a monster mulie but opted not to shoot. I was in it for the hunt and we were just getting started, so I don't regret passing and I wouldn't call it a mistake. Not to mention the fact that I didn't know what I was doing.

Four days later, however, when I miraculously encountered the same animal inside 50 yards while glassing a canyon only to realize that I left my rifle in the truck which was parked 50 yards the other direction...now that was a mistake. I think about it every day.

My biggest mistake deer hunting occurred sitting in my blind looking over my feeder. The rut had just began. I spotted ( 500-1000 yards) what I thought was a huge mature buck chasing a doe. I got out of my blind and put the stock on this deer. I got a running shot at the buck (150-200 yards) and knocked him down. I went up expecting a huge deer. It ended up being a 9 point buck, 3.5 years old.
My mistake was getting out of the blind. I should have studied the deer and he would have been a no shoot.
This occurred in a one buck county, and the lease rule was a mature 8 or better. This deer wasn't mature, but he was a cull buck that needed to be taken.

a few years ago I was sitting in my tree stand when I could hear an absolute big buck brawl not far from me. It was getting late so I decided to try to put a stock on these bucks, hoping that they would be so interested in each other they wouldn't notice me closing the distance. At about 40 yards I spotted the two buck, both really nice, and either of them would be a trophy. My only problem was the brush between the deer and myself was so thick that I would have to get down and crawl a little ways to get into a posisition to shoot. After crawling all the way into posisition I ended up making a noise that got the attention of the deer, they both began looking into my direction so I leaned to my right to try to use the shrub to my side as cover. As soon as I did I felt a rock punching into my thigh where my iphone was. It was pressing down on the home button. Anyone with an iPhone knows that if you hold down the home button Siri will activate and prompt you to ask a question. That damn heifer sounded off with a "IM SORRY I DIDNT GET THAT" at what seemed like the sound decibels that an airplane engine couldn't duplicate. Both bucks instantly took off, never to be seen again.

Okay, that is funny
I thought for sure you were belly crawling up to a snake.

I was covered in mud and leaves and had a temper tantrum like a 2 year old. Threw my phone then spent close to an hour trying to find it in the dark, it's funny now looking back

Ha!

1982 all the fields that could be planted around where I hunted in those days were in soybeans so the growing deer herd as well fed. Had a new rifle the Remington 788 in 7mm-08 with handloads worked up for it that shot little groups and still does. there was one huge non-typical deer around the area that everyone was trying to kill. I had him one afternoon the week after Christmas at 350 yards but had never shot at anything that far in my life and passed on the shot for that reason. The next day found me shooting at 350 yards, busted 5 of 6 mt dew bottles and missed the one by less than 2 inches. it was still the right call but in that big soybean field I should have checked that before hunting there. The buck consecutively was at least a 230s NT. Wish I had taken the shot but not knowing I could make the shot for sure I didn't try it.


Had buck that was my target buck at the lease I still hunt on that would be at one feeder all through the Summer but disappear before bow season. Then for 3 years he was there on Christmas morning. Was going to drive to Mississippi that year for Christmas after leaving work Christmas Eve. Had that feeing in the gut that deer would be their again Christmas morning. Talked to the one other person on the lease at the time and he said he would go hunt him if I felt that strong about it. So I drove home, he did not hunt and that buck was there from 8:00 to 8:20 that morning with lots of good pictures of him. ( he really hates those pictures) Said buck was found that spring dead in the creek on the next place Smooth slick 10 point 22 inch inside spread that scored 167.

Leaving the gun in the blind and walking back to the truck!! Yup had enough time to take a photo on my cell phone an send it to my wife and have her reply back before that buck turned and walked off.

Hunting spot and stalk without shooting sticks.

I don't see it as a mistake at all but an example of good sportsmanship and true character.

Any regrets are easily removed by considering how you would have felt had you wounded the deer and never found it. But of course, the same ones who would have taken the shot without regard to their capabilities would just as easily accepted wounding and never finding it. Little wonder that those who seldom have an unrecovered deer are the same ones who don't hesitate to pass when the shot isn't right.

Just saw a mistake. Buddy went to his blind for the first time this year. "NO WASP SPRAY" scared everything for 2 counties.

Moving to much

Was cold and I was tired so didn't get out of the tent or sleeping bag.

Will never know what I missed.

Thinking I had a shell chambered for my son's first buck and the gun went click instead of bang. Still makes me nauseous. He did get one the next year the night after winning his superbowl so I guess God had a better weekend in mind for him.

I've had a few... but the worst had to have been a few years ago. It was late season and I had already killed a decent eight, so I wasn't planning on killing anything else unless is was really big. Well, one morning my buddy and I were hunting a road in the back of the property when one of the biggest deer I had ever seen out there stepped out around 300 yds, problem is, I had no idea he was actually that far (no rangefinder) so when I held where I normally would, I shot underneath him, and felt sick.

Low and behold, he came out again that evening in the exact same spot and I was shocked. This time I took a deep breath, held a little high, and squeezed the trigger. The buck dropped and my buddy and I began the high fives. Being as that it was almost dark and I saw him drop, I immediately grabbed the four wheeler to get get him. When I got there, I yet again, felt sick. Nothing left but a pool of blood. Searched for that deer for days and never found him. Needless to say, I way at least a half hour now to look for a deer regardless of how I felt about the shot. That's a mistake I will NOT make again.