Stupidest Mistake Hunting

Finally got out of the doctors office yesterday and decided to run out to my after work hunting spot. I grabbed a burger at the drive thru and ate it on the way. I climbed twenty feet up a pine in a climbing stand and then my belly began to rumble. I realized I’d never make it back down the tree before it hit. I hung off the side of the stand. Luckily, I had TP in the pack. No deer seen after that.
Do not ever think you are unique. Not for this, at least.
 
Not remembering TP. That only has happened once.. 1993.. first ever time hunting as a 19 year old after eating a couple bowl of 5 bean chili the night before. Ever since then it is the first thing I pack or double check to make sure it is in there. I sure do miss that glove I had to use :).

Locking my keys in my 1996 Dakota 7 miles deep into the mountains above Edwards CO back in 2000. Made the decision to break the rear sliding window with a screw driver and duct tape it shut for the drive home to Ohio.. Luckily the window popped open on the first heavy push with the screwdriver...
As a 19 year old, a bandana or tee shirt can suffice. At my age, TP (actually, campers best friends - baby wipes) are the first think in the pack. And in the trailer. And in the truck....
 
All the things I know I shouldn't do; rushing when I should be slowing down. Exposing myself when I know they will see me. Moving to a different spot when I should've waited another 5 minutes. Not pooping before leaving the house. Calling too much when I should STFU. Concentrating on the buck when I absolutely know there are does around.

Also, dropping a bull moose by myself with nothing but a pocket knife and a "short" 1 km pack out, did you know that quartering a moose alone is a workout on its own? The only smart thing I did that day was to wait for the moose to get out of the swamp and onto solid ground before shooting.
 
Doing a final downwind sneak on a Kudu in Africa. Couldn’t do hands and knees as the grass was too short for that. Crawled about 50 yards only a short way to go and I’ll be in a good shooting spot. Very slight breeze, it’s really quiet there. We are way stealth mode using hand signals. Then without warning I fart while taking my next crawl step with my legs apart. It was a loud high pitched one. Spooked all of them. The PH and the tracker’s look of disappointment in me was epic.
 
Trying to buy a bunch of bull/buck tags to start out instead of just learning how to hunt. That's what happens when you hunt for horns, not for fun. Now I have a completely different approach and just have a good time.

It's easy to get caught up when you are getting interested in hunting, especially if you are OCD. I started putting in for sheep points in Wyoming. Then I had a real serious conversation with myself and decided that if I was really interested in sheep I would spend time in sheep country regularly while having a genuine interest in the animals even with no tag in my pocket.

I have found that many hunters hunt simply to have a picture/story to tell, but they don't have a genuine interest in spending time with the animals in their country if they don't have a tag.

For me hunting has gone from OCD buying a bunch of crap and focusing on antlers I could show off to a way to get out in some beautiful country where I go on a regular basis with no tag in my pocket, just to enjoy the experience. Friends and family make it even batter.


So I guess to summarize I'd say wasting a lot of time and $ hunting for the wrong reasons would be my biggest hunting mistake.
 
I was hunting in western Nebraska for mule deer and saw the largest buck we have ever seen out there. He was in a spot perfect for a stalk but it would be a pretty close shot. I decided to go for it. I had sprained/strained my leg the day before so I hobbled through the brush, then crawled on my hands and knees. Snuck up to one of the does with him and was wishing about 5 feet and froze. Somehow she didn’t see me and then wandered off after about ten minutes. I knew the buck was close but couldn’t see him. I waited a bit then started to poke my head above the brush to see what I could see. I heard the sound no one wants to hear, the snort.. I froze and then hid again and waited. I repeated this process maybe 5 times and knew I was pushing my luck. I stood up enough to see and was at a sharp angle. Found the buck raised the rifle and he bolted. Then slowed down but was still moving up the hill. Took a shot and.. a miss.. tried to get ready for another but he was gone. Ran up to get a longer shot but couldn’t see him.

I went back to the spot and it was 62 yards from where I shot to the deer I had covered probably 600 yards (mostly on my hands and knees) and blew it at the end. Between the pain from the stalk and the angle and the bad call on the need to account for him moving lead to the miss. I still kick myself every time I think about it. It was a good lesson that I won’t forget and hopefully won’t repeat (but probably will).
 
Just moved back to NC. Didn't know squat about the area, but it was of the season so I ventured forward and found a comfortable fallen tree to rest my posterior upon, in a good looking area. Saw squat.

Next morning woke up with 40000 chiggers on my bewtox.....

My wife laughed her a$$ off, in her usual most unsympathetic way.
 
I feel as though I could write a book on this topic that would rival Pat McManus or Bill Heavy.
Muzzleloader...
Was sighting in and was in a rush. I was shooting 3 pyrodex 50gr pellets and a 250gr powerbelt. All was going well unit I forgot to pull out the ramrod. When I sent that downrange it knocked me off the bench backwards. It was like pulling both triggers at the same time on a doublebarrel 10 gauge with 3 1/2 magnums.
Was still hunting along a hillside once and spotted a buck. Took a shot and knew I hit so I quickly reload and sneak a ways, spot him standing about 50 yards so I shoot again and he staggers off. Go to reload and no more loads in my pocket. Shit. I hike about a mile back to the truck and realize all my spare loads are still staged by the front door. Jumped in the truck, drove about 15 miles to a Walmart, bought what I needed, drove back, reloaded and eventually found the buck dead in a pile of vines. First shot was fatal, I guess he just didn't know it. Second shot was a clear miss.
Bow...
Hiked in about a mile, climbed a tree and got set up only to realize my release was still in my bow case.
Arrived late to where I wanted to hunt and was about halfway up the tree when one of the biggest 10 points I've seen trotting down the trail. He stopped trying to figure out why a fat guy was hanging on the side of the tree like a big squirrel and turned around and walked off.
Was sitting on the edge of a field in a tree with a lot of branches. Buck comes wandering in behind me. I had to turn around and contort at the shot. I didn't make sure my bow was in the clear and at the shot the top limb hit a thick branch and snapped. Scared the crap out of me and the deer. Neither of us were hurt and pretty sure the buck ran off with most of his dignity intact.
Fortunatley with a rifle nothing comes to mind other than missing a few easy shots. Rushing the last few yards of a stalk. Although, there was that time when I was walking back to the truck and 5 does come out into the field a couple hundred yards away and stop dead. It was very cold out and I had heavy gloves on, wrist strap cinched tight. I dropped my bi pod and my glove got caught in it. The more I struggled, the worse it got and no shots were fired.
 
Choking up on the scope too much while trying to compensate for glare when shooting towards the East shortly after sunrise. A quick scope bite and a few stitches later, I was a much humbled hunter. The salt in the wound is that I missed the deer.

Buck fever will do it to a man, I’m tellin ya...
 
Ollin Magnetic Digiscoping Systems

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