Anyone ever make a mistake shooting to far and shoot or hit the wrong animal?

[S-3 ranch]

I just watched a video where the hunter shot the wrong pronghorn after mistaking the smaller one in the scope.
I did it one time and my uncle did the same thing, just shooting way too fast and far away

 

[NRA4LIFE]

Not the wrong animal, but pronghorn too, in MT. Shot a buck and walk up to it and there are 2 dead. Lucky the one standing behind it that I didn't see was a doe that I had a permit for. Pass through on both animals. Conservation of ammunition I guess. Only time that has ever happened to me.

 

[S-3 ranch]

I didn’t think many people on here would admit to shooting too far
And making a mistake, or making a mistake at all,

Anyone shoot a animal and get to the where you thought you were shooting and figured you had no clue where the animal actually was when you shot at it?

 

[Q_Sertorius]

Anyone shoot a animal and get to the where you thought you were shooting and figured you had no clue where the animal actually was when you shot at it?

I’ve made plenty of mistakes. When I was 12, my dad gave me hell for taking a 300-yard shot at a whitetail with my .30-30. That’s the last time I shot at something too far away.

My solution to the last point is to take a picture of where the animal was standing and a picture of where I was standing before I start walking. Then add a dot or something to mark the spot and try to make a mental note of any distinctive trees or whatever. I also use my range finder to that spot and start my track on On-X. If you have to do a tracking job, even if it’s only 40 yards, it really helps to start in the right spot. Here are a couple of examples.

I tracked that deer 400 yards from that spot without finding any blood until the last ten yards. The dog was zero help (she’s a farm dog, not a hunter, but she chewed through her lead to come join me on the hunt).

Here he is in his second to last incarnation.

 

[3gunyotehtr]

It almost happened to me years back, also on antelope. Had a fixed 6, and the bucks kept moving around, couldn't tell them apart through the scope. Everytime I moved between binoculars to the rifle, they would switch again. There is something to be said for a durable scope that is also clear and has enough magnification.

 

[LongWayAround]

I just watched a video where the hunter shot the wrong pronghorn after mistaking the smaller one in the scope.
I did it one time and my uncle did the same thing, just shooting way too fast and far away

Was it the muley guy's where he blames the camera man? That's a classic.

I did it once, but not because it was too far. I just got excited and shot the "wrong" buck in South Dakota. I had been hunting a much larger deer and set up to ambush him on his morning route. Buck comes along. I shoot it. Definitely not the deer I thought it was...