Has this ever happened to you?

[43.6N]

I spent the morning climbing 1500ft to a high basin meadow where I had spotted the heard of elk the day before. When I got there I posted up and sat really still in a cluster of burned stumps next to the edge of a north facing slope with a fabulous bench just down slope.

No elk had been calling all week. So I sit, wait, and glass. After about 3 hours a good 6x6 comes out silently from the bench into the meadow. I range him at 45 yards.

I had missed a 30 yard shot off of an unseen branch two days earlier, so I have it in my mind to make a really well executed and deliberate shot. With this in mind I draw back and split my 40 and 50 pins right over where the off side leg joins his chest. The arrow flies, I hear the low pitch thump as it lands, and then the elk jumps then runs.

I stop him 50 yards later with a cow call, then he slowly meanders back into the timber towards the bench.
Now I wait. No crash. No calls. Just silence. Same as before.

As evening approaches I get up to start tracking. I go to where he stood, and tracks are easily visible. I see where he spun, I see where he stopped and stood. But there is no blood. I follow 500 yards down into the bench, still not blood. I go back to the shot location, and find my arrow in the dirt 70yards behind where he stood. No blood on the arrow. No blood on the ground. No elk to be seen.

I play that scene over and over in my head trying to figure out how all of this happened.

 

[Gerbdog]

Clean miss.... Double check that range finder to make sure its being accurate all the time... has it happened to me ? not exactly like that, but my buddies range finder gave him a bad reading twice this year.... he's since replaced.

Your shooting technique can always come into question but it's not a path i point out unless i've seen someones shooting technique. If you practiced and you were confident i'd look at the range finder.

 

[NorthernHunter]

That is super tough luck. Sorry to hear. I second double checking the range finder. Maybe shoot that distance a few times at a target too to verify the pins are correct. I hope you get another chance.

 

[43.6N]

@Gerbdog my thoughts exactly.

Elk hunting is tough, archery even more so. Probably why I love it so much.

 

[Gerbdog]

@Gerbdog my thoughts exactly.

Elk hunting is tough, archery even more so. Probably why I love it so much.

Yessir, thats half the enjoyment of it, man vs himself vs nature, classic. I would def look over and see how that range finders acting, no kidding my buddy clean missed two shots on elk this year thanks to his rangefinder, he took it home and the door frame read 1-m off of the door itself.... that aint right haha.

 

[BBob]

Did you split the wrong pins under pressure??? It happens. I did it on a beautiful NM 350 bull early on in my archery career. After sitting down and replaying the shot in my mind I realized what I had done. Had to suck it up and admit it.

 

[43.6N]

The range finder is a Sig K850. I had taken it off of AMR mode to absolute range before the hunt. When I went back and ranged again after the shot I came up with 55yards when I put it back on AMR.

Also super possible that I gapped my 50-60 instead of the 40-50.
Also possible that I pulled the shot (as much as I hate to admit it). But I need to be honest with myself.

 

[Gerbdog]

The range finder is a Sig K850. I had taken it off of AMR mode to absolute range before the hunt. When I went back and ranged again after the shot I came up with 55yards when I put it back on AMR.

Also super possible that I gapped my 50-60 instead of the 40-50.
Also possible that I pulled the shot (as much as I hate to admit it). But I need to be honest with myself.

Well dang it, guess you confirmed to yourself your human, happens to the best of the humans. Kick yourself in the butt a bit, keep practicing, and move on!

If it isnt the equipment then its you, and if its you, cant keep beating yourself up and good on you for being honest with yourself. Gotta keep moving on.

Never used that particular range finder so i cant tell you if it has quirks or not. I'd take it out and range things that you know the range on (like an archery range) and be sure you have confidence in the equipment, if you dont trust your equipment its gonna keep failing you.

 

[BBob]

Also super possible that I gapped my 50-60 instead of the 40-50.
Also possible that I pulled the shot (as much as I hate to admit it). But I need to be honest with myself.

When I realized I did that I figured out what I needed to do so I could ID the pins fast with less chance of that ever happening again. I came up with a system that has worked for me since and I haven't made that mistake again. Mistakes lead to improvement

 

[43.6N]

When I realized I did that I figured out what I needed to do so I could ID the pins fast with less chance of that ever happening again. I came up with a system that has worked for me since and I haven't made that mistake again. Mistakes lead to improvement

What’s your new system?

 

[BBob]

What’s your new system?

It's actually about 30+ years old

I put a white paint dot on the pin stem to the right of the dot on my 20, 50 and 80 yd pins. Simple and minimalist and works for me. I just talk to myself in my routine and say internally "20, 50, 80" when picking pins. Basically I acknowledge my locator pins and then select the pin or pins I want. I get there quicker than running down the whole line of pins and those three dots give me a great but simple verbal/mental reference to where I'm at.

 

[Gerbdog]

Same concept as BBob for me: i just put in some tiny labels on 30 and 50

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

To solve this problem whitetail hunting, I switched to a single pin HHS pendulum sight. One pin from the bottom of the aperture keeps it clean and helps maximize my field of view on the target.

Just my $.02 and good luck on the next one!

 

[trophyhill]

Yup clean miss. Frustrating for sure! Last January while hunting Mule and or Coues deer, I was using my back up bow (Realm SR6) with a Black Gold site for the first time. I also split pins when warranted. My D350 has the Spothogg 7DP’s. The pin colors are the same at 20 thru 50 on the SR6. And that’s where I f’d up. I spotted a Coues before he saw me and just knew I was fixin to kill a Coues on my first try ever. Talk about overconfident! He stops broadside, has no clue I just ranged him and come to full draw at 60 yards. Gimme shot. Only my 60 yard pin is red instead of yellow like the D350. Anyway I used my 70 yard pin and shot over him. I was so pissed at myself for that lol.

 

[elkdreamer78!]

This year I had my first shot opportunity at a bull on my fourth trip. He popped up kind of catching us by surprise but unaware of our presence. I dropped to my knees as soon as I saw him. I got an arrow nocked I ranged him at 36 yds he was facing straight on. I remember telling myself “he is going to turn, when he does I will stop him and shoot him. “ He turned I stopped him with a nervous grunt. Drew split my 30 and 40 yd pins looking right at his broadside chest. Released and CATHWAK I hear my arrow hit something solid that’s not elk. He didn’t move, I had the reaction to nock another arrow drew this time aiming slightly higher thinking I would clear whatever I hit. No luck my second arrow hit the same log just higher. I watched him run away. Thinking back I remember aiming but there were steps in my pre shot routine I didn’t do. He was higher elevation, I was on my knees (which I had practiced) the log I hit was below my field of view in my sight picture all I remember seeing was his chest. Call it bull fever, I blew a gimme. All that said I went away from this year’s experience with more excitement and confidence that I can in fact get in bow range of an elk and get a shot. Than disappointed I didn’t get him. There is some no doubt some disappointment but grateful for the opportunity and a clean miss. I’d rather blow it like this than a bad hit. Remember what Forrest Gump says, “It happens.”


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[43.6N]

Appreciate all the wisdom and support!
Extreme ownership of our faults and successes is a mantra I try to live by. You can be sure of what is going to be going through my head with every practice shot until next fall!

On a different note, I can’t believe some of the thoughts that play out in the mind as it tries to make sense of a crazy situation. For example I was up for a good bit of the night sick with the thought that my arrow had actually been able to pass through the elk without getting a drop of blood on it, and that I had actually left a dead or wounded bull up on that mountain!

 

[KBrangers]

Was out hunting last week with my buddy. He took a downhill shot, about 50 yards, on a bull, he missed. His angle compensation was off, for whatever reason it worked on shallower hills but when they get steep, it’s off. We played around with it on several different slopes and this was the verdict.

 

[PaBone]

I try to shoot a lot of extreme angle shots when practicing. I have a good Leupold angle compensating range finder and make sure my 2nd and 3rd axis is set up perfect on my sight using levels and a bow vise. That way I know even at a 45 degree downhill or uphill shot my sight is level. I shot the Total Archery Challenge this year at Seven Springs which is long range extreme angle shooting and a great way to test your equipment and physical ability. Having confidence in your equipment and shooting a lot really helps when it's time to shoot an animal and your adrenaline starts to take over, that's when the muscle memory from lots of practice really pays off.

 

[Disco14]

Sorry to hear -chalk it up as an experience (a painful one) and be ready for the next encounter!