What’s the biggest mistake you’ve made hunting?

Ya know for me. You can look at life and say mistakes or learning lessons. One or the other. Probably the biggest mistake I see folks do is panic. Always fiddling with overweight packs and hog leg guns. And phones, jeesh.
I've been busted a bunch. Sitting still. Animals know that bush and everything in it.
BTW, who's to say that you didn't do everything right and another hunter spooked em. Wolves, bears, bugs. I kinda think it would be really cool to be able to watch a herd of elk all day and have the opportunity to harvest one with a flintlock. A tall order indeed.
Then again maybe the biggest mistake is not taking the time to realize all the successes that you have in hunting
 
I was in Africa and we were on a really good nyala. The guide said “ Wait until he gives you his shoulder. “ I didn’t understand that he meant wait until he is broadside. Against my my better judgment,I shot too soon,thinking the PH was seeing something I didn’t. Drew ,blood, tracked for two days and never found him. Cost me $2500 and two days of hunting.
 
Missed a great non typical mule deer because I over estimated the range. Got bull fever on a 400 inch bull and rushed the shot, a clean miss at 35 yards. Didn't hunt a 220+ non typical opening day because a friend an I went after a different buck. Plenty of others but these rank near the top. The top spot though is not spending more time in the hills when I was younger,
 
Not buying points for hunts I wanted to do when I was younger and thought they were just pipe dreams. I now have the means to accomplish them with ZERO points to draw. Needless to say my 14 yr old son will have some awesome opportunities to draw on dream tags by the time he is ready. He better take me with him! Haha
 
Maybe it’s all about perspective I suppose. I’m damn sure not the perfect hunter, nor person, and anyone who claims to be is encouraged to reevaluate. I haven’t always came home “successful”, but I also can’t think of any instances where I came home and hadn’t enjoyed myself or benefited at least in the grand scheme of things.

Sure, there have been hunts that were miserable. There have absolutely been shots missed, and shots that hit that I’d have much rather missed. There have been animals spooked, and a few opportunities not taken that I later regretted, but all of those mistakes paid off in the end. I came back home better off for them.

That said, NOTHING stings like the handful of times I’ve had game go wounded and unrecovered. That is a frustration and feeling of guilt that sticks with me for weeks. Every instance like that is still an opportunity to learn and grow. As awful as it is at the time, I don’t think that I can look at it as a total net loss.

As an afterthought, Here’s one that I think to be pretty big, and I hear a lot, But I believe confidently that I won’t ever have to own…When someone I care about is dead and gone is that “I wish we’d have hunted more”. I can count the number of times I’ve missed a hunt with Dad and my sister, or even a good buddy on one hand. That will all end some day, and it will never have been “enough” because there’s no such thing-But it won’t ever be “not enough” either.
 
I didn't spend enough time with my caplock muzzy at longer distances and forgot to carry shooting sticks. Missed a stud MD on a restricted muzzy hunt in NM at 110 yards.
 
Not going into wilderness areas to hunt in my 20's. I couldn't get over the "what if's" of going alone because I didn't have anyone interested in going with me.

Just go! prepare the best you can and go!
 
The one animal that still makes my stomach hurt remembering it was a big antelope. It was a good year, with multiple 15” goats seen every day, but they had small prongs, little mass, or broken prongs…10 days of hard hunting and they were just starting to bunch up in larger groups. The last day of the season, last hour of the day, the wife and I were in position for the largest goat seen all season. Her 7 mag went off taking the biggest, and half a second later my 7 mag took a meat buck. Just then a much larger goat that was hidden in a small draw came out 200 yards away and just stared at us. He was larger than anything seen in about a decade long period and had I simply held off filling the tag with an average buck the big guy would still be one of my most prized trophies.
 
I started building sheep, moose, goat and elk points in a handful of states in 2000. Around 2008 I got sick and couldn’t breath very well, this went on for several years and I quit applying and buying points. I regret this every time I think about it.
 
Last year, I made a terrible shot with my bow on a nice buck. Tons of blood, but hit 0 organs. I had roughly 48 ounces of water and hit him at 8am. He bedded immediately, so I decided to give him a couple hours. It was already 70's outside. After a couple hours, I stalked in, doe busted out, he didn't. Thinking he was dead, I take 1 more step, he runs like Usain Bolt. I watch him for a half mile and he barely slows down. Tons of blood, so I give chase after he crests the mountain a 1/2 mile away.

When i arrive, the amount of blood is insane. I know he's going to die, so I continue pursuit. About another 1/2 mile away, down a giant mtn, I see some cattle scatter. Sure enough, he's now right next to the cattle. He goes into a thicket and never emerges. I hike down to it and find him dead.

At this point, i have 10oz. water and about 30lbs in my bag. I make the quick decision to setup my ultra light tarp for the cleaning process to get some shade. It's now high 70's low 80's. I make the decision to completely de-bone, knowing the packout is going to be brutal. I throw all the meat and my gear in my pack and start out. Up and over 2 giant mountains with around 80 lbs on my back. I drink the last of my water, knowing it's best to drink it vs. Rationing it at this point.

About 1/2 mile from my SxS, my right quad cramps up. I take a quick 5 minute break, start again and my left quad locks up. Knowing I'm close to trouble, I drop my bow, tripod, skull and 80mm spotting scope. I'm not worried because the area I'm in is very remote with little to no traffic. I mark my gear, leave it and go out with my pack and the meat. I get 300 yards from the SxS and both quads lock up extremely bad. It was some of the most pain ive ever experienced. No cell phone reception, but I do have my inreach. I make the decision to drop everything and head to the SxS where I have food and extra water.

I arrive the SxS and I'm almost to the point of looking drunk. My legs are jello, but extremely tight. It's 2pm at this point, so I eat some fruit, drink some electrolytes, water and some snacks. At 4pm, I head back into the hills to retrieve the meat at a minimum. I get to the pack, strap up and make it out with only minor cramps. The next day, I was taking a buddy out there, so we hunt the am and then I head in after my bow, gear and skull. I got all out with no issues. Az desert is no joke and snuck up on me. Lesson learned, just glad it wasn't a harsher one.
 
Hey everybody, this is my first time posting anything on Rokslide so I figured this was a good thing to start with.
I tend to make new "worse mistakes" every time walking into the elk woods with my bow in September: bad setups, food choices, clothing, calling and gear. I try my best to learn something from every hunt though and that's one of the things I like the most about all of it!
 
More of a parenting mistake but related to hunting and still haunts me. Many years ago my youngest son was a pretty young youth and he drew a Nilgai hunt. At the time he had just "bumped up" to a 308 from shooting ARs and 223's and he'd been practicing quite a bit. My biggest mistake was I let all the Funds get to me and convinced me he needed a magnum to kill these beasts. So last minute we packed my 300 WSM for him after a single range session and a few shots. He had a lot of trouble with target acquisition and lack of familiarity with his rifle and absolutely no doubt would've killed multiple bulls had he been holding his 308 instead. That kid hunted hard, harder than most adults but I failed to set him up with the proper tools for success.
Burning 18 years of elk points mistakenly applying for a spike tag that takes zero points
Ouch...
 
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