So, I'm an Idiot..

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sbarkowski

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So yesterday was my one and only day to deer hunt this season due to work and I nearly blew it. We were hunting a large open field that we knew the deer came through to get to the watering hole. Knowing that there was a chance that we would have to take fairly long shots at 300 or so yards (which is uncommon in our area) my partner and I praticed on water jugs at that distance for a solid week in windy conditions until we felt confident in taking that kind of shot. I was in my blind nice and early awaiting a beautiful sunrise and my partner was at the other end of the field in his. The sky was just beginning to light up as I uncased the Rem. 700 and started loading the mag. While im doing so my parter comes across on the 2-way radio saying he forgot his binoculars in the truck and he'd be right back. I of course hassled him and told him not to spook any deer on the way. About 45 min. later my partner is back on the 2-way and tells me there's a big doe heading my way and he didnt have a good shot. Instantly my heart starts pounding as I grab my binoculars. The doe finally comes into view comming over the crest of a small hill roughly 350 yards away and heading straight for me. It suddenly stops and turns and walks slowly towards the edge of the tree line. It is now 268 yards away from me but behind a brush pile. When it comes out past the other end of the brush pile I would not have a clear shot at the vitals. So not wanting to miss an opportunity on a big doe I slowly left my blind crawling through the tall gass with my rifle on my back poking my head up every few yards to check to see if the doe had moved. I crawled parallel to the direction the do was heading and found myself 50-60 yards from my blind and range the doe at 276 yards standing between the brush pile and the treeline. In a sitting position I deployed the bipod and got that doe in my crosshairs. It was dead calm no wind and I was brimming with confidence, that doe was as good as down. I flipped off the safety and squeezed the trigger.. *click*.. yeah thats right.. not only did I not chamber a round, the magazine wasn't even in the rifle!! My eyes nearly poped out of my head. When the rifle dry fired it got the doe's attention and she turned her head and looked straight at me. After cursing to myself and throughly pating myself down to confirming I did not have the mag on me somewhere, I figured I've got nothing to lose and slowly made my way back to my blind with the doe watching me with suspicion and curiousity the whole time. I found my mag under my folding chair. Apparently when my partner had interupted me while I was loading the mag I had somehow forgot to actually put the damn thing in the rifle :eek:
Anyways there is a happy ending, (for myself anyways, not the doe :D). To my surprise the doe had not moved one inch from when it turned to look at me. I made my way back to my shooting position soaked from the wet grass and covered in um.. lets call it mud.. (cow field, you know what im talking about). I lined up the shot for the second time, now she is facing straight at me looking right at me. Proabablly making fun of me the whole time. The shot entered her straight in the chest and she dropped instantly. I took a big sigh of relief and contacted my partner. Who I might add saw the whole mishap through his binoculars and was laughing hysterically after I told him why I had to go back to the blind. Im still kicking myself over this one but in the end I got our doe. I'll mark this one down as a lesson learned, the hard way. But please someone out there tell me im not alone.
 
You are not alone.

I recall an incident involving a fellow who got up well before daybreak on the last day, stumbled and sweated through 32 miles of blood-sucking Missouri riverbottom underbrush, got lost, and barely reached his stand right at daylight. He took a "FINALLY" breath and sat down only to look up and see a large 6-pt. buck meandering toward him at a distance of maybe 60yds. The fellow drew his Ruger Super Blackhawk and reached confidently into his completely empty vest pocket for some cartridges.:banghead: The buck continued to approach until he ambled by at a distance of about 25 yds. and went on to live to a ripe old age. I don't know the guy personally but am told his name rhymed with "Pawnee".

:eek:
 
Heart attack for sure! good thing Im still young.

lol when the rifle went click instead of boom I did feel a slight tighness in my chest followed by the urge to throw up my breakfast in disgust of my preperation.
 
Some years back my brother did the crawl thing to get a closer shot at an antelope. Anyone that has hunted lope knows they are spooky spooky.

Anyways we're standing there watching the herd with our binocs. Lope knows we're there and watching us. We figure my brothers gotta be getting close but can't see him in the sagebrush.

Few minutes later we see his head pop up....IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HERD. No idea how he managed to get there, and apparently the antelope didn't either cause they all panicked running in every possible direction, including straight up flying.

Brother never even got a shot off he was so confused. He got back to us and he said he was just sticking his head up to see where he was going and how much further to go.
 
Now thats a stealthy stalk! During the hunt blunders like this can be a heart breaker, but on the bright side it makes for some great stories and fond memories to look back on.
 
Ha, ha, you dummies, barkowski and Shawnee! :p :) Ooops, wait a sec - I've done much dumber things, or equally dumb. The other day I showed up at the range with a rifle in .17 HMR with a mag, but no ammo, and an XCR with ammo but no mag. I lose an item or two in the woods every year just by forgetting to pack it up from where I was sitting: flashlight, deer call, glove, shooting sticks, younameit. If you were willing to scour the woods, you could end up with a garage sale!
 
yes once. had loaded my gun but not chambered a round. was slowly talking an open clearcut and saw a really nice buck. aimed and remembered i hadn chambered a round:eek: eased down and chambered round, slowly eased back up but it had gone to parts unknown
 
My worst episode like that was during muzzleloader season.
Got up bright and early, tired, had been on a 4 day trip with Dad and Brother. Get out to our spot, let off a couple caps, make sure the barrel's dry - load up, start the hike.

Around 9:00am finally see something to shoot for the first time of the trip. Decent sized doe about 50-60 yards out, middle of a mostly cleared cornfield. Surprisingly not too spooked (ML season is late dec in Indiana, by then deer are super skittish having been shot at for 3 months straight).
Take aim - track it for about 5-10 seconds waiting for just the right shot. Squeeze the trigger...

pop

Deer's head shoots up, looks straight at me, doesn't move. It's been snowing/raining/damp - so i just keep aiming like an idiot - the way i was taught. Deer goes back about it's business, i throw another cap on - line up the next shot, same thing. Sharp pop, no boom.
This time the deer takes off.

Getting rather annoyed, i end up going through about a half dozen more caps aimed at the ground. Then it dawns on me. I've got a 480gr hollow point 50cal packed all the way down to the bottom of the barrel, with no powder behind it.

Look through my bag, no puller attachment for the ram rod - i mean, what would i need that for anyways? Somehow managed to find a nipple wrench that I didn't even know I had. Pulled the nipple, packed what little powder I could in there. Was probably the most pathetic response i've ever gotten out of a ML, but it got the bullet out.

Around this time, here comes Dad with this "***" look on his face. Sees me, see the nipple wrench, the pile of blown caps on the ground - and just starts laughin. Seems i'm not the only one this has happened to. Not surprisingly - he has the puller in his bag..
 
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