Due for a heartbreak…

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chizfo
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Due for a heartbreak…

Unread postby chizfo » Sat Nov 26, 2022 3:09 pm

Bow hunting is quite a roller coaster ride. I’ve had some extreme highs over the years killing some good bucks. But the lows are also part of the game. Im very aware..

The heartache i experienced on thanksgiving morning was and is still something that will eat at me for a long time coming.

Long story short; I had an encounter with a 160 class at 15 yards. Not being able to pull the shot off. Drew back but never letting an arrow go. I learned a few things that morning.

You can replay the encounter over and over and wonder if you made all the right moves. It’ll drive you nuts..

To be so close and yet..

The hunt continues. Persistence with pay off.

And it actually makes me wonder how many heartbreaks a guy like Dan or someone who has been in the game just as long has had..?


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Huntress13
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Re: Due for a heartbreak…

Unread postby Huntress13 » Sun Nov 27, 2022 1:25 am

A lot. Even on smaller bucks than that. A bad shot. Shots you thought were good and yet you never recover the deer. Shots you couldn't get off at all. It's all part of the game. All you can do is keep learning something from each experience.
Twigs in my hair, don't care.
ihookem
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Re: Due for a heartbreak…

Unread postby ihookem » Sun Nov 27, 2022 7:44 am

The only heartbreak I ever had is the ones that I wounded. As for me, I only take the absolute best shot. Last night, I was on some very hard hunted public land It was 6 minutes to close and did not see a deer the last 4 sits. I see a deer and was very excited , even though it was walking away. Then it came back . I was already so tired from having the gun up that when I took the shot I could hardly keep the gun up. I took a very easy shot of about 25 yds with my .243 WIn. The deer ran a bit and never left sight. I thanked God for the doe I just shot. Heading over there, I look down and it is a spike buck.. Well, ok, I'll take it. Gun season ends 2 days from this very minute anyway. All deer are good deer. There is no " but I wanted a good buck" in my words. Every deer is a good deer unless it's sick. Every hunt is good hunt unless ya get hurt. This was my 46th hunt since my last deer 2 yrs. ago , the day after Thanksgiving. All 46 hunts were good. The fact that it was a "mature" buck makes no difference . Had the spike been any bigger I would have had to cut it up in the woods cause I was exhausted after a 2 hr. drag. Every hunt ,,, ,, might be your last. ... Make it a good one. I'm going out for a doe in a near wind storm. I doubt I will see a deer, but I am going anyway cause I love it out on public . ... Public land, the rich mans rags, the poor mans paradise.
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Huntress13
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Re: Due for a heartbreak…

Unread postby Huntress13 » Sun Nov 27, 2022 9:51 am

ihookem wrote:The only heartbreak I ever had is the ones that I wounded. As for me, I only take the absolute best shot.


I was thinking about bowhunting where stuff happens, a deflection, the deer moving, lots of things can change what you thought was a really good shot.
Twigs in my hair, don't care.
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oldrank
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Re: Due for a heartbreak…

Unread postby oldrank » Sun Nov 27, 2022 1:57 pm

I've been hunting deer for about 37 years. There are alot of woulda coulda shouldas. There are also alot of successful hunts. I think the missed opportunities bothered me alot more in my younger days. These days I shake em off quick n keep hunting. It's all part of the game. I am getting to the age where I am just happy to be able to hunt. I still have alot in the tank but it's not like it was when I was 25. Success is having the experience of the hunt, the company of friends and family, fresh venison in the freezer, watching a new hunter take a deer, watching deer, figuring out new properties or whatever. Those big ones that got away still are sharp in my mind but it is what it is. Sometimes the deer win too.
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Brad
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Re: Due for a heartbreak…

Unread postby Brad » Mon Nov 28, 2022 4:27 am

I don't think of them as heartbreaks, I think of them as learning experiences. It would only be a heartache if you knew is was the last hunt you'd ever have. I'm only in my 4th season hunting deer, & I've already had plenty. More every year in fact. My first year hunting it was not seeing many deer and only seeing 2 antlered bucks while hunting all season. This year I've already had more close encounters with big bucks than I could have ever imagined. That said, this is the first year I haven't had a buck down by now... I don't see it as a heartache because I know I'm learning a ton about how to find and get close to big mature bucks on public land. If you're having close encounters, I'd think of that as a positive, not a heartache. It's pretty awesome just getting that close to bucks like that. In my 3 seasons prior to this one I've killed an antlered buck in each, with 2 being studs. However this has been my best season by far, even if I don't end up killing one, and much of what has made it amazing is because of the "heartaches" you are referring to.
Groundhunter@1
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Re: Due for a heartbreak…

Unread postby Groundhunter@1 » Mon Nov 28, 2022 7:50 am

My best hunts were those that I did not get in many ways. 73 years young you reflect
Double drop tine stands up in swamp in Bayfield County, 1983 just as I walk up on my small 6
160 buck, 1993 22 yards shot under heart, and just before killed the doe he was chasing, and on and on
.... last year in Vernon County missed a true high 170..... this year missed a 150 8. I know what I have seen........ yes I have.a great MI deer this year, and meat in the freezer on does, but some of the best are in my head, all missed shots.

Would not trade it for the world.
Jmitch
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Re: Due for a heartbreak…

Unread postby Jmitch » Mon Nov 28, 2022 2:53 pm

I have had a few. The early ones hurt the most. Seemed after I knocked a few good ones down that they dont sting as much and I'm able to get over it quicker.

The missed opportunities or blown shots when I was starting still hurt but they were also learning opportunities that taught me what it takes to get it done. Eventually it clicked and got me to this point.


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