What the hell went wrong?

[Magnum Sherpa]

I sell a few hunts and i can tell you, you arent buying an animal, you are buying an OPPORTUNITY. You had your opportunity and didnt capitalize on it. I can also assure you that in the distance we are talking about, nothing but poor shooting led to a 10” discrepancy of aim point vs impact point. A poor shot happens to everyone eventually.

100% agree that you are buying an opportunity and not an animal, and that’s the way it should be on a fair chase hunt. I was disappointed that my opportunity to hunt was cut short. If I truly believed my shot was fatal I would have happily punched my tag, but I think to say “that elk won’t survive” is a stretch in that case. Especially since so many people on here relate nearly identical stories, then see the same buck or bull that they shot running around weeks later. Maybe that outfitter ought to give hunters a single bullet and that’s all you get regardless of the outcome.

 

[mtmuley]

Geez, took you long enough...

I'm good behind it. Never been recoil sensitive. There are ways to manage shooting one at the bench and practice. Like I said awhile ago, it ain't for everyone. mtmuley

 

[LuketheDog]

I'm good behind it. Never been recoil sensitive. There are ways to manage shooting one at the bench and practice. Like I said awhile ago, it ain't for everyone. mtmuley

I'd love to try one some day...

 

[mtmuley]

I'd love to try one some day...

Obviously the current trend is small calibers suppressed. I'm not there at this time. I just like what I have set up for my hunting needs. If you were close I'd set you up. mtmuley

 

[Shed God]

Small calibers. What u expect

 

[Forkyfinder]

Small calibers. What u expect

He used a 308

 

[Shed God]

308 cousin to a 6.5

 

[Shed God]

Lol. 308 good. Shoot. Shoot. Put rm down. Watch. Then move in

 

[Shed God]

I didn't read the story. Seen small calibers

 

[Uplander]

100% agree that you are buying an opportunity and not an animal, and that’s the way it should be on a fair chase hunt. I was disappointed that my opportunity to hunt was cut short. If I truly believed my shot was fatal I would have happily punched my tag, but I think to say “that elk won’t survive” is a stretch in that case. Especially since so many people on here relate nearly identical stories, then see the same buck or bull that they shot running around weeks later. Maybe that outfitter ought to give hunters a single bullet and that’s all you get regardless of the outcome.

No, you had your opportunity and didn't capitalize. Own it and move on. Do You really expect someone to just let you keep shooting until you finally make a quickly lethal shot? It doesnt matter if you “believe” your shot wasnt fatal. You got the opportunity you paid for.

 

[nastynate]

I was with a friend when he shot a cow elk. What I observed, is extremely similar to what you described.
I also feel the shot was between the spine and vitals, which stunned the elk.

I don’t think there’s really any space to shoot between spine and vitals- you’re likely to get one or the other or both. I’ve thought that before but take a look next time you’re cutting on a deer. If you’re below the spine in the front part of the animal you’re gonna puncture the thoracic cavity and if you get penetration that oughta collapse both lungs.

I now see @QuazyQuinton said as much…

 

[jwatts]

Here's another example of a back whack back on camera and feeding not long after the shot.

 

[Uplander]

Do animals sometimes survive a while after marginal hits? Absolutely! Do they survive long term after marginal hits? Only by the grace of GOD. They have a hard life when they are healthy. An infection that will most likely result from such a wound may be too much to overcome. I find a lot of “dead heads” after hunting season while looking for sheds. Im not saying all or even a majority are from marginal shots that werent immediately fatal, but its undeniable that some are. I sell some hunts and lease some land to hunters. You just cant believe how many people either dont practice at all, ONLY shoot from a bench when they do, have no idea how their gun is actually sighted and what their PBR is, or just get uncontrollable target panic or buck fever when an opportunity arrises. I have a very close friend who hunts on me. I built his rifle for him and its a proverbial “tack driver”. He shot a big mule deer buck last year and had some issues, actually 5 issues before he finally hit it in the head and killed it. I had chalked it up to buck fever and his aging eyes and body. He brought the rifle to me a couple weeks ago to check it out and make sure nothing was wrong. First i noticed that he had switched ammo from what it was sighted for. When i brought that up he said he thought it would be “close enough”! The first shot on a 200yd steel plate showed it to be several FEET off. I moved to 25yds to get it close and it was almost a foot off at that distance. I was thinking he must have dropped the gun at some point but there was no supporting evidence of that. I got it sighted in and called to talk to him about it. He assured me it was never dropped. He did state he lent it to his son to hunt with. His son has a kid who is constantly into EVERYTHING. I believe the kid was probably cranking on scope knobs the whole ride home! We agreed that he wouldn't let that rifle out of his sight in the future and would use something else as a loaner. He was relieved to know his shooting wasnt as poor as it appeared.
All of this is only to say, PRACTICE, and practice like you hunt. That means getting off the bench after your rifle is sighted. CHECK IT if at all possible before you need it because murphy is still alive and well. Lastly, work on ways to calm your nerves when it matters. I LOVE the feeling of “buck fever” and hunting wouldn't be so much fun without that rush, but i generally start my shakes and such after the shot now.

 

[Ben Long]

Do animals sometimes survive a while after marginal hits? Absolutely! Do they survive long term after marginal hits? Only by the grace of GOD. They have a hard life when they are healthy. An infection that will most likely result from such a wound may be too much to overcome. I find a lot of “dead heads” after hunting season while looking for sheds. Im not saying all or even a majority are from marginal shots that werent immediately fatal, but its undeniable that some are. I sell some hunts and lease some land to hunters. You just cant believe how many people either dont practice at all, ONLY shoot from a bench when they do, have no idea how their gun is actually sighted and what their PBR is, or just get uncontrollable target panic or buck fever when an opportunity arrises. I have a very close friend who hunts on me. I built his rifle for him and its a proverbial “tack driver”. He shot a big mule deer buck last year and had some issues, actually 5 issues before he finally hit it in the head and killed it. I had chalked it up to buck fever and his aging eyes and body. He brought the rifle to me a couple weeks ago to check it out and make sure nothing was wrong. First i noticed that he had switched ammo from what it was sighted for. When i brought that up he said he thought it would be “close enough”! The first shot on a 200yd steel plate showed it to be several FEET off. I moved to 25yds to get it close and it was almost a foot off at that distance. I was thinking he must have dropped the gun at some point but there was no supporting evidence of that. I got it sighted in and called to talk to him about it. He assured me it was never dropped. He did state he lent it to his son to hunt with. His son has a kid who is constantly into EVERYTHING. I believe the kid was probably cranking on scope knobs the whole ride home! We agreed that he wouldn't let that rifle out of his sight in the future and would use something else as a loaner. He was relieved to know his shooting wasnt as poor as it appeared.
All of this is only to say, PRACTICE, and practice like you hunt. That means getting off the bench after your rifle is sighted. CHECK IT if at all possible before you need it because murphy is still alive and well. Lastly, work on ways to calm your nerves when it matters. I LOVE the feeling of “buck fever” and hunting wouldn't be so much fun without that rush, but i generally start my shakes and such after the shot now.

That's an excellent point. I should check the zero on the rifle. I killed a buck with it later in the season, but at very close range.

 

[Michhunter 270]

I had that same thing happen to me, still don't know what happen !!!

 

[Bux_N_Beards]

Real world example. This guy got another chance a few days later and got to see what went wrong the first time.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Have you guys ever heard the story of the fire bull?

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Real world example. This guy got another chance a few days later and got to see what went wrong the first time.

Sounds like what went wrong was using a buddies gun and just putting a bdc reticle's 600 yd circle on the deer and sending it without really having any experience to know where the hell the bullet was going to land.

 

[Bux_N_Beards]

Sounds like what went wrong was using a buddies gun and just putting a bdc reticle's 600 yd circle on the deer and sending it without really having any experience to know where the hell the bullet was going to land.

If you’re referring to the video, he was shooting his own rifle. Apologies if I am misunderstanding your comment. That said, your scenario with BDC reticles is likely more the norm than the exception for sure though. Aside from physically validating, most folks also fail to realize the effect of changing the magnification setting on a SFP scope and its corresponding effect on POI on the reticle hash marks.

Don’t think either was a factor with the video guy. He hit high, “backslapped” the buck and he lived another day, albeit not many more.

 

[Horseman]

I hate wounding loss and am pretty conservative with my shooting to avoid it. I had a bad hit this November I am still trying to make sense of. Wondering if you've had similar experience:
I was still hunting whitetails in a logged forest. I was sitting on a stump, rattling antlers. A mature buck came in and stood broadside at perhaps 100 yards, somewhat downhill but not a steep slope. It felt like a chip shot with elbows on my knees, crosshairs on the kill zone. I exhaled for the shot -- and damnit my breath fogged my glasses. I tossed them aside, resumed my aim and fired.
I was not surprised when the buck dropped like struck by Thor's hammer. "That's a dead deer," I thought. I didn't even cycle a round, just watched what I thought were a few death kicks through the scope.
To my dismay, the buck rolled over, rose to his feet and bounded away. I mean bounded, no problem moving at all. Long story short, two of us (both experienced trackers) searched for four hours. There was no snow and the ground was frozen. I found the spot where he hit the ground and two running tracks where he scraped the duff. That's it. Never saw the buck again. Neither of us found any sign of birds or other scavengers in that area over the rest of the season.

So what the hell happened? Rifle was a 308. Bullets were copper Barnes TXSS 165 grain. Scope was sighted 2 inches high at 100.
I'm trying to learn my lesson here. My guess is between operator error, the slope and the point of impact, I hit high, stunned his spine, but he shook it off and I did no more damage. Anyone experienced anything like this?

Another lesson: Send another round. And be quick about it.

I’ve done that before. You hit the processenn by

I hate wounding loss and am pretty conservative with my shooting to avoid it. I had a bad hit this November I am still trying to make sense of. Wondering if you've had similar experience:
I was still hunting whitetails in a logged forest. I was sitting on a stump, rattling antlers. A mature buck came in and stood broadside at perhaps 100 yards, somewhat downhill but not a steep slope. It felt like a chip shot with elbows on my knees, crosshairs on the kill zone. I exhaled for the shot -- and damnit my breath fogged my glasses. I tossed them aside, resumed my aim and fired.
I was not surprised when the buck dropped like struck by Thor's hammer. "That's a dead deer," I thought. I didn't even cycle a round, just watched what I thought were a few death kicks through the scope.
To my dismay, the buck rolled over, rose to his feet and bounded away. I mean bounded, no problem moving at all. Long story short, two of us (both experienced trackers) searched for four hours. There was no snow and the ground was frozen. I found the spot where he hit the ground and two running tracks where he scraped the duff. That's it. Never saw the buck again. Neither of us found any sign of birds or other scavengers in that area over the rest of the season.

So what the hell happened? Rifle was a 308. Bullets were copper Barnes TXSS 165 grain. Scope was sighted 2 inches high at 100.
I'm trying to learn my lesson here. My guess is between operator error, the slope and the point of impact, I hit high, stunned his spine, but he shook it off and I did no more damage. Anyone experienced anything like this?

Another lesson: Send another round. And be quick about it.

Ive done that before. Your bullet hit the posterior spinous process, above the spine -the part of the vertebrae that projects upward. The first time I accidentally did this was when I was a kid and could hunt everyday but not yet afford a range finder. A doe whitetail walked out at dusk and I overestimated the distance. She dropped at the shot and when I was half way to her she jumped up and took off like nothing was wrong with her. Amazingly I ended up killing her at the same time and location a month or so later. She was in surprisingly good health. The wound was getting cleaned out from maggots. The spine dips surprising low in the shoulder region on cervids making this error common. In my experience deer will drop and get back up quite often when this shot is made-especially with smaller caliber rifles. When elk drop from this shot placement they don’t seem to be able to get back up-but they will still be alive. In my book it’s a major red flag when a deer drops like it was struck by lightning-be ready for a quick Texas heart shot!