Hunting bloopers 😁

[Alan]

Hope everyone's having a good time here!

I'd love to know, what’s one hunting mistake you’ll always remember? Maybe it was that moment your scope went busted, or you realized the boots you wore were totally wrong, or perhaps you spooked the game way too soon. I’d love to hear your stories. Let’s swap some lessons and have a good laugh along the way!

 

[drizzydrave_]

I was deep in the woods during rifle season, feeling pretty good about my hunting spot. I had found a great location about a mile and a half away from the nearest road. The signs were perfect, and I had plenty of cover. I set up my gear before dawn, and sure enough, about an hour in, I spot a gorgeous buck strolling by at around 120 yards.

I took the shot, and just like that, he dropped! But then reality hit me like a ton of bricks. I was alone, a mile and a half away from my truck with only a single bottle of water and a granola bar. No game bags, no rope, absolutely nothing! I’d been so wrapped up in finding the perfect location that I totally spaced on being ready for success.

Now, I always make sure my pack is loaded with game bags, paracord, extra water, and all the essentials for field dressing, no matter if it’s opening day or the last day of the season. Lesson learned for sure!

 

[hardcast]

 

[bowmanch]

Too many to count, but will include a few...

Got a new (to me) Benelli M2 shotgun for Pheasant hunting. Took it out for a few rounds of sporting clays to get use to it and made sure it worked. After that, cleaned it up and packed it in the truck to go out west for hunting.

Get to opening day and everything is going smooth, finding birds, gun is working great; having a good time. Sunday rolls around and we are walking through a big grass patch and a rooster gets up in front of me. Lift the gun up to my shoulder, push the safety off, put my finger in the trigger guard; go to press on the trigger...instead of firing a shell, the whole trigger assembly rotated out of the receiver.

WTF!

Got to looking at it and the main cross pin that holds the trigger into the receiver was missing. It was there after I cleaned it but never checked to see if it was there after the opener. So that gun got parked until I could get a new cross pin and it has worked fine ever since.

 

[Red Baron]

Can't think of any offhand, other than forgetting ammo.

 

[bowmanch]

One year my dad and I went varmint hunting. This involved driving to the field, loading up all our gear on our person or into a backpack, walking about 1-2 miles and then setting up for the hunt. At the end of that trip dad made it a conquest to get the lightest rifles to carry into the field the following year, so the next 11 months that is what he did. The rifle I recall the most was his 10-22. He went out and got: carbon fiber barrel, ultra light-weight stock, all plastic bi-pod, 10 round mag for the gun while it was being carried, super small scope. It was low weight.

That next year, we were out in the open prairie in central Nebraska and anything over 5 mile per hour wind would push that gun around to the point you couldn't aim it. He ended up cursing that gun so much, as soon as we got home, all the light weight stuff came off that gun and it turned into a 10 pound brick with the hard wood stock, bull barrel and three pound scope; but it doesn't wiggle in the wind anymore.

 

[Alan]

That big buck is lucky enough to see another sunrise!

 

[Alan]

Too many to count, but will include a few...

Got a new (to me) Benelli M2 shotgun for Pheasant hunting. Took it out for a few rounds of sporting clays to get use to it and made sure it worked. After that, cleaned it up and packed it in the truck to go out west for hunting.

Get to opening day and everything is going smooth, finding birds, gun is working great; having a good time. Sunday rolls around and we are walking through a big grass patch and a rooster gets up in front of me. Lift the gun up to my shoulder, push the safety off, put my finger in the trigger guard; go to press on the trigger...instead of firing a shell, the whole trigger assembly rotated out of the receiver.

WTF!

Got to looking at it and the main cross pin that holds the trigger into the receiver was missing. It was there after I cleaned it but never checked to see if it was there after the opener. So that gun got parked until I could get a new cross pin and it has worked fine ever since.

It's crazy how something as small as that cross pin can totally change the game during a hunt. I’ve always known Benellis are tough as nails, but your story really drives home the point that even the “bombproof” guns need every single part checked before you head out. I never used to think about pins coming loose on inertia guns, but after hearing this, I’m definitely adding that to my mental checklist. And major props to you for not trying to force it or keep running the gun without that pin. A lot of folks would’ve just tried to rig it up temporarily to get through the day, and that’s where things can get dangerous. Getting that new pin and treating it right was absolutely the right call. At least the fix was easy, and the gun’s been running like a champ since.

Still a fantastic story and one I’ll remember next time I’m out in bird country

 

[cp1969]

I used to pheasant hunt in NE Kansas with a coworker. I met him at a Quik Trip and put my dog in the back of the truck with his dog. Dale didn't have any vacation, so he was playing hookey that day.

When we got to the place where we were going to hunt, we unloaded the dogs and discovered that one of them had chewed the bottom out of the game pocket on my vest. Dale was feeling worse as time went by and the fact that only his hunting jacket had a pouch. So Dale was stuck with carrying all the birds that either of us shot. Dale didn't get any that day.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable day--for me. Not so much for Dale.

Dale (4/17/54-11/21/2019) is resting in peace. He got some kind of disease which destroys the bones (multiple myeloma? We had many good hunts together.