How many have you missed

[Pollcat]

How many turkeys have you missed over the years (with a shotgun)? I don't mean missed the first shot, then knock him down on the second or the third shot. I'm talking plain ole get up and walk back to the truck feeling sorry for yourself...missed. I can recall 6 misses over the years with a dozen excuses for each one. Most birds missed were within 35yds.

[ril7572]

Way more than i care to remember:( I missed my first one at 20 yards, in 1989. I still hate that one.

[buckfever]

More than 1, less than 100,000.;)

Actually, I've probably missed 4-5 total. I missed 2 last year. I don't want to talk about this any more. :(

[kyfowlplay]

Can only recall 2 in over 20 years of hunting:D

[pentail]

my worst miss came with an audience at the long range of 5 or so yards, then 12 or so yards then 19 or so yards...

we were driving through a field in Iowa on our way to a chunk of timber we were going to hunt that afternoon. 6 of us piled into one truck at the farmhouse and started across a knee high grass pasture towards the timber. I look over the side of the truck bed and say, "hey, there lays a gobbler in the grass, wonder what happened to him?" we decide he is alive and thinks he is hiding in the before mentioned knee high grass. since I spotted him, I was chosen to get out of the truck and sneak back up on him.

Now let me say this, just before this trip I had put a red dot scope on my turkey gun. now I had shot the gun several times and killed a nice KY bird with it right before we went to Iowa so I pretty well versed in how the thing worked.

So there I was, bent over and working my way towards the bedded bird, gun in hand. I closed to 50 yards, then 40, then got down on my hands and knees to see just how close I could get. The rest of the guys are all standing in the back of the truck watching me through binoculars and I could already imagine the stories they would tell about my stealthy turkey stalking abilities when we adjourned to the Slippery Tit (the local watering hole and after hunt food stop).

The bird knew I was there, I could see his beady eye watching me as he hunkered ever lower in the grass. I got to 10 yards and raised my gun... then I lowered it and thought to myself, "there has to be something wrong with this turkey."

So I stood up. I looked at him, he looked at me and I could here the guys all laughing and yelling to shoot. I took one step towards him, then another. He hunkered lower. I turned to the guys in the truck to shrug my shoulders and explain that there was something wrong with this bird when I hear what sounded like a 100 bird covey of quail coming up. I turned back around to see the bird, now certain his hiding place was not going to work, and definately healthy, running flat out away from me, beating his wings and trying to get airborn while running flat out down the hill. I was surprised. I throw up my gun and pull the trigger, the bird keeps running. I pump the gun and pull the trigger again, he keeps running, by this time he has kicked it into high gear. I pull the trigger a third time and see him take wing and sail, untouched, across the valley to the other side of the farm, at which point he keeps running till he is out of sight.

At this time I am becoming aware of two things, one I never looked through my scope, must have looked over it each time, and two, my buddies were all laughing so hard they had fallen out of the truck. the entire sequence, from the time he jumped up till the time I pulled the trigger the third time, lasted all of 8 or so seconds. The legend will however, live for years every time I show my face in that part of Iowa.

[Feedman]

Missed 2 last yr. what a humbling experience. People still don't believe it. I was raising my head. Hope that it don't happen this yr.

[Duster]

I have missed a couple over the years and know why, One was so close the pattern was about the size of a golfball. I estimate the range at 15 ft on that one. I was sitting in a finger that ran out into a field and the tom came along the side of that finger and darn near tripped over my feet headed towards the decoys. Another I remember well was at 15 yards or so. I thought long and hard on that one and the only thing I could think of I didn't get my cheek down on the stock like I should. I did kill another bird not 20 minutes later from the same setup.

[wademup]

Missed the first one I ever called in,took over an hour and when I saw his head I think I just fired in the air,missed another twice at 40 yds and after the second shot he ran straight at me and stopped at about 15 yards,that's when I realized I only started with 2 shells:mad: Sure they wont be the last!!

Wademup

[UKturkeyhunter]

I've missed two, the first was a jake that I completely misjudged the distance. The other still haunts me. I worked this bird for over two hours, because a coyote came between me and him right off the roost. I waited and finally coaxed him back to thirty-five yards. He flanked my decoys to the right, it was an awkward shot, but not that awkward. I shot, knocking two feathers off his back and never saw him again. I walked and looked for awhile to make sure he did not fly then die, but no trace. One newly educated bird.:o

[Gobblergetter2.1]

Ive missed 6. One last year, 2 the year before (killed 2 also), one the year before that, and one the year before that, and one the year before that. Ive missed a turkey every year ive been hunting them except the first. Not a good record, but at least ive been able to get a shot at one every year. The miss that still haunts me came in '05 the morning after i killed my first bird ever (double bearded). I roosted him the night before. That morning he answered my owl hoots a full 30 minutes before any turkey gobbled. I walked up a 4 wheeler trail on the same 4 wheeler trail as him and got within 100 yards. I sat next to a tree and started some soft tree calls. He really was hammering. He gobbled at least 200 times in the 1 1/2 hours i was on the ridge. I made a fly down sound with my hand on my pants, then scratched the leaves a few times. He flew down within 50 yards of me and strutted to about 35 before i shot... and missed. I was heart broken. I wish i wouldve waited a little longer and let him home closer, but i didnt. Hopefully i have to go through that again this year! Aint too much longer! :D

[rarebreed]

I have missed 3 since 1994, 2 of them was shooting through a little bit of brush that didn't seem like enough to cause a miss at hung up birds, the 3rd was last year when I took a new hunter to a sure spot and called in 2 birds, he was using my 12ga and I was using a 20ga, when the birds starting getting nervous because they couldn't find the hen I told him to shoot then I shot and missed as he was hauling a&&. I have called in three peoples first birds and that is as satisfing as pulling the trigger on one myself

[Mepperson]

Missed on my first ever turkey in range. I was so excited when this bird came in on my opposite side, that I looked down the barrel with the wrong eye :eek: . I must have shot 3 feet over his head! I remember to concentrate now. I guess I had Tom Fever.

[slickhead slayer]

Have missed three. I have gone back to my standard full choke that came with my gun. I think the new extra full chokes are just too tight at 20 yards and under, and thats the distance I shoot.

[maxcam]

I have never missed a bird.....There have been a few that I have not shot at.......

[JDMiller]

I started turkey hunting mid-80's.....In the spring season only... I've missed 1 in LBL which would have me totaled at 8 from there. I missed 1 on our place in Christian Co. I missed 1 in Iowa....dont even want to discuss = 3. Out of 20 plus birds harvested.

Fall season.... I've clean missed several with a bow. Would'nt have a clue how many but its more than 5 over the years.

[EKY.MTN.HUNTER]

I've only shot at 2 turkeys and Ive hit em both, but for some reason, I dont like shotguns. I just dont trust em. I have real good aim when it comes to shooting a rifle, but sometimes I miss tree rats and slow doves with a shotgun.

[MrHank]

First one I shot at, he was only ten yards away strutting, that was 6 years ago. I have not missed one since or shot at one while they were strutting.

[mcdenney]

About everybody who has ever hunted turkeys has missed once upon a time (or is lying), especially this fellar who will go unnamed in Bourbon County who missed 2 last year. Right Turkeyman2000?:D

I know, my time is coming.....

[notimlmit]

One and that was my first bird I had ever shot at. I had listened to a friend who likes to use 6 shot which is what I had at the time and I took a very long shot only peppering the bird. Since that humbling experience I now use 5 shot and let the birds get within a good kill range of 30 yds or less. And yes I've got to watch lots of birds not to get a shot off but that's why they call it hunting.

[KyHorse]

2 with a shot gun and 5 by bow.

[buckfever]

Actually, after thinking about it, I think I've missed more than the 4-5 I cited earlier. To the best of my recollection, I've lost/missed 8 with a shotgun during the spring and 2 that I hit but didn't recover with a bow.

I missed 2 last year for different reasons, neither was really due to my own hunting error (red dot scope came loose on one and the other was b/c I took the wrong gun and ended up shooting a 20 ga. modified choke).

But that made me remember an episode from a couple of years ago. I actually missed 2 different birds at 2 diff't set ups (1/2 mile apart) all in the same morning. I was completely to blame for those misses. After those misses, I was so rattled, I ended up joining up with another hunter and just called for him. We almost managed to call in a 3rd bird (about 60 yards) before he hung up. That day was both the BEST day of turkey hunting I've ever had and the WORST.

[Bee]

i missed enough that i got a red dot ; when you get a bit of age in your eyes those open sights does crazy things. :>)

[KYhunter79]

I missed the first one I ever shot at. I was nervous. And a double came in from QUITE a ways, over an hour of calling. For the last 150 yards or so they shut up after gobbling the entire way. Then all of a sudden they popped over a little rise and was right on me. I was trying to move the gun up higher on my shoulder, but didn't get it high enough. I ended up looking at the end of the barrel and putting it on his head, instead of looking down the barrel. Clean miss. Was a good 2 foot over his head. It's funny now, but I wasn't pretty dissappointed in myself then.

[ng270]

I've missed one out of the nine I've fired upon in the spring. Only been hunting them since '99 or 00. I was too ignorant to pattern my gun until the second year when I missed one at 35 yards. I learned my lesson, patterned the gun, and found that I'd be lucky to kill anything at 25 yards with the pattern that old gun threw. By year 3, had a dedicated turkey gun, and haven't missed one since (knock on wood). I called the missed bird in for my brother the next week, and we found a few of my pellets in him when we cleaned him (mine were copper-plated, his weren't). Don't think I've missed a fall bird, but have only shot three or so in the fall.

[Tha' Hat]

I've missed my share -- probably a half-dozen or more with a bow. The first one I ever shot at was with a 20 gauge when I was just a little fellow, hunting with Dad. I shot him at about 30 yards, didn't miss, knocked him down, but he got away from us.

I've taken two or three long shots I shouldn't have taken and lost or missed turkeys, as well as missed one or two on the wing (all of those were in fall, though I did kill a jake on the wing in the spring one time).

I've had dozens of close calls in the spring where birds that shouldn't have gotten somehow got away without me firing a shot

My worst miss was in the fall, when my wife, Dad and I had a chance to triple on a group of gobblers. My wife shot first (field birds) and killed hers. I took a shot as bird No. 2 turned tail and blatantly missed (he was running, but still much easier shooting than a duck), but followed it up by swinging on bird No. 3. Hit him in the air, but didn't kill him. Dad did, so we ended up two out of three.

In my defense, I killed a gobbler of my own later in the day:D . Best day of fall hunting I've ever had.

[KYhunter79]

The best redemption I have gotten was on Easter sunday a couple years back. On Saturday we had one come in and he got about 20 yards and I was waiting for him to step out from behind a tree and he must have sensed something wrong because he took off trotting very quickly. I should have shot him at 30, but didnt. And we don't believe in shooting at birds flying or running. He had a very distinct beard because it was long, but very thin. Well, the next day we walked along that same ridge we were on, and I could hear two toms gobbling in a pasture field in the bottom. Well, we went down and set up in a dry creek bed at the edge of the pasture field and they were both about 250 yards up the pasture out of sight. There was a group of hens calling up the hill and we were calling in the bottom. Well, they split. One went to the hens, one came to us. I killed him at 40 yards. Same thin bearded bird. 10 1/2 inch beard, 1 3/4 inch spurs, 22 and change.

[hoosierwilk]

2 so far and I hope thats it. Missed a big son of gun last year in the DBNF trying to make things happen faster than they were unfolding. He was coming but not fast enough. I should have waited a little longer. Live and learn I guess. hw

[turk2di]

5...3 in one week spring 04! Or was it 03? Two of the 5 i missed i bagged on the back-up shot!

[NonTyp]

I've missed five, 3 spring and 2 fall. 2 of the spring birds were last year.

[nwest]

Wow you guys know how to make a guy feel good:D. I have never missed one, I had one get away on a bad shot last year but I did not "miss". I rolled him but he never missed a step. I wish I had missed, I am almost sure I killed that bird but I never found him. We looked for almost 2 hrs and never found him.

But then again I only have 6 years and 8 birds to my credit 5 in the spring and 3 in the fall

[th5isback5]

Ive missed a few:D , I always get that gobbler fever when I hear that ol tom runnin up to the call.

[ceohunter]

I will never tell...but I could retell each one in detail!

[notimlmit]

just remembered I had to shoot one twice after only knocking it down just to get back up but knock on wood no other misses. I'm sure as much as I hunt there will be another though sometime

[Gut_Pile]

Been lucky to only miss 1...but I have only killed 2. ONly been turkey hunting for the past 3 years...so don't have much experience