Two Misses for Zero

Hunt long enough, hunt hard enough and you will miss a shot, maybe a couple. My first came a many years ago when I was really getting stoked on whitetail deer. I saw antlers, it was bounding away, three times I slapped the trigger, three times I pointed the slug gun at the buck, never lining up the buckhorn iron sights. Young and excited, I made every mistake possible, the desire for a buck overrode self-control.

Fast forward a couple years and again, excitement took over, three times over the course of a day I missed multiple pokes at a whitetail. Luck was on my side, the rut was in full swing and he just kept returning to the spot. There’s no need to get into how many shots I winged by him, but after the last bad shot he jumped closer, I could’ve hit him with a rock. On that last shot I finally controlled myself enough to get it done.

Two swings, two misses, zero tags cut.

Over the past five seasons I haven’t missed a shot on a big game animal. All fall I had a feeling of dread hanging over me like a storm cloud. There was this gut feeling that a missed shot was coming. Curiously it’s hard not to wonder if I brought on my own bad luck, I was never negative, I was confident, but still I was certain a miss was coming.

Did I bring this on myself?

The weather had been strange, the rut was off and the blacktail bucks didn’t seem to be moving in November. I hunted hard and didn’t get any opportunities until I was a day and half away from going back to work. Once I’d confirmed it was a small buck I poured everything I had into the crosshairs, checked my breathing, pressed the trigger and missed. You could say I was slack jawed, the little blacktail stood there long enough for me to get a second shot. The tension broke when he spun, racking the pump I sent another missile his ways for another clean miss.

And like that the season tapered down to a close. No more chances, I never gave up, the opportunities had dried up. It was the first in a while that I closed it out without cutting a tag and a freezer that was dangerously low. That’s the way it goes sometimes, now I’m hungrier than ever to get back out there next season.

See you on the water or the mountains.

-Matthew Mallory