Sometimes I sit around crying in my beer thinking about gun mistakes I've made over my life. Fortunately my mistakes have never shot anyone except my stupid self and if I could do THAT event over, I would wrap the pistol barrel around my head instead of shooting myself with it.

But what gun mistake have you made that just really haunts you? We've all got a few...hopefully none with tragic consequences.

Do you grieve about the "one that got a way? The perfect shot you missed?

Do you grieve about a bad trade or a stolen gun?

What? The subject is wide open.

I think personally I have cried the most tears about selling a strange little rifle I once had. It was a fantastically beautiful .357 Magnum rifle I had built on an original, small action Martini. Original stock (which cleaned up and finished out with tremendous grain and figure) and even the original sights.

It wasn't much good for anything but plinking and rabbit hunting etc......but damn it was pretty and it was a LOT of fun to shoot. <Sigh>

Today I put just the new toy in the car as I was going to climb a steep hill to scout for a deer stand. Now a have plenty of long range rifles including a pair of 300 mags and .375's but I left them home.

So what happens but I spot a black bear 1200 yds away up the valley! It's already a half hour to sunset so I begin the stalk along a edge of woods. The bear is on the same edge a few farm fields away. Now all I have is a 7mm-08 loaded with 140 Sierra SPT's at maybe 2750. I decide somehow, I did not have you guys to check with, that 300 yds is my outside limit for a good hit with enough energy. My drop is about 8" there and I have the laser RF with me.

At 500 yds the laser tells me it's still too far as I hurry towards the bear. My thinking was that I would go straight at it and try to catch it by surprise.

At 400 yds the bear spots me and runs off. Only a few minutes of good light left anyway.

Regrets:

"Use enough gun" or at least put one in the car!

In 1996 on an ELK hunt in Colorado, I am sitting high on the mountain, with threatening skys at sunup. I have seen hundreds of Elk for several days, having passed up 7 legal Bulls, waiting for Mr. Big. 500 cows come across the skyline at daybreak, followed by 5 raghorns and last but not least a 7 X 7 that was wide, tall, and extended even with his rear. Definately the King of the mountain, and probably a book Bull. It starts snowing, the Elk come toward me in a constant procession. I debate, do I go after him, given his poor visibility in a snow storm although protected by hundreds of eyes, or maintain my well concealed stand, and let them come to me. I decided on the later, waiting for three hours while they came within 10 yards of me in the storm, that is all but the 7 X 7, who never showed closer than 700 yards. He could have been with 50 yards, but the snow cut visibility so much, that I never saw him again. IF I HAD IT TO DO OVER, I WOULD HAVE GONE ON A SNEAK AND TRIED TO AMBUSH HIM. I didn't get him by waiting. Of course hindsite is always 100%. I did manage to get a small 6 X 6 later, and can still see that Big 7 X 7 in my dreams. Good shooting.

The only regret I have is in not simplifying my hunting battery years before I finally did.

Hunting trips mean a whole lot more to me that a big safe full of rifles, most of which are seldom used.

As far as hunts go, I've enjoyed every one of them, and I've learned a lot on all of them. No regrets in that department!

AD

Phurley - Sounds to me like you were destined to lose that contest either way you played it. Sorry.

One of my regrets is I still haven't done what Allen suggests, and still have a load of rifles, that haven't been shot in years. The second is that I bought a mint condition H&H sidelock double rifle for only $900 with it's case, and all acessaries, and sold it five years later without ever shooting it,because it was chambered for 9.3X74R,evidently specially ordered for someone in Germany, and ammo was not available in Texas in 1958, to 1963 that I owned it! That rifle would be worth $25,000 today!

A story like phurley's. I was muzzleloading hunting when I spotted one of those once in a lifetime Mule Deer. I later learned 2 seperate guides were after that buck. One guessed it at a 43" spread, the other 45".
He was hanging in a draw, and I knew he was going to go through a nearby saddle. My choice, to go after him, or wait for him in the saddle. I chose to go after him. I was able to keep a tree between me and him, however, when I got to within 70 yards of him, a young hunter I was with seen him, and at 300 yards away, decided to take a crack at him with a 45 Caliber shooting a round ball.
I quickly stepped around the last tree, but he was behind a spindlely bush. I believe the 54 caliber ball I was using could have busted through that bush, but with only one shot, I decide to wait until he stepped away from the bush. However, he took off on a dead run, paused in the saddle, and disappeared forever, without me ever getting a shot.
The "if only"s have haunted me for years, but at least I got a chance at a buck that others will only dream about.

#1...Pecos, why did you shoot yorself? THat sounds like it might hurt

I'm lucky in that I've figured out the "If I could do it over" part already. At least to a certain extent...

I realized last year that I could either spend my life working my ass off and chasing the almighty dollar, or I could experience life.

At 35, I've only got so many high mountain years left (about 15, I think..maybe more)

SOmeone once said "Life is what happens to us when we are planning for other things"

I'm trying my best to not get passed by, and this year has been one of my best hunting seasons ever, and I've still got a month more to go...

As for guns?

I'm wiht Allen Day. I'm trying to pare down my collection, and I've been selling guns all year. I'm just having trouble with my Dad's guns. I have three of them, but use only one very often. I considered selling the other two, but I can't bring myself to do it. (Dad is still very much alive and well, BTW)

Actually, I'd like to hear from Allen what he has kept in his collection and why. It migth help me with my choices a bit...

Gatehouse, what I've kept in my collection is a core group of hunting rifles, all custom-built on CRF Model 70 actions, and with McMillan stocks. All are stocked exactly the same and balanced the same, even with different respective barrel contours. The eye-relief is set up the same with the scopes as well, so it doesn't matter if you pick up the .270 or the .416, they all feel the same, and the sight picture is the same. These rifles are in .270 Win, .300 Win. Mag., .338 Win. Mag., .375 H&H, and .416 Remington. I don't need any more rifles than these, and if I manage to shoot the barrel out on any one of them, I'll simply have that rifle rebarreled.

I've learned this much about hunting rifles in thirty-one years of hunting: Consistency and familiarity is of immense value. Even if you hunt with rifles chambered for several different cartridges, make those rifles feel the same, balance the same, and function the same. A rifle needs to feel like it's a part of you, like an old watch you've worn for years or like a well-broken-in pair of Russell boots.

With my small battery of custom Model 70s, everything is second-nature. I don't have to think about what I'm doing when I bring one of those rifles up for a quick shot, nor when I snug into the sling over a solid rest for a long shot. I'm through experimenting.........

AD

Theres alot of merit to what Allen says.
But I'm in the position to have a gun with me every day. And I always seem to take a few shots, whether at varmints, being anything from blackbirds, to moose smashing fences or a rock on the hillside. I have favorites to be sure, but by handleing and shooting every day I have never yet reached for the safety in the wrong place, missed because of the rifle not feeling right ect ect.

The point of having a lot of rifles and therefore having less money for hunting is a personal choice. I can eliminate the money factor by choosing to go to a gunshop or the range on a particular day instead of going hunting. There is no significant cost difference.

For me going hunting year in and year out I find that going about once a week is fine. I may go to the range more often than that. In the big game season we take off consecutive days of course. I have no regrets about choices that I have made from free will.

A while back I was on the phone with a guide who happens to be a regular here. He made the argument that common sense says to spend money on a guided hunt instead of more rifles. I just changed the subject. What I like about guns and hunting is the independence of being free to do what I want.

I think Allen Day is probably the most well adjusted "HUNTER" I've ever been in contact with! He is a riflemen as long as those rifles are used as a tool for HUNTING! A person like Allen, needs only the rifles he has had made for himself,because his whole purpose for owning any rifle is to hunt, and is nothing more than carpenter's custom hammer, a tool, but the BEST tool he can come up with! That attitude is to be celebrated!

However, like many others here, I'm a lover of fine double rifles, and hunt with every one I own, but I'm also a collector, and have many rifles I have never fired, and never will. I have them for different reasons than Allen. They are not tools but works of art, or are very rare. Just like the paintings on the walls of an art museum, they are there not as tools to decorate the walls, but to be enjoyed, simply by looking at them.

Some of the firearms I own are pieces I can't make myself get rid of,because they were inhereted from my father, and grandfather, eventhough some are rifles I really do NOT like. I wish I could make myself rid myself of many rifles, and use the money to hunt Africa again, but I'm afraid that will never happen again, for many reasons, beyond the selling of firearms! I guess it boils down to the fact that some hunters are MORE than just hunters, and enjoy more than just hunting. After 61 years of hunting, on my own, I find little, other than dangerous game, to be stimulateing in the field now! So, I guess I have to agree more completely with Savage99, I like the freedom to do what "I" want, and leave the other things to those who want to do things their way, as well!

[ 11-02-2003, 19:48: Message edited by: MacD37 ]

If I could do it over I would include more hunting and more guns. I have my regrets, but where dabbeling with firearms and hunting are concerned, they are very few.

Interesting comments by all. Gatehouse, you are correct in your assumption that shooting myself hurt and I have tried very hard not to do it again. As Roy the tiger guy found okut, tigers are always tigers at heart and I learned the hard way that guns are always guns.

Allen, you have done a beautiful thing paring back and organizing your rifles like you have done. This will serve you well all your days.

Ironic that I was almost stoned to death for suggesting last year that we could all probably get buy very nicely with ONE gun and in many cases even ONE LOAD.

Not that any of us will ever do such a crazy thing, including me.

How many guns are right? Depends on the individual, what he can afford and what he does with them. For many of us there is joy and value in just owning certain rifles or pistols, regardless of how little we use them. It just makes us happy to go hold them or clean them now and then. Nothing wrong with that.

Gatehouse - From what I've seen of your hunting adventures this year, I think you are in danger of having a visit from the "Fun Police." Sounds to me like you are having more fun than the law allows.

But you are quite correct about one thing: As we lie in a bed dying....we won't be thinking about a "day at the office." We will be dreaming about our hunts with friends and the one that got away. We should all obey the call more.

Like many of you I have some standout memories of what if I'd this or that differently...
I sold a small collection of 5 SAKO Classic Grades in 243 & 270 that were in open production, a 223 that was 1 of 300, a 300WMg that was uncataloged at the time and 1 of 13, and a 1 of 1 ever produced 25/06 at that time in 1984 that I hand picked the stock on out of approx 800/1000 stocks at the plant in Rihimaki...I sold everthing because I believed a Dr who told me I would never shoot again after screwing up a disc in my upper back and 5 years later I began to shoot a little M70 257 without any pain. That was 10 years ago and now am comfortable with a box of 300 WBy's off the bench sometimes and 300 WMgs everyday. What a stupid thing to do.

December 1984, last weekend of deer season, hunting a free range private ranch who knows how big in deep south Texas on the Rio Grande River. Had been down the weekend before as a guest, scratched on a shootable buck, and was invited back for the last weekend. On Sunday after lunch on the last day my host has one of his guys take me back as far as the road goes, it is 11 miles south of the ranch house compound to the front gate of the 20,000 acre pasture my host has leased. We hike in along a ridge overlooking a dry wash thru chest or higher huisache and mesquite for several hours. the "guide" spots a monster after 3 hours of leaving a blood donation on every bush and limb we pass down in bottom of the dry wash we have been following. DumbAssed me has brought an unfamiliar prototype sample rifle in 7 Mg that the factory sent me out of the SHOT Show's display and I slapped the only extra available scope I had, a Leupold 2x7 on the first SAKO black fiberglass stock produced, on it the morning we left Dallas for the 10+ hour drive and did not shoot it in except at some bottles behind the ranch house on Sunday morning with some borrowed Federal Red Box 150's. I'd brought the rifle, along with some others, to shoot some photo's of with a magazine editor from Los Angeles who no showed at the last minute. The newspaper outdoor writer I'd brought down with me had gone over to another ranch owned by a friend of ours to shoot some film for another project he was writing and I was alone in camp when everybody came in from the morning hunt.
Well needless to say the critter in creek bottom is the biggest WhiteTail I've ever seen before or since. In the lengthening shadows of the just before 5pm daylight I could make out 10 points plus some forked stickers up at the 7 power max on the little Leo and a drop tine on either side of his head that looked about 3-4"s long, with the bucks main beams hanging about the width of my hand+ outside of his alert and facing ears...or some 22-23"s+ maybe. No Sling, unfamilair gun, distance estimated at 450/500 downhill, nothing to take a rest on and getting darker by moment...and I passed on the shot since we didn't even have a flashlight betwen us to track with if I got lucky with a "wish shot". After we climbed down the ridge I put a fired 7Mg case in one side of his hoof print with a little length to spare and his dew claws were half the length of the case behind the hoof print in the hard sand of the creek bottom. What a deer! This was supposed to be just a way of getting me out of camp for an afternoon stroll...not a Trophy Hunt of the finest Kind!!and I was totally unprepared except for a pocket knife...what a deer, What a Deer of a lifetime! The "guide" berated me for not taking the shot for an hour on the way back to the truck until I busted a running jackrabbit that was hauling ass at 100 yards, cleanly centering it and leaving the entire carcass undamaged without breaking a bone except for the missing belly....and blowing him 25 feet into a tree. 7mg is not a good rabbit gun for sure!
So there is a bloodline of Monsters northwest of Encinal and 25 miles south of Hwy 83 on the banks of the Rio Grande or about 30/35 miles upriver from Laredo. If anybody has any access call me!! I still see that double drop tine in my sleep every nite the week before season opens..whether I get to go or not.
Ron

[ 11-02-2003, 21:18: Message edited by: verhoositz ]

Regrets? Nope. As a for instance, I just walked in from "The Hill" this morning. I was up at 3:30 am, hiking out of the trailhead at 4:40 am and in a favorite meadow at legal light. I cut a bull track in 5" of fresh snow and began following. At about 7:00 am I spotted him ahead of me at around 250-300 yards. I could see by his 5th's and 6th's he was in the 310-340 class. I kept up the pursuit. Finally he stops at about 225 yards and looks back over his shoulder at me. I pull off my day pack for a shooting rest, find the junction of his neck and shoulder and let him have it... down in his tracks. I hike to him and, hey, wait a minute... what the heck is this? It's a small 6pt, not the brute I was trailing! As he was looking back towards me I could only see the sillouette of his rack... apparently I was trailing two bulls! I rolled/slid him down the 35-40 degree slope to a good spot to dress him about 70 yards below where I shot him. Who do you think is standing there looking at me? That's right, about 100 yards below me is Mr. Big. I threw up my rifle and could have dropped him but that's not the right way is it!

BA

My only regrets come from lost opportunities in the field because of faulty equipment. Especially when it comes to rifles and optics. Most were a result of compromises to put money elswhere, to speed up the gunmaking process with quickly available components, or just plain ignorance.

So this past spring and summer I sold off all of my hunting rifles to finance the building of a rifle. The plans for which had been drawn up a couple of years ago in the back of my day planner to amuse myself during a semesters worth of anthropology lectures in University.

I was sidetracked briefly this year with a variation of that project but am now back on track. I have also began stockpiling components for future use in other rifles.

Chuck

Allen is a wise shooter. My only regret is the faith I had in T/C and time I wasted with the Fox Ridge Custom shop. They make custom crap.

I regret not hunting with my Dad more, while he was able. I regret marrying the wife who thought hunting with Dad wasn't worth my time. She left anyway, but not before stealing time from me. Time is the one thing you can't buy more of.

Cool Deal Brad -sounds like an awesome day on the hill.....I'll catch you tonight--post some pics if you get a chance.

"DWD" (darn well done)

Dogz

Oh yeah, I almost forgot to address the original question.....No regrets from the hill. I like Allen do regret earlier in life spending good money on rifles that IMO should of gone towards tags/gas/tires/hunts -you get the point.

Personally and this is only for me--I'd much rather spend my time and my money going to and getting on the hill. Savage 99 and I cussed and discussed this last summer as he eluded to. For him it's about buying and building rifles and that is ok that is what he wants.For me it is about having an honest rifle (actually I have 3 go to's) that I can trust without fail,that I can shoot to long range and have absolute faith that during crunch time I won't fail the rifle either. I do not have the time or the desire to work with a bunch of rifles-for me and this is only for me but for me to be on top of tmy game-I need to work with only these rifles. And I do work with them quite a lot. And as a result I can generally do quite fine when using them. (last Monday-my chance for a bull showed at 488 yards-time to laser and shoot or do without-One shot from my G33/40-270 and he pitched right over)

Enough I know--you get my point--time is crucial in life--for me I want to be on the hill and not at the range as much as possible. This is not the way for a lot of others I know but it is what I need and want to do with my time/energy and money.

Have an awesome week!

"GET TO THE HILL"

Dogz

Perhaps the last thing we should grieve about is the one that got away. I've never been on a bad hunt that I didn't love every minute...win, lose or draw.

REGRETS ??????
Where would I start or should we even complain at all.
I have no real regrets, because I always felt that the dumb things we do make us who we are.

It is history and although we learn from it, it is gone and done.
That said I do regret not traveling to hunt earlier, working too much, not moving west sooner, owning a few remingtons, never sheep hunting, hating to fly, having a heart attack at 38, Going on "cheapy" hunts, etc......

ED

Most of my money I spent on women, guns and hunting. The rest of it I wasted.

No gun or hunting related regrets. Things are the way they are.

BTW, I don�t know how you guys can sell guns you inherited. Even though I don�t like of use a couple old guns I could never sell them.