Never missed a deer? Never lost a deer? Never hit the dog? Never taken a bad shot or been tempted into an unsafe shot?
wELL I HAVE, WHAT's MORE I DID ALL THESE SINS THIS MORNING!!

Daylight found me with dog at heel glassing a 5 year old stand of spruce that due to deer, rabbits and a total lack of weeding gave a gappy 3ft. crop.
As moonlight gives way to daylight and the pheasants start coming off their roosts. My Griffon dog has been on pheasant duty for past 3/4 outings and discipline is starting to slip a little. So when a vocal cock, pitches 30 yards away he is tempted and veers from his stalking station. Nip it in the bud methinks and jab him with my stalking canes. He gives a heluva yelp and circles back amidst much overplayed yelping and whining.
Needless to say the first sight of capreolus is a white target bouncing through the hedge. The wind is in my face, the dog and I blend well; she won't have gone far.
20 mins. later I spot a white rump 150 yards below me; I'm waist deep in briars and the path I'm staggering along is diverging from her browsing route, she's already been disturbed once so I opt for a downhill shot off the sticks in thickish cover....At the shot she does little more than trot out of sight into cover. Only now do I see the second animal, closer, unaware of the danger but only partly visible in bracken and birch. Draw a bead on her and she goes down to the shot but I didn't hear a good strike. Sure enough head and body reappear and I try a hasty second shot.
3 shots and I'm not happy with any of them; I stand for 5 mins. and think I see the animal sneaking away in the cover.
I go to the second deer first , find some blood and a sparse trail. I let the dog forward and 3 mins. later dog is barking and deer and dog are coursing across the bank; the deer looks to be pretty fit all 4 limbs and brain functioning as he jinks and evades the dog for some distance and disappears into neighbouring covert (out of bounds) The dog stops to whistle and returns to hand I'm pleased to see.
We go to look for signs of the first deer; after 20 mins. of casting and finding no signs; a clean miss I conclude at that moment she trots out of cover looking for her offspring. She's walking in the open 150 yds. away. The bipod is deployed and at the shot she..... shrugs and trots on, she stops twice more in full view offering further shots, but I give up.

Returning home, I'm just getting the kit out of the truck and spot a mangey fox in our front field. As I watch he disappears under the gate but reappears to my squeaks as I uncase and load the rifle. It's bright sun he's in the shadow of the drystone wall. Can't see him... Come on where are you? NO leave him, it's not a safe shot, there's a lane the other side of the wall. Unloading again a person walks up the lane!!
Later after a few hours farming I set up a target and the first three bullets are 15 inches high.

I hate it when that happens -

Similar experience in RSA hunting mountain reedbok. First 6 shots are 3 feet right and 6 feet low. Buck stands still the entire time. PH hands me his rifle, says "try to hit something". I shoot, down he goes. Go to the range to sight in, find that the rifle is shooting 6" low and 6" to the right at 25 yards. No wonder I can't hit at 125 yards.

quote:

I set up a target and the first three bullets are 15 inches high.

You only missed the second one then (a roe chest is less than 15" so you shouldn't have hit any of them!)

We've all had bad days - from what you describe you've grazed the spine of one and clean missed the others. In this weather the grazed spine is not going to go bad. The dog learnt it's lesson, the walker lives and you have filed the day as a lesson.

The thing that will take a bit of time to work out is why the rifle gained 15". I never like such mystery movements.

Trans-pond,

The worrying thing is why are those shots 15" high? Do you recall the rifle or scope having a bump? Any screws loose on the action or mounts?

Regards,

Pete

T8 screwed on nice and tight?

Rgds IanF

i know we don"t live in an ideal world, but nothing beats the feeling you get from firing a really nice group om paper immediately before setting out to stalk!
good shooting

Trans,

That's a real bummer. I hate to miss an opportunity like that to bag a rambler....


Rgds,