Missed!

[kgt]

Only been hunting for 3 years now, but I knew it was bound to happen at some point. This is my first year hunting muzzleloader, and yesterday was nothing but squirrels. This morning at first light I had what I would have thought to be a chip shot on a nice doe. About 75 yards slightly quartering towards me. She didn't react like she'd been hit, and I never found any trace of blood or hair, so I think it was a clean miss. Looked around the area for about an hour, and headed back to the house bummed out.

I was pretty excited with the prospect of my first muzzleloader kill, so I have to chalk it up to nerves. I practiced prior to the season start, and with 2 triple seven pellets, and a T/C 250gr shockwave, I was getting around 3" groups at 100yds. I guess first shot with a clean barrel and my nerves just got the best of me.

I'm back at it right now, and I'm off work tomorrow, so hopefully I'll get a chance at redemption.

 

[PcDeer]

If your muzzleloader is like mine you may of missed because you was shooting a clean barrel. I have to at the very least shoot a primer through mine or the first shot after cleaning is way off. I dirty it up a bit and it's good to go.

 

[kgt]

Funny you mention that. I'd always done just that at my range sessions, but in getting ready to hunt Saturday morning I forgot. When I remembered, I'd already loaded the pellets and shockwave, and didn't want to fool with unloading, and I was already at my hunting spot, so I didn't want to go ahead and fire off the round and reload.

I made the decision after Saturday's hunt to leave it loaded (deprimed of course) until this morning, and it may have cost me.