Hard lessons, learned the hard way.

[customcutter]

These aren't hunting strategies, but they may keep you from making the same mistakes I've made.

A few years ago, I was hunting with a pump action. I got out of the truck, got all of my gear together, and before I left the truck, I slid 2 shells into the tube. I had a couple of gates to open/close, and never chamber a round until I'm on my stand, turkey or deer hunting. When I got to my stand it was still dark, no moon and slightly overcast. I knew I was probably within 75-100 yards of roosted birds, so I carefully chambered a round, being as quiet as possible. Well long story short I called em in when they came down off of the roost. I shouldered my gun and "click", I quickly jacked the pump, and shot the bird. While trying to be "quiet" I didn't aggressively work the action, and the gun failed to feed a round out of the tube into the pickup. I didn't feel or check to make sure it was chambering a round, I also didn't put another round in the tube. That would have told me it failed to feed, but I didn't normally load 3 shells at that time.

Last year, I did something similar, but this time it cost me the bird. I was hunting with my auto-loader this time, on the first day of the season. Grabbed all the gear out of the truck, slid 2 shells into the tube, and headed across the pasture to where I had seen the birds heading the evening before. Put the dekes out and slipped through the fence, into my blind. I figured I was close to the birds again, so being as quiet as possible I slid the action back, chambered a round, and stuck #3 shell into the tube (so I knew it chambered one, not going to do mistake #1 again). Daylight broke and the birds were gobbling back southwest of me, but the good news was I could hear the hens next to the creek about 50 yds north of me. I had the perfect set up, I was between the gobblers and the hens. The hens were talking and the gobblers were just hammering back at them, I just knew I had the perfect set up this time. No chasing the birds trying to work ahead or around them today. I did a little light calling just to let everybody know I was there and shut up. A few minutes later the hens flew down near my decoys, and I did enough calling to keep them there.

A few minutes passed and I heard the gobbleres fly down and start gobbling. I did a little calling to keep the hens there but knew their normal routine was to work along the creek bank over to another pasture, so I knew odds were the gobblers would come my way. I looked up the hill and here they came 3 gobblers all with nice beards, but only 1 strutter. I let them work to within 25-30 yds and eased the gun up and tried to pull the trigger on the strutter. NOTHING! I am absolutely nuts now between the adrenaline and a FTF. I quickly slipped the safety back on then off again, still could not pull the trigger. I tried it 2-3 more times, still nothing. The birds are still there. I pulled the gun down, eased the action back and chambered another round, still nothing. Finally the birds eased off, but never spooked. I thought the gun must have broken some how. I finally calmed down after the birds worked off a ways, and figured out what happend. The last time I had cleaned the gun and put it up, I dry fired it rather than having the firing pin spring under tension all year. When I "eased" the bolt back I didn't cock the firing pin because I didn't pull it all the way to the rear.

How about it, you guys ever out smart yourselves, or am I the only one?

Hope you have a great season,
Ken

[redarrow]

I pulled the trigger on a deer once. Actually 3 times. Dang second safety on that stinkin muzzle loader.I always set both safeties before pulling it up into my stand.Duh.

[SnootSnapper]

I left my red dot sight in the on position one morning accidentally. Apparently the battery was already close to dead. That afternoon, I raised up on an incoming bird at about 75 yards. Turned the dial on the sight and nothing! I let the bird come on in, but for fear of missing I just stopped calling and let him mosey on about his business. MAJOR fail!

[blade]

I've certainly tried to kill one with an unloaded gun, doesn't work by the way as I'm not fast enough to club one. I took 12 gauge shells to shoot in a 20 gauge, once. Didn't work either.

[milkman]

X2 on the red dot left on and dead battery at the worst time possible.

[Gobbler]

The non chambered round has gotten me and a few buddies over the years. Not anymore though. Good post.

[Jaybird]

Cool, there is one screw up I haven't done, yet. I thought I was at 100%.

[3toe]

I used to have a red dot on my 1300 but took it off a couple years ago. Never let the battery go dead (I always had a backup battery in my vest) but the red dot did cost me 2 birds one year. I had one bird pitch off the roost and sail almost into my lap. Hard to hit a flying turkey with a tube red dot, for me anyway. Other was a busted bird I couldn't pick up running in the tube.

Back to tru glo sights now.

I move to fast when "slipping". I bust more birds on up in the day by not moving at a snails pace and trying to cover a ton of ground looking for a hot bird.

[N2deer]

Not closing the bolt fully on a auto loader.

Walking into fields and not being prepared for there being a bird in it close, (gun on the shoulder).

Slinging the gun around on a bird and getting caught because the sling was still attached and moving.

[hawglips]

I've suffered from the mistake of not making sure my Mossberg 500's bolt was closed tight after walking with it on a sling through the woods for quite a ways. Both times I was in FL. And both times I was able to recover after the CLICK, and kill the gobbler with another shell. But I always check it now first thing when I get serious about the possibility of a shot.

[customcutter]

I checked the 935 today, getting ready to leave in the AM. You can pull the trigger and click if the bolt is completely closed. I'll be checking for that on Sat, unless I carry the 835.

[Hayudog]

Had a Red Dot battery failure. Turned it on just before fly down and it all looked good. When I picked the gun as Tom walked in the view was blank. At that time my SBE1 had a saddle mount. There is actually a small space under the saddle that you can look down the rib and see the front bead. I actually use it to somewhat bore sight the red dot each year because it was my duck gun also, so the saddle would come on and off the gun. I keep a hand drawn picture of what the red dot lines up with and where the bead is. I sand bag the gun and look at the dot , then bead. If its the same as the picture pinned to the wall, I'm good to go. Bead shows about 6" below point on Red Dot

Shot him as he walked up the embankment- just head and neck showing. If I missed it would have been clean.

BTW- when I put the battery backup in the sight that I keep in my vest, it was dead too. DAMN Chena batteries.