Opening day blunders?

roadkill

Senior Member
I can't believe the things that went wrong for me! I got to the stand late, in the rain, climbed my tree, then turned to strap in, and knocked my porta-roof to the ground! The rain had slacked off, so I decided to take a chance. About 5 min. passed, and it started raining, HARD! About 15 min. later, I was seated nice and dry. Then in the afternoon, I went to put on my mesh gloves (I have several pair), and found out I grabbed two right hand gloves! I reached over to pull up my bow, and the pull rope had wrapped around my first two arrows (the good ones!). They popped right out of my quiver! Oh well, I had fun anyway. BTW I did get a doe at around 8:30 a.m. in the pouring rain. :clap:

Anybody else have any blunders?
 

huntnnut

GONetwork Member
Opening day bow season is like preseason football to me with plenty of blunders... :bounce:

First all, I left my headnet and gloves in the camper and I might as well be naked without them... :eek:

Then I start to doze and almost drop my bow out of my lap. The bow clanked against the stand and the arrow came un-nocked and fell to the ground sticking straight up right under my stand... :confused:

Then at 9:30am a deer blows and I turn and look and it bolts from about 75 yards away.

By then I figured the gigs up and call it a mornin... :banginghe
 
H

HT2

Guest
Blunder?????

Well, I don't know if you might call it a blunder......

But, I did forget my "THERMACELL"..........On Saturday morning......And, I paid for it dearly......

Won't happen again.....
 

Outdoor-Writer07

Senior Member
Well...

I wasn't able to make it out saturday morning, but I hunted that evening. I made it to a ladder stand that was place on the side of a hardwood ridge. Well, there was all kinds of limbs that had grown in the way of the stand and I spent about 30 minutes clearing limbs. Well, the only limbs I didn't clear was some dead ones that was a little out of reach to the left of the stand. Well, about 7:00pm I hear some tree rats start barking. Around 7:30pm, I hear that slow walk that only the white-tail deer can make! I see the deer heading straight for me and I get ready for a shot. Well, the deer stops at 20 yds and never gets out of the thick stuff and cut straight to the left. The whole time he had me dead pegged. He was a very nice 8pt and was still in velvet. Oh well, I don't know if you call those blunders but I sure was mad about it! :banginghe
 

BowArrow

Senior Member
After 37 years of bowhunting, I still make an occasional blunder. I was ok until I got about twelve feet off the ground when I realized that my pull-up cord was in my pocket so it was back down to attach to bow. Extra climbing this time of year means more sweating. That was not the end of my troubles. After getting to 22 feet and getting ready, I pulled on my cord and it was hung on the bark of the pine tree. I pulled until it broke loose and I pulled my bow up minus my quiver that was knocked off. Twenty-two feet up, sweating and ready to go except for my arrows. I looked around for some type hook because I sure did not want to go back down for the second time. My Summit stand has a bungee cord to hold the back rest against the tree and has an S-hook on each end. I was able to remove one of the hooks and attach it to my pull-up cord. After several minutes of fishing in the dark, as my small flashlight beam did not reach the ground, I was able to hook the quiver.

That afternoon I got in my tree ok but realized I did not have my safety belt or my bow holster.

At least I have an excuse as I am sixty-six years old and still climbing trees. In fact, I will be in a tree when the sun (clouds) rise in the morning.
 

roadkill

Senior Member
I guess I'm not alone! Sweat, skeeters, leaving my brain at camp, spooking deer and got rained on. All that, and I'd take a day off to do it again in a second! :D I hope I can still climb a tree at 66! (Where's that bowing smiley?) You are the man! :cool:
 

Tom Borck

Banned
Got up the tree and ready to go, just cooling off a bit and that is when I realized I left my head cover back at the truck!! So, I had to climb down walk back to the truck and then back up the tree again. Talk about sweating it out after all that!
 

Catfish369

Senior Member
My biggest opening day blunder was just this past Friday....when I decided to change the plugs and plug wires on my 89 Bronco II to be ready for Saturday Morning. Already had everything packed in the Bronco and was ready to go. I pulled all the plug wires off and then changed each plug and then installed new wires. I checked the distributer cap and rotor and they still looked brand new so I reinstalled them. I didn't need to change one wire at a time....afterall, I had a Haynes Shop Manuel and knew the firing order and the order of the wires.

Well, I got the plugs and wires on and ummmmm....it wouldn't start. The engine would turn over great but just would not start. I rechecked everything and it all looked good, but still it wouldn't start. Spent 5 hours of Friday evening trying to figure out what I did wrong. Saturday morning came and it still wouldn't start. Spent all day trying still to figure out what I had done wrong and checking everything I knew to check.....I just couldn't figure it out. Saturday ended with me in a "mood" and the Bronco still not running. :mad:

Sunday morning started the same as Saturday, me not hunting and my Bronco packed yet dead in the water. I spent about 3 hours on the computer that morning, trying to troubleshoot and find ANY cause that might be problem and give me an idea of what to check. On a Ford Truck website I read through over 1,000 Bronco "trouble's and woe's" and made a list of things to check for on my own. #3 on that list was removing one of the plug wires at the distributor cap and rotating each wire around one place, in the event the Timing had changed. On the first change I got a HUGE intake backfire. :speechles But still wouldn't start. "Well, at least it did SOMETHING" I thought. I rotated them again and got the same as before I first moved any of the wires. The next rotation.........."VROOooooooomm" :eek: It started right up. My Timing had jumped 180 degrees.

Now, it probably was like that before I pulled the first plug wire but in my haste, I pulled them all off at once without checking. That is a mistake I will never make again, or at least not without checking them and making notes beforehand. :banginghe

Soooooo, I finally got into the woods on Sunday evening, and saw about a dozen squirrels, 1 rabbit, and heard turkey clucks just over a small hill from my stand location. No deer seen but just being in the woods was success enough for me after a long and hard-faught battle with my own stupidity.
 
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Cward

Guest
Missed a perfect 15 yd shot at a nice six point because I didn't trim ONE stupid limb around my stand. When i went to draw, the top limb of my bow caught on this ONE stupid limb! All I could do was watch him walk away! :mad:
 

7 Mag

Senior Member
I was about 20 minutes from the house and got to thinking about my release. I pulled over and checked all my gear and couldn't find it. I had to turn around and go back to the house and finally found it. I was able to get to my spot and get settled in by 6:45am.
 

Jim Thompson

Live From The Tree
I made no bluders...this time. Course I only saw 3 deer that were not within range, so I did not have much of a chance to blunder.

Been there done that.........many times.

Jim
 

Al33

Senior Member
Funny thing,...

for some strange reason, all went perfectly well for me except getting a shot.

I recall thinking several times that things were going too smoothly. On the trip up I could not think of a single thing I had left at home. I arrived a few minutes ahead of schedule and took care of a nature call before i suited up. That usually doesn't happen until after I have my safety harness all secure. :bounce:

I made it directly to my stand in the dark without having to look for it. When I got up and settled in, my bow came up without a hitch and I had not dropped a single thing. Even my stand was so secure it did not squeak when I shifted my weight on it. There I was with daylight still a good while away and settled in. Hardly broke a sweat. I said my thanks and then thought, "Something has got to be wrong, this is just too perfect". ::huh:

I kind of half expected Iwould fall out of the tree or something, but I didn't and had an enjoyable hunt.

Al
 

Jim McRae

Senior Member
Well, I got out of my truck to walk in to my stand Sat AM and didn't have any ARROWS. Hello McFly :banginghe . When I returned w/ arrows, I got to my killer ground blind that I had built a month ago that was a good 3 1/2 foot high all around, well, it was around 2 foot now after considerable settling. Note to self, check natural ground blinds a couple of days before hunting them to make sure all is well. :confused: I felt like such a rookie. :whip:



Jim M.
 

gadeerwoman

Senior Member
Not blunders so much as bad luck: truck died Saturday just after loading it down with seed and fertilizer at the seed store. Had it towed for 2nd time in a week. :mad: On way to stand in afternoon on atv the strap holding the crossbow to the atv broke and crossbow fell off, quiver popped off and I rolled over it before I could stop. Two bolts now in a nice V shape!! Good think I had one bolt unharmed.
And I won't even talk about the buzzard that was flying about a mile up and took two shots at me while we were waiting on the wrecker. Good think his windage was a little off and he missed me by 2 INCHES . :speechles
 

gafishnut

Member
I pulled my bow up on my first ever deer with a bow Sunday morning. :pray: I had a doe about 20 yards out when she walked behind a bush I decided to pick my bow up off the stand (had it laying cross ways on my shooting bar), as I lifted it I rubbed the lower cam across the shooting bar and was busted big time. :confused: She blew at me several times over the next 1 to 2 minutes and never moved for a shot. I didn't see her again until se bugged out in the direction she came. All in all, a fun experience. :banginghe
 

Clint-06

Member
Going to hunt a tripod stand Sat morning that is down in a creek bottom. Did NOT expect to find 12" of water still in the bottom! :speechles

Since I forgot the flashlight at home, I had no idea until it was too late.....

Figured since I was already wet I might as well hunt, GREAT choice, hammered a big doe skirting the bottom to get to a muscadine vine. :clap:

Glad now I went ahead and waded to the stand!!!

Clint-06
 

hpurvis

Gone But Not Forgotten
Rk

Congratulations on the kill.
 

Al33

Senior Member
tampaspicer said:
I played hide the turtle head all morning.

:D :clap: I ain't never heard that expression before, but one darn thing for sure is, I'll never forget it now! ****.

Al
 

Woody's Janitor

Senior Member
Tampaspicer.........the old hide the turtlehead trick!! :bounce:

I have not heard anyone say that(except me)in a while !!
 
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