Worst shots you've made that ended well

[KX500]

I was horrified to watch the arrow hit the doe back & high. Don't know if she took a step or I just made a bad shot. I was fairly certain I'd missed the lungs, hoped maybe hit liver. The way she took off, I figured I'd never see her again. After the normal wait, got down, found the arrow and the best blood trail I've ever seen. Looked like someone had taken a can or red paint and was just slinging it all along the path she'd taken. I clipped the artery below the spine. She made it a couple hundred yards, but tracking her was not difficult. Sometimes a bad shot can turn out good.

That was a hunt many years ago that I will probably never forget. The 'bests' & 'worsts' tend to stay with you. I haven't made another shot like that one.

Made a very memorable bad/good shot another time hunting with the muzzleloader. It was a young buck and the shot was maybe 40 yards. No idea why, but may aim just slipped as I pulled the trigger. But buck drops at the shot. Start to reload and buck jumps back up, runs straight at me, turns right before he gets to me, jumps creek and goes down again. Kicks around some, but dies there. Finish reloading, get down and found that the bullet had hit the bottom of his chest. At first glance, I wasn't even sure if bullet had gotten into the chest cavity. But it had to right, must have nicked the heart? Field dress him & realize that there was zero internal damage. Bullet had not gotten into chest cavity. I have to assume that bullet hit close enough to the heart, to stop it! Weird, but what else could it have been?

Anyway, as they say - sometimes it's better to be lucky than good! Stuff happens.

Have spent quite a bit of time in a tree stand lately. As many of you know, all kinds of random things come & go in the downtime. Bad shots with good results was just one of them for me.

[RiverRat1]

I was cold and went to shoot my bow and my finger hit the release before I even aimed..Turned out to be a perfect shot LOL

[forced-2-work]

About 12 yrs ago I was walking around stalking and came across a good buck chasing a doe. Raised the rifle, shaking like a leaf, and shot at the buck only about 20 yds away from me. (He was facing me when I shot) He took off like I missed but I found him dead 50yds away. No joking, the bullet entered on his right side just behind the shoulder and exited on the same side about 1ft farther back. To this day I have never been able to do that again.

[Randy]

I had a hunter one time make a poor shot with a bow on a hog.

It was obviously a poor shot in the point of the shoulder. No penetration the arrow was flopping around as it ran off down a trail.

The first tree the hog came across, the arrow caught the trunk just right, and drove the arrow through the hog dropping it in its tracks.

Wish I had it on video.

[breederbuck33]

I was cold and went to shoot my bow and my finger hit the release before I even aimed..Turned out to be a perfect shot LOL

I did something similar. I was shooting an 80 lb Bowtech Tribute. It was cold and I was trying to anchor around my beany when I got out of the valley of the bow. It bucked and I touched the trigger. I missed that doe by 3'. That arrow was in the next county.

Edit:
Not my story but my dad's story.

They were going to a day lease in Mason, and my dad was in charge of getting the group together and all that. So they get there and the land owner says they've been having issues with people wounding deer, so everyone need to take their time and don't make any questionable shots. So my dad has to give everyone the spill of letting them get broadside and all that before the first hunt. Well the first sit dad has a late morning doe come on in so he's going to go ahead and shoot him a doe. She is calm and walking in so he draws back. Well when he drew back she turned straight away and was walking off. That was no big deal it was the first hunt so he was going to let the bow down easy. When he went to let it down he accidently hit the release and the arrow went directly up that does anus. He was sick and wondering how he was going to explain what happened to everyone when he watched a buzzard fly over and start circling about 50 yards from where he shot that doe. Turns out the Texas Hear shot works pretty good. She didn't make it 50 yards and everyone had a good laugh once he got back to camp.

[Patriot-2000]

Just made a bad shot on a Ram a Ross a canyon a couple of weeks ago. It feel at the shot and got up running and never stopped.. 243 Win with 100 gr. My guess is a low shot but it was the 1st animal I lost in 45 + years ..

[Cullbuck]

i made a bad shot on a doe once right in front of the back ham quartering to. I guess i clipped one of the arteries, blood trail was great and she only made it 60 yards

[LMiz]

Not me personally but I was sitting in the stand with him when this shot happened.

A buddy shooting my AR-10 308 at an old spike.

Deer came out at about 50 yards. We were told that if we saw this buck take him. I let my buddy shoot my gun with it being suppressed and all. Well he gets on the deer while it is standing broadside. Right as the deer turned to give him a texas heart shot my friend shoots. I was mortified and not happy about the bad shot. He said the trigger surprised him (Drop in CMC).

He ended up shooting this deer in the ribs, entrance and exit was on the same side of the rib cage. Luckily he caught a lung and the deer only went about 100 yards.

[Silvey]

I was walking back from hunting with a open sight 30-30, heard something and looked over and saw a doe running straight at me. I got the gun up, aimed for the white on the chest and fired. Bullet ran up the side of her snout and exited the back of her head. DRT.

[BitBackShot]

Just this season I shot at a stag spike that was quartering away and hit him right in the buttcheek. Severed his femoral artery and he only went 40-50 yards.

[jerp]

i made a bad shot on a doe once right in front of the back ham quartering to. I guess i clipped one of the arteries, blood trail was great and she only made it 60 yards

Same here. I took a ill-advised shot at a very nervous doe with a slow longbow. She spun and I watched my arrow sink deep into her hip. Luckily I center-punched the femoral artery and she bled like an open faucet and went down within sight.

[Puggy625]

New to bowhunting and only the second year hunting Kansas. Had a good buck come in behind me. Had to lean out around the tree to take a shot. (Not a good idea with a bow). I released and didn't see where the arrow hit, but heard the crack sound of it hitting something. Deer jumped forward about 20 yards and stopped, looking around. Then just wandered off around a corner and disappeared. I waited a while, got down and couldn't find my arrow or blood. Finally started walking the direction the deer went and realized I was following a blood trail Stevie Wonder could follow. Tracked him for about 150 yards and found him piled up on the edge of a deep creek dropoff. I had pulled the shot and somehow the arrow went through both back hamstrings, cutting both femoral arteries. Measured out at 136 and change. Lucky......

[GarGuy]

I. The early 90s or so I was shooting an old York CNC with 80 to 90 lb limbs at about 84 lb.shooting 2319 aluminum arrows with zwicky black diamonds. Getting 235fps and that was screaming at the time.

Anyway I was 25ft up a white oak and had a doe at 10 yds so almost straight down. She was facing me but easy pickings right between the shoulders. When I shot she just fell instantly dead. I guess she squatted and threw her head up because I hit between her eyes exited under her chin. Went into her neck and exited back of neck. Went in between her shoulders and exited mid body before hitting her ham on the way out. 8 holes in the skin with one shot.

[JayB]

Took my one and only shot at a feeding doe at 30 yds. Her head was down as she fed along a line of corn. Old bow was kinda slow. I aimed at the heart and hit her right in the rear hip. She ran about 60 yds. Bleed to death from cutting that real big artery.

I wont take that shot again unless the arrow flies a little faster than the 200 or so fps that one traveled.

[hog_down]

My dad told me a story a long time ago about one of his buddies shooting a spike with a gun. Could not find a entry or exit wound, even though they skinned it. Dropped in its tracks. Possible heart attack?