Humility is a gift if you learn from it

[Ernie]

This morning I was out deer hunting and I had two does and buck (antlers on one side) come out just shy of 550 yards. I was getting ready to pop on of the does when the buck chased them and they disappeared into cover. I had "Puff" (7mm Dakota XP-100) out and decided to use Holland's ART reticle instead of "twisting." Needed 9.25 MOA with close to bingo wind. My #6 reticle was 9 MOA-perfect! Somehow seeing the "6" I put the 6MOA dot on the buck (My scope has the MOA listed within the reticle 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21)

Well, of course the shot went low and I clipped a front leg. Good thing is the deer will survive except for slight limp.
Humbling thing is I missed because I made a drop chart that could be confused to easily.
My next drop chart will not be listed by reticle number but only by MOA. This will ensure I don't make the same mistake twice.
I had the time to twist the knobs if I had wanted but I wanted to use the reticle. Using the reticle is a lot faster than knob turning so it is great to have both options available.
To add injury to insult "Puff" gave me an extremely light kiss on the upper third of my nose. Not noticeable and there is no torn skin or blood.
Two mistakes in one shot opportunity
I'm very frustrated with myself, but the good thing is both things will stick in my mind for a long time.
We all make mistakes when hunting or in competition, but sometimes it is hard to own up to them.
I think we need to let newcomers to the sport see our humanity or else they will think they are the only ones who are having problems.
Well, that was my confession for the morning.

 

[Fiftydriver]

XP,

Things happen for sure, I know that as much as anyone. Like you said, learning from an experience like this is often more valuable then had to made the hit properly.

One question, is the Holland scope a FFP or do you have to be on a specific power setting for the reticle to be calibrated correctly?

This happens alot with my customers using a ballistic reticle that needs to be set on a specific power setting. For some reason during the hunt, they change the powder and forget to set it back where it needs to be for the reticle to work. Then when they shoot, the hit high or low depending on if they scope is set above or below the power setting that the reticle is calibrated to.

THis is a real problem with ballistic reticles and a strong arguement for FFP scopes or fixed power scopes using ballistic reticles.

Not saying this was your error but I have heard this same story over and over, just curious if you had your scope on the calibrated power setting being used to dialing up for your shots?

I also agree with your comments about letting the new to LR hunters know that it is not easy and mistakes happen as with all types of hunting, even for experienced big game hunters.

Good post!!

Kirby Allen(50)

 

[Ernie]

Kirby,
It is a second focal plane, and yes, I had it on the right power setting. I even saw my impact, but not like you would from a rifle-Did you hear that Len?
myy mistake was how I wrote my drop chart, plain and simple. I had two different 6's on my chart (one was the 6th reticle and the other was 6MOA). If I would have listed by MOA alone I wouldn't have pulled this stunt to begin with /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif
Using the Burris Bal Plex for a number of years has me trained good to have the correct X setting.

 

[zingdingo]

Humility is a great thing, and I harbor deep respect for those who have it.

I have certainly found its true that the ones you screw up are the ones you remember the most, which, hopefully, will give you the chance to learn from them. I remember my miss this year well, but unfortunatly it was a mystery miss, and for the life of me I can't figure out what went wrong.

Good on you for owning up, easy to keep those in the closet.

 

[Len Backus]

Ernie, can you or a friend put your recoil video up the the web so I can see it please?

 

[Jimm]

Ernie ,

You are so very right on all the points you made . I have been subject to the same errors as you have described ........ difference is that I didnh't want to talk about them . Reckon my humility quotient was too low /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif

Jim B.

 

[Michael Eichele]

The real humility comes from being honest in these posts,, like you have been. You could have just as easily kept quiet about it and kept it too your self.

Lets all follow this example and keep it real!

 

[Ernie]

Well, last night a small 8 point stepped out at 546 yards. Ran the clicks (Just couldn't bring myself to use the reticle after my mess up in the morning) & Game Over /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
200 WC did it's job again as the buck went less than 10 yards.
Almost acted like NBT-What a exit wound /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif-Sorry no pics of exit wound, battery went dead on the camera.

Len,
I think I will just send you the tape.
I taped this for Darrell to show the effectiveness of the QD so treat it with TLC.

 

[Ernie]

Len,
DIdn't see the hit on last nights shot as I was further away from the scope.
I didn't want to get kissed again.
Have someone tune the brake to where your recoil is straight back. I think Shawn can do this and maybe Darrell. With the weight of your XP it shouldn't be a problem with a rifle scope.

 

[41mag]

Any time you sit behind the trigger looking at game something unpredicted is subject to happen no matter what the range. It's only a matter of time for even the best of the best. We do what we can to recover the game, and move forward.

 

[Dan B]

Ernie...good post. My first outing with the APS XP-100 was "graced" with just such a case of "cranial gastritous" that I did post on this forum. I used the wrong BP line in the Burris scope and overshot a deer...twice! Then I righted my self and anchored it on the third shot.

Even with the occassional goof, I would still be willing to bet that our (spoken collectively for the small number of LR shooters that I personally know) kill to shots fired and game collected ratio is better, MUCH better than the average Joe Schmo's that are chasing deer on drives and shooting at them on the run.

 

[Ernie]

Dan,
I believe you are right, but it still really bothers me when I make a mistake like that.
At least I was fortunate to have another opportunity in the afternoon.

 

[Eaglet]

xphunter,

Good man!

 

[ewallace]

Ernie it is easy to get confused when hunting whether it be a running deer at 20 yards in the woods a bugling elk about to step into the timber at 200 yards and you rush the shot, or a long shot. We are not perfect and make mastakes. I use the Kiss (Keep it simple stupid) method when making a drop chart and making adjustments on my scope for my long range hunting. I first herd of the Kiss method form Dave Tooley and it seems to work for hunting and competition shooting. If my range finder is in meters my drop chart is in meters and just click it I use MOA not clicks it takes to long to count 243 clicks (60.75 MOA) when you have a big game animal feeding in a opening. I put the MOA from bottoming out the adjustment to my 100 meter 0 on my drop chart and the same for my windage. It can get confusing where you adjust for a animal at 1950 meters with a 7 mph wind make a spotter shot adjust some elevation in and then some more wind then the animal moves 30 yards farther out put 1.5 more elevation in for the extra 30 meters. Then the animal step into the black timber and you don't get a shot and must get back to a 100 meter 0. I have 13 hold over points on my nightforce and rarely use them mostly on shots where I run out of elevation adjustment and have turned the power down on the scope for even more elevation.