Missing

When I first started I had several misses. But I seemed to follow up nicely with the second shot.
Misses bother me, but not nearly as bad as recording misses and looking at the video and think “what the heck were you doing?!?!?” I do know I get impatient when they’re coming in and rush the shot and getting better at my timing of the trigger pull.
 
I’ve found I’m definitely more accurate shooting daytime coyotes than nighttime. Last year I didn’t miss any during the daytime but also only averaged probably 50% at night. It was my first year night hunting but still missed easy shots. No range finder on my thermal which I plan to change on the next one. Not that I ever shoot far enough to need to hold over, but after I shoot I really have no idea how far they are.
 
Ryanjac23 said:
I’ve found I’m definitely more accurate shooting daytime coyotes than nighttime. Last year I didn’t miss any during the daytime but also only averaged probably 50% at night. It was my first year night hunting but still missed easy shots. No range finder on my thermal which I plan to change on the next one. Not that I ever shoot far enough to need to hold over, but after I shoot I really have no idea how far they are.
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Definitely something to this ^^^

When I shot day optics using red lights I rarely missed. Switched to NV and it wasn’t a terrible transition, but I think I dropped a notch. Thermal transition was rough and I believe that’s when I really got into my own head. I had to do a hard reset. Clear out the
jetsam to save the sinking ship, so to speak. Lol…
 
I consider myself an average rifle shot. I have been hunting coyotes since 2006. So, I have had my misses.

I CAN REMEMBER JUST ABOUT EVERY SINGLE MISS AND THEY STILL HAUNT ME A DECADE+ LATER.

Does anyone else experience this? I can still see in my mind two coyotes coming in from 800 yards out and then me missing on a particular hunt in 2009.
 
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There are a lot of bullet eaters out there that don't show up on thermal like they do during the day. How many times do you wait on a coyote to clear a little brush or weeds before you take the shot during the day and don't even think about it? Some of that stuff just doesn't show up on thermal. There you go, another built in excuse.;)
Seems like I have to hold a little longer with thermal than I'm used to during the day. I also have a tendency to shoot center mass at night, which I have to fight off once in awhile.
I shoot somewhere North of 90%. Missing really ticks me off.
 
Spurchaser said:
When I first started I had several misses. But I seemed to follow up nicely with the second shot.
Misses bother me, but not nearly as bad as recording misses and looking at the video and think “what the heck were you doing?!?!?” I do know I get impatient when they’re coming in and rush the shot and getting better at my timing of the trigger pull.
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Yep, recording can be very humbling-also taught me to be more patient (most times, anyhow ;) ).
 
dave3006 said:
I consider myself an average rifle shot. I have been hunting coyotes since 2006. So, I have had my misses.

I CAN REMEMBER JUST ABOUT EVERY SINGLE MISS AND THEY STILL HAUNT ME A DECADE+ LATER.

Does anyone else experience this? I can still see in my mind two coyotes coming in from 800 yards out and then me missing on a particular hunt in 2009.
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I have many misses that still bother me. Every time I hunt a stand or area I've missed a coyote, I replay those misses in my head.

Shotgun misses are the worst. Normally I'll get them with the 2nd shot with my shotgun, if I miss the first shot. Unfortunately, I've had more than one coyote that I've had at less than 30 yards get away after I've failed to stop them with a shotgun.

About 15 years ago I became really upset with myself for missing shots at mule deer. I practiced my shooting a lot more and have killed every deer and elk I've shot at with my rifle or muzzleloader in the last 15 years. Missing a shot is a terrible feeling when you put so much effort into a hunt. Frequent coyote hunting has made me a much better shot on deer.
 
Ryanjac23 said:
On average, what do you feel your miss ratio is on coyotes? Obviously a million variables but on 10 coyotes you shoot at, how many do you kill?

Went out yesterday for the first real set of stands for the year. Made 5 stands, called in coyotes on 2 of them and clean missed them both. 100 yard-ish shots, picture perfect and I just missed…checked today and the gun is dead on.

Just curious as to what you guys see. Looking back at past years I’m roughly 65%-70% on shots taken.
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Well, you will never hit them if you don't shoot at them. LoL

With that said... I guess I get it from years of bow hunting, I try to take the high precentage shots. Example, I rarely shoot at a running coyote. I will only take a frontal shot if I think it's the only shot I am going to get. So, in all honesty, I don't miss very often. The female that I did miss the other night, I'm still scratching my head on that one. I'm thinking putting my right hand on the rifle instead of the tripod and rushing the shot had something to do with it. Another thing is that I try to get the coyotes as close as possible. The longest shot I've ever take on a coyote is only 200 yards. I've had people hunt with me or watch my videos and say "man, you are trying to get them too close". I'm like, "but there's no such thing".
 
man I hate missing it's the cardinal sin for me, I average 90%+. However when things go South they go all the frigging way. Put a new drop in trigger in the lower of this new 20"upper I put on, running 40gr pills about 3500. Went about behind the house the other night, called one in, he stopped, CLICK, pulled the bolt back, CLICK, 5 times CLICK. 5 brand new rounds laying on the ground with a light hammer strike.
Ran in the house, put the old trigger group back in and back out to the stand. About an hour later here come's another, rushed the shot, and missed.
Back to the house shaking my head, warm up, call it a night... we have those days!!
 
Ryanjac23 said:
On average, what do you feel your miss ratio is on coyotes? Obviously a million variables but on 10 coyotes you shoot at, how many do you kill?

Went out yesterday for the first real set of stands for the year. Made 5 stands, called in coyotes on 2 of them and clean missed them both. 100 yard-ish shots, picture perfect and I just missed…checked today and the gun is dead on.

Just curious as to what you guys see. Looking back at past years I’m roughly 65%-70% on shots taken.
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In my experience, most shots like you had are missed because your peeking over the scope to see them fall. I learned the had way to 55 yrs ago. I tell everyone keep your eye in the scope and you will not miss. Meaning, when the gun goes off and recoil is done your still looking thru the scope. You will not miss
 
K22-hornet said:
Typically, I am at 90%+. My best streak was 33-34 straight

However, when I first got after coyotes in the very early 1990's, I used my Ruger M77 Sporter in 22 Hornet. This is about a 6lb rifle, and the factory trigger pull was about 6lb as well, making it very difficult to shoot accurately, especially on a coyote.

I got permission to hunt coyotes on a private duck hunting club one afternoon. I went out at about 2pm, made 5-6 stands, called in at least one coyote on each stand, and missed every one of them!
I was stoked that I called in so many coyotes!

So, I get back to the owners house, and he come out and asks "how'd you do?", and me, being pumped about how many I called in, tell him my story. He then asks "how many did you get?" with a big smile on his face.

When I told him I missed them all, the smile turned into a scowl and he started swearing at me- "I don't need you out here educating these F&&& things, I need them killed. If you can't do it, I don't need you out here, I don't want you here".

Wow, he was pi##ed!.

I stayed away for 2 years, getting my skills in place, especially the shooting skills. When I stopped by again, he remembered me and was very hesitant to let me out, but he did, and I came back to the house with the 3 coyotes I called in. For the next 15 years, before he sold it to Colorado DOW, it was my honey hole.
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The winter if 1996/97 was a good year for me. I called in and shot 187 Red Fox and 93 Coyotes and longest string was 74 shot and 74 kills. The most Fox I shot in a day way 13 and most Coyotes was 9. The best day I had was 19 and was 12 Fox and 7 Coyotes. All called in with the same call a Big River double closed reed call. You can't buy the calls any more. But still use the wood bodys and buy the reeds from JC calling/Reeds.

I was shooting a Remington 700 VS 22-250 and shooting Hornady 52 gr MHP . Or a Remington 700 BDL 17 Rem and Hornady 20 gr HP.
 
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dave3006 said:
I consider myself an average rifle shot. I have been hunting coyotes since 2006. So, I have had my misses.

I CAN REMEMBER JUST ABOUT EVERY SINGLE MISS AND THEY STILL HAUNT ME A DECADE+ LATER.

Does anyone else experience this? I can still see in my mind two coyotes coming in from 800 yards out and then me missing on a particular hunt in 2009.
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Yes, I still remember a lot of misses. The reason I keep those in my memory is so I don't make the same mistake twice. I remember how bad it feels to miss and what I could have done differently. I can probably name most of the misses and where I was when it happened if I really sat down and thought about it hard enough.

Can I remember all of the coyotes I shot and killed? No I can't, not even close.To me that's a sign that I've done a decent job. Maybe that's just how my brain works. If everything goes right I don't think much about it. I achieved what I set out to do. There was no room for improvement. I seem to only reflect on things I fail at. I don't let those thoughts from the past determine how today will go. But I revisit them every now and then so that today may turn out just a little bit better.
 
1lessdog2 said:
I tell everyone keep your eye in the scope and you will not miss. Meaning, when the gun goes off and recoil is done your still looking thru the scope. You will not miss
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Yep, follow through on the shot makes a big difference on the range or in the field.
 
I find I get complacent and shoot when I have the coyote in the scope and forget I need to put the crosshair on him. It is usually on a coyote that was a chip shot.
 
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