I know it happens but it doesn't make it easier to swallow,or deal with.Snow falling,wind blowing as day begins.First the birds then the squirrels start there day singing and chattering.Does swing through the cut cornfield and eat a few snacks on there way through.A doe not with this group comes through the field in a hurry as though trying to avoid something,and as she leaves the small field they all tense up and bolt.Nothing happens for fifteen minutes,except the snow continues to fall and the wind continues to blow.I pick up my binos and scan through the snow falling and catch a glimse of movement.An antlered deer is coming up out of the swamp.I can tell he has good gear but was not prepared.Up into the field he comes big body, mass in horns,and what's that I see as he turns his head.......a drop tine.Nine up..one down.18" wide easy inside,g2 in left easy 16"+ and g2 on right easy 12"and pointed down and out.He's no doubt respectable,and with my handgun just bonus.I raise my Ruger and he continues across in the direction the does went and exactly 186.5ft(I know this to be exact because it has been measured with a roller) from my position he stops and looks my direction.It's to late the one ragged hole sight has been on him the last 25yards he has covered and centers up tight in behind his shoulder and as his head starts to return BLAM the Ruger barks,the buck kicks his hind legs up and tears out of there like he is late for date night with the wife.He covers about 75 yards before he's into the swamp.In my mind,and previous experience,those actions indicate a heart shot and there will be blood.No blood,hair,or fluids found.No signs into the timber of him being hurt.I followed his track 300+ yards until he entered the water to head for a slew.Nothing to indicate he was even touched.This happened on Nov.21.I have had no appetite and thinking about it,even as I tell you guys about it make me feel nausea.I tell you all this and ask you this HAVE YOU EVER GOTTEN PHYSICALLY SICK OVER A MISS?

You've got to pull yourself together. I know it is a huge disappointment, but the only way you are not ever going to miss is to not hunt. These things happen and by practicing, you make them happen less often.

YES

He sounds a bit more than respectable to me. I've been fortunate I've never missed a really big one but I've had them give me the slip without ever getting a shot off a number of times. It doesn't make you any less sick to know that you almost had him. He was right there and you let him get away, most of the time never to be seen again.

I'll also say this, don't give up and I would also try and kill something soon, even if it's a doe. You need to get your confidence back.

Don't let it get you too down. A clean miss is OK,what if you drew blood and still didn't recover the deer? That would have been worse.

As a little comfort I had a similar experience happen years ago. I didn't get physically sick, but I was bummed for days. It was my second season with a handgun. I was sitting in the apple orchard in a small clump of trees facing into the wind. After a bit I felt as something was watching me. I turned to my right and saw a huge rack at 40 feet away. He was looking down the hill. I don't know how he came from behind me from down wind. So I slowly raised the MAX with my right hand and braced the back of it against a small tree. The bullet went low as my hand was aginst the tree and it recoiled less. I found a piece of skin with white hair about a bullets width and 3" long, 3 drops of blood and that was it. I had my brother and a friend help me track him for at least 500 yards. We found one more drop of blood and that was it.

I can't say how big the rack was but I have never seen or harvested one like it since. I feel you pain.

Yes! Two times.
Once was many years ago (late 80's) when using a 7mm TCU mule deer hunting and the other was just over a year ago when I had a scope issue.
Both times it bothered me so much I felt sick, had a hard time sleeping at times, and took any desire for hunting I had away.

These feelings are good (As long as it doesn't permanently effect you), because it says you care and it is important to you to make a clean kill. Sometimes it ends up being something you did wrong and other times it is something with the ammo, optic, or gun. Sometimes you will never know for sure.
Being a hunter who has a conscience is a good thing in my opinion.

cottonstalk, I had this happen this year on a doe and I do know how you feel. I was not able to regain my respect amoung the critters after this as I did not get to fill my 2 doe tags I had left.

I will avenge myself next year.

MORE THAN ONCE!

In southern WI we are in cwd magagement zone. U have to shoot a doe to get a buck tag. I had to pass up a real nice 8 pointer twice bowhunting because I had no tag. We had an early season gun hunt. My freind let me hunt on his grandma's land and was not that fired up me about using a handgun. Trying to prove him wrong I hunted only with my ruger. The second day nethier him or me saw anything. Half an hour before close I had a doe come in about 40 yards from me shot and missed. They gave me a hard time about that telling me I should of had my shotgun I would have got her. To say I felt sick was an understatement. They told me handguns were not an effective deergun. The last day of the season I was feelin bad and almost put the handgun away. With only a couple of ours left I said the heck with it I will sit on public behind my house and being sutbborn I would take the 44 mag. Half an hour after I wa sittin, a doe came out I Shot and it dropped and it dropped in it tracks(shoulder shot) It was out about 62 yards,my fist deer with a handgun. No one else in my hunting party got a deer during early season. They all think differently about my handgun now. Sorry for the long story,just wanted to say I know how u feel. Most people look down on me for hunting with a handgun.

Oh yeah I've been sick before. I once shot a good 4x4 20 mulie, and right after I pulled the trigger a 200 class buck stepped out and just trotted off! I've learned patiance now.

Lars

I have been there...its always easier when its a clean miss though. When you draw blood and still do not find the animal I have been known to quit hunting for the rest of the season as I feel I do not deserve to be in the position of taking more life at that point. It's a little bit of a masochistic action but it's just me I guess...

I've missed some nice animals and I've done it with every weapon I've ever hunted with, compound and recurved bows, rifles and handguns. I think if you hunt long enough and are around enough big animals it's going to happen. The worst was the biggest blacktail I've ever shot at and I was shooting a recurve, the shot was only about 15yds but I had to thread the arrow and I clipped a bush and the arrow went flying, then the buck ran off about 40 to 50 yds and stood broadside for a good 15 seconds or so before walking off. That buck would have easily made the books as he would have grossed around 180 which is a monster of a blacktail. That was 20 years ago and I still remember him and the stalk like it was yesterday. I did something similiar about 5 years ago on a 340 class 6x6 bull with my compound, I had to change positions and I left my range finder where I had originally been set up and I misjudged the range and grazed him right under the vitals. So in short I feel your pain buddy.

YES,and it does bother me alot.A lost animal is alot worse.I hit a deer 2 years ago and never found it and that made me sick. I could not sleep for a week replaying the shot in my mind and thinking what went wrong.I shot the buck with my 44 he fell back on his back then got up and ran off into the thick stuff.I tracked for hours but never found him.It left a hollow feeling in my gut.A guy at camp said "hell its just a deer". I replied that's right but he deserves better than that.

Cottonstalk, for 2 years now I have chased a buck around the same woods in circles. Last year I heard him coming from out of the woods. I laid down for a 50 shot with the muzzleloader. BOOM he kicks blood is everywhere. Man I nailed him, just knew it. Went into the woods, no deer? Followed a bloodtrail for maybe 75 yards and lost it, still no deer. Later that season I jumped him up, he had a small limp going away. Didn't quite have the shot. This year I have stalked up on him 3 times now. 2 times he was laying down. Yesterday...I was getting my dad to man drive a small piece of woods. I went way down wind, snuck into the woods. About 15-20 seconds of standing there, he blew and was in full sneak away. Behind me maybe 25yards. Now he is back to good health and still pissing me off! So yeah I got sick last year, even sicker this year! This buck has a healthy 22+ spread.