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15 Dumb Hunting Mistakes

By Michael Hanback

Oct 1, 2007

Don't Wait Too Long to Shoot

The Mistake: One morning Outdoor Life articles editor Doug Howlett grunted at a Virginia swamp buck. When the monster stopped and swung his head around, Howlett's jaw dropped. The 10-point rack was humongous, with thick, crab-claw tips. The buck made a beeline toward him—70 yards away, then 50, 40…. Our editor devised a plan. He would hold his shotgun tight and vertically against the tree until the deer veered right or left. Then he'd lower his gun and fire. Trouble was, the deer kept boring straight in.

Thirty yards, 20, 16…. Howlett got antsy, aimed down and fired for the bottom of the animal's chest. The buck went down, but a lot of the buckshot flew high, strafing the deer's face, blowing off one crab claw and cracking a beam. "I was elated and nauseated at the same time," Howlett remembers.

The Fix: Take the first good, clear shot you get at a buck once it walks into gun range. "As soon as that big dude started my way, I should have leveled my shotgun on him and shot when he was twenty-five or thirty yards out," says Howlett. "I should never have let him get that close."

Fortunately, he knows a taxidermist who can work wonders with horns and hides.

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