ooops, blown opportunity

[wtnhunt]

Our Anatolian pup(Max) has become very effective with killing possums, 5 in the last 2 weeks.  I had been removing them from the yard and tossing them in our pasture with the horses near the top of the hillside not far from the treeline.  Been getting trail cam pics of a pair of yotes pretty regular.  Hoped that I might get a yote during daylight show up and get a shot. 

This morning Max was barking and looking towards the treeline.  I look and see a pair of yotes just over the bank about 180 yards off.  I grab the rock river varmint and pop in a mag with my handloaded tipped varmageddons.  Slip out the back door into prone position with the handguard rested steady on the deck rail.  Have a solid rest but cannot get a shot for the tree trunk being right in the way, so get a solid steady hold between two low limbs.  Yote 1 steps in the window between the limbs and I squeeze with the crosshairs rested right behind the shoulder.  Yote spins around and takes off like its hit, other one bee lines straight into the woods.  

I put Max on a leash and start to walk him in the pasture and hear our electric fence arcing.  Did not think much about it.  Get to where the yote was when I shot and find no sign, Max's nose goes to the ground and he pulls hard towards the treeline.  

Walked back and after getting back started checking the fence.  Turned out I hit the top wire, cutting it, about 35 or so yards from my position and about 100 yards from where the yote was standing.  Where the wire was hit was perfectly inline with where I aimed, what are the chances?  Figure I must have missed, but kind of thrown by the wheeling around.  

[Maine Hntr]

I'd say the odds are pretty slim to hit such a small diameter electric fence wire! Sounds like the plan sorta worked though. 

[Rhino]

Bummer you didn't bust him.  With the slim chance of something like that happening, doubt it happens again.  Still though...just in case you may not want to rest directly on the deck rail again.  Who knows why the yote wheeled around.  Bullet fragments might have hit around the area where he was.  Just a pure guess though.

[wtnhunt]

1 hour ago, Rhino said:

Still though...just in case you may not want to rest directly on the deck rail again. 

Just the way the terrain is, had I waited til the yotes were closer to the possum the wire would not have been an issue.  The horses were headed towards the yotes though and guess I got a little too eager.  Never saw the wire when I shot, but after mending the rusty wire, looked through the scope with the gun tested and the bright new wire was right in line with where the yote was when I shot.  

Shot prone off that rail many times in the past, everything from crowes to tannerite targets, and have shot a few yotes in the past from it.  Had joked around about hitting the wire but never had until now.

1 hour ago, Rhino said:

Bullet fragments might have hit around the area where he was. 

That would make sense.  These varmageddon tipped bullets don't take much to start coming apart. Even if it was hit, there would be no exit.

 

[Shaun_300]

What a bummer! Dad showed me a spot in a page wire fence he hit with the .308 about 35 years ago when shooting at a deer. Luckily he can handle his BLR like John Wayne and smoked him on the second shot.

[Ultradog]

Any of you remember the hunt with Bill Jordan where he nicked a barbed wire fence with a broadhead? Must be 15 years ago now on one of RT's monster buck videos. He missed a great buck.

[wtnhunt]

Have not had a pair of yotes on trail cams since shooting at the one, but did have a sequence with a doe being chased by a yote.

Max had a possum treed this morning, ended up knocking it down with a 20 gauge.

[too_pointer]

On 10/20/2020 at 6:48 AM, Ultradog said:

Any of you remember the hunt with Bill Jordan where he nicked a barbed wire fence with a broadhead? Must be 15 years ago now on one of RT's monster buck videos. He missed a great buck.

I sure remember that with Bill. Pretty sure I still have the Monster Bucks vid with it on it. If my memory is correct, didn't they call that huge buck " Stickers " ?

too_

[RangerClay]

Seems to me I remember Tim Andrus doing something similar and missing a deer.

[RangerClay]

On 10/20/2020 at 6:48 AM, Ultradog said:

Any of you remember the hunt with Bill Jordan where he nicked a barbed wire fence with a broadhead? Must be 15 years ago now on one of RT's monster buck videos. He missed a great buck.

 

[Ultradog]

6 hours ago, RangerClay said:

 

Thanks for posting that. It's still good after all these years.

[wtnhunt]

6 hours ago, RangerClay said:

Seems to me I remember Tim Andrus doing something similar and missing a deer.

T post I think?