Disapointing first two Weekends for me.I've missed all four Deer that I've seen including one Hog this morning.My gun is Zeroed,but for some reason Im thinking the crosshairs are on the Deer/hog,but when I shoot they dont drop.This is starting to piss me off.I guess I need to be more patient,and squeeze it off.

Go Practice at the range!!

are you sure the rifle is zeroed? I would say go shoot some paper and make sure. just my 2 cents

This x2 You say your "zero'd in" but you keep missing. Either you have buck fever or you're missing or you're hitting them and they are running off. Do you look after you shoot?

X2.

And hopefully you are going to look for signs you hit or missed.

rifle is off or you are flinching.."jerking the trigger"

Are you colorblind by any chance? I am. I have to have help with blood trails.

That comment bothers me a little bit. You do realize that just because they "dont drop" doesnt mean you missed right??

Not bashing, so please don't take it this way. I don't know anything about your past, but I can tell you, I've hunted with people who had their gun "zeroed" only to find out, after they had shot at a deer, at 100 yards, they were about 10" low and 8" to the right.

After 30 years of policing and four years in the military, I'm a firm believer of practice, practice and practice. Trigger time at the range equals good shooting. I wasn't going to gun hunt this year, but at the last moment, decided to do so. I went to the range and put around 60 rounds downrange just to the get the feel of the trigger again. I know that this does not work for all, but I'm a reloader so it is not quite as expensive.

I missed my first deer ever this year. Went out and gained my confidence again on a piece of paper and the next day the lead found its mark. As everyone said, practice! Good luck to you. At least you've seen deer, some haven't even had that!

Gun is zeroed to what range? Are you sure you missed? Have you dropped your rifle at anytime. (Reason I ask is becuase I did. Had to rezero)Did you get out of the stand and take a good look for a blood trail? I thought I missed a buck but got out of the blind to investigate. No blood trail. Saw him skip when I shot. Knew I hit him. Found him 50 yards away after a 1+ hour search. Point is get out and take a look after the shot. Not all deer drop dead in the spot where you shot them.

Pardon me for some basic questions since I don't know your firearm/hunting experience.

You say your rifle is zeroed; how did you do it or confirm it?

Is it a loaner sighted-in to another's particulars? If so, you have to tweak the POA/POI to you.

Is it a rifle you've used in the past and now it's inaccurate? If so, are you using a substantially different weight bullet or hot handloads? No known impacts to the rig, say, like it fell and hit the floor/ground?

Is this a new rig-particularly a box store rifle/scope combo? If so, you can't depend upon factory boresighting since those rings/mounts are notoriously under/overtorqued. And the scopes on the most basic packages are pretty cheap and can have a wandering POI.

What caliber are you shooting? Was range is it zero at? How far are the shots? What part of the deer are you aiming at? Just cuz they don't drop don't mean you missed.

ARE YOU LOOKING FOR BLOOD AFTERWARDS? How do they react after the shot?

OP must not be getting the replies he was looking for.

Focus your attention at a point on your target, put the crosshairs on that point and squeeze the trigger. The gun should surprise you when it goes off. If you jerk or slap the trigger then you're going to miss.

You need range time where you can break down every aspect of a shot, from the cheek weld, hand position, finger position on the trigger, your breathing, the trigger squeeze....everything. Keep practicing until you can shoot 1" or less at 100 yards. Good luck.

I say your not following through your shot , probably pulling and flintching when you squeeze . But could be other factors scope , the barrel , the kind of ammo , angle of your shot opposed to your shot in the stand .. If your going to be a good hunter a lot or time and perpetuation goes into it . It's a lot more than just jumping on a stand and waiting on a deer .. Hope you get your problem figured out . But hopefully you are spending the time to look and see if you hit the deer you shoot at . Not all animals that are shot, bleed immediately and sometime hardly at all if they bleed in their cavity. Do you have a good hunting mentor ?

The occasional buck fever will get you and you'll pull one but 4 or 5 misses is pretty extreme! Don't for a minute think that youre the only one that has missed but maybe look at what youre doing when that shooter steps out. A common problem I see is too much finger on the trigger which will usually pull you down and to the side you shoot from. Sit for a min with the crosshairs steady and take a few breaths check your finger and send it. Maybe get to the range and get comfortable shooting from the same position you hunt from. Big difference with a rest or shooting from standing etc. Good luck! Oh and make sure the safety is off...we have all done that at least once

And check to see if the screws are tight on your scope ring and scope mount.

I hope you are missing and not hitting in the wrong place. It is hard to completly miss a deer size target.

Yeah, hope there's not a mess of gut shot deer laying around the pasture.

I think I'll find my to the range this week to practice.I went last year and shot and I was on target.Since I haven't shot my gun since then I assumed that it was okay.maybe I need work on pulling the trigger.I just hope I see something when I go back Thanksgiving Weekend.

Brian,

Are you going to where the animal was standing and looking for any signs (hair/blood)? I didn't follow up on the biggest deer I ever shot at about 20 years ago because I saw the bullet kick up dirt. Another lease member heard me shoot and said he didn't think the bullet hit. Hindsight being 20/20, I should have made every effort to look and make sure.

Since I've gained more experience, I'm not 100% positive that I did miss.

Wow. Just, wow.