You Missed! Now what? Have a plan for missed shots
September 10, 2025Posted by derrek.sigler
“You missed!” You hate to hear those words from a buddy beside you or your own thoughts screaming inside your noggin. Regardless of the negative messaging being broadcast, misses do happen. Reasons vary with buck/bull fever likely leading the charge, but gusty winds, moving animals, shifting rifle rests and more could lead to the inevitable, “you missed” expression of shock. We went to noted writer and hunter Mark Kayser for some advice. Here's what he said to have a plan for making up for a missed shot.
The occasional miss happens. You can minimize those misses by what you do before the hunt and what plays out immediately after a miss. Hopefully you will not need to utilize any of the after-miss tactics below and instead focus on the basics of preparation, and the execution of hunting skills, but just in case…
PREPARE for a missed shot
The author takes his time and plans out his shot. Being prepared is a major step to preventing a miss, but it also helps make up for one when it happens. Photo by Mark Kayser.
Of course, practice makes perfect. A few hours in the preseason with your firearm, hunting gear and honing your shooting style speedily aids in diminishing a missed shot. After a bench-rest session for a solid zero, move your shooting to the field with scenarios you’ll likely encounter. This could merely be continued shooting from stable shooting rest if hours of permanent blind sitting area head for beanfield whitetails. It could also mean practicing prone positions off a bipod (my favorite) or sitting against a boulder shooting with the aid of shooting sticks.
As you polish your shooting skills and familiarity with your shooting iron, take a few minutes and practice for the miss. By this I mean getting on target as quickly as possible and taking a follow-up shot. This gives you experience of operating your firearm quickly, plus the aforementioned quick target acquisition.
Buck fever could still rear its ugly side effects during a hunt. But, being best friends with your rifle moderates the forces of evil with a boost of confidence. Practice makes almost perfect.
THE INVISIBLE HUNTER
Prepare for the misses as much as for the hits and it'll help you fill your tags. It helps to use a suppressed rifle, too as the critter won't know where the shot came from. Photo by Mark Kayser.
Your next goal moves on to the hunt. Stay out of sight. Why put your quarry on alert even before the shot? By moving into position with ownership of the wind and hidden by terrain, you erase any fears that could cause an animal to fidget just before the shot. Your bullets are fast, but a pronghorn standing 300 yards away only must swivel as you depress the trigger to cause a miss. For advice, take a page from military snipers.
Start with scouting for a shooting location that dominates for view and concealment. You are looking for a location with a high density of opportunity, a position giving you a clear viewpoint of these places all the while keeping you out of sight. Popular hunting apps, like HuntStand, give you handheld assistance to scout terrain beforehand and on the go. Be diligent in finding a position that provides as many observation and shooting opportunities as possible.
Next, examine all means to access and exit your shooting position with one goal in mind: not spooking game. Hilltops and rises may give you the cover required to hide behind as you slip
into position. Trees, brush and crops could also provide cloaking to slip into a location without being seen. Remember to follow all blaze orange requirements though. After settling in, distance range every shooting scenario and then relax, and wait for your target to arrive.
A PERSONAL VIEW
Sweat the details and be prepared. That's how you wind up with a punched tag instead of a bowl of tag soup. Photo by Mark Kayser.
In addition to finding a location that you can access invisibly and stay invisible, get close. You should not be so close that an animal could see you blink, but find that sniper location that sets you up for shots in your skill range. That closeness offers you several shooting benefits starting with confidence. If you set up in your personal “can’t-miss” zone you automatically get more points in the “won’t miss” column.
Closeness also reduces the amount of time it takes for a bullet to reach the vitals of an animal and thus reduces chances for an animal moving during bullet flight. Better yet, you can read the animal better for scrutinization of its mood.
All animals speak with their bodies and the main conversation comes from their head. Being able to read an animal’s body language allows a hunter to choose when to shoot. If an animal looks spooky or is exhibiting rutting behavior, odds are good the animal may move during the shot leading to a wounded critter. Eye contact, body stance, position of the ears, flared nostrils and erect hair all give clues to the upcoming action of a given big game animal. Every rifle hunter should strive for a standing broadside shot and an animal feeding is more apt to offer the perfect shot over an animal on full alert.
A QUIET APPROACH works
If you have a missed shot, the investment of a suppressor could be your saving grace. For starters, suppressors muffle the sound of the shot. Yep, they muffle the loud crack of a rifle report. Instead of a blast of thunder that even affects your pooch, the reduced report could make animals question what occurred and where did the noise emanate from. Last season I shot a bull elk from the middle of a herd of approximately 20 elk. He stood for a follow-up shot and the herd never bolted until he crumpled to the ground. Add some wind to the environment, plus distance and animals may not even give your shot a second look. Yes, a hushed, suppressed shot provides a starting point for another shot after a miss.
Suppressors also reduce felt recoil by 25 percent or more. Reduced recoil aids in faster follow-up shots if required. Regardless of the reason for the miss, a follow-up shot or three could be required. With less recoil, speedier target reacquisition occurs and your follow-up shots have a better chance of an accurate hit. Companies, like Silencer Central, offer a wide range of suppressors to fit almost any hunting rifle and new laws make acquisition easier than ever. Silencer Central will walk you through the steps toward a worthy purchase.
The rifle should be quiet, but you may need to call to an animal after a missed shot to keep it in the target zone. Photo by Mark Kayser.
Yes, quiet is good, but if you miss and the animal goes on alert or worse yet, into escape mode, some noise might be needed. Over the years I’ve tested a variety of sounds on animals to make them stop, before and after the shot. Because of the distance involved between the rifle and my quarry, most noises need to be loud enough to be heard. The soft grunt of a whitetail buck rarely is heard by a whitetail 250 yards away.
Consider your target as you consider sounds to stop it for a standing shot or after a missed shot
Obviously, using a suppressor makes a difference with the animal who is not quite sure what happened. It still may bolt, but tossing another known sound into the environment could make it take a second look over its shoulder making your follow-up shot practice time at the range worthwhile. Matching the animal with a recognized sound helps, but it’s not a requirement. Your goal is to make the animal question what exactly just happened so give it a reason to really question the situation.
A miss during a coyote hunt is easy. Start barking, yipping or whining in pain. Coyotes often skid to a halt to take a second look. I’ve even used that sound to stop deer, especially howls, both before and after a shot. For elk, consider a whiny cow mew or even a bugle. For deer you can snort the alarm sound and deer may pause to review escape plans while unsure of where the threat exists. Be creative, but by throwing another sound into the landscape, you give reasons for alert animals to reassess danger. Those extra seconds could turn your miss into triumph.
Nobody wants to hear “you missed!” Nevertheless, a prepared plan could make those words have less bite as you quickly turn the situation around.
There are a bunch of factors that can lead to a missed shot. Weather, adrenaline, the animal... All you can do is mitigate the issues the best you can. Everyone misses at some point.
Practice makes perfect, or as close to perfect as you can get. That and follow the old adage of being prepared. Look at every aspect of what you can control and work from there to avoid missed shots.
Join the club! We all have missed a shot we regret at some point. The best advice is to regroup and try again. You may get another shot.
Nothing makes up for practice. Get as much trigger time as possible and accuracy will happen.
As with love, so it goes for hunting. If you miss your shot, pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and try again.
About the Author
To many of you, Mark Kayser needs no introduction. An acclaimed outdoor writer, Kayser has written for most major hunting publications including American Hunter, Outdoor Life, North American Whitetail and many more.
He is also a regular guest on the Deer & Deer Hunting podcast, and on many hunting television shows. He is based in the heart of big-game hunting - Sheridan Wyoming.
While many suppressors can be used on several different caliber firearms, we have some specific models that can make your shooting more enjoyable. Pick the caliber that you have in mind. If you don’t see your caliber, pick one close to it to see our recommendations.
