From Missed Shot to Tagged Out: A Redemption Bowhunt in Kansas

From Missed Shot to Tagged Out: A Redemption Bowhunt in Kansas

There’s a moment every bowhunter dreads: the one where your arrow sails wide, your knees give out, and the deer you’ve patterned for weeks bounds off unharmed—and unaware of just how lucky he is. I had that moment on a frosty November morning in southeast Kansas. But the story didn’t end with that miss. It became the spark that lit one of the most rewarding hunts of my life.

This is the story of a blown opportunity, a second chance, and the day I finally got it right.

🎯 Day 1: The Setup and the Slip

I’d arrived in Unit 11 the weekend before the rut flared. My buddy had been running trail cams on a 200-acre permission parcel tucked between CRP, ag fields, and a drainage basin. We had three good bucks on cam—one of which we dubbed “Canoe G2” for his wide, swooping antlers.

On November 6, a cold front rolled in. I settled into a hang-and-hunt setup on the downwind side of a pinch point funneling between a cut cornfield and cedar thickets. At 7:24AM, Canoe G2 stepped out at 26 yards. Broadside. Calm.

I rushed the shot.

The arrow clipped a branch I hadn’t trimmed. Canoe jumped, spun, and trotted off—none the wiser to my exact location, but gone all the same.

🎙️ “That moment stuck with me—the kind that lives behind your eyelids every time you close them.”

🧭 Resetting the Mind, Resetting the Strategy

I knew the buck hadn’t been spooked hard. He hadn’t winded me. He hadn’t seen me draw. But I also knew the window had closed—at least for now.

I climbed down, marked the trail with OnX, and backed out completely. For two days, I hunted edges and does—hoping to catch him cruising back. I saw deer. I passed two decent 8-points. But my head wasn’t in those hunts. It was back on that branch, that arrow, that opportunity.

🎙️ “Redemption doesn’t just come to those who wait—it comes to those who adapt.”

🦌 Day 4: The Return of Canoe G2

On November 10, the wind shifted to a steady NNE. I slipped into a stand we’d hung on a wooded ridge overlooking a staging area above the thicket. At 4:11PM, I heard footsteps in the leaves.

It was him.

He walked in nose-down, tongue out, working the thermals like a bloodhound. He passed through a shooting lane at 22 yards. This time, there was no branch. No hesitation. No adrenaline blur.

The arrow hit with a sharp thwack. He kicked, bolted 40 yards, and piled up in a dead run. I heard the crash. My hands shook.

💥 The Recovery and the Realization

Walking up to Canoe G2, I felt something I hadn’t expected—relief, more than excitement. The redemption wasn’t in the antlers. It wasn’t in the score or the grip-and-grin. It was in the process. I’d made the wrong decision, corrected it, and finished strong.

He rough-scored 142″ with sweeping G2s just like we remembered.

🎙️ “It wasn’t about getting him. It was about earning the second chance.”

🧠 Field Lessons from a Redemption Hunt

✔️ Trim Every Lane – A single branch can wreck a perfect moment
✔️ Back Out Intelligently – Don’t push a deer that doesn’t know he’s been hunted
✔️ Let the Wind Dictate Everything – My final setup only worked because I waited for the right wind
✔️ Trust the Process – From trail cams to treestand tweaks, the little steps add up
✔️ Stay Ready Mentally – The first miss can rattle you—but it doesn’t have to ruin you

🎙️ “There’s no such thing as a perfect hunt—but there is such a thing as a better next one.”

🧰 Gear Used on the Hunt

This wasn’t the biggest buck I’ve ever killed. But it was the most meaningful. Because it reminded me that every miss is part of the story. The key isn’t never messing up—it’s learning what to do next.

“I missed him once. I didn’t miss the lesson.”