Some Toms wear Kevlar

[Gooserbat]

Shot over him

[High plains drifter]

I've missed once in 30 years.Had my pheasant choke in.Stupid mistake.

[g8rvet]

I have missed a bird that to this day I have no idea how.  Rolled him at about 35 yards.  Got up to get him and off he scoots.  Same gun and load that year killed one at 47 yards (mismarked my bush to shoot him at on a field) and still stoned him.

All I can say is I have had ducks on the water in easy killing range and shot them to finish them off and had the pattern explode all around them and they keep swimming.  Over the head most likely if a true miss or a small nothing twig in the way that deflected enough to spare him. 

[Joneshunter]

Better look at your pattern. Last year I missed a bird I was pissed off but I went home and shot it to see the pattern and that gun shot like straight ? turkey choke or not it shot terrible. I bought a new gun and needless to say pattern whole lot better so pattern yo gun

[surehuntsalot]

you missed, it happens, if you hunt long enough it will happen

[lalongbeard75]

There's a lot of difference between a total miss and hit him and he still flew off. If you don't break a wing or leg they can take quite a bit of lead or TSS and still leave the scene. The first gobbler I killed this year had pellets between the breast meat and feathers. He had been "missed" before.
I shoot lead #5s so it was obvious they were not from my shot.

I wonder how many of these "misses" with long range shots are feeding gobblers to vermin when they get away and die of their wounds later or are too weak to fly up to roost that night and end up in a raccoon or bobcat.

[Greg Massey]

Missing can also have a lot to do with how you have your gun setup with sights / optic / red dot and keeping your head down on the gun.. Especially if your gun has a youth model stock...  So again it all depends on your setup in my opinion.