What's the best shot you've ever made?

2ndovc · Post by **2ndovc** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 6:58 pm

The post on varmint scopes got me thinking ( I know usually not a good thing)!

What is the best shot you have ever made?

Hunting, plinking or target shooting. Doesn't matter.

For me I spent the summer after I built my last house
woodchuckin' with my Sako .222 Rem.
I shot that little rifle so much I just knew where that bullet was going to go.

One afternoon I spotted a 'chuck out past the pasture munching on some grass.
I ran upstairs. creeped out on the deck and got into a prone position.
I aimed about a foot over his back and put a light squeeze on the trigger.
The trigger broke with it's usual 4 oz crispness and the Sako barked with a
sharp crack.
He fell over where he stood.
From the back porch I walked off 463 paces.
The 50 gr Sp just about tore him in half.

What's your best shot?

jb

TedH · Post by **TedH** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 7:08 pm

We were elk hunting in Idaho several years ago. After a long morning of hunting we were driving down the mountain on an old logging road and I spied a crow sitting on a stump on the facing mountain side. I told my buddy to stop the truck and I got out my rangefinder. 234 yards to the stump. I pulled out my Taurus 454 and my buddy just started laughing. He said "What are you going to do with that thing? There's no way you can hit that crow from here!" I said jokingly, not only will I hit him, I'll shoot his eye out! I leveled the sights and touched one off. About two seconds later the crow fell off the stump! My buddy said he had to see it, so he sent his 10 year old son to run and fetch the bird. He brought it back with the top of it's head gone!

He never questioned any more of my shots after that! I'm just glad I've never had to do it again.

kimwcook · Post by **kimwcook** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 7:12 pm

The summer of 1970 found my younger brother and I up in Alaska on my Dad's troller. We had a weather day and so my brother and I took the dinghy and went to shore. We both had our '94 Antiques in 30-30. A raven flew over us and I blew him out of the sky. First shot I'd taken with that carbine for months. A second raven landed on the beach, I don't know how far, I just know the front bead covered him up when I put it on him. I squeezed off the shot and blew him up too. My brother just shook his head and called me a lucky s*b. I've got another one, but I'll give someone else a chance.

adirondakjack · Post by **adirondakjack** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 7:55 pm

Dad and I were out hunting, had seen nothing on morning watch, and it was COLD enough to make sitting any longer make ya question yer sanity. We were on an officially abandoned, but still somewhat used road that led from nowhere to the middle of nowhere. We were gonna make a run down about 25 miles to the nearest diner for some late breakfast, but before we'd actually got in the truck, dad says "can you hit anything with that rifle?" It was a then new to me Marlin 1894 in .357, loaded with factory 155 grain silvertips.

So I says "sure" and popped a quarter-sized rust spot I pointed out on a twisted guard rail maybe 25 yards away.

"Big deal" he says. "Do ya think a deer is gonna get right in yer lap so ya can shoot it?"

"Ok", replied, "How about this. I'll pop that stop sign at the end of the road." pointing to a sign 300 yards away. Dad laughed, but didn't tell me not to try. I held a bunch high, using the height of the stop sign as a guide to how much holdover to use, and let one fly. Now I know some of ya will wince at this, but in truth, aside from the legal issues (it was thirty years ago, so I ain't skeered), nobody was endangered, as we were truly out in the middle of nowhere, and any vehicle within a half mile could easily be heard in the cold, quiet air. NOBODY was around.

We got into the truck and drove down to the sign. On the way, I said to dad "I hit it right in the middle of the "O". "Yeah sure, .357 popgun with iron sights at 300 yards." Well the called mark in the middle of the O was a bit off, but not by much. The hole was within the O, but just barely. Dad said simply "Well, the bullet had to go somewhere".
For the next 25 years the ole man told that story. Every time ending with "well, the bullet had to go somewhere."

rangerider7 · Post by **rangerider7** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 7:56 pm

When I was a 14 years old, we use to hunt jackrabbits for bounties in Throckmorton County, Texas. My buddy and I were getting ready to leave a big ranch we always hunted on when all of the sudden we saw a big jack running full speed down a hill about 300 yards away. We were in a plowed field and I said "wait and see if he comes this way. Sure enough he did. I told Gene I was going to shoot him in the ear as he crossed the field. He came flying perpendicular to us full speed about a hundred yards away. I took a bead and shot. He took a tumble head first. We ran over and sure enough he was hit square in the ear and dead as a door nail. Gene swore it was luck. I brought it up as often as possible. What bragging rights. He was a DI in the marines before I ever told him I was just shooting at the head.

By the way we always used 22 single shots. I'm 64 now and have never made a better shot. I did shoot a dove coming into a tank and caught it as it was falling but I think the jack shot was much harder.

Sixgun · Post by **Sixgun** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 7:57 pm

2ndovc wrote: From the back porch I walked off 463 paces.
What's your best shot?
jb

Jason, Thats quite a shot! I have made (all lucky

) so many over the years, most slip my memory.

1.) A sparrow at 71 yards out back here with an OM Ruger .22

2.) A wild cat at the same distance and almost the same spot as the sparrow using a S&W 9mm Model 59. (it would not have a big deal with a revolver, but an auto I hardly ever shot past 20 yards?

)

3.) My wife's brand new 1979 Ford Bronco (the roof, right above the rear view mirror

) with the same Model 59 'Smith. I was showing a buddy of mine the gun while we have having a cold one back in the day when those things were acceptable

4.) Beer bottle at 260 yards with a 22-250 (offhand)

5.) A doe at close range (maybe 50 yards) with an Ithaca Model 37 while the deer was at its apex while running a million miles an hour. (or so it seemed)

6.) A pigeon at 125 yards with a .33 Winchester---I wanted to see how close I could get.

7.) My favorite--(And it was not mine) Just last summer I was spotting for a guy at the buffalo match. He was using a 45-70 Sharps with bp. While I had my 40X Leupold spotting scope on the target at 300 meters, and just before he shot, I noticed a little bird landed on the top of the target holder. The shooter pulled the trigger and a second later, the bird burst in a cloud of feathers.

The guy could not figure out why I was laughing so hard as the only thing he could see was the target.

------------Sixgun

AJMD429 · Post by **AJMD429** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 8:02 pm

Walking to a riverbank to show a non-shooter my Super Blackhawk and maybe let him shoot it if he wanted to after I shot a couple times, we spied two feral dogs or coy-dogs at (later paced off) 130 yards. The gun had just had a new gold bead front sweated on by a 'smith, and I'd made my own blade for the rear that was a 'v' notch, but other than basically centering them by looks, NO sighting in had been done at all. I figured what the heck, and just casually did a one-hand shot at the front canine.

It bowled it over DRT with a heart-shot.

Try as I might (...and I probably didn't try that hard, since I was only 22 years old at the time...

) to explain why it wasn't a good shot, since the gun wasn't even sighted in, the non-shooting friend didn't understand the concept of 'sighting in' and just went back to college and told everyone what an amazing shot I was with that hand-cannon...

adirondakjack · Post by **adirondakjack** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 8:04 pm

two that were not mine and still boggle the mind were both scoped rifles shot offhand by folks who had never shot that particular gun before. My step mother, then about 35, a strong woman a shade under 5' tall, popped a woodchuck with dad's model 88 in .284 at what turned out to be something on the order of 265 paces. The standing chuck was DRT, hit right in the boiler room.

A nasty, crazed farm cat that had killed it's own kittens was taken out by my cousin at over 200 yards, also offhand, the shot from a borrowed .222 taking out its two front teeth.

txpete · Post by **txpete** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 8:06 pm

I had been trying to get a shot at this buck for 3 years on a ranch outside of florance tx.he was smart and stuck to the brush or cactus.one morning I was done hunting set my rifle up against a old oak poured myself a cup of coffee and lit up a smoke.just then he walked out into a small clearing and gave me a shot.the 6.5 put him down hard.
it was great sausage

.
pete

BTW this is a big buck for cen. tx.

Rimfire McNutjob · Post by **Rimfire McNutjob** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 8:08 pm

When I was a kid (single digits), I had a Crossman 177 pellet gun and a daisy Red Ryder BB gun that I used to use to dispatch lizards and the occasional bird or squirrel. One day I was practicing a sort of Chuck Connor's move where I'd cock my Daisy and then from my side I would pull it skyward with the one hand and pretend I was shooting a bird flying overhead.

Well, I saw a bird (Blue Jay) coming on from a distance and so I thought I'd give it a try. As he flew overhead a great speed and a height of about 20 feet, I swung the Daisy up with one hand and pulled the trigger. I didn't think anything of it until a heard a thud behind me a second or so later.

I went to investigate and the bird had slammed into my neighbors above ground fuel oil tank for their boiler. He had taken a BB square to the chest. I buried him in some pine needles under the tank before anyone saw him. My mother wouldn't have been happy about me killing a bird. I never told my father either for fear of being admonished for mis-handling of my BB gun.

Barcelona Rick · Post by **Barcelona Rick** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 8:38 pm

Let's see..... US Navy Mark 42 5" / 54 at a ......oh y'all mean hunting....have only shot at one deer that was running...nice 8 point at about 200 yards. At my shot he hunched up and started running full blast....put 2 in the ground about 30 yards in front of me....then just as he was jumping into the timber I hit him again....could cover both shots with a coffee cup....took out lungs and the top of the heart.....would not try it again unless it was a really good one....

jumbeaux

Ben_Rumson · Post by **Ben_Rumson** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 8:54 pm

Not my shot but my shootin' pard's.. He had a scoped 5mm rim fire magnum.. We were all (wives too) taking turns shooting 100 yd groups... He says he's gonna take a shot at a blue belly lizard on the 100 yd berm...cut in half... perfectly placed between head and tail..belly skin was what kept it together...

Mich Hunter · Post by **Mich Hunter** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 8:55 pm

Best shot I ever made was on a little Arab man at 780yds.

Second best was 573yds on an Caribou.

Bogie35 · Post by **Bogie35** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 9:40 pm

The "best" shot was my first official "kill". It was a Carolina Wren on a pine branch about 10 feet up and 20 paces away. I was pretty good with that Daisy levergun.

When I was a teenager, I would have a friend toss a soda can in the air and I could hit it TWICE before it hit the ground with that Daisy. And that was with taking it off my shoulder to cock it! Made The Rifleman look like he had dead lice falling off of him.

bogie

pokey · Post by **pokey** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 9:57 pm

y'all have made some fair long shots.
my best was really short. i was hunting rats in my barn.
one of the little devils ran in a hole in a gravel bank.
the tunnel went upward from the ground, so i could not get
my head low enough to see up inside. i sent my son after a hand mirror,
and took a flashlight, and the old crossman pump pellet pistol.
i had my boy hold the light, i had the pistol and mirror. i annie oakley'ed
that rat right in the eye.

pure luck? now i start thinking, how am i gonna
get that critter out of there? so, i bend down to look again, and the little
bugger comes writhing out of his tube, dead just didn't know it yet.
gave me quite a start though.

RIHMFIRE · Post by **RIHMFIRE** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 10:12 pm

I was shooting skeet many years ago with a former Florida State Champ....
He took me under his wing....teaching me a thing or two or three
one day he pulled out a pellet gun and a bottle of asprin out of his trunk.....
He threw that asprin up in the air.....I missed it the first time....
and hit it the 2nd and 3rd time.....

Kansas Ed · Post by **Kansas Ed** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 10:31 pm

Not my best shot, but my most memorable.

I was at dads, putting a new engine in the 70 Chevy 4WD in the barn. Had my Colt Peacemaker with me that weekend. Dad had come to me earlier complaining of the wood bees boring holes in his barn. He handed me a box of .22 birdshot and requested that I dispatch any wood bees that were hanging around the barn if I had the chance.

A few hours later Audrey (my wife) comes out and is talking to me while I work. I hear one of the bees buzzing around the truck, so I pick up the little revolver off of the 55 gallon oil drum sitting there and wave Audrey off to the side. I start tracking the bee with the barrel, as she says: "Oh yea....right." (she thought I was shooting solids...probably didn't even know birdshot existed for .22's.) So it hovers a second and I blow it out of the air...to which she shouts: "Holy S**T!!"

I puffed out my chest and shrugged at her and silently went back to work. For the rest of the day she thought I was something incredible...but I had to fess up that night...

Ed

Lastmohecken · Post by **Lastmohecken** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 10:34 pm

I think I will tell about the trophy Doe I shot in Texas. It was one of my best shots, and one of my most memorable. My brother in law, his son, another co-worker of his, and I were hunting on one of those little over hunted, 400 acre Texas ranches, down around Lano, in which we had leased for a three or 4 day hunt. This was not a Trophy hunt, I doubt if there was a deer on the place bigger then a small 6 point, and even the does had been hunted and shot at so much that they were wild as heck.

I had passed up a couple of does, on the first couple of days, and no one had taken much of anything, just a couple of 4 pt bucks. So, on the last day, I decided that, as they say, brown is down, that is if I could even get a shot, as I had never, even till this day, hunted deer that were any wilder.

I had given up hunting out of the little box stands they had, and took a stand on a little grown up hill lock. This was Texas Hill County, but would have been call flat country where I come from, but I do love to hunt that country, espacally still hunting, but there wasn't room still hunt this ranch.

Anyway, to keep from making this story any longer, I was surprised by a nice big doe, who spotted me about the same time, and without any hesitation was in full tilt, headed down this little grade. I was sitting under one of the only trees of any size on the whole place. I jumped up, and had to run about thirty yards to get a shot, by that time the doe was 150yds or farther below me, and running full tilt, in an angling away shot. I through up my Browning BLR in .308 win, with a 2 x 7 Leupold, set on 2 power, and swing past her, and touched it off, when the lead felt right. I had made a perfect high shoulder shot, and she did a flip flop, and was down for the count.

As crazy wild as she was, and taking into account the shot, I should of had here mounted, but I didn't. It was the best running shot I ever made, and I will always fondly remember it.

Thunder50 · Post by **Thunder50** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 10:38 pm

Think I told this before, but on one of our hunter Sight-in days where we open the range before hunting season ,we had a bunch of real cocky Texans (must not have been native Texans) with their new 300 Weatherbys. The synthetic stocked guns were just smacking the snot out of them. They finally got pretty close at 100yds, so they started shooting at our gongs we have. They went to the 200 meter, then 300 meter, then 385 meter, and finally to the 500 meter gongs (can you tell we used to shoot IHMSA). The did fairly well till the 500 meter gongs, then no one could hit them. One of them finally quipped that they were a "far piece" out there and tough to hit.

Told them they weren't that hard to hit, so I picked up my XP100 chambered in 308 (factory plastic stock and all), loaded it, took aim (was standing---iron sights) and pulled the trigger. Heard a faint "whap", so I looked at the guy and said, "told you it wasn't hard to hit"

He looked at me and loudly said "S---O----B) and threw his gun in the case, closed it and they all left. You could hear them grouching all the way to their new Ford Powerstroke, so loud I doubt they heard the laughter from us. I think they forgot to tip us for all the time we took getting them sighted in

Bogie35 · Post by **Bogie35** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 10:47 pm

Kansas Ed wrote:Not my best shot, but my most memorable.

I was at dads, putting a new engine in the 70 Chevy 4WD in the barn. Had my Colt Peacemaker with me that weekend. Dad had come to me earlier complaining of the wood bees boring holes in his barn. He handed me a box of .22 birdshot and requested that I dispatch any wood bees that were hanging around the barn if I had the chance.

A few hours later Audrey (my wife) comes out and is talking to me while I work. I hear one of the bees buzzing around the truck, so I pick up the little revolver off of the 55 gallon oil drum sitting there and wave Audrey off to the side. I start tracking the bee with the barrel, as she says: "Oh yea....right." (she thought I was shooting solids...probably didn't even know birdshot existed for .22's.) So it hovers a second and I blow it out of the air...to which she shouts: "Holy S**T!!"

I puffed out my chest and shrugged at her and silently went back to work. For the rest of the day she thought I was something incredible...but I had to fess up that night...

Ed

Thanks Ed!

bogie

adirondakjack · Post by **adirondakjack** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 11:05 pm

Oh, how about a blind shot. Yep. When I lived in the USVI, in a post-hurricane mess, I had a mouse in the house that used to get into my bread. I was POed one morning when a nice loaf of Cruzan "Butter bread" had been hollowed out overnight, spoiling my planned lunch for the day.

So that night as I was fiddling with a project, I had a crossman pump pellet pistol on the table nearby, anticipating maybe that critter would show himself. He did, and by the time I could put a BB in the gun and pump it up he'd scurried under a loose molding and inside the wall of the ragged doublewide. I knew he was trapped between the studs, and could make out the staple marks defining his range. I tapped on the wall and heard a bit of scratching in one spot, right next to the stud and down low, on top of the plate. I popped that spot, right through the panelling, and he made a bit of a ruckus for a few seconds then went quiet. Never saw him again, and no more bread got ruined, so I expect I got him.

Hillbilly · Post by **Hillbilly** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 11:13 pm

shot the end of a pharmacy pill bottle at 40 yards or so. The kids had been all around this little target with a couple of scoped rifles... a Speedmaster and Ruger 77/22

I took a standing offhand shot at it with a Marlin 39. One shot-one kill. (suprised the H e double toothpicks outta me)

Now I am known as "the man, the myth, the legend" at my dinner table.

Shot a feral cat with a brand new Ruger 10/22. The cat was loping away from me at 80 yards... flipped him and he came down in a ball. Needless to say.. the sight in session was deemed "done" at that point.

Shasta · Post by **Shasta** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 11:25 pm

I once spotted a nice 3-point Blacktail buck on the opposite side of a canyon I was watching. My brand new Leica rangefinder read 304 yards. The Browning A-Bolt .300 Mag. I had was set for 300 yards. I had my trusty cross-sticks, so sat down and made the shot.

Hit that buck just where the head and neck come together and that carcass looked great hanging in the meat locker with nary a bullet hole to show.

Too bad I was aiming behind the shoulder!

SHASTA

madman4570 · Post by **madman4570** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 11:50 pm

Best shot at game---was back in 1978 I was hunting with my dad in Rome,Pa and came up on this one spot where I told my Dad I wanted to just take a quick peek at this spot(we were in the car going to a different hunting place) anyway this spot had a overlook of over two hay fields(but the hay was long) but this spot could not be seen from the road.I said,I will be right back in a second.(Dad was eating a sandwich)I got out of the car walked about 30feet up a small incline,stopped where it leveled off loaded up and proceeded to the banks overlook which was about another 75 feet or so.As I got up to the edge I saw 5 deer running not full out but more of a bounding type gate.I put my gun up looked through the scope and noticed the last deer was a nice buck.I shot and I could see just for an instant the last deer stumbled,disappeared on the other 4 deer were gone in the woods.(had the .243 Model 70)I started back towards the car to grab Dad but he met me in about 30 seconds.We went up to the overlook and I told him what happened.He said where did you shoot??I said and pointed to the area I shot.He said son that has to be 300 yards and you said they were running.I said ya but not full out.I said lets go see.The whole time my dad kept saying I dont know??? thats a long way and they were running?? I dont know if you connected with anything.Once we got down there that grass(hay) was about 3 foot tall.we were looking for sign and after just a couple minutes my Dad said I dont think you hit him.I said I saw him stumble and noticed the other 4 running into the woods but not him.Just then we came up on him dead with a hole right behind the front shoulder,My dad said son that is without question the best shot I have ever seen(well actually he only heard the shot)After dressing out the deer as I dragged it back,my Dad counted the paces off.When we got back up to where I shot,he said 327 paces(being 6 foot four inches he had a good pace too)He said no one will believe you shot this buck offhand/no rest at 327 paces while the deer was running.My brothers said everytime anyone mentioned shooting anything he always brought up this event!

Now I have one about not shooting at game/but at a shooting competition maybe tomorrow I will write up.This feat stunned me so much that I kind of retired from comp shooting because I said how can I ever top this???But its kind of unbelieveable.But I have about 250 wittnesses so?????????

Hank Dodge · Post by **Hank Dodge** » Wed Oct 28, 2009 12:41 am

Years ago I had been to a gun show with a buddy of mine and had bought a Winchester '94 in .30-30. I was just getting started at that point and already knew I liked the leverguns. He had bought a Ruger Mini-14 with a 3x9 scope on it. Anyhow, we drop by his cousin's place on the way back to town to run a few rounds through the new toys. He sets up a pop can out about 40 yards on this old fence post and runs two clips at it missing it on all sides. His cousin is razzing him and suggests that I have a try at it. Right about then, another fellow walks up and is hassling me about my "Cowboy Gun" and razzing me "Who do ya' think ya' are...John Wayne??" Well, I'd never claim to be anywhere near the likes of the Duke, but I had just watched one of his movies a few nights before. I thought I'd just play along, so I shoved a round in the gate, did a one handed spin cock of that little Winchester and point shot a round at that can knocking it clean off the post!! I held it together and turned around saying "Whattaya' think 'bout that,...Pilgrim"

Lucky shot, but a good memory.

Good times, good guns, and good friends....that's what it's all about.

geobru · Post by **geobru** » Wed Oct 28, 2009 1:35 am

when I was in college, I was out on the Snake River with a couple of friends. We each had our 22 pistols and were shooting at most anything that was hard to hit and moving. We were shooting at a blackbird sitting on a reed at about 35 yards. The wind was blowing, and it was a pretty hard shot. I popped it with my 22 and made the comment that it was probably hit in the head. One of my buddies asked me why I said that and I said, because that is the way those things happen. When we got in the car to leave, he said just a minute, I want to check something. He got out of the car and walked over to the bird. He looked at it and said, I don't believe it!!" It was shot in the top of the head!

rjohns94 · Post by **rjohns94** » Wed Oct 28, 2009 9:05 am

I use to compete in military matches so shooting to 1000 yards was pretty common place for target, so I will disallow those shots. I saw a friend use his M1A and match ammo to shoot a doe at a couple hundred yards, only to find two laying dead when he got up there to them. Not sure if that is a good shot or not. Mixed on that one. Personally, I would say my best shot(s) was with the longbow.

At twenty yards there was a string with a dime on it that was put in motion like a pendulum. I placed a ramp inbetween the shooting line and the target and after verifying the ramp was in the right place, I let loose an arrow that went off the ramp and hit the dime denting it. The next arrow went off the ramp and hit the previous arrow, splitting it. Havent been able to replicate that ever since.

rangerider7 · Post by **rangerider7** » Wed Oct 28, 2009 9:29 am

Just to add. The best shot I ever saw was the ones those American snipers make with those 50 calibers in Afghanistan!

C. Cash · Post by **C. Cash** » Wed Oct 28, 2009 9:42 am

Nothing spectacular for me. When I was kid, me and my brother shot alot with my Dad out near the Superstition mountains in Arizona. I was regarded as nothing more that a snot nosed nuisance by my brother at this time, but he would tolerate me. It was my turn to shoot(with 22 on right) I bragged that I was going to shoot the can at a certain spot and bounce it up and to the right to a certain feature on the hill. I shot that can exactly where I said and it popped up and to the right and landed exactly where I said it would on the hill. Probably luck but my brother stopped ragging on my shooting ability that day.

Post by **Old Savage** » Wed Oct 28, 2009 10:31 am

Dropped a chukkar at 80 yds ( I assume a golden BB to the temple ), a small antelope at 280 yds and the creme de la creme a pidgeon high up in the other end of the barn with a 40 lb Bear bow. First shot at "game" I ever took as a kid.

2ndovc · Post by **2ndovc** » Wed Oct 28, 2009 10:41 am

Good stuff Guys!

Keep those stories coming!

jb

Modoc ED · Post by **Modoc ED** » Wed Oct 28, 2009 10:46 am

It isn't my best shot but rather my Grandfather's best shot.

When I was 5-years old (1948), we went to visit my Great-Grandmother in Harrelsville, NC. My Dad took me out to his Uncles's farm and my Grandfather went along with us for the ride. After we'd been there for awhile, I noticed a rifle in the corner of the Uncle's porch and asked about it. It was a .22LR and Uncle Rupert told my Dad to go ahead and take me out back and show me how to shoot it. My Grandfather came along with us to watch. Well, Dad put a can on a fence post about thirty yards away and told me to watch. He promptly missed the can two times. About that time, a small starling came flying/flitting along, zipping here and there and my Grandfather took the rifle from my Dad's hands and said, "Here's how it's done boys". He threw the rifle up to his shoulder, fired, and hit the bird (one shot) in mid-flight. Big puff of feathers and the bird landed "deader-than-dead" practically at our feet. Grandfather handed the rifle back to my Dad and walked off without another word. That is the one and only time I ever saw my Grandfather handle a firearm. He boasted on that shot (milked it) until his death in the 1950s.

Terry Murbach · Post by **Terry Murbach** » Wed Oct 28, 2009 10:49 am

YEARS BACK I SHOT A PRAIRIE RAT SO FAR AWAY IT SEEMED TO ME I HAD TIME TO EAT A HAM SANDWICH WAITING FOR THAT 223 BULLET TO ARRIVE ON TARGET. TO GIVE YOU AND IDEA OF THE ELEVATION REQUIRED, THE BOTTOM OF THE SCOPE'S VERTICLE RETICLE, THAT IS WHERE IT TOUCHED THE BOTTOM OF THE SCOPE WHEN LOOKING THROUGH THE SCOPE, WAS MY AIMING POINT AND IT WAS DEAD ON THE PRAIRIE RATS FEET. THE BULLET BLEW THE PR RIGHT OUTTA HIS SOCKS AS HE FLEW END OVER END OVER END OVER END AWAY FROM ME. I TURNED TO BOB MILEK AND ASKED HIM HOW FAR IT WAS AND HE JUST SHOOK HIS HEAD MUTTERING 'NO IDEA'. I KNOW THE FAR RIDGE BEHIND THE PR WAS NOT THE PROMISED LAND, BUT YOU COULD SEE IT RIGHT OVER THE TOP OF THAT RIDGE.
THEN I NAILED THE SECOND ONE WITH THE NEXT SHOT AT THE SAME PLACE JUST BEFORE WE FELT A TINY LIGHT BREEZE COME UP FROM THE EAST. AFTER THAT WE COULD NEVER EVEN SEE THE BULLET STRIKES FROM THE MISSES. NOW THEY WERE ALL MISSES.
I'D RATHER BE LUCKY THAN GOOD ANY DAY !!!

L_Kilkenny · Post by **L_Kilkenny** » Wed Oct 28, 2009 10:54 am

Unfortunatly, the best shots I've ever made are one's that I more than likely shouldn't been taking. I've made shots with my smoothbore slug gun that were well beyond the practical capabilities of myself and the gun. One day alone I hit a running doe at 100+ yards and a standing doe at 125+. Both were hit square in the chest. It finally bit me in the butt a few years ago and I lost a wounded deer because of a shoulder shot on a far off running doe that didn't do the job. Other than that I'd say my best "good" shot was a 425 yard+ shot on a running coyote.

LK

Hecter · Post by **Hecter** » Wed Oct 28, 2009 11:23 am

A feral cat with a .22gallery short shot from a savage model 24 - 22/410. This gun was scoped with a weaver 6 power. Cat was resting on a fence line looking right at me but was not concerned. I had shot this gun alot so I held over the cat's head and let one go...... I thought if I dropped one in front of it I would get a big rise out of the cat. No such luck....at the shot his tail went up and started twiching. He was hit right in the base of his neck. Range was 150 yards more or less. The bullet dropped about 3 feet but did the job. This bullet killed many kinds of small game including,rabbits,squirrels,fox,racoon and grouse. Some experts say you need a .22 long rifle cartridge to kill critters.............don't believe it.

dr walker · Post by **dr walker** » Wed Oct 28, 2009 11:46 am

My best shot was at a whitetail deer, he was only about 125 yards out. I was watching him slowly walk (30 minutes or so) through a really thick bunch of saplings, every minute or so I'd get a good glimpse of him, I had no idea how big his rack was. I looked forward of him searching for a clear path to send a bullet through. There was an oak tree about 50 feet in front of him, it had two trunks Veeing about 18 inches off the ground. Sure enough that deer stopped for about a second with his chest framed right in tha V. I sent a 30 cal bullet between all the saplings and right through the V of that oak and hit him clean through the lungs. That deer must have had the same plan as me, for he ran at full speed crashing through saplings and briars and fell dead right there in the middle of an old logging road. He didnt have a big rack, but he did have the most beautiful red coat I have seen on a whitetail. That is the only deer I had tanned with fur on.

RIHMFIRE · Post by **RIHMFIRE** » Wed Oct 28, 2009 12:07 pm

five clay targets thrown in the air at once.... with a 12 pump gun....

hillclimber · Post by **hillclimber** » Wed Oct 28, 2009 12:10 pm

My friend Jim about 9 and I, about 8 were down at the river with our bb guns. We both had shot these so much we "knew" where the bb would go. Just two eyed aiming... Anyway, this day Jim was consistently out shooting me, which was not really normal, but a humming bird came up over the blackberry bushes, about 30 ft. in front of us going directly from right to left, when Jim snapped a shot hitting it right in the eye...Of course it was pure luck, but I'll never forget it.. He is now a big GM and Honda car dealer here in So. Oregon...

stew71 · Post by **stew71** » Wed Oct 28, 2009 3:28 pm

My best shot while in the field....2 years ago in NE Alaska. Took a caribou at 325 yards with a 30-06 shooting a 165gr Sierra Gameking. 1st shot went through the boiler room slightly high. He staggered about 10 yards before the 2nd round went through 4 inches lower. He dropped right there.

The best I've done on the range, was a string of 7 ram silhouettes at 500 meters using my 1902 6.5x55 Swedish Mauser equipped with the original issue sights. Of course, I haven't been able to repeat that one since!!!

OI phones in... · Post by **OI phones in...** » Wed Oct 28, 2009 7:56 pm

Minnesota 2007 (I think), .357 Rossi, 180gr Buffalo Bore eq, 110yds, snap shot offhand, buck quartering away at a dead run.

You guys saw the results.

madman4570 · Post by **madman4570** » Wed Oct 28, 2009 8:04 pm

Ok,Here it is,a nice bedtime story uncle Madman is going to tell you. Where I live there are numerous gun clubs and several of them are made up of some Very Good Expert shooters.anyway this one club in paticular is made up of some current when they are able to be home on leave and a lot of ex Marines that shoot at all the big National matches etc. The leader of the bunch served 2 or 3 tours in Viet-Nam as a sniper and was a sniper instructor for years in the States.Now we have these at our clubs "us against them" type of matches.Mostly M1 shoots.Anyone not familar with these shoots are mostly 2-10 shot slow prone,1-10 shot rapid prone(1 clip change),1-10 shot rapid sitting(1 clip change),and 1-10 shot offhand(loaded single shot style)normally we do 100yards(but we do do other longer distances too)anyway the normal good shooter type guy /hunter etc. that shows up usually can be expected to shoot like a 340-380 score(out of possible 500) Put it this way to shoot a 460 you need to shoot pretty much everything at prone in about the size of a small apple/fast sitting about like a baseball,and offhand about like a coffee saucer(6")When you get to the 475 up you are REAL GOOD!!!Which this one team they all are.So these guys decided to have at THEIR CLUB a 50 YARD OFFHAND/any gun/any sight/scope/etc. Anything except no use of sling.there are 2 classes---one for any .22 centerfire to .270 and the next was anything over .270 up.I was told through the grapevine this club of Marines hosting this event have been holding daily pratice sessions on this for about a month.So anyway there was this guy where I worked that kept bugging me that he wanted my Ruger Super Blackhawk,I had custom target grip on it and it did have a very nice western cartridge belt and holster.Anyway 6 months prior this guys wife who worked at our place also, asked me to help her pick out a gun for her husband.(deer/bear hunting in Pa) I told her to get the Winchester Model 70 XTR Sporter in 7mm Remington Mag with a 3-9 redfield widefield.She got him it.Wouldnt you know he wanted MY 44 Ruger and said no other gun would do.He had shot that gun several times and just loved it and had to have it.I said Dave,Just go by a brand new one???Nope I want yours.He said tell you what I will trade you that gun you helped Nancy pick out for me.

I said you are nuts.You would be losing so much its unreal.He said he already talked to Nancy and she said thats fine.I talked to Nancy and she said Dave is always talking about that handgun of yours etc.She said trade him and make him happy.So after so more buging me,I said fine then! Your loss! so I got it home but I noticed who ever mounted the scope put an unreal cheap mount setup on such a nice gun/scope.I pulled off the scope.Meantime my brother shows up and says you are signed up tomorrow at that 50 yard any gun goes deal.Dont know why but while I am holding this new 7mm gun/no scope etc.and I grabed a couple paper plates and a my T-50 stapler and a piece of 10 yard rope and said lets go out back.We stapled a paper plate to a dead tree and measured off 5 rope lengths.I had put a black 3" diameter circle in the middle of the plate.I put a couple in the mag and one in the chamber pulled up and put the very top edge of the sight just making 6 oclock contact at the edge of the bull.I fired--the bullet hit dead center 2 inches low.I worked the action and it wouldnt extract and chamber the next round without cycling several times???I pulled up same hold and fired the holes touched each other.Same deal with the extractor was not grabbing the case.so I unloaded gun put only one in the chamber/none in the mag and fired all three holes were grouped same spot about a half inch from each other 2 inches low.Noticed that when only one round was in the chamber it extracted the case fine.I looked at my brother and said--Bro I am taking this to the match and shooting it single shot mode.if I cant get it cycling with em in the mag

My brother said just take your NM M1 or M1A

I said Nope,this baby is going. So next day we get to their range.They are all out their all in camo,being all hardcore trying to physc us out.One of the guys in our team came over and said he just heard they brought in a ringer(A swat sniper shooter from Philly.I went over and introduced myself and asked him whats hes shooting today.He said very sharply Heckler and Koch,I noticed he had the HUGE Scope(like some weird Night Vision thing or somthing)The group leader (ex-USMC Sniper Instructer)it said it right on his shirt

he went over to this swat ringer and said ready to take care of bussiness.The swat guy spit out some chew/snuff etc. and said ya!!!So here we are in this 5-shots in 1 minute anything goes.My brothers was my spotter.
Bottom Line,I get to the Finals.Mr Swat got knocked out third round

so its 5 guys on the line,Mr USMC Sniper Instructor walks up beside me with his Custom worked NM M1A(no scope)other 3 guys had 2 M1As and a Garand.He looks at me holding my Bolt gun with 4--7mm cases half way sticking out my front pants pocket and starts smirking a tad.So the clock starts/shooting starts then I squeeze "BOOM" I was shooting Hornady 154 gr psp.So we are shooting and I am loading single we get down to 10 seconds "BOOM" round 4 goes off.bro starts counting down 10.9.8.7.6. I am loading very fast/pull up brothers saying 3,2,1 "BOOM" My brother said my god you just pulled up and shot.I bet you did not even hit the target.Guess what, I shot a 48 and MR.Sniper Instructer shot a 47.He said their is no way that guy beat me(ring check)recheck this right now.He went down(myself as well)and it was verified.He went over and sat on his custom Blazer with his mini gun shop in the back of it

I am thinking ya go home pals,on your own range with a ringer too by this guy with a open sighted new Magnum that I put about 6 rds through it prior tp coming.This is the truth and I can provide names for proof!

86er · Post by **86er** » Wed Oct 28, 2009 8:24 pm

I had a Crosman revolver pellet shooter. I shot a squirrel at the top of a tall tree by holding just over it's ear as best as I could with the rather large sights. The squirrel fell dead to the ground. We could not find a hole in it. When it was skinned, there still was no hole to be found. My uncle peeled the head apart and found the pellet went into the ear canal and lodged in the brain.

How about Lucky? A rougue bull hippo came out of a karongo just a few yards away in the beginning of a charge. I glanced over at the client only to see him retreating. I was shouldering the rifle, a 450-400 3" shooting 400 gr Woodleigh solids. Before I got it shouldered I mistakenly touched off a round. The bullet struck the bull right in the middle of the forehead triangle and it fell about 1 long step from me. It was pure luck, but a good shot. I learned a heap of lessons from that one incident.

madman4570 · Post by **madman4570** » Wed Oct 28, 2009 8:30 pm

No Thanks! I feel safer shooting paper with the Mad Marines.

Griff · Post by **Griff** » Wed Oct 28, 2009 9:09 pm

2ndovc wrote:What is the best shot you have ever made?
Hunting, plinking or target shooting. Doesn't matter.

I'd have to say it was a target shot... It was a three rifle match, levergun pistol cartridge, levergun rifle cartridge and traditional single shot in a buffalo cartridge. It was the rifle cartridge levergun portion. The format was freestyle, any flatpoint tubular magazine levergun. It was to be judged on the most hits @ 200 yards of 10 shots, any ties to go to a shoot-off.

I'd hitched a ride with my friend Joey to this match out in East Texas. We were both shooting Winchester 94s with tang peep sights, and whereas mine had a globe front sight, his used the original sight from his 1910 (IIRC) rifle. We tied the first go-round with 10 hits a piece. We then tied the 2nd go-round with 10 more hits. The match organizer then decided that we needed to make it more challenging. There was one 18" square gong @ 400 yards, again, most hits outta ten. Joey and I tied again with 9 hits each. (We each missed our first shot).

About this time the rest of the competitors were getting antsy about getting to the awards and getting on the road home. Some had come a fair piece to attend this TSRA sanctioned one of a kind match. So intead of going downrange and taking the 18" gong down and putting up a 10" gong and shooting 10 more shots, Joey suggested that we simply shoot the 18" gong @ 400 yards standing up, off-hand!

We then traded back and forth over who'd go first, with both of us offering the other the first opportunity to MISS! As I don't think either of us actually expected to hit from that distance in that shooting position.

Joey had taunted me all day about how it was far better that he was lucky versus his assumed perception of my skill! Mind ya, Joey had beat me on the pistol caliber, but I'd beat him with the single shot... so this would decide the overall. So I said, "...ok, I make a mark for you to shoot for..." and shot first. I had been holding about a foot high and to the left of the upper left corner of the target during the previous 9 hits and figured that should be the same holdover... win, lose or draw, that's what I went with. I tucked that Winchester into my shoulder, settled my cheek on the comb and let the circles created by the wavering barrel settle onto that corner. They never settled, per se... but did diminish enough to let me let the shot off as the sights passed that spot above the corner. Even allowing for follow-thru with the shot, I already had the rifle down at low port arms when the spotter yelled "HIT!" A second or so later the slight "TINK" of the hit came back to us.

Now, I have no ideas what all went thru Joey's mind as he went thru the same process of getting a stance, a hold, and relaxing for the shot that I did. I have no doubt that Joey didn't give that shot everything he had to make the hit. While you might beat him, his never lost the competitive spirit needed to win in all the years we competed against each other. And yes, I remember the details of that day very well... it was one of the very rare ocassions where I bested my friend and shooting mentor. This shoot was in 1995. My 1st, 2nd, & 3rd in the category shoots was match by Joey's 2nd, 3rd, & 1st... but my total hit count was higher, included all shoot-offs for each category, by that one shot at the end of the match. So yes, that one shot decided the match.

Ammo: .309 diameter 150 grain FPGC cast of 6:1 (WW:Lino), Speer GCs, Federal cases (cc'd for capacity), 27.5 grains of RE-7, WLR primers.

Side Note: After the shooting, the spotter told me that my 400 yard prone shots off X-stix were all within a 6" circle of the center of the target... and my last shot was just about the dead center of the target. Whereas Joey's shots had used the entire target. On that day I finally felt that my barrel selection for this target .30-30 was justified.

gundownunder · Post by **gundownunder** » Wed Oct 28, 2009 9:17 pm

I've made two on rabbits that will keep me happy till I'm too senile to remember them

I had an old Stirling semi-auto .22 about 4 decades ago sighted in at 75 yds and I was out getting a few rabbits for the pot. I had one strung on my belt but they were a bit scarce at that time of year so when one stuck his head out of a burrow at about 125 yds I decided to have a crack at it.
There was nothing but his head above ground so I aimed about a foot over his head and let one rip. Took the top off his skull like lifting the lid off a teapot, the whole top of his brain was exposed with not a mark on it.

and just to keep this "on topic"
The second shot was with a Winchester 9422 back in 1993. I was driving down a dirt track on the Nullarbor plain at about 20 mph and there was a rabbit running down the track about 25 yds ahead of me. I picked up the Winchester off the dashboard and levered a round into it one handed as I was still holding the wheel with the other. It was quite normal for rabbit shooting trucks out there to have no windshields and mine was no different. With one hand on the wheel and the rifle in the other, I swung the rifle round took a quick aim and took the shot. Drilled the unluckiest rabbit in the world straight through the back of the head.

madman4570 · Post by **madman4570** » Wed Oct 28, 2009 9:19 pm

Now that my friend is some very fine shooting!

That gun will always hold a special place in your heart as well as your friend to be sure!

Tycer · Post by **Tycer** » Wed Oct 28, 2009 9:24 pm

I was framing walls in the basement of a house when a rat came running toward me. I pulled the plunger back and pressed the trigger. Ten penny nail to the noggin. DRT.

Best rifle shot was my first deer. Not very far. Perfectly placed and done with my heart in my throat.

slimster · Post by **slimster** » Wed Oct 28, 2009 10:52 pm

Pure blind luck. When I was 14 in 1973, my best bud and I were shooting our B.P. guns out in the fields behind his subdivision. I had a brand new Uberti brass framed Colt Navy replica in .36 cal. and was carrying it in an old S.A.A. holster rig. A crow came flying in our direction and when it was more or less overhead, I hollered "incoming" and did my best Wyatt Earp quick draw imitation. When the smoke cleared there was one less blackbird. Drilled right through the breast. Of course I refused to perform the feat again, although I allowed that I could do it any time that I wanted. I hope he believed me!

Jacko · Post by **Jacko** » Thu Oct 29, 2009 3:30 am

This is not my best shot but 2 of my Dads best shot's

I took my Dad rabbit hunting in 1981 , he was using his Model 62 Winchester .22LR that feed his family throught the 30's and 40's . We where walking down a gully and a rabbit broke left to right , Dad raised the rifle to his "HIP" thumbing the hammer off half cock in the same motion and pulled off an incredible 30 yard running shot

- I was gob smaked he had mentioned he could shoot a bit but being 17- Yeh right Dad

Next morning same gully just further along a rabbit breaks cover running right to left , bugger me he pulled off another 30 yard running shot from the hip

.

Once is luck , twice in 2 days is unbelievable . He still gets a twinkle in his eye when I show him a new rifle or talk of that hunt .

regards Jacko

Birdman · Post by **Birdman** » Thu Oct 29, 2009 2:57 pm

Several of us were at a range shooting handguns in the 25 to 50 yard range. We moved back to 100 yards because some of them wanted to shoot their rifles at bowling pins. I watched a few go then I stepped to the line with my 2 inch Colt revolver and knocked over a pin on my first shot. After everyone told me I was lucky I shot a second pin and knocked it over. I told them if any of them could match that I would go for three. I had no offers so I stepped back. After watching I decided to grab my 3 inch S-W model 686 and take another shot. Again I knocked over another pin on my first shot. At that point I quit. I had nothing else to prove and I figured I was running out of luck. I would'nt tell that story but I did it in front of good friends and they would vouch for me. It wasn't long before I was hearing from other people that they had heard I was a pretty good shot with those short barrel revolvers.