Greatest Shot Ever--A Thread--Post Your's

[Fullquiver]

When I was a boy of perhaps 11 or 12 yo, I read every hunting adventure book I could get my hands on. However what captivated me most was being a Fred Bear, Howard Hill kind of archer. So I begged my dad for a bow and cedar arrows that they sold down at the hardware store. I used every bit of money I earned working on the neighborhood farms to buy arrows that I constantly lost or broke while out field shooting. I always had my bow and the quiver that my mother had made me on my person when not doing chores or at school. I was becoming a fairly good shot.

So dad who worked a lot of hours at a local factory hadn't really see how I had developed as a instinctive shooter was home unusually early one afternoon. He was watching me shoot at leaves and stuff around our yard.

My mother had chickens and she was always very proud of them and their condition. So one of her prize laying hens was traversing the far side of the yard at 78 yards away. Dad said I bet you can't hit that chicken he even added that if I did that he would take the blame.. Well I pulled up on that hen and as she was walking I drew by trusty bow up and sent an arrow at that walking hen and I hit her right in the sweet spot and dropped her like a bad habit. Mom had just come out the door and had watched the whole event transpire. She lost it and Dad had to step in and tell her it was his idea and that the blame lay at his feet. Mom still made me clean the hen and we had chicken for dinner that evening.

The funny thing was I knew when I released that arrow that I had killed that hen. It was just that zen moment instinctive archery can bring one to when you truly become one with your bow and it becomes just an extension of your hand. I still love the feel of a low poundage recurve and some cedar shafts in my hands..

 

[AjaDog]

Hmmmm, ok, let's talk coyotes

Hey guys, I have been active on the Elk Forum but historically have been a Blacktail hunter in Western Washington. I put up this thread to say tell us your best shot on a deer...ONLY TRUE STORIES!!!

I will go first. In 1998 I was hunting Blacktails with a Savage Model 99E Lever Action .243. I had been scouting a clear cut near the coast and knew there was a good gene pool for Blacktails in this particular area. The clearcut was fairly flat with some swampy areas in it. Perfect for Blacktails. I got up on opening morning...may have overslept just a smidge...got out to the gate and hiked in about half a mile to the clearcut. Walked into the clearcut about 20 yards, looked up and saw a deer at about 125 yards. Quickly brought my gun up freehand, saw it in the scope, saw it was a buck looking straight at me and Boom...I shot. That whole process took about 4 seconds. I looked up and saw 2 does bounce to my right. I began telling myself that wow, I can say I missed a pretty big one...probably a big 2 or 3 point...everything just happened so fast I was certain I missed. So, I went up to where the deer was to check and sure enough, there was a massive buck laying in a bush exactly where I shot it. I couldn't believe it as I raised its head out of the bush and saw this big rack. I thought, where the heck did I hit it? I looked all over the deer but there was no sign of entry and no sign of exit. No blood anywhere. Not even in the mouth. So, I gutted it and still no sign of entry and no sign of exit. I took it home and we hung it in the shed. Skinned it...no sign of entry and no sign of exit. We were perplexed...it was like I had scared it to death.

Because it was a big Blacktail I called a friend who was a retired taxidermist and asked him if he would cape the head for us as I wanted to make sure the cape was perfect. So, he came over and caped the head in our garage. About halfway through caping it he popped into the house and said, "Well I know what happened!". I said, what!!?! He said: "Well, the deer was standing straight towards you and had its mouth open and you shot it through the mouth...missing all of the teeth and the tongue. The bullet then went into the deer's brain and because you shoot a .243 the bullet blew up in it's brain and didn't exit the brain cavity...no sign of entry and no sign of exit!". I couldn't believe it. I am not really that good of a shot, however, I think this one might be in the running for one of the best free hand shots EVER!! He green scored it at 118.5 which is pretty good for a Blacktail. One of the eye guards was broken off and thus a deduction at 3/4 of an inch but a true trophy for me!
View attachment 300465
Let's hear you best shots ever and prove me wrong! Looking forward to these responses!

Hey guys, I have been active on the Elk Forum but historically have been a Blacktail hunter in Western Washington. I put up this thread to say tell us your best shot on a deer...ONLY TRUE STORIES!!!

I will go first. In 1998 I was hunting Blacktails with a Savage Model 99E Lever Action .243. I had been scouting a clear cut near the coast and knew there was a good gene pool for Blacktails in this particular area. The clearcut was fairly flat with some swampy areas in it. Perfect for Blacktails. I got up on opening morning...may have overslept just a smidge...got out to the gate and hiked in about half a mile to the clearcut. Walked into the clearcut about 20 yards, looked up and saw a deer at about 125 yards. Quickly brought my gun up freehand, saw it in the scope, saw it was a buck looking straight at me and Boom...I shot. That whole process took about 4 seconds. I looked up and saw 2 does bounce to my right. I began telling myself that wow, I can say I missed a pretty big one...probably a big 2 or 3 point...everything just happened so fast I was certain I missed. So, I went up to where the deer was to check and sure enough, there was a massive buck laying in a bush exactly where I shot it. I couldn't believe it as I raised its head out of the bush and saw this big rack. I thought, where the heck did I hit it? I looked all over the deer but there was no sign of entry and no sign of exit. No blood anywhere. Not even in the mouth. So, I gutted it and still no sign of entry and no sign of exit. I took it home and we hung it in the shed. Skinned it...no sign of entry and no sign of exit. We were perplexed...it was like I had scared it to death.

Because it was a big Blacktail I called a friend who was a retired taxidermist and asked him if he would cape the head for us as I wanted to make sure the cape was perfect. So, he came over and caped the head in our garage. About halfway through caping it he popped into the house and said, "Well I know what happened!". I said, what!!?! He said: "Well, the deer was standing straight towards you and had its mouth open and you shot it through the mouth...missing all of the teeth and the tongue. The bullet then went into the deer's brain and because you shoot a .243 the bullet blew up in it's brain and didn't exit the brain cavity...no sign of entry and no sign of exit!". I couldn't believe it. I am not really that good of a shot, however, I think this one might be in the running for one of the best free hand shots EVER!! He green scored it at 118.5 which is pretty good for a Blacktail. One of the eye guards was broken off and thus a deduction at 3/4 of an inch but a true trophy for me!
View attachment 300465
Let's hear you best shots ever and prove me wrong! Looking forward to these responses!

Ok, let's talk bullet placement on coyotes at 450yds + small target 90% of the time moving, after deer season is gone for the year, that's what I be doing, large hay fields across the Rd from my house, set up my predator caller, and they will come, 31 dead in the last 5 years, precision bullet placement is everything,

 

[AjaDog]

Ok actually I

Best shot I ever took was the one where I took a controlled shot an the bullet went exactly where my crosshairs were - no surprises.

I had to think about it with whitetail, in Virginia up on this friend of ours property, 2 of us hunting, we were young, I was carrying a 7 mm Mauser, iron sights, walking down this dirt path, road ? I don't know wasn't big enough for a truck or a car, anyway rifle cradled in my arms walking so slowly, a steep mountain to my right a deep ravine to my left with a creek in the bottom, really quiet that morning, a slow sweeping turn to the right on this path I was walking, I heard a limb snap, as I looked in the direction of the sound there he was, he was trying to figure me out I was fully camouflaged, I didn't move, I guess the wind was in my favor all he did was move his head up and down and never will forget his ears, they were checking me out also, being the rifle was no where close to being shouldered to shoot, I so ever slowly tried to ease it up to be able to shoot this rifle, didn't work the deer turned to his left my right and started up the mountain side, but where he stopped I could see his head, and most of his neck, through a V in a tree, the deer stopped I guess to see what I was, well the rifle was against my shoulder at this time, and I remember the damn safety was on the back of the bolt and it took a second to select fire, I shot, hit it in the neck, dead deer, distance??? Maybe 60 to 70 yds he was a nice 6 pointer then the daunting task of dragging his ass up the mountain and to the truck

 

[Doublecluck]

I recall one of my daughters saying that to a game warden who was watching us and later helped load a bull in the back of our truck. She throat patched it at 340 or so on a trot in about a 3-4 second window when it was clear of cows. He walked up and commented “nice shot young lady” and she rattled that off without even missing a beat. I remember thinking Jesus what kinda kids am I raising. She was 17 at the time

The girls had some pretty great shots this year with the little 6 creed suppressed. Fun times, all on video.

2023, Same daughter, 21 now, nearly the same spot , same game warden watching. 623 yards, 51 seconds from the time she set the gun on the tripod, ranged, dialed up to 3.2, scanned the herd of over 100 head, picked the biggest bull, pulled the trigger and it hit the ground.

 

[AjaDog]

Ok actually I

Best shot I ever took was the one where I took a controlled shot an the bullet went exactly where my crosshairs were - no surprises.

I had to think about it with whitetail, in Virginia up on this friend of ours property, 2 of us hunting, we were young, I was carrying a 7 mm Mauser, iron sights, walking down this dirt path, road ? I don't know wasn't big enough for a truck or a car, anyway rifle cradled in my arms walking so slowly, a steep mountain to my right a deep ravine to my left with a creek in the bottom, really quiet that morning, a slow sweeping turn to the right on this path I was walking, I heard a limb snap, as I looked in the direction of the sound there he was, he was trying to figure me out I was fully camouflaged, I didn't move, I guess the wind was in my favor all he did was move his head up and down and never will forget his ears, they were checking me out also, being the rifle was no where close to being shouldered to shoot, I so ever slowly tried to ease it up to be able to shoot this rifle, didn't work the deer turned to his left my right and started up the mountain side, but where he stopped I could see his head, and most of his neck, through a V in a tree, the deer stopped I guess to see what I was, well the rifle was against my shoulder at this time, and I remember the damn safety was on the back of the bolt and it took a second to select fire, I shot, hit it in the neck, dead deer, distance??? Maybe 60 to 70 yds he was a nice 6 pointer then the daunting task of dragging his ass up the mountain and to the truck

 

[Dave N]

Ok actually I

I had to think about it with whitetail, in Virginia up on this friend of ours property, 2 of us hunting, we were young, I was carrying a 7 mm Mauser, iron sights, walking down this dirt path, road ? I don't know wasn't big enough for a truck or a car, anyway rifle cradled in my arms walking so slowly, a steep mountain to my right a deep ravine to my left with a creek in the bottom, really quiet that morning, a slow sweeping turn to the right on this path I was walking, I heard a limb snap, as I looked in the direction of the sound there he was, he was trying to figure me out I was fully camouflaged, I didn't move, I guess the wind was in my favor all he did was move his head up and down and never will forget his ears, they were checking me out also, being the rifle was no where close to being shouldered to shoot, I so ever slowly tried to ease it up to be able to shoot this rifle, didn't work the deer turned to his left my right and started up the mountain side, but where he stopped I could see his head, and most of his neck, through a V in a tree, the deer stopped I guess to see what I was, well the rifle was against my shoulder at this time, and I remember the damn safety was on the back of the bolt and it took a second to select fire, I shot, hit it in the neck, dead deer, distance??? Maybe 60 to 70 yds he was a nice 6 pointer then the daunting task of dragging his ass up the mountain and to the truck

Deja vu? Flashbacks? CRS?

 

[AjaDog]

Deja vu? Flashbacks? CRS?

No LoL this damn phone no cell towers close service is in and out,

 

[AjaDog]

Yeah I reckon so,

 

[Dave N]

No LoL this damn phone no cell towers close service is in and out,

I thought maybe you were REALLY proud of that shot! It's all good.

 

[AjaDog]

I thought maybe you were REALLY proud of that shot! It's all good.

Sure I was at 16, between the v shape in the tree, with iron sights, thinking back me and my long time friend, we both at that age could shoot fairly well, mainly because the summer's we stayed in huge pastures shooting ground hogs, with high powered rifles, Lyle, his rifle was a 22-250, good ole days

 

[Ought Six]

When I was 10, I shot a turkey at 310 yards in the neck with a Henry. 22 and a cheap 9-power scope

 

[AjaDog]

No doubt a .22 can travel ov

When I was 10, I shot a turkey at 310 yards in the neck with a Henry. 22 and a cheap 9-power scope

No doubt a .22 can travel over a mile, it can also ricochet of of a blade of grass, question is can yo hit a turkey size target at that distance consistently, big question mark there?? But if you can and your not to old the Marine Corp, is begging for people like you,go for it,

 

[Ought Six]

No doubt a .22 can travel ov

No doubt a .22 can travel over a mile, it can also ricochet of of a blade of grass, question is can yo hit a turkey size target at that distance consistently, big question mark there?? But if you can and your not to old the Marine Corp, is begging for people like you,go for it,

To answer your question, no, it was pure luck, but it did happen, and I was 10. The amount of Kentucky windage was ridiculous

 

[AjaDog]

To answer your question, no, it was pure luck, but it did happen, and I was 10. The amount of Kentucky windage was ridiculous

Oh I don't doubt you my friend, I was shooting my Lil, .177 cal. Pellet gun one day out on this lake I lived on just goofing off there was a crow in a tree, easily 100,125yds out on this island that has goats on it just for ------ and giggles I aimed high and the bird DOA right in the eye, I get you, used to hunt rabbits and squirrels b all the time with my Ruger semi automatic rifle,fun!!!!

 

[Deleted member 28227]

So there I was in Colorado's rodentia infested backcountry. At least 6 miles deep, no inReach or nuthin. While climbing to a 12,500 ft mountain pass, I was ambushed by two whistle pigs. The first one charged at me full speed, leaping across scree like a cheetah chasing down a gazelle, its incisors gnashing at air and frothing at the mouth, pining for the sweet taste of human flesh. I stumbled backwards, raising my grandpappy's 22LR, and fired wildly one handed in panic. The furry mound came to a screeching stop not two inches from my toes.

I had nary a second to breath a sigh of relief when another furious Marmota flaviventris specimen leapt from my left out of a nearby alpine spruce. Herbivores my ass! These little SOBs were out for one thing and one thing only. Blood. My subsonic 22LR rang out once more, echoing lightly off the surrounding red shale cliffs. Another lifeless fur ball piled up at my feet. Lucky? Maybe. Greatest shot(s) of my life? Definitely.
View attachment 301045

The air was crispy that morning, as I sipped my coffee, I had no inkling that in mere moments events would unfold that would sear that day into my mind forever.

My brave companion Gus was lapping up his puppachino, my daughter engrossed in her cheesy eggs, out of the corner of my eye I saw him.

Every bit of 13lbs his black mane glistened in the morning sun, his teeth gleamed.

The foul beast approached from the East, wind in his face, clearly stalking us as we broke our repose.

If not for the walls of our home I’m sure we would have been meeting our maker on the other side.

Reflexes like a middle aged dad before the caffeine took effect, I "mostly" adroitly grabbed my bow from the wall. I secured the shaft of faux wood to the string and lumbered to the back door.

The monster towered in our tomato planter. His nose in the air catching the scent of his prey, he locked eyes with me. In that glassy sphere I glimpsed such hate and fury that I shutter at the recollection.

Arrow to its anchor point, I drew back, in my mind a single phrase “keep hammering”.

As if channeling Odysseus himself protecting Ithaca I sent the shaft.

In slow motion the arrow slid through my fingers, the broadhead searching for its home.

THWACK.

It was buried deep, the Charybdis like maw smacked and gnashed.

It fell.

A single drop of sweat dripped from my brow.

 

[noharleyyet]

440 with a Sako 300 WSM 180 Accubond VX3 3.5x10x50 zero was 2” high @ 100. He was across a deep ravine at a mineral seep. I was hunting with a guide who was sick as a dog & asleep about 10 yards downhill on the trail parallel to a barbwire fence. He had an old rumpled cowboy hat covering his face. I was posted in brush next to the fence & he heard me adjust and place the Sako on the fence strand. He didn’t move a muscle and said, “that’s him, aim at the top of his shoulder.”

https://flic.kr/p/2o1QCq4

My hunting partner shot ‘Diablo’ at 200 while we were eating a sandwich around noon the same day near an old corral rendevous.

https://flic.kr/p/2o1PQ34

 

[el unit]

Heart shot 340 bull.

Montana Archery Elk 2017

After a smoke-filled beginning to September, the moisture finally came to SW Montana! All the hiking probably wasn’t the best idea for my lungs, but it’s September and it’s hard to stay outta the woods because of little, or lot, of smoke. Racked up about 35-40 miles of hiking since September...

www.hunttalk.com

 

[noharleyyet]

A cow at 530 this season with a good rest and ancient Leupold CDS 4x12 VXR is my longest. Same rig took another cow 5-6 years ago at 411. Both cows ballistically ranged uphill.

 

[tillicant]

Had what I call an impulse shot. Deer hunting and doing a still hunt, many years ago with a bunch of friends. A buck got up in front of me, I instinctively got him in the aimpoint and pulled the trigger. Wright after I shot, I thought "that was stooped". ( I think I actually said it out loud)
Followed the tracks for a little in the snow, no blood, no hair....
Then, dead deer.
Looked him over, no in, no out. He was warm so I knew it was my buck. I was pretty sure, the only way was, he took it up the..
Blew his heart out.

 

[AjaDog]

The air was crispy that morning, as I sipped my coffee, I had no inkling that in mere moments events would unfold that would sear that day into my mind forever.

My brave companion Gus was lapping up his puppachino, my daughter engrossed in her cheesy eggs, out of the corner of my eye I saw him.

Every bit of 13lbs his black mane glistened in the morning sun, his teeth gleamed.

The foul beast approached from the East, wind in his face, clearly stalking us as we broke our repose.

If not for the walls of our home I’m sure we would have been meeting our maker on the other side.

Reflexes like a middle aged dad before the caffeine took effect, I mostly adroitly grabbed my bow from the wall. I secured the shaft of faux wood to the string and lumbered to the back door.

The monster towered in our tomato planter. His nose in the air catching the scent of his prey, he locked eyes with me. In that glassy sphere I glimpsed such hate and fury that I shutter at the recollection.

Arrow to its anchor point, I drew back, in my mind a single phrase “keep hammering”.

As if channeling odyssey himself protecting Ithaca I sent the shaft.

In slow motion the arrow slid through my fingers, the broadhead searching for its home.

THWACK.

It was buried deep, the Charybdis like maw smacked and gnashed.

It fell.

A single drop of sweat dripped from my brow.





View attachment 305188

Holy dead groundhogs Batman!!!! That's crazy we used to shoot what we call groundhogs in Virginia I guess those are the same thing but we used to shoot way out there before with 30-06s but anyway at least you didn't get ankle bit LOL