Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Closest Shot

With all the talk about long range shooting at animals I thought it would be neat to hear the details of the closest animal you have shot. For this discussion only unwounded animals, finishing off an animal you have dropped but needs a second shot doesn't count.

I'll chime in after a few of you guys and select gals go first.

Closest shot was a called coyote in bayonet range. He came in so fast I didn't have time to aim. I threw my rifle off my lap and fired off the hip. Wasn't more than 2-3 feet and the dog was in the air about to land on me.

As far as big game, (and not a lion in tree) I think a young mule deer buck at about 10 yards was the closest.

Big game: little die in WI at about 30 yds, IIRC (I was a kid)

Lots of vermin and birds at under 10 yds...

Distinctly remember blasting a rabbit at about 10-15 feet with a .22-250 and 40 gr Vmax at 4000 per...(could barely focus through the scope).

All I could find was a bit of ear....literal grenade!

I killed my biggest deer ever out of a tripod stand at not more than 20 -25 ft. He literally walked directly under me within afoot or two of the ladder I had just climbed 20 min before. I fully expected him to bolt when he cut my tracks but no. I had to let him walk a bit further so he wouldn't see me when I raised my rifle. The butt barely touched my shoulder and I had him in the scope & bang.

15 yards, bull elk with a muzzleloader. Bugled him in.

Have gotten a few animals around 10 yards, I can think of two blacktails I got even closer. A buck at around 20 feet, I saw him run off the logging road but he turned around, I watched him through the scope let him walk towards me and when he stopped I shot him in the neck, Was real surprised when I looked up and he was so close. Shot a doe 2 years ago that must have been even a bit closer, surprisingly the fixed 8x40 Leupold scope still worked fine even that close.

The second deer I killed, way back when, had powder stippling.

I think the range was about 4 yards. He was walking towards me, and kept doing so, until I figured he was within the effective range of my .30-30.

Killed my first buck from 7 yards with a Remington 760 in .244 wearing a fixed 6x scope. Shot another buck at under 10 yards with a muzzleloader, thought I set him on fire. Have shot 2 deer with a recurve bow at under 5 yards. Killed a brown bear at 12 yards with a 45/70 and a black bear at 17 yards with a revolver.

I'm sure there's been more critters in the under 20 yard zone that I don't recall right this minute. Guess I just like to get close.

Black bear at 15-20 feet (estimated i did not measure it);whitetail buck at maybe 30 feet.

Killed two good bucks this year and neither shot reached 100 yards.

5x5 Bull Elk at 30 feet with a rifle. It was so thick he was still hard to see. 350 Rem mag did the trick on that one.

A long time ago I had shot at a little whitetail buck out past 250 yds. I missed the shot but went to double check to make sure. When I got to the end of the clearing he had been he came walking back out and I killed him at 20 feet.

15 feet up in a tree. Shot was straight down on a small WT buck that was scraping at the bottom of my stand.

I also point blanked a calf elk with a bow as it was trying to run me over. It tripped over my boots right after the shot.

Closest shot was about 15 yards on a whitetail buck from a ground stand.

That same year I had a doe with two fawns walk 10 feet behind me. One of the fawns came directly to my tree and licked the daypack I had hooked to the back of it. The doe got nervous then and began stomping her foot. I saw all this while having my head turned as far to the left as I could while trying to do my owl impression.

I was sitting in an uprooted tree during shotgun season when this 8 point buck dragged himself out of some briars. He had been fighting and one ear drooped, and was laserated. It looked like he was the loser in a fight. When I pulled the trigger he was les than 20 feet away, oblivious to me.

Same here.

A 7 RM will kill deer at 15'. <G>


Jerry

Twelve feet on a whitetail doe.

4 inches on a spike elk, estimated from powder burn. The elk ran over me in a thicket. I heard him coming but could not see him until he was within 10 feet or less, checked for antlers as rifle came to shoulder. His shoulder was about to impact the carbine muzzle so I lurched back and spun out of his way to keep from being hit as I fired.

Bull moose in a thicket too close to focus on at 2 power, 8 feet or less. His hackles were up in threat.

I hit a black bear with a bag of garbage still in my hand but muzzle velocity was too low to damage anything but both of our nerves.

10-15 feet on my first deer back in 1978.

bull elk: 6 feet with a bow
12 point whitetail: 5 yards .30-06

Most archery shots well inside 20 yards

5 feet. Big Blacktail 3 pointer charged me after fight with my big Walker hound for about ten minutes. First shot was at 25 feet and only made him mad as it hit to far back. Killing shot took off one horn and hit him in the neck. Was so far into the rut that he stank horribly. Took about ten minutes for me to calm down. Still have the horns of thst one 50 years later.

5 feet. Big Blacktail 3 pointer charged me after fight with my big Walker hound for about ten minutes. First shot was at 25 feet and only made him mad as it hit to far back. Killing shot took off one horn and hit him in the neck. Was so far into the rut that he stank horribly. Took about ten minutes for me to calm down. Still have the horns of thst one 50 years later.