Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Hardest Shot You've Ever Made?

Using my Tikka T3 lite in a wind storm, it was very gusty about 50 to 60 mph blowing the lite rifle and me with it all around. Every once in a while the scope cross hairs would cross the bucks shoulder, but I had almost no control of it and I did a lucky quick trigger squeeze as they crossed his shoulder.

My hardest shot wsa was also my luckiest one. I hit an antelope in the neck holding about five feet above his back, not knowing the range. I would have never attempted this had not the buck already been wounded.

700 yards in a 30mph full value cross wind.

My early twenties, double on Ruff Grouse. Didn't know it at the time, but some 40 years later I do!

When I was younger my buddy and I were working through antelope season and it was looking like we would not have time to punch tags before general season started. We finally had an afternoon to get out and I had an opportunity on a running antelope about a couple hundred yards. He was trying to tell me something as I shot and a buck balled up at full speed. It came to a rest in a cloud of dust. Jon was ecstatic, back-patting and congratulating me on hitting the biggest buck like that. I hit it right under the ear. Turns out he was telling me to take the second antelope, the biggest buck--the one that I shot. He thought I was a genius; I didn't tell him for years that I was trying for the boiler room of the first buck.

Not necessarily my hardest shot, but the toughest shot was the first deer I ever killed. It was a down hill quartering toward me shot from about 85 yards. It was the toughest shot I ever made because I lots my father the following spring. I'd gladly give back every deer I've ever taken to have had more time with him. He died when I was 21 years old. I'm glad we at least got to share that first deer taken together. MIss you Dad. We'll hunt together again soon.

I've made some long (500-700yds) shots on stationary deer, but, they're really not very difficult. The wind hasn't really been a factor, nor has angle, temp, or elevation.

Those that stand out as "difficult" have all been 1-shot kill coyotes on the move past 300yds. Probably the most impressive was a loping coyote @ 380+ with my Kimber MT 7-08 and 6x42 Leupold. Mostly because it was pretty much a 90 degree left-to-right mover.

I got one @ 415ish with my 257Wby running pretty hard but he was going almost straight away and below me ~75-100 feet so I only had to cypher "vertical" lead and virtually no lateral lead.

Last was a coyote running away at a shallow quartering angle, 1st animal I pointed my then-newly re-barreled 1:8 22-250/75-gn A-max at. It was also the 1st time I'd used something with more horizontal reference than just a plain duplex, it's topped with a Leupold with TMR reticle. He was 350yds away and running hard, but, I was able to use the bottom tip of one of the horizontal hash marks as a reference for both estimated hold-over as well as lead.

Moose walking through pines at 200yds. I trace my hatred of lightweight rifles to that point. Made the shot and swapped my remington titanium to a standard M700 and shot a moose at 275yds on the same clearcut 3 years later with much greater ease.

My best shot may have been a running deer going through heavy timber and darting between an opening at about 80 yards from me while running as fast as he could go and that opening was only about 3 feet wide. I could see the flashes of the deer between the trunks and branches coming from right to left and as soon as I saw the chest clearly I fired, about even with it's leading "edge". Shot was right behind the crease of the shoulder and exited the same place on the other side. 180 grain Remington Core-Lokt from a 19" barreled 30-06 Scout Carbine I made on a VZ Mauser. Sight was a 2X Burris Scout Scope.

I have made some very long shots with various rifles on targets (some at over 1200 yards), and I have made some very precise shots at prairie dog heads at longer ranges, and done them quite a few times, but that deer was the one I think of as my "bragging shot".

As soon as I'd done it was stood in disbelief that I was able to pull it off. I was a very good shot in those days, but that one even amazed me. It all just fell together, and I knew as soon as I fired that I'd killed that deer, but 1 second later I was thinking how impossible it was.

I can't say it was hard. It just seemed so natural in that fraction of a second, but I am sure I could not do that again if I knew I had the shot coming.
If I had tried it just 5 seconds later on another deer I think "hard" would have been an understatement. "Impossible" may have been a more accurate word.

But that shot just seemed to fall together easily and perfectly. That's the reason I felt so amazed.

Not sure about the hardest shot, but this is the luckiest shot I ever had.

It was pouring rain and I had my trusty Rem 1100 with a slug barrel and open rifle sights. I was in my tree stand about 20 ft. off of the ground and I was standing up because I didn't have a rain suit and was trying to stay as dry as possible. I was a little hung over and didn't get much sleep the night before (I was about 25 at the time). I kind of was leaning against the tree and was dozing off a little and had my eyes shut. Someone shot down in the creek bottom a couple of hundred yards away, so I opened my eyes and grabbed the gun. I looked to my left, in the direction of the shot, and there was a doe about 30 yards away and running full tilt almost directly towards me. I pulled the gun up and shot her when she was about 10 yards away. Dropped her in her tracks. I hit her in the eye socket. The whole thing took about 2 1/2 seconds.

Probably luck, but I once shot a coyote running wide open quartering away from me at about 250 yards. He was running right to left and I had a 20+mph cross wind left to right. I held on his head as best I could and hit him perfectly behind the shoulder.

That's my friend, Bart....he IS the real deal....

Pheasant on the wing with a single-shot (Ithaca Model 49) .22 rifle.

Also, on different days, two sparrows on the wing with my Daisy BB gun. About 25 yards for one, 20 feet for the other.

As far as big game shot, probably an antelope at 558 yards with my .223 Rem. It wouldn't have been a real tough shot if my heart wasn't pounding and he wasn't moving since I missed him (didn't realize it at the time else I'd of let him go) at a touch over 300 yards a few seconds before.

I did call in a pup coyote one time, that simply wouldn't stop running towards me. At 20 or so feet I finally swung my rifle and literally fired from the hip as the coyote was on it's last bound before landing on me. Shot was maybe 3 feet and the coyote was in the air. That shot is way the hell harder than a guy thinks. I damn near missed him. My bullet gutted him and he took off. His guts fell out after 10 or so yards.

Mountain goat at 200yds with my 14" Contender in 309JDJ. I burned a lot of powder that summer getting ready. I lived in Kodiak at the time and we had a 500yd range. My limit was 200, and I could hit reliably hit at that distance. What made it difficult was that I needed a few more inches of elevation to take the shot. I ended up resting the gun on my clenched fist and steadying my shooting hand by extending my pinkie finger out to touch the rock I was shooting on. He dropped at the shot and it was one of the best moments of my life.

Hardest shot was a triple I made on teal with my Browning A5 Magnum 20 gauge. A small band came from behind my blind, I was pouring my dad a cup of thermos coffee when I heard the swoosh of fast wings. 8-9 buzzed over the deeks then cut a hard left on the outside of the decoys. I handed dad his coffee, snapped up the A5 and swung on the last and closest teal. It folded and the rest of the band went straight up Rocket Man on my shot. The next two I just focused on the forward edge (head) of each bird and snapped two shots off quickly folding both like the first...Dad handed me his coffee back and said you shoot better than you make coffee son. 😎

About 25 years ago I was hunting javelina with a recurve bow. I had a realistic range of about 25 yards. I wanted one bad. I saw a herd running down a mountain and generally heading my way. I got out my sling shot and an M-80 and when the pigs were about 80 yards away and looked like they weren't going to come in range, I shot the M-80 out in front of them. One of them peeled off and headed my way. He was in the thick stuff and there was one opening. I could see only glimpses of him as he ran through the brush. There was one gap about 3 feet wide. I drew back and when he was about 25 feet from the opening I loosed an arrow. I did a good follow through and still had time to stand there and watch my arrow in flight and the pig on a collision course. Danged if I didn't nail him good. That has to be my hardest shot!

I shot a little bird out of palo verde tree at 250 yards off-hand with a 22 LR. It was pure luck though!

Greatest miss...Thats an easy one. I ranged a nice young cow during a 3 month long cow hunt with my old Bushnell 1000 that didn’t have ARC technology. Reading came back 236 yards. The cow was at about a 45 degree downward angle from me. I was sitting on a cut stump that made a comfortable shooting platform when I placed my pack on top of it...No dialing back then. No cds, just straight up set and forget Leupold 3.5-10x40.

The cow is just feeding on the side hill unaware I’m above. Lots of time, no rush, dead elk for sure. I find her in my scope and start to settle the crosshairs on her lower rib cage. Then i start thinking, should I pull low for the angle or high? I think it’s pull low if the shot is low and pull high if shooting across and high. No, no...I’m supposed to pull high on a downward shot...Yes, that’s it. I put the crosshairs on the top of her back and sent one down at her. Nothing! But the cows Head came up looking for an exit. I pulled a little higher this time and touched off...Nothing. The cow became a ghost after the last shot.

The actual yardage was approximately 147 yards. The following season when I went back to the spot I had my pardner laze the spot with his new Leupold RF with TBR. My rifle at that time was zero 2.5” high at 100. Just a simple “Swing and a miss”. 😎

Not my shot, but one I'll never forget.

It was on some kind of holiday when our family and Uncle's were gathered at my grandparent's place for one of Grandma's holiday meals. Probably Thanksgiving, maybe Christmas. No snow on the ground and pretty warm so I tend to think the former. After the meal, Granddad, Dad and Uncle were out by the round grain bins shooting clay pigeons. Uncle was throwing, Granddad and Dad were missing and I was watching, hoping to get a chance to try (but never did).

Uncle said "I'll show you how it is done" and went in the hose to retrieve Granddad's Remington Model 24, a licensed version of J. M. Browning's semi-auto .22 design.. This was back in the late '50's or early '60's. Granddad had purchased the rifle new in the early '30's.for about $20. It only shoots .22 Shorts. (The rifle now sits in my safe and still shoots great.)

Uncle loaded the rifle, chambered a round, engaged the safety and leaned the rifle up against a wire fence. He then threw a pigeon, which Granddad and Dad both missed. As soon as he threw it, Uncle dropped the thrower and grabbed the rifle. He fired as the pigeon passed the third grain bin. Much to everyone's surprise, the pigeon broke up.

Uncle refused to attempt a repeat.

Granddad, Dad and Uncle all passed away in the last decade, but that rifle is the reason my first major purchase after leaving the service in '74 was a Browning SA-22. Didn't think I would ever inherit the Remington. Turns out the Browning was a good purchase - my girls grew up shooting it just a I did the Remington. Granddad passed at 100 in 2011 and I got the Remington after Dad passed about six years ago. I also ended up with Granddad's High Standard Model C, also a .22 Short shooter. Granddad bought it for $22 back in the late '40's. Like the Remington, I would shoot it every chance I got. It still shoots great, too.

This isn't a shot that I made but one I witnessed my younger brother make many many years ago. I had to have been 17 and my brother would have been 12. We were out roaming around the hills like we always did, .22s in tote. I had my trusty Ruger 10/22 and he was packing a Marlin tube feed bolt action. It was common for us to roam around and shoot jack rabbits, skunks, porcupines, whatever we could find...

That particular day we left the truck and had been walking for an hour or so when we walked right up on a pair of coyotes. I peppered it with the 10/22 at fairly close range and it eventually went down. The other coyote took off on a dead run, leaving the country. I had to reload my magazine, but my brother was blazing away with his Marlin. I finally got reloaded, but by that time the second coyote was so far away I didn't even attempt a shot at it. Had to have been 400 yards out or better...

My brother on the other hand decided to give it one last poke. He pulled the trigger and that coyote went tumbling head over heals. I couldn't believe it. I asked him where he aimed and he said he couldn't see the coyote in his scope when he pulled the trigger.

Took us a bit to walk all the way over to it. There was a perfect bullet hole right in the temple of that coyote. Didn't exit of course. I don't give my brother credit for anything. But I couldn't make that shot today with any rifle. Of course neither could he...