Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Small Game What is the best shot that you have ever made?

Skill or luck, doesn't even have to be small game really. One of the best shots I made was on a standing deer at 50 feet. It was an easy shot, but why it is one of the best is because I waited a while for the perfect head shot, got it, and took it. <BR> On small game I'm not real sure. I barked a squirrel with a .22 about a month ago at about 30 yards. It was a good shot considering how fogged the scope was. <BR> I also killed a huge fox squirrel at about 60 yards. I had barely missed the head, but the bullet caught its shoulder and bulged out its back. That was probably the biggest squirrel I ever saw.

There are two shots I'm really proud of. Not for their great skill, exactly, just the circumstances. <P>During deer season here in Michigan in '99, I was sitting in a ground blind halfway up a big hill on the Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore. I was exposed from the waist up and sat very still as a buck walked past me from left to right only 40 yards away. He was sniffing the tracks of a pair of does who'd gone by earlier in the morning. As he passed behind the same big tree I had been cursing for three days because it blocked my view, I realized it also blocked HIS view, of ME. <P>I used the chance to raise my rifle...my trusty Winchester 94 Trapper...and shot him just behind the shoulder as he stepped back into sight. A nice six point by the way we count 'em here in Michigan, both sides. <P>The other shot was the day after I got the patch off my right eye following cataract surgery. I spotted a Starling on the ground at about 60 yards. I hit him dead center with an offhand shot from a 10/22. It was a nice way to initiate my "bionic" eye. Before the surgery, I couldn't have SEEN the critter at 60 yards. Yeah, the rifle had a scope, but holding steady enough to hit at that range still had me feeling pretty good. You see, I'm left handed, and my left eye, my "shootin' eye" hadn't had the surgery yet. So I was shooting backward and using the wrong eye. <P>Talker<BR><p>[This message has been edited by Talker (edited February 24, 2001).]

a couple of weeks ago I was slipping down a logging road squrril hunting when i noticed a movement down the road. I immediatly sat down in the road and looked through my scope to see large bobcat stalking up the road. I have no idea why the cat didn't see me, but I put the cross hairs on him and waited for him to get closer. Just when he got to the distance I thought was "in range" he sat on his haunches facing my direction. When the remington .22 long rifle hit him in the chest you would have thought I shot him with a 300 mag. He fell over backwards and never moved. I've shot bigger,longer,quicker,smaller and closer but that 60 yard shot is one of my most memorable. But then there is the deer that....oh no! I can think of 20 more that I still have dreams about. Great Topic.., Weagle

The best shot i ever made was on a gray squirrel 30 yards off with open sights i shot him right between the eyes. the next best shot was on a deer that completely surprised me by stepping out in front of me 15ft away, i shot him right in the white patch and he dropped right there.<BR>YoungHunter

I said I had a Contender rifle in 22lr match. With this rifle and sorted winch subsonic HP, I killed two pigeons with headshots (leaved room for an error, as theyr wer on a roof), at 64 meters, in the rice paddy prone position. I also made an offhand headshot on a crow at 104 meters, killed another one at 147 meters in high winds, two in a row at 143 meters, and so on. <BR>Boy, do I miss this piece.<BR>olivier

There are two that I'll always remember: <P>Five or six years ago, we were field hunting Canada geese over shell decoys. It was a large party, and we had a giant spread out. Three geese crossed in front 40 yards out. I took three shots (that's all I had with the plug in) and put all three geese down cold. I did it so quick and clean, the other guys didn't even get a shot off. The limit then was three, so I was done for the day. <P>This last antelope season, we put a stalk on a big, old buck. It was over a mile through open country, the last 250 yards on our hands and knees. We were still quite a ways out when he made us - you could tell he was getting ready to get out of there. No one else had a clear view through the grass we were in, so I sat up, put my elbows on my knees, held over him a bit, and caught him right in the sweet spot behind the shoulder. He pitched over and didn't move. We paced it off, and it was over 400 yards - with a 30-06. That's the most gratifying shot I've ever made. I doubt I'll ever be able to do it again. <P>Greggun

This isn't actually a shot that I made but one that my cousin made. We were hunting rabbits with dogs. There were five of us and we had stopped to take a break. We were standing in a circle talking when my cousin yells "There he goes." We thought he was joking until the rabbit runs right through the middle of us. Could have kicked him I had been quicker. Well he makes it out the other side of the group of hunters and my cousin spins around and hits him going straight away from the hip.

Not the best but it was entertaining. I was rabbit hunting with my old man and my uncle just east of South Park CO. I had seen a raggit slip under a spruce and went to investigate. Could'nt find the raggit but this pine squirell was hell bent on giving me his two cents worth, so I pulled up on him with my little 9422 and as best I could, let him have it, (he was about 10 ft away through a 4x scope, kinda blurry). Well he fell out of the tree flopin so I succeeded. Upon closer examination though I found no blood, only a lead grey streak across the top of his head. Seems the bullet passed so close that the shock wave did his littl pea brain in.

Several times over my long (30 yr. +) dove hunting career, I have killed two birds with a single shot. It's a fluke, I'll freely admit, but kind of fun nontheless.

One of the best shots I ever made, was on a blacktail doe (had a doe tag) I shot from about 75 yds. the deer went down like a rug was pulled from under it. I was holding on the center of the nose. When I got to the deer, I couldn't find a bullet hole. after rolling the deer over several times, blood came out of one nostril. I had shot it up one nostril! Deadest deer you ever saw!! Who says .22 centerfires won't kill deer? .224 Weatherby-one shot-one kill!! good shootin, vbshootinrange...

guys,<BR>this is no bull, the best shot i ever made was a 81 yard shot with my 22 rugermark II target handgun. I drilled a jack rabbit in the head. I would like to say it was pure skill, cuase Ive had that gun since i was 9, but the fact is it was a sappo luck shot from heaven. I probably could not do it again if my life depended on it. the best part about the shot i just had to hit the thing, and I won $5 off of it. I knew the range, because my ranger finder goes everywhere my guns do.<BR>86

My best shot was at a range of about 7 meters. I'd crawled more than 350 meters (took the best part of an hour and a half) to get that close to a whole tree full of crows.<P>That one shot, with an ironsighted old Husky 9.3x57, took out three crows.<P>-- Mats

The shot that I will go to my grave remembering was when I was 11yrs old. I had my old crossman pump pellet gun with me and I was out looking for quail. I managed to shoot a couple and was heading home when this big ole crow flew over head, i don't know how high he was, but he was up there, I got the old pellet shooter ready and got him in sight, I followed him as he flew and pulled the trigger. SOB came out of the sky like he had been hit by lightning,,BEARUNTER

Was squirrel hunting with my scoped Marlin 22 when a nice sized ruffed grouse landed in a tree about 70 yards away. I took a solid rest on a small tree sitting in front of me shot him right in the head. It took two shots and I knew he was going to fly away after the first on but he just sat there. The second one hit him under the chin.

I think that best shot i have ever made was with my bow when i was about 12. It waan't the grates, it was a old 50lb. pull Bare with a bad arrow rest and no sites or peep. i could barly hit the brod side of a barn with the thing<BR>I shot at a chipmunk at just under 30 yards. It was standing on the end of a stonwall. The arrow sped just abuve the wall and cliped him. The arrow caryed him a good 6 feet. the arow whent thew both lungs and mist the hart by about 1/2". Ofcors everythine is about 1/2" away from anypoint in a chipmunck. That was the first on many [bleep] that i have in the last 4 years (i now mostly use an air rifle)

Shot a Crow out of the air at 75yds...With my 25-06. Even had a buddy there,to savor it with me.........

I got a couple that are close to my heart. First was a crow at 950 yards first shot .223 Ruger with witness. The crow actually flew up high for about 15 seconds then crumpled to the ground. Second shot was 749 yards with a 6.5-06 on the 3rd shot in a high wind. Also had witnesses. You gotta love it baby! I shot 3 carp with one arrow one day bow fishing. That was a feat that was quite interesting. Also had witnesses. I whacked a crow out of a tree one day at 200 yards with my RWS pellet gun. Head shot him, again, with witnesses. Flinch

I shot a coyote running with a Ruger 22 pistol at 67 paces with 1 shot. Bullet took him on the point of the shoulder and he rolled about 20 feet. And I also have a witness to the shot!!<P>Mac

You guys got to go get BCR (boggy Creek Ranger) to post on this thread !!! <P>He has a story about shooting the pecan out a crows mouth at 100 yards with his Red Rider BB-gun with 3-9x scope !! <P>OK OK so he made it up but its worth retelling !!<P>(BOSEG)<P>Tex

Two fluke shots and one that had some skill element. The skill was a wounded elk I shot through the heart at somewhere between 500 and 800 yards. It was so steep down with cliffs between, before the days of range finders, I couldn't guess any closer. I was way above timberline beside some goats in the Royal Group above the Palliser River in BC and the bull was all the way to the bottom of a long slide meadow. Second shot with a 30-06.<P>When I was a teen herding cows, some friends came by with a .22 and were tossing cans in the air to shoot. They gave me a try, and as a prank my friend threw as high as he could a little baby food jar with some mud in one end so it wobbled erratically. As I raised the rifle to my shoulder and inserted my finger in the trigger guard, the little rifle fired. The dimwit kid had filed it to a hair trigger. All eyes were on the jar high above and it burst with a center hit. I handed the piece back without a word and never shot any more.<P>Taking my wife on a 4x4 drive to see fall leaves, we spotted three grouse scratching in the overgrown old road. I stepped out with my 10/22, popped in the clip and looked up to see only two grouse about 30 feet away. "One must have stepped behind another," I thought as I squeezed off at a grouse head. At the shot, two grouse flopped, both hit in the head. I drilled the other one and my wife said, "You just did that to show off for your girlfriend."