The Best Shot You Ever Made

As a kid I became interested in muzzle-loaders early. My first one was a Belgian 58 caliber smooth bore flintlock trade musket with a 1862 date on the lock plate. I bought this at a yard sale for $35 as I recall. A friend and I were walking across a field and he challenged the accuracy of my smooth bore. Being young and arrogant I took a good seated position and aimed about half way up the trunk of a huge oak tree about 120 yds away. The trunk was over 4 feet across and I was hoping to hit the trunk.

I took careful aim, considering the musket had no rear sight, and fired. After what seemed a long pause there was a loud SLAP sound and a branch about 6 feet below where I was aiming separated from the trunk.

I never told my friend I was aiming for the trunk, not that branch or any other branch. Just looked smug as I calmly reloaded.
 
One day back in the early 70s, I got a call from my Sergeant about two hours before my scheduled 4PM to midnight shift. He informed me that there was a turkey shoot going on at a local gun club and suggested that I check it out if time permitted. I put on my uniform and drove out to the gun club. I was informed by the event coordinator that there was an "X" drawn on a turkey picture located 100 yards from the firing line. I was told that you pay $1 for a shotgun shell and the shooter that placed a pellet closest to the center of the "X" would win a turkey.
I offered to pay the $1 if I could use my duty load (.38 special) and gun (6" Colt Python) instead of the shotgun. I got the approval and took the shot without any idea of the proper holdover for a 100 yard target.
The shot took out the center of the "X" and was about 1/8" higher than exact center.
I got a certificate for a 20+ pound turkey and people at this gun club have had a turkey shoot story to tell for almost 40 years.
Mark
 
BUFF said:
I was thinking about this event yesterday, New Years Day, as it happened on a New Years Day in the mid-to-late 1970's, while we were all attending college, about 35 years ago.

A group of us that fished, hunted and shot together decided to go shoot jackrabbits out in the desert south-west of Salt Lake City. Sometimes we attracted coyotes who liked to snack on our dead rabbits. Sometimes they got too greedy, too close and got ventilated themselves. We liked to use our deer rifles, one last chance to shoot them before putting them away for the winter.

Our tactics were to cruise the few country roads until we found dead rabbits flattened out by the passing cars and trucks, then park and walk the sagebrush, cedar and juniper. As we drove, a jackrabbit flashed across the narrow road in front of us with a coyote just behind it! I slammed my '68 VW Beetle to a halt and the four of us sprang out, loaded our .270's and .30-06's and ran after them, hoping to get a shot as they ran up the side of a bowl. Nothing.

As we stood, talking, a big, loud, crow came flying towards us, fighting a cold headwind. It was about 25 yards above the ground and flew right overhead. I swung, found the crow in my 4X scope, drew ahead of it a bit and squeezed.

The Sierra 150 grain spitzer at 3,000 fps blew the bird apart like a small bomb might have!

I was shocked. It was pure luck. My best buddy whistled and said, "Bad day to be a crow."

We formed a skirmish line and walked across the land, gentle hillls rolling up and down. Middle of nowhere. At the top of a small ridge, we stood and tried to decide if it was time to head back to the car, as we weren't seeing much. I sat on a convenient rock.

Here came a magpie flying passed. I hate magpies, but other than they are cruel, eat game- songbird chicks and eggs and are obnoxious, I don't know why, I just do. The bird "ackkk-aaaccked" at us as it passed us and came to light on the very top of a juniper tree. It cawwed some more as it bobbed and waved slightly in the breeze.

I had been shooting this rifle and load for quite a bit and quite often then. I knew the drop. I loosened my sling, threaded my arm into it and pulled it tight. Took a deep breath, let most of it out, good brace on my knees, held a few inches over the magpie's head, presssssssssed..... BANG! The magpie exploded! Same buddy said, "I guess it's a bad day to be ANY corvid!"

It was a long 347 paces from where I was sitting to the base of the tree the magpie died on.

My buddies bought my gas that day and my lunch. Every now and then, when two or more of us get together and start reliving our past, "Dead Corvid Day" comes up.
Click to expand...

Ahhhhhhhhh.....the skirmish line-I had forgotten about that :D
After our duck hunts way back when, we used to form our skirmish lines on the levees with marsh on one side and canal on the other. The levees were about 30 feet wide so with 4 people we had a pretty tight line. Best we did was 12 cotton tails one afternoon-man does that bring back some fond memories. :)
Next time I'll tell you about how to hunt rabbits with a bush hog :eek:
 
Rifle: 190 yds off hand with my Sako 75 .300 win mag, Barnes 200 grain A-Frame...... heart shot on a 500# cow elk (I only had a permit for a cow). She ran 60 yds on adrenaline and then piled.

Shotgun: Flock of about 10 mallards decoyed on opening morning. I shot three times and downed three drakes. Probably will never happen again in my lifetime.

Handgun: nothing memorable other than ground squirrels from my back deck with my Model 41.
 
Archery = 3 "Robin hoods (one arrow hitting dead center in the end of the other arrow)in one evening.
Hitting 9 out of 10 lifesavers from 20 yards

Shotgun= 100 straight with 12ga, 20ga, 28ga, then 99 with the 410 for a 399 out of 400.

Hitting dragon flys with a 410 (not as easy as it seems)

Rifle= Antalope in Wy. 450yards with a Rem. 270 Prone position.
 
Handgun Turkey with my 29-3 258 steps
Rifle Fly on the target board with a Winchester 52 at 50 yards
Shotgun hip shot on a crow taking off at about 25 yards...didnt have time to shoulder it gun was a Rossi single shot 410
 
Back in my college days when I was sharper of eye, I hit a running jackrabbit through the eye at about 40 yds. with an old Ruger Single Six, shooting .22 mags. Couldn't do it again in a million years!
 
A called shot - I cut an apple off a tree with a 5 mm air rifle. I was asked to do it again, but I modestly resisted. :D
 
I've got a few...and all of them on elk.

A dozen years back while deer hunting in a large hayfield something spooked a huge herd of elk through before dawn. I was with "Inspector Callahan" a poster here. I walked as fast as I could through cover and was able to get right at 400 yds at my last piece of cover that also offered a good rest. I popped the last decent 6x6 bull in the lungs with my .280 Rem. At the shot I heard the dull thud of my 150 gr partition impacting his shoulder. He simply stood there. So in the next 15 sec's I shot him TWO more times aiming at the same spot.

At the 3rd shot he put his head down and fell forward. My three shots were in a triangle pattern no more than 3" at most! I thought that considering it was the best bull I ever shot, the hurried stalk...that was some good shooting on my part.

My other elk story...While working for the Hwy Patrol we were also considered Ex Officio Game Wardens and did occasionally do some Warden work. Last day of big game season I was alerted to a wounded bull elk off of State Hwy 287. I arrive and there are an easy dozen hunters looking at this bull a solid 400 yds away in the snow. He was sitting like a dog would, with his butt on the ground and his frt legs straight up and down. He'd been shot in the spine and his back was paralyzed.

It was snowing lightly, and the wind was blowing 20 mph. The bull was in a field full of deep snow and drifts, and I was already backed up on calls. So no time to put on boots and trek over the fence to get closer.

I took my M-14 from the trunk and removed the mag with FMJ ammo. Clicked in my mag used for deer and elk.....165 gr softpoints. I sat on a balnket from the trunk in the snow, got into the sling and holding a bit into the wind I hit that bull EXACTLY in the spine dropping him instantly...as the crowd looked on. Hell of a shot considering I was shooting for his CHEST. And how badly the wind was making my eyes water, trying to see throught the iron sights. I have heard the story of the "trooper shooting the elk" several times over the years and if anything...the locals have made me an even LUCKIER marksman.

#3... On the same ranch while deer hunting came upon one of the Ranch hands running back towards his truck. Seems he'd shot a bull, wounded it and ran out of ammo. I offered to watch it while he retreived more ammo. I was carrying a six inch 29-2 with full power mag loads as all I was doing was scouting for deer hunting and the upcoming rut.

Right at dark I ended up taking a shot and hit that bull in the lungs at 188 lasered yds. I would have NEVER attempted such a foolish shot at an unwounded animal...but I was stuck. Couldn't get any closer...getting dark...and coyotes had already found him.

FN in MT
 
Best Shot

Target shooting with a Model 60 with Crimson Trace laser grips. A wasp landed on the target and at 7 yards, double action, I shot the wasp in two. The two witnesses loved it. I still have the "other half".
 
The best group I ever shot....I was not responsible for. It just happened....because of somebody else.

I was at my gun club years ago and a member that is a recognized bench rest competitor and a "gunscribe" on one of the "accuracy" gun rags was shooting one of his latest creations.

I didn't know anything about formal bench rest and started asking him some questions.

He asked if I would like to try it to which my answer was affirmative.

I sat down to his gun, his rest, his ammo at a 100 yard range. Once I figured out that the trigger was lighter than anything I had ever touch, I squeezed off a five round group that left just one, slightly larger than caliber sized hole in the target. The cartridge was some 6mm bench rest cartridge.

I did nothing but line it up and "pull" the trigger correctly. The rifle and ammo did the rest.

That was my first and last venture into formal bench rest. You might as well quit while you are a winner....right?
 
Shotgun - Same as Rugskipper, only with a BPS 10 Ga. After about a 10 to 15 second freefall that goose was over a half mile from our blind.

Handgun - Last year while at my dads house we heard a death scream from one of his kittens. He had already lost two kittens to the raccoons and had had enough of it. The coon was about fifty feet up a big oak tree about to have himself another kitty dinner. Dad handed me the only gun he had in the house that he had ammo for, a nickel plated Rossi 22 revolver with 4" Bbl and fixed sights. Dad shined the Q-Beam light and I pulled the trigger. Dead coon, shot in the neck. Kitten did not survive the attack.

Smoke Pole - 196 yards, as lazered after the shot, with a TC White Mountain Carbine 50 cal shooting 105 gr. Pyrodex, Dynamite Nobel musket caps and 240 gr 44 cal Hornady XTP bullets in a sabot. First day of muzzle loader deer season after we bought our farm (1998). I'm sitting in a ladder stand and see a HUGE bodied deer walk out of the woods on the edge of the field. Put the sights on the top of his back, pop POP. Saw the bullet hit about twenty yards short. He is still standing there so I reload and put the sights about 2 feet over his back, pop POP. This one was close but over him and he walked off back into the woods. Reload and wait a few minutes. He walks back out to the same spot. I put the sights about a foot above his back, pop POP, heart lung shot, DRT. Field dressed him and it took two of us to put him on the 4-wheeler. Took him to the check in station and the GW and biology students from UT Martin are ageing, weighing and green scoring the deer being checked in. My deer weighed in at 198.5 Lbs dressed (estimated 245-255 Lbs. live weight) When they asked to age my deer I told them it was fine and to go ahead and cut out the lower jaw bone. One of the students came over to me and said "That deer only has four teeth!". GW estimated the age at 7.5 years. Green score was 43-7/8.

Rifle - Three weeks ago yesterday. Last day of the first segment of the TN deer rifle season. A buddy of mine had asked me to pull his 4-wheeler trailer up to the barn as he had gotten his truck stuck trying to pull it off the down side of a hill on wet grass. I'm hitching up his trailer and making all kinds of noise slamming the tounge onto the ball. Get it hooked up and decide to go pull the memory card from one of my trail cams about fifty yards down the hill. I grabbed my rifle "Just In Case". Pull the card out of the camera and look down the trail. Walking towards me are three deer, a doe in front followed by a nice 8 pt buck and a unicorn (4 x 0). Doe sees me at about 10 yards and runs right. 8 pt sees me and runs left. Unicorn sees me and charged at me. I shot him, from the hip, at about THREE FEET with a Wby MkV in 300 Wby loaded with 180gr Nosler Partition bullets. He was dead but still running. He made it about 10 feet past me before balling up on the ground. If any of you watch CSI you have heard them use the term "Blood Spatter Pattern". I can attest that it does happen. I would post a picture of the white T-shirt I was wearing, but some might find it a little graphic.

Class III
 
317target.jpg

I was discussing this thread with Forum member Allen-frame and he informed me that my 100 yard "Turkey Shot" was not my best shot. It was my best LUCKY shot. Allen (witnessed and) suggested that my off-hand 7 shots through one hole at 45 feet with a S&W 317 Airweight was my best shot(s). It is my smallest group at that distance.
Mark
 
Without a doubt it was the 3/8" five shot group at 200 yards with my .243 target rifle. I built the rifle on a WWI Kornbusch Mauser action and it was always accurate but this one stunned me. This was also the only time I'd forgotten to write down the loading data (of course) and have never been able to come close to that again over the last 20 years. I don't expect anyone to believe this as there were no witnesses. I still have the orange target dot but only one person has ever believed it was shot at that range.
 
I hit a 12 oz beer can (empty) at about 75 yards w/ my Model 65 loaded w/ a buddy's .38 hand loads...he was thrilled!! - he took all the credit saying it was his loads that did it!

(shot it single action, standing two handed)
 
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Best shot

This may not be the same, but In my bowling pin shooting days.

I shot 5 pins off a table with an SKB XL 100 3.8 secs. Best for me.

Some, same hole 45acp shots with IDPA
 
I have posted this before.

My greatest shot was qualifying with a Colt Mustang, 380 caliber, as a deep undercover off duty sidearm.

As an off duty sidearm, the qualification course was 25 rounds. It was a windy day.

When I came to the three (3) yard line, there was a sunflower swaying in the wind. The watch commander, who was the firearms instructor said, if you kill the sunflower, you will not need to complete the course.

Now remember, it was windy. I took careful aim, fired one round and clipped the stem. The flower fell but was still attached.

I looked at the WC and he said "It does not count, you did not kill the sunflower." So I stated "But it will never have children!"

I completed the course at that point.

Did I mention that it was windy?
 
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