Best Shot You Ever Had

[mikesto44]

Ok I have one, but it was with a modern gun. Friend and I were hunting antelope in Montana. When we spotted seven antelope standing in a row looking at us. We'd been chasing them all day. With my friend missing a couple of times at the nice buck that was in the group. Earlier he had won a coin toss to get this particular buck we we're after. It was a long chase. So when we caught up to them again. He said I'm tired you shoot him if you can. The buck was facing us and ready to run. So I held the sight at the top of his horns and shot. The buck dropped like a rock. When we got up to him. I'd hit him through his neck and the bullet shaved a patch of hair down the center of his back...the guy's in camp thought it was the greatest shot ever and my friend still talks about it. To me it was just blind luck...lol

 

[COTNTOP]

Way back A friend wanted me to get him a deer. It was ML season so I sat behind his house and a cowhorn walked into the road right after daylight. I aimed at his heart and hit him in the head. That fella talked about the long shot and not messing up any meat, I never told him about where I was aiming. That was with a 45 TC Hawken and my first ML deer hunt. That rifle got stolen from a break-in back in the 80's I think it was.

 

[Steel Hayes]

The one in a million shot,40 yards with the .31 caliber colt pocket at a bag of flour we had setting on top of a steel plate.
It’ll never happen again, I’m not THAT good.

 

[leadhoarder]

Hit a 1/2 scale ipsc plate at 300 yards offhand with my GPR. Nobody was around so I said what the heck and fired my first shot and after what seemed like a long delay I heard the the hit. I was curious where in the dirt it would land and had no expectations on hitting it. I tried a few more times and hit the dirt many yards away everytime. I expect if I had the sights lined up and had a clean trigger pull that it would be very far off. It was just luck that I hit it the first time.

 

[Thomas.bill92]

4" plate at 70 yards offhand first shot. Had to be luck because I havent been able to replicate the shot consistently.

 

[Mulebrain]

My best 100yd target off hand with my .40 rifle

 

[ETipp]

Mine was using my .50 New Englander while on an elk hunt not too far away from my house out west. Spent about 4 days trying to get an elk and finally walked up near the top of a bald type mountain. Only a patch of thick brush up top. Walked around a curve on an old logging road and a herd of elk started jumping and running like crazy. Dropped down on one knee and when one finally stopped, it was out there quite a ways. Drew a bead and let er rip. Hit the elk, it took about 3-5 steps forward, stopped halfway behind an old downed pine, and just stood there. Thinking I might have missed, I quickly reloaded, dropped down on one knee again, and fired. That time the elk fell straight down. Reloaded again and when I finally made my way over to the elk (that was across a somewhat smaller draw and downhill overall) I found I had hit the elk with both shots. The shots were only a couple inches apart, side by side. When I got looking back at that curve I was shooting from, it became apparent that the shot(s) were well over 100 yards and most likely pushing 150+. Due to terrain there was no way to step it off.

I still have one of the Maxi Balls I recovered from the offside hide of that elk.

 

[rusticbob]

I Killed an Elk at 165 yards

Without pictures,it never happened!

 

[ETipp]

4" plate at 70 yards offhand first shot. Had to be luck because I havent been able to replicate the shot consistently.

Well, that sounds familiar. The way I see it is, sometimes you're the bug and sometimes you're the windshield.

 

[LME]

When I started out hunting with B.P. many years ago I had a deer come in at about 50 yards. I was in a swamp that had many Iron Wood trees! The shot was a walk in the park but one of the trees was in front of the deer covering the vitals. I figured if I shot at where the vitals were the ball would most likely miss the tree on one side or the other being I was shooting off hand. I fired and the deer ran. My friend, who owned the land I was hunting called me and told me he went back to where we were hunting and found that my ball had struck the tree which was five or six inches round, right in the center and passed through hitting the deer and leaving hair on the ground. I hate it that I never recovered the deer as it was the first deer I shot at with a B.P. rifle.

 

[rpatmuck]

Back in 1978-1980 we had a live turkey shoot. All you could see was the head and often you had to use a turkey call to get them to raise the head so you could get a shot. The range was 80 yards off hand with muzzle loaders only. The club got one dollar a shot and we lost money ever time!

 

[mikesto44]

We did the same thing with a turkey hanging from a string. Cut the string win the turkey. The shoot went on for a couple hours. A few hit the string but no one cut it. Finally someone got suspicious... Who ever hung the turkey up ran a thread of piano wire in the string.... We all had a good laugh....!!

 

[emery]

One year I hunting deer in the Pa Winter flintlock season and while I was tracking some deer in the snow, 3 ruff tailed grouse ran across my path and went behind a bush about 25 yards away. Since it was also grouse season then, I waited a little while and one of them poked his head around the brush. I thought, this is just like a chicken shoot, so I shot its head off with my 50 caliber flintlock, offhand. As I was leaving the woods that evening I passed a couple of unlucky grouse hunters with dogs and shotguns, and with that grouse hanging on my belt. I didn't say a word, just walked on by.

 

[Rob M.]

It’s Bragging Time!
What’s the best shot you ever made with your muzzleloader? Everybody has one 😊
To start off, I’d boast of me actually splitting a .45 flintlock rifle ball on an ax head at twenty yards and busting the clay birds on either side. That was a nice shot 👏

Love this pic ...Last year When Michael came to the homestead to pick up his Fusil de Chasse I made for him . It was funny ...He had just remarked how he thought the fusil ( it has a rear sight ) might need to be re sighted in .... I shot it , ive never hit more dead center , then Michael shot it and it was dead center just below my hole !! LOL ! It was very cool . Needless to say ....we left the sights alone !

 

[11th corps]

The one most memorable and ‘best’ shot I made with a muzzleloader was when I was maybe not quite 10 years. Old man used to take me to the rifle range on Sunday afternoons. I had a Model 34 Remington 22RF (still have it and use it for pests around the house) and he would give me ammo one box of 50 at a time and let me shoot away, loading a single shot at a time (there was a tube feed that I was not allowed to use). A brick of 500 rounds didn’t last long.

My favorite target was at 300 yards. A metal frame that held a large military type target. I learned how to aim at a rock well above it on the hillside and drop many of my shots into the black (remember the black being at least a foot in diameter). Also learned how to play the wind. If no paper target, would shoot at rocks (you could hear when hit) and probably learned the most doing this.

Well there were a couple of guys who used to shoot muzzleloaders, all original, or at least that’s what we were told. One guy had a Bess that I asked if I could shoot every time I saw him. He and the old man finally gave in and said go ahead. I was astute enough to insist on a full charge. I had been disappointed when shooting other guns and knowing immediately I had been given a reduced load.

So the loaded Bess is placed on cross sticks, the stock is under my arm (couldn’t reach the trigger with the butt on my shoulder), the old man was behind me to support the butt of the stock. My intended target? The 300 yarder. Everyone laughed, but I insisted. The owner of the gun told me to aim above the target, way above. I told him I knew that. More laughter. So I aim down the barrel, picking an aim point even higher up the hill than my ‘aiming’ rock before I pull the trigger. Cloud of smoke, then nothing. After what seems like an eternity, the entire metal target stand spins 180 degrees and flops over in a cloud of dust. Bullseye. I got it. I am big man on campus and no one is laughing or knows what to say.

Turns out that big orb of lead hit one of the legs supporting the target stand to knock it over. Left a big dent in that piece of angle iron. I wanted to try again. The old man was smart enough to say that was enough for the day. No way to make it any better. He got the return on his investment from all those bricks of 22s he gave me every time we went shooting.

Nearly 60 years ago and still my best and most memorable long distance shot with a muzzleloader.

Sorry for the long story, but you asked....

I have a model 34 myself. It belonged to my Dad who bought it during the height of the depression.

My best shot?
I've fired quite a bit of roundballs down range. The one most memorable was blowing up pool chemical (empty then filled with water) jugs at 50 yards with my flintlock northwest trade gun, built from components of T.O.W. My first flinter. My first build. Some of my first flintlock shots. Only a bead sight on front, no rear.

 

[Rob M.]

A good shot and a funny one ... I had noticed a shootin range when I first moved into this area , Wolf Creek Cap Snappers and had drove by it a few times but saw no one there before . Nice range . The 3 rd or 4th time I was going by their was a pickup there so I stopped and talked to this guy Gordon a bit . Friendly fella . We talked about muzzle loaders and the club there etc etc. and I showed him a NW trade gun , 41 " , 20 ga. I'd just made . He kinda scoffed at it , most folks in the sticks dont think much of flintlocks and esp. not flintlock smoothbores . Well .... He says the gun ain't worth much , it couldnt even hit that steel , and he points at the 100 yard steel , being a smoothbore and all . I'd never shot that particular gun any further than 25 yards but I'd shot lots of steel down at the Jackson range at rendezvous before . So I said " yeah , they'll shoot that far " he just scoffed at me so ...I loaded her up . I had no idea if I could hit it or not , I just aimed just above the steel and squeeze eeeeeeee ..... BOOM ! SMACK !!! I hit that SOB !! I was of course surprised but tried to play it off like I knew it would .... Gordan was surprised but seemed about half mad too ! LOL b....He says " That was luck ! You can't do that again !" He was right it was luck but I wasn't gonna say that . I loaded her up again , aimed just above the steel again ......squeezeeeeee....BOOM ! SMACK !! I hit it again ! I couldnt believe it ! Gordan never said a word to me.......he climbed in his pickup and drove off ! LMAO !!! In the 15 years ive visited that gun range Gordan has never told anyone about that incident !!! LOL !!! Funny $hit !! I'm no good shot , just got lucky ....good stuff.

 

[oldwood]

Best shot of a lifetime on game , was a last day of flint lock deer season in Pa.. Since I was "the old guy" I was a watcher , and others were doing the deer drives. I was told to take a position in an old stone foundation , overlooking a pasture with clumps of brush where the drive was to end. The drive was ending , and I saw three deer come up a brushy draw in front of me. I was using the old stone foundation I was in , as a bench rest for my favorite .62 flint long rifle. The shooting light came from behind me , and was perfect. I saw the three does coming out of the brush at a walk , and put the top of the front sight on the lead does nose , and at the height of her ear , and touched the shot off. I heard the flight of the round ball , and thought I heard it hit meat. My hopes were crushed as I saw three deer run up hill through the pasture and away , thinking if there's sign of a hit , hair and blood , it was going to be a long night of tracking. The drivers came over to where the deer came out , and blood and hair was noted , but I told them I saw the three does run away. Just then , the youngest member of the driving crew came toward where we were all standing and said , "there is a dead deer in a ditch there." It was my prize. The .62 ball passed through the does' neck where it joined her shoulder. I paced the distance from where we found her , back to the stone foundation where I fired the shot , and quit pacing when the strides were above 180 steps. I just said , nobody would believe this shot , and abandoned the measuring attempt.. The distance was a good 200 yds. . A couple years later , I sold the fine rifle to a young fellow , as the 90 gr.FFG was too punishing for my old shoulder to accommodate.. My eyesight degenerated , and I built a .50 cal. 38 " long barrel , with a new modified Johnson peep sight on the breech plug tang. With 80 gr. FFFG , and a .490 ball , .013 patch , the new flint rifle is 6.2 lbs. of perfection. Sadly , my 76 yr. old body is not fit to go far enough to chase the deer I love to eat. Maybe a ladder stand ? ...............oldwood

 

[SDSmlf]

I'm no good shot , just got lucky

Luck will beat good every time.

 

[bronko220002]

I actually have 2. #1: a group of us would shoot our flinters every Sunday afternoon. Someone got the idea of sticking plastic spoons handle first into a cardboard box. We would shoot at them in turn at about 35 or so yards. One day there was one spoon left and the guy ahead of me hit it but only took off half leaving the other half remaining. I said don't worry Joe I'll take off the test for you. AND I DID! I was strutting the rest of the day.
#2 my buddy was doing a push for me and as I watched him coming toward me from the ridge top he jumped 3 deer. There was about 8" of snow so I could see them easily. The deer were well to my left and behind an embankment. I watched my buddy drop to one knee and take aim. I saw the cloud of smoke and heard the shot. I stayed put waiting to see if the deer would come around to me. One did. It came out of the laurel 40-50 yds out and was walking straight away tail straight up. I had a perfect rest in the fork of a scrub oak and the big old doe's butt hole gave me a good aiming point. I pulled the set trigger and touched off the shot. When the smoke cleared she was lying there stone dead. Upon close examination my shot entered the rectum dead center and never broke the skin. The PRB cleaned house on everything inside. A great shot but a messy field dressing job.

 

[SDSmlf]

#1: a group of us would shoot our flinters every Sunday afternoon. Someone got the idea of sticking plastic spoons handle first into a cardboard box. We would shoot at them in turn at about 35 or so yards. One day there was one spoon left and the guy ahead of me hit it but only took off half leaving the other half remaining. I said don't worry Joe I'll take off the test for you. AND I DID! I was strutting the rest of the day.

Not a muzzloading shot, and not taken by me, but still interesting and similar to @bronko220002 experience. The details might be sketchy, as I was very young (maybe 5 years old or so), but I’ve heard the story of the incident a number of times so the details are clear…. My father’s brother, my uncle, had a S&W pistol that he was very proud of. While staying at a remote cabin my father and his brothers owned, said uncle put on a display of marksmanship where he shot empty beverage bottles (there seemed to be an endless supply) that were placed over branch ends on a nearby tree. My mother, after witnessing the demonstration, commented about it not being that big of a deal. My uncle placed more bottles on the tree branches, loaded the pistol and told my mother to show what she could do. Raised during the depression, my grandfather had taught my mother how to shoot and not waste ammunition. She proceeded to shoot the remaining bottle necks from the bottles my uncle had shot still hanging on branches. My father said nothing. At that point my uncle declared he was out of ammunition. My grandfather taught my mother how to shoot. She demonstrated it every time someone handed her a gun. Just a family marksmanship story. And I was there.