Best shot you ever made hunting?

[OldMaineWoodsman]

Two come to mind for me.

First, was on a Bull Moose up in Maine. I shot an 820 lb
Bull with my T/C Renegade .50 cal percussion. After the moose was down, I paced off about 70 yards. Back then I used the Maxi-Ball.

The second, was during the late muzzleloader season in Upstate New York. It was snowing badly, and I was following some fresh tracks most of the day. Finally got a shot at a what I thought was a small buck. At first I thought I missed, but soon discovered a nice six pointer down in the snow. I followed my tracks back to where I shot, and paced off approximately 120 yards. That shot was a patched round ball.

I'm really gettin the bug to hunt this year with my smoothbore flinter. I know I won't be able to take kind of shot, but I have been practicing out to 70 yards.

Kind regards,

 

[Rebel]

I killed a coyote with my Traditions Crockett .32 cal rifle offhand which a friend and i both paced off and figured it was between 125 and 150 yds. Hit him in the ear nad he dropped and never moved. I was using a rd ball and 40 grs of Pyrodex P.

 

[Slamfire]

A pair of red fox pups were playing catch the field mouse about 150 yards away from a big ol' pine tree. I leaned agin it and shot one through the shoulder with my .36 Buggy rifle. I tend to believe it was dumb luck. :crackup:

 

[Stumpkiller]

I had a favorite ground blind I had made over the years from a blow down that I added vines and branches to. One morning I spotted movement from the nearby ravine over my right shoulder and watched a six point buck approach AND BED DOWN on the side away from where my rifle was pointed. Over fifteen minutes (which seemed like hours) I turned myself around and took a rest across the limb I had placed on that side of the blind. I shot the buck throught the top of the heart and he toppled without ever regaining his feet. That was 120 full paces, or about 120 yards (I'm 6'3" tall). My longest deer shot.

 

[newt]

Both great shots I remember were on whitetails.
The distance is measured in feet.
Both were one shot kills.

In the past long shots always seem to be missed.
I always tell myself "tomorrows another chance to hunt".

Flying grouse shots are another story

 

[Halftail]

I've only Killed 3 Deer and 3 Bears with Black Powder and Lead Ball.All of them were Great in my books!
Last falls was my first BP buck,I'll probably not forget that one.The first Bear I killed was probably close to 200 or more pounds and the ball struck her in the base of the neck at around 60 yards and she came stumbling off of an Oak hill.She dropped like a bag of hammers!
That was pretty fun to! :imo:

 

[KyFlintlock]

...a grouse with the 12 ga flinter, I think I shot out of "self defense"!

A limit of 6 squirrels all head-shot with the .32 flinter. (we won't discuss me missing twice yesterday) :curse:

The buck I shot last year with the flinter, just because it was "personal" and I finally ended it.

Good luck and safe hunting!
Wess

 

[bob1961]

ruffed grouse 35 yards flying dead away from me with my .22....was looking fer grounded birds and rabbits and this one scared the bahoots out of me....when i brought the scope up all i saw was bird in the cross hairs and it looked like it wasn't moving and took the shot....it was a tasty lunch that day...........bob

 

[roundball]

I don't have any particularly spectactular shots with muzzleloaders, but I did have a couple unique situations last fall.

Had decided to set up a .45cal Flintlock for squirrels and sighted it in with a light 40grn load of Goex 3F...went squirrel hunting with it twice, sitting on the ground against a tree, etc.

The first trip a 5 pointer came wandering past me not two car lengths away, shot him in the heart with that squirrel load and he piled up about 25yds away...got my first flintlock squirrel about an hour later;

The second trip I had a doe come poking along in almost the exact same circumstances, still had a doe tag so I shot her in the heart, same results.

I guess at 10-15yds that light .45cal ball had about the same energy it would have had at 50-75yds with a hunting load...anyhow, those were both unexpected, surprising shots I'll remember.

 

[hobbles]

One Mornin up north I was ridin along and I seen a rabbit, so I grabbed my 30/30 out of my scabber and shot at it, I hit it in the stomach and it went flyin up, ( i got to where I could gut a rabbit with the shot) It landed on a fence, boy was I proud of that shot, and no one was round to sea it,, bummer,,, any way I could sea that I didn't even have to get out of the saddle to get it !!!
So I rode up to it and grabbed it,, then I found out it was an electric fence, BULL electric, darn,, did I jump, but I hung on to the rabbit and when I pulled it off the the fence the hide stayed on the fence,, again no one round to sea it,, Then I found out the darn thing was even cooked kinda the electric fence and all,, It was a nice breakfast as I rode along,, didn't even have to get off my horse and,,, again,,, no one round to sea it,,, Bummer ;>(~~

 

[roundball]

One Mornin up north I was ridin along and I seen a rabbit, so I grabbed my 30/30 out of my scabber and shot at it, I hit it in the stomach and it went flyin up, ( i got to where I could gut a rabbit with the shot) It landed on a fence, boy was I proud of that shot, and no one was round to sea it,, bummer,,, any way I could sea that I didn't even have to get out of the saddle to get it !!!
So I rode up to it and grabbed it,, then I found out it was an electric fence, BULL electric, darn,, did I jump, but I hung on to the rabbit and when I pulled it off the the fence the hide stayed on the fence,, again no one round to sea it,, Then I found out the darn thing was even cooked kinda the electric fence and all,, It was a nice breakfast as I rode along,, didn't even have to get off my horse and,,, again,,, no one round to sea it,,, Bummer ;>(~~

:crackup:
This still needs some more work though...keep at it until you can "will" the rifle out of the scabbard, takes the shot by itself, and puts itself back into the scabbard...all hands free.
:crackup:

 

[hobbles]

;>)~~~

 

[Bob J]

My first blackpowder gobbler; 12 ga CVA double, 13 yards. :: I was seated against a medium-size oak with a small patch of palmettoes in front of me (knee-high). Two gobblers came in. It took forever to lift the shotgun up off my knee in slow motion and draw a bead on one turkey's neck.

 

[Bob Riegl]

This was two years back during the PA Flint season. I used my .54 cal Flint Jaeger with the usual other things like powder, patch & ball. I left my son and his cousin by the side of the road still drinking their coffee and proceeded in to the crunchy, frosty woods. After about ten minutes "crunching", that must have sounded like a platoon of marines. I arrived in this semi-clearing and stopped to look ---well there's a deer chewing and pawing away at the frosty ground---he stops and looks up, chews a bit more and puts his head down for more. I take a couple of "quiet" steps and he doesn't look up, I'm at around 40 yards and stop, he looks up again continues to paw and chew. Two more steps and we repeat---after a repeat of this I stop---35 yards mebbe---so I pull the lock to full cock---CLICK---he doesn't even look up :: dumb deer!!! Alright I say to my self---"now if you turn a little bit more to the left I've got a good clean shot"--- he wasn't listening---instead he turns slowly to the right---time passes like hours and there is the broadside shot---the Jaeger jumps and when the smoke clears---where's the deer?---nuts---until I spy the top of the rack---I walk over and he is history. So I mark the spot with GPS and walk back out and the two chatting cousins are still there only now there smoking cigars. "I need your brawn to help me bring the deer out"---"oh, was that you who shot Dad?"----"yup"---well the three of us walked back in dragged out a real nice buck and boy did he taste good. My fifteen minute hunt--- :front:

 

[Haggis]

I can't say that I've ever made a really long shot with any of my front stuffers, but when I yet lived in Kentucky I hunted gray squirrels with a vengence in the Red River Gorge, and along Slate Creek in Montgomery county. I used a CVA .32 or a custom .40 full stock, according to the way the spirit moved my on any given day. All of my squirrels were head shot, and I've had people with me, including one especially mouthy brother, who've looked at the distance and at the head shot squirrel and called me a liar; even when they had witnessed the doings themselves.

With my eyes getting some age on 'em it would be a chore to head shoot a squirrel nowadays, but if I could get a fair sized buffalo or even a middlin' moose up a hickory, I'd show the world some shooting to boast of.

 

[RiverRat]

Last year during the traditional ML season, I kept hearing a dog bark which I figured was on the other side of the mountain that I was hunting on. There was 6" of snow on the ground and snowing lightly. I was following some fresh tracks when suddenly there were two does at full run being chased by a dog. I thought that I was going to get trampled by the deer. I took the shot and when the smoke cleared, I assumed that I missed but behind a log there was a nice sized doe, shot through the neck, 7 yards away. That dog was lucky that I couldn't reload my GPR flinter fast enough.

 

[Rebel]

Unless it was the last day of the season, or deer were scarce, ya probably should have shot the dog first. I hate shooting dogs, but when they are running deer, elk, or livestock, it needs to be done.

 

Unless it was the last day of the season, or deer were scarce, ya probably should have shot the dog first. I hate shooting dogs, but when they are running deer, elk, or livestock, it needs to be done.

Doing that around here will get you lynched!

It's legal to run deer with deer dogs during regular rifle season here. Not a good idea to be shootin' 'em... tends to make their owners unhappy.

 

[Rebel]

Around here they frown on you not shooting them if they are running deer or livestock, and they don't care how upset the owner gets.

 

[Halftail]

Around here they frown on you not shooting them if they are running deer or livestock, and they don't care how upset the owner gets.

Ditto on that Rebel!
When I was younger DNR here in NS had a sign Campaign that said "Dogs kill Deer.Where is your Dog|?"
I'm not real sure but I think it's legal to shoot any dog that is running Deer.