Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk Aldeer General Forum What’s some of your best shots made

Time for a topic change away from politics. My boys were asking me about some of my shooting in my earlier years because I used to shot a LOT. I worked with a guy that did competitive shooting and he was always trying to get me to get involved with it as well. The wife was telling them about it and got them started because she was present for one of the shots, and was dating/married to me during my heavy shooting days. Here’s a few of mine. What’s yours?

1-I used to throw cans in a creek, off an old abandoned bridge, and shoot at them as the current carried them. It was a pretty good distance above the water, and looking back was excellent training. I always used my Marlin, lever action, .22 rifle, iron sights. The wife was with me once (then girlfriend) and I happened to look down and saw a big bass swimming. I shouldered my rifle, and busted it with one shot.

2-My father-in-law and I had been deer hunting and met back up at the truck for lunch. We were standing there eating when he pointed out a buck running across the open clear cut we were parked at. Our rifles were right there and I told him to shoot it. He said it was too far away so I grabbed my .30-06 off the tailgate and shouldered it, leading the deer, (really not thinking I’d hit it), and pulled the trigger. The buck did a nose tumble to the ground. Turns out the shot had hit it right behind the jaw and killed him instantly. My FIL couldn’t believe it. (Neither could I actually and know it was pure luck.) We measured the distance and it came out to be 294 yards. I acted like it was just another day. Not very ethical but this was long ago in the “if it’s brown, it’s down” days.

3-Last one. I worked at a small company, in the warehouse, about 35 years ago. We had caught a mouse on one of those sticky pads. His head was hanging off the end of the pad. One of the guys took the sticky pad, mouse and all, and threw it out in the grass. Probably 15-20 yards away from the loading dock. Someone said it was cruel to leave the mouse like that. I said we could shoot it. (We were all big gun buffs.) One guy told me I couldn’t hit it. I told him not only could I hit it, but I’d shoot it in the head. Bets were made and I got my pistol from the car. I took aim, and pulled the trigger. That mouse head exploded.

Those may sound like BS but they are all true with witnesses. My hands shake too bad to make a shot even close to those now days. (I have tremors.). Anyway, it’s something more lighthearted to talk about. What’s some of y’all’s?

Turkey shotgun across lap 9 yards. Pure luck.

Standing in the yard one afternoon just before dark and bats were flying around. My 9yo son asked if I could shoot one. Of course I said sure. He disappeared into the house and a moment later my wife appeared on the porch holding my old 870. He was standing next to her grinning from ear to ear. I couldn't back out now, so I grabbed it, picked a target and it instantly folded up when I shot. I caught it in my ball cap. I handed the shotgun back to my wife and told her to go put it up.

When I was about 17 me and a friend were standing on the edge of his driveway drinking a few long necks. His parents didn't really care as long as we stayed out of trouble. I spotted a fork in a tree waaaay down in the hardwoods below there and it was pretty open. I told him that I was going to wedge the bottle in the fork. Or course it was met with the usual "bullshit" comment. I finished it off, took the bottle by the neck and slung it just as hard as I could. It tumbled end over end and had just enough umph to get there and wedged as pretty as you please in the fork. You could see the bottom and not much more. Buddy said "if you can do that, I can bust it ". So he finished his off and hurled it towards mine. A few seconds later both bottles busted and it looked like he must have dead centered it.

#1 Ground hog @ 600 yards with a .270 Browning BBR with 4-12 Bushnell scope, no witness to that one.
#2 small, young ground hog 425 yards , bout the size of my fist, ( he wasn't standing ) , with same .270 , have witness for that.
#3 walking Whitetail buck at 425 yards , using a 30-06 BAR with 4X Weaver scope propped on a fence post . Hit him dead center of kill zone . Have witness.

I made some amazing shots on Ground Hogs after I got a 22-250 Ruger 1 V , but none I rank above the two above with that BBR. Man , that thing would shoot!

I tracked a deer a few years ago that was shot with a bow facing the guy. Muzz bayed him and when I called him off to shoot all I could see good was two red eyes. I guessed about where to aim and shot with my 44 pistol. Turns out the deer was facing the opposite way I thought he was and one eye was really a red lumenoc. Shot him through one eye and out the other without messing up his skull.

To quote an old song, “I loved um everyone.”

My best was a day at the the range in the Army qualifying- 39 out of 40 shots. Iron sights

I once told this gal.....wait. You talking about hunting aren't you?

I was up a tree 20+ ft in closed canopy woods when I heard them coming. 10 seconds later here comes a group of spooked does with a fatty in the lead roughly 140 yards in front of me. Several trees were impairing my view. The lead does suddenly stops; I dropped my rifle on her and squeezed the trigger. I don't even remember aiming. She was DRT, square in the heart.

I shot a buck twice in the span of about 3 seconds from 75 yards away with a bolt action 30-06…….I hit it perfect behind the shoulder on the first shot but for some reason it hunched up and took off like I’d gut shot it…..I hit it on the run the second shot about 3 inches from the first one…..Not even sure how I pulled that one off

I shot a trotting coyote at about 80 yards with a ruger semi auto pistol, hit him in the back and dropped him. PURE LUCK.
Not me but a friend shot a large bird in flight with a 9mm glock, hit it in the neck and it helicoptered to the ground.
Shot a coyote at 660 yards one afternoon when I was in college, had several buddies with me. One was helping me through binoculars. Yote must have been rabid cause I shot 13 times before I hit it. I did not have any type of range finding reticle, or even a rangefinder for that matter, just hold over and send it, then adjust as needed. We ended up ranging it a few days later when someone had a rangefinder.

Maybe not the "best" but certainly the "luckiest" (since I absolutely suck with a pistol) - shot AND hit copperhead three times in the head with a 22 pistol at around 5-yards. First shot he was stopped and looking at me (I was hoping just to hit him somewhere in the head neck area), the next two he was rolling. We (son and I) are pretty confident that all three shots hit him in the same area, since it just about removed his head.

Probably best - intentional head shot with my Remington Sendero 7mm at around 125-yards on a running 225-lb boar.

Multiple 2-for-1 shots on ducks - certainly more luck than skill.

Very impressive. It’s hard to explain how difficult qualifying was unless you’ve been there.

400 yards
8 point running across a cutover
742 Remington iron sites.
Dropped him
I was 18 and several young guys saw it. They still talk about it, although now they knew what I knew then …….pure luck. Lol

I shot an 8 point running one time at 618 yards confirmed with a laser range finder about 25 years ago. We were tracking a buck that morning in a cutover that my friend shot the previous evening, when this deer stands up in the cutover what looked like a half mile away. Thinking it was the buck we were tracking, both of my buddies dropped to their knees and emptied their rifles and the deer just stood there. I wasn't about to waste shells shooting at that deer but it took off running up toward the dirt road and my buddies turned and said "Shoot him". Just to be funny I raised my rifle free handed, found him in the scope, put it waaaaaay out in front of him and about 3 feet over his back and squeezed off a single shot. To our amazement the buck folded and hit the ground with his nose and turned a complete flip. I hit him right where his spine meets his pelvis and broke his back. Mine was the only hole in the animal so it wasn't the same deer that my friend shot (and we never found) but it was an interesting morning nonetheless.

That shot was pure blind luck and I probably couldn't duplicate it again if I had 100 tries. Now that I'm a little older and wiser the shot really was stupid because there was a high chance I could have crippled that deer and sentenced him to a long miserable death.

Monday morning after dove opener. Didn't even get a shot. Was looking at a guys new air rifle. Dove landed on the ground across the parking lot and across the railroad tracks. I throwed that air rifle up. Told the guy that dove was just laughing at me. Held way high. One shot one kill. All luck. Cleaned it and grilled it. 42 yards.

I killed a turkey running through some hardwoods with a pistol about 50 years ago. I couldn’t call him up and thought he was long gone. I stood up to move and heard him putt and start running from me. He was about 60 yards and I pulled my S&W 686 and fired in one motion. He rolled in the leaves and flopped. This was before TSS and most shotguns were only good to about 40 yards. It was pure luck. No Wittnesses to this except me. I killed a deer a few weeks later with the same pistol. That gun has been good to me.

One time my senior year we were at a team camp in Florida. I got the tip from our center and jogged up the left sideline. You know how sometimes things just feel right? Well this felt right. I pulled up about 3 foot behind the arc and drained a jumper. I am not that great of a shooter but more of a drive and dish guy. Their coach started yelling and pointing at me yelling “shooter! Shooter!” I had an athlete in my face the rest of the game and barely touched the ball 😂

Back when I was in trade school I was really shooting a lot. Shotgun was my specialty but I was also exceptionally talented with handguns. I had a Springfield XDS long slide. It was a 4” model. I loved it! Me and that thing bonded. After a little coaching I could hit clays at 100 yards with it pretty easily. One day at school a buddy asked me about the gun and I said yeah I shoot clays at 100 with it he called BS. So I offered a wager. Lunch time we will go to the range. If I can hit 4 out of 5 clays at 100 yards with my pistol you owe me $50. He agreed gladly! Word got around and a few of us wound up going to the range to observe the goings on. Behold I took my first shot barely missing the mark and ol boy knew then he messed up. I hammered the other 4 clays collected $50 and grinned ear to ear for a week!!