Luckiest Shot You Ever Made

[del2les]

Just curious as to what everyone would consider to be the "luckiest d@mn shot/s" you have ever made. Rifle, shotgun, pistol, bow, etc, etc.

One of mine was a turkey hunt that brought a bird over an old drainage bank, and when he was looking over the leaf covered dirt bank with his upper chest, neck and head, I let loose with a 16ga single shot for the kill. To my utter surprise, I saw two turkeys flapping around on the ground behind the bank. It turns out another younger bird I did not see was just behind the larger one and was peeking his head over the bank just behind the larger one. The shot spread hit the front bird in the lower neck and upper chest, but a few pellets hit the back bird in the head. Fortunately, the state I was living in allowed 3 birds per year.

 

[Critter Picker]

My step dad let a high school kid that lived near him hunt on his property. I told him that was fine because I always like to see a kid take up hunting. Opening day of bow season the kid stops at the house, I tell him to cross the hay field,stay just below the top of the hill so he won't be skylined and parallel the fence. There is a treestand there that I put up for him.

The kid crosses the hayfield and sees a fork horn on the crest of the hill. He decides to take a shot at it. Miss judges the distance and shoots over it. Goes looking for the lost arrow and finds blood. Follows the blood about 50 yards and here's a 10 point buck double lunged laying there.

 

[crashlanding]

That's easy, summer 1976 right before I went into the army, I was working for my uncle making big bucks, $5 an hour. I wanted a ground hog slayer so I bought a Ruger m77 tanger .243 heavy barrel varmint with a 3x9 redfield on top. Walking across a field near home him and me saw each other at the same time, estimated 300 yards, he made a dash for his hole, in one movement I flipped the Harris bipod out and was on him, pull of the trigger and he popped up in the air deader than dead. It was an amazing feeling and I've never forgotten it

 

[Phil Rizzo]

Hit a running buck in the back of the head when I was about 14.
18" wide outside and a 10pt!
Neither was common here 35 yrs ago.

Even rarer was a rack "score"
Thinking back I'd guess him at 125"

 

[TC338]

Whitetail doe that my friend had hit and wounded. She was running full tilt away from us toward a known trail. I knew the trail was 440 yards from our position as I had killed a doe there a week prior. Just as she got to the fence I let my 308 rip. I hit her dead center behind the shoulder as she cleared the fence. I thought I had missed her, but when we got to the trail she was laying in the grass right there. It was crazy how my friends shot had hit a rib, turned 90* and shot out her hind quarter.

 

[del2les]

Hit a running buck in the back of the head when I was about 14.
18" wide outside and a 10pt!
Neither was common here 35 yrs ago.

Even rarer was a rack "score"
Thinking back I'd guess him at 125"

Reminds me of of a deer hunt with my now deceased brother about 40 or more years ago. We were sitting on a hill watching over a large power line cut and listening to a set of deer dogs pushing a deer our way, or so we thought. Suddenly, a pair of coyotes came running across the the cut powerline access about 275 yards away, and in a whim, I threw up my Rem 700 in 30-06 and let loose with a 165 GKBT. The front yote tumbled to a stop, and when we made the recovery, we could not find an entrance nor exit hole. My brother pointed to blood coming from the yotes left ear, and low and behold, the bullet had went through both his ears. I still have pictures of that lucky kill.

 

[Bucklowery]

I was about 17 or so and right before last light there were a couple of does out in the field. I shoot the closest one. One drops and one runs good deal I got my deer. When my dad get there to load up the deer. He asked where did I hit it. I said I was aiming right behind the shoulder. As I was about to show off but found no hole in the deer nowhere. Careful inspection finally revealed one drop of blood on the temple. So I look around knowing the bullet would have done much more damage. I find a blood trail in the direction the other deer run. It was dead just out of the field shot behind the shoulder. All we could figure was a bone or bullet fragment hit the other deer in the head. 2 for 1

Thanks

Buck

 

[crazymonkey]

Cow elk in 2016 for me . We had 5 tags in camp that year our usual group of 4 and a friend from my buddies work who drew the same tag. Friday morning we split up and each went to our spots . As the sun comes up the shots ring out and the radio chimes in elk down then about 15 minutes later again but it was a different hunter. So two elk before 730 on opening day . Lots of elk around but no shots till around 5 pm and a shot rings out at what I thought was the spot we put the guy from my buddies work . So he didn't have a radio so I hop outa the blind and head his way . It's around 1.5 miles as I approach there still hunting its not them . Turns out it was another of my buddies at a different spot . So I scramble back to my spot and didn't even make it to the blind and had elk coming over the dam to the water . I duck behind a down tree and the third cow is at the top of the dam broad side at just under 100yds . I let the 300 win bark and just before last light hit her good . She spun and ran . So with some help we found her no blood and a top of the heart shot offhand . So now we are 4 for 5 opening day all 1 shot kills and no blood to track . Next day we put my buddies work friend in my spot and at 430 that night we were tagged out . Still 5 elk all good shots 4 with 30-06 and me with the 300 wm . Fastest elk hunt ever we were home Sunday afternoon. Lucky I was able to duck behind the tree and pull off the shot.

 

[nwmnbowhunter]

Hit a running buck in the back of the head when I was about 14.
18" wide outside and a 10pt!
Neither was common here 35 yrs ago.

Even rarer was a rack "score"
Thinking back I'd guess him at 125"

Does it count when you reverse "canoe " the forehead and can tip the antlers out?

Haha. Kidding.

Nice shot

 

[FEENIX]

Just curious as to what everyone would consider to be the "luckiest d@mn shot/s" you have ever made. Rifle, shotgun, pistol, bow, etc, etc.

One of mine was a turkey hunt that brought a bird over an old drainage bank, and when he was looking over the leaf covered dirt bank with his upper chest, neck and head, I let loose with a 16ga single shot for the kill. To my utter surprise, I saw two turkeys flapping around on the ground behind the bank. It turns out another younger bird I did not see was just behind the larger one and was peeking his head over the bank just behind the larger one. The shot spread hit the front bird in the lower neck and upper chest, but a few pellets hit the back bird in the head. Fortunately, the state I was living in allowed 3 birds per year.

- I dropped 2 snow geese with one shot with a 12G.
- I shot a gopher at 30Y with a bow, but it took me 3 tries. However, I do not know if it was the same one coming out of the hole/den.

 

[Sealesniper]

380 yard shot on running baboon in Africa. He was running like mad up the side of a mountain, and we could only see him when he went through small breaks in the brush. As he neared the top, there was one last opening, I laid the gun on the roof of the land cruiser, and when he broke into the clearing, I let the 25-06 roar. Baboon took 3 more leaps, then slowed and circled back and disappeared at base of clearing from where he had appeared. Tracker hiked up and came down with the beast. Heart and lung were both punctured.

Everyone was IMPRESSED with my "marksmanship". It was 100% luck. I told them all right then and there, give me that shot 999 more times, and no way I could make it. I am a good wing shot, so maybe that played in a little, but still, just educated/muscle memory LUCK.

 

[memtb]

I was about 15 years old and hunting with a few uncles, we also had a little squirrel dog with us. We were hunting pretty much anything that moved and was legal. They all carried shotguns, I had my Model 88 Win. in . 308 in case we saw a deer and my Browning Nomad 22 semi-auto pistol for all other stuff.

The little dog treed a squirrel in a tall, straight tree thickly covered in vines. We circled the tree, hoping that it would get nervous and move so we could see it. My .308 was shouldered and I had my Nomad in hand.

The squirrel flushed, running up the tree at somewhere near Mach I. I got off a shot before any of the shotgunners….hitting the squirrel squarely behind the shoulder. No one, including me, could believe what had just happened.

Over the years, I've made a few pretty miraculous shots and a few miraculous misses …..but that one my be the best one! memtb

 

[Ricky C]

Hey, I have two shots. First a Spruce Grouse with my 45 LC. It was around 40 yards away sitting on a tree branch about five foot off the ground. I was with a friend, I pulled the revolver out and started to aim at the bird. He said, " No way you can hit that bird". I aimed just above the breast and shot. Bird went straight down. I went and picked it up. I hit it in the neck, there were two small pieces of skin holding the head on, one on each side.
Second, an Ostrich running at full blast at a 45 degree angle away from from me. It was probably between 80-100 away when I shot. I was using a Rem 700 in 7-08 that I had brought for my daughter. I pulled the gun thru the bird and squeezed the trigger. Big bunch of feathers and down he went. Had a bet with my buddy on how many shots it would take for our Ostrich, I won.
Good thread, There have been some way better than mine, but there you go!
Take Care

 

[Sealesniper]

Ricky, your story brought up another memory.

Had by buddy Nick walking with me on the old farm jumping quail, rabbits and snipe. Back then I carried a 357 on my hip. As we walked past the peninsula we started to talk about the pistol. Nick asked me how good I was with it. I said I could do a quick draw and hit anything within 25 yards of us. We were about 20 yards off the edge of the field/ditch and on other side were the woods. The small brush on the edge had a couple of small birds on the branches. Nick told me to quick draw and shoot the little bird on the top of the bush. I handed him my shotgun and did the old west square up, blew on my fingers, released the holster retainer snap, and drew and fired. The headless body of that little sparrow held firm on the branch for a second then toppled to the ground. Nick was impressed, I was in disbelief and then sad I killed a little sparrow. Again, that was a one in a 1000 shot. I never told Nick that it was luck, I let
Him believe I was that good. The story was spread among our friends and while I never attempted a repeat, I had the reputation of an amazing quick draw. In all honestly, lucky I did not shoot myself in the foot drawing the pistol.

Oh to be young and stupid. That was close to 30 years ago.