Just for fun, What is your shortest shot on game with a firearm?

Just happened. I was on neighbor's farm yesterday hunting woodchucks around his soy bean fields. I was parked tight to hedgerow in SXS. I opened windshield with both windows open since it was getting warm. Glassing edges to find one for .243 with 55HH@4050fps off Bog Deathgrip. As I was glassing, catch movement next to me in hedgerow. Its a chuck! Walks right in front of SXS. So close I could barely get him into sights of .22 pistol. So maybe 7'? Guess used to farm stuff parked? 🤷🏻‍♂️
 
Not my shortest, but fairly close……my first deer kill with my old, retired .375 H&H.

My first deer season in Wyoming, I left camp (late) just after daybreak, driving my truck to where I was gonna start the days hunt!

Only a few hundred yards from camp a spike buck crossed right in front of me right to left! Slammed on brakes, hit the emergency brake as I exited the truck.

As I'm reaching in my pocket, wearing my usual "deer skin" gloves grabbing a cartridge. I misunderstood Wyoming law at the time, thinking the rifle must be completely empty of cartridges, while looking for the deer that was out of sight!

While looking for the deer, trying to chamber the round, I glanced down at the action noticing that I was about to load my .375 H&H …….with a tube of "Chapstick"!

Just as I got a real cartridge chambered, the little buck sprinted back across the road….headed back from where he came! I quickly made a "snap shot" as he crossed, about 10 yards away! He momentarily was out of sight while I was chambering another round…..when he came back out of the brush, collapsing right behind my truck!

It was anything but a perfect shot…… well it was a perfect "gut shot"! But apparently, even a "gut shot" from the .375 H&H loaded with 300 grain bullets…..at close range is sufficient to kill the deer.

This was where my "hatred" for Sierra bullets had it's beginning's……the bullet failed to exit that little deer!

The above story was supposed to be a chapter in my book, which I never wrote……."The Chapstick Buck"! memtb
 
A nice 5x5 buck at 3 yds with my Mod 70 Featherweight 3006. I was walking a thick shelterbelt of trees and bushes in SD. Stopped by a low evergreen that had snow drifted up around it to peek under it. Buck busted out of there throwing snow everywhere. Raised the rifle up and shot it like a shotgun, both eyes open, instnctively not using any sights. It collapsed immediately. One more bound and it would have disappeared in the trees.
 
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Got a pheasant at zero inches. Was walking some weeds and it got up at my feet. Clubbed it with my Rem Model 58 12 gauge barrel. No shots fired.

Also got a Bobwhite quail at zero inches in Tucson AZ. Caught it in flight with my free hand. Busted a covey and this one flew right at me.
 
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Deer hunting in the Western UP. Had a heavy 2 day snow storm deer were moving from the north to there yards for the winter. Was sitting 50 yards off the Fence River saw close to 100 deer that morning moving south. Had a nice 8 point walking my way but kept always looking my way feeding heading south. He findly got behind a very large tree pulled up my Winchester 70 featherweight in 30-06 and shot him in the neck he drop on the spot 3' from me. Smoke from the shot was coming off the deer.
 
A few years ago, in SE Montana we spotted a nice mulie on private property we had permission to hunt. We got a small hill between him and us and made the stalk. My buddy was a little ways down the ridge from me when we belly crawled over the top. Because of my position I couldn't see the deer in the crease at the bottom, but my buddy signaled he was still there. I set up the bipod and got on the scope. My hunting partner signaled that the deer was coming up the ridge towards us. I turned the scope down to lowest power and waited and waited and waited. Then I see the tip of an ear then an eyeball then just fur. I squeezed off when the whole head filled the scope. 150gr TTSX out of a 300WM at about 15 feet caught him right under the chin. I lost the deer in the recoil; he had tumbled down the hill a little on the other side of me. "How in the H**L did I miss that deer?!" I exclaimed... "You didn't" my buddy says. I stand up and he's lying in the bottom with all 4 legs sticking straight up in the air. Truck was parked less than 200 yards away. Easiest western hunt ever I've had!
 
Turpentine21 said:
They will play possum occasionally!
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I was charged by a sow, Twice! I was slipping down a logging road. And her little pigs were in briars about 10ft to my right. One squealed for some reason and she pops out about 50 yards up the rd and comes straight for me. All I had was my longbow and nowhere to go so I stood my ground. I never took my eyes off her and never moved. We had a Mexican standoff at 15ft for about a minute. She never offered a decent shot. She just stood there bristled up and popping her teeth. Then she whirled around and left. The pigs were still 10ft away. About 3 minutes later another one squealed and we had a repeat performance. Never got a shot, but it was interesting!
 
Turpentine21 said:
Not talking bayed animals or treed but just free, traveling big game. I have two I'll mention.

The first was a big doe that I shot directly under my lock on at 14 ft. I had to lean out and make sure my toes were out of the way. Her head filled my scope up. 270 win bullet right between the ears. No tracking involved!

The second was at 4 ft. running wide open. We were running dogs. This whitetail buck surprised me. I put a full load of 18 00 pellets from a 3.5" 12 gauge shotgun right thru the crease. 1" in, 1 1/4" out. There was Winchester Grex buffer scattered throughout the wound channel when we cleaned him. He slid about 10 feet and tried to get up. I doubt he could've gone anywhere but my lab mix that was with me 24/7/365 caught him just as he finished his slide. He was gone in under a minute.
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dove hunting with cousins in standing corn, i was maybe 12, ithaca 37 12 gauge,,, as we walked along slowly we jumped a rabbit but he ran the wrong way,,,back toward me and headed between my legs,,,i didnt know what it was but i knew it was excited and moving fast,,, jammed the butt of the shotgun down quickly and split his head between my feet. Full grown ,, just headed the wrong direction
 

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