Some of the Best Offhand Target or Hunting Shots You've Ever Made?
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someguy2800
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I went out to shoot my mosin the other day and decided to stop off at the 200 yard bench to try a couple from there. My usual plinking is about 75 yards at a 10" plate. I set the sights to 200 and leveled it where I thought the plate is (I can't see it at 200 yards) and hit it on the first shot. I bet I couldn't do it again with 100 shots so I quit and walked up closer.
adcoch1
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Ok, not that my eyes are good enough anymore, but I once shot the tailfeathers off a turkey with my 44 mag Redhawk from about 225 yards. On a bet. It was dumb, but my buddy couldn't believe anyone could hit even near a running turkey at that kind of range with a handgun.
Art Eatman
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I had just climbed over a pasture fence and retrieved my '06 when I noticed three turkey gobblers about a hundred yards away. Maybe a little more. They were walking slowly across my line of sight. I took a snapshot at the largest, hitting just behind the legs. Killed and gutted in one swell foop. Didn't ruin any eating meat.
I suppose this doesn't really qualify as offhand, I'm not a great rifle shot, but still kind of a fun story IMHO. One Saturday decades ago I was at our club range, two other guys there also, they shooting AR's at a 12" plate at 100m hung by chains. One chain was shot through and on rare occasion it would bind on the single chain edge ways and require a ceasefire to walk down and un hang it. Well the rusty plate did so and was not visible to the naked eye. The guys were bummed to call a cease fire and make the walk. But alas I had my Rem 700 30-06 with it's old Redfield 3-9x in the truck so I told the guys hold on a minute I think I can take care of the situation. I chambered a round and took a look, the plate edge easily visible in the scope, I took a kneeling shot and nailed it squarely on the edge and knocked it loose to the cheers of the two guys not having to make the walk.
WestKentucky
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Tame duck on the water at 150 I splashed water on him with the 357. He flew to about 300, I sank him at 300 with a 6” Taurus 66
Same farm, guy got a new 1100 and couldn’t hit clays. There was a good backstop and the clays were very consistent. Broke an airborne clay with a 17hmr.
I was 17 and deer hunting over standing soybeans. Last day of rifle season last few minutes of the day. I see a small buck at 250 on a little rise in the field. He wasn’t where I thought he was, he was behind the rise at 600+. .270 knocked him over with a bang-flop.
Same farm, guy got a new 1100 and couldn’t hit clays. There was a good backstop and the clays were very consistent. Broke an airborne clay with a 17hmr.
I was 17 and deer hunting over standing soybeans. Last day of rifle season last few minutes of the day. I see a small buck at 250 on a little rise in the field. He wasn’t where I thought he was, he was behind the rise at 600+. .270 knocked him over with a bang-flop.
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adcoch1
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Clays with a rifle.... That's fun right there! Used to do that with the ar when I had a safe hill to shoot against... Good times.
500y shot on a standard sized cinder block with my 375 H&H Magnum. I was seated on the ground supporting my elbows with my knees. I put all three rounds into an area the size of the palm of my hand.
someguy2800
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It wasn't offhand but me and a buddy of mine were on the lake ice fishing in high school and we were watching some geese swimming around in the open water where the stream came into the lake. He said "boy I sure wish I had some bullets for my 25-06". I said "you have your 25-06 with you?" "Yeah its in my truck but I don't have any ammo" he says. I say "I have my 25-06 ammo in the truck" So he got his gun out and I got the box of ammo out from under my truck seat and he layed on the ice prone with the rifle on his jacket an shot the head off one of them at at least 600 yards.
When we were kids and didn't know better we used to shoot crows on the wing with a scoped 10-22. Thankfully we lived way out in nowhere.
When we were kids and didn't know better we used to shoot crows on the wing with a scoped 10-22. Thankfully we lived way out in nowhere.
Droped 5 running sheep at 2-250 with 5 rounds from my .243.
I shot my first deer thru the eye at about 35yds, all i could see was his head, which isnt horribly impressive beyond the fact that i was nearly loosing my mind with excitement.
One of the best free hand shots ive seen yet, right at dusk my dad shot the handle off a 3" ball valve at a little over 300yds with 2 shots from an open sight Marlin model 60.....and no he didnt know it was a valve. He thought it was one of the birds that caused havoc in our shrimp ponds.
Hit the handle square tho, so the valve still worked......he still brags about that actually.
I shot my first deer thru the eye at about 35yds, all i could see was his head, which isnt horribly impressive beyond the fact that i was nearly loosing my mind with excitement.
One of the best free hand shots ive seen yet, right at dusk my dad shot the handle off a 3" ball valve at a little over 300yds with 2 shots from an open sight Marlin model 60.....and no he didnt know it was a valve. He thought it was one of the birds that caused havoc in our shrimp ponds.
Hit the handle square tho, so the valve still worked......he still brags about that actually.
I've had my share of sh-t shots too. One of my favs was when a woodchuck stood on his mound, 200 yards away, but only his head/neck showed above the grass. Could only see him when standing, and shot him through the head.
About the best shot was when hunting in the winter for foxes, etc. with my .22-250 Rem, and was in a woods road when I heard some crows in the distance. I called them in with my voice and one glided over, about a hundred yards up. I put the rifle up to see if I could aim at him when he was lead about a couple of inches ahead of his beak. It was a safe direction and the safety was off, so I squeezed, almost without conscious thought. The rifle went off and the crow disappeared from view. I said to myself that it was a dumb thing to shoot in the air, then I heard small branches breaking in the pine trees about 70 yards away, so walked through shin-deep snow to see if it was the crow.
When I got to where I thought the sound came from, I saw drops of blood on the snow, then found the crow, with the head shot clean off! I only told one guy about that, my best hunting buddy, and it's been about 58 years.
About the best shot was when hunting in the winter for foxes, etc. with my .22-250 Rem, and was in a woods road when I heard some crows in the distance. I called them in with my voice and one glided over, about a hundred yards up. I put the rifle up to see if I could aim at him when he was lead about a couple of inches ahead of his beak. It was a safe direction and the safety was off, so I squeezed, almost without conscious thought. The rifle went off and the crow disappeared from view. I said to myself that it was a dumb thing to shoot in the air, then I heard small branches breaking in the pine trees about 70 yards away, so walked through shin-deep snow to see if it was the crow.
When I got to where I thought the sound came from, I saw drops of blood on the snow, then found the crow, with the head shot clean off! I only told one guy about that, my best hunting buddy, and it's been about 58 years.
22250Rem
Member
Didn't do it but I was a witness.... In the late 60's a bunch of us teenagers were plinking in an old dump. Had to walk out a ways to get back to the road where we had parked. On the way out a pheasant flushed almost 50 yds. away and one of my buddies swung his .22 on it and dropped it with one shot. It had to be 75 yds away by the time it was hit and was flying directly away from us. He hit it square in the back of the head with a .22 that he had borrowed that day and had never fired before that day. Luckily there was a large, mature section of woods across the field so had he missed I'm sure those large trees would have stopped it.
Topkick - Running rabbit, w/S&W K-22, Both eyes out of a crow - 70 yds. Colt Buntline Scout, 9.5 in. bbl., Best two I've Ever made!!. ammo both cases, Win. SuperX, hollow points!Most of us have made some great shots on game or other targets when doing either informal shooting or hunting. How about describing them? Truthful bragging allowed.
Salmoneye
Member
9 years old...Muskrat hunting from a 12' Jon boat in April on a Lake Champlain swamp...Saw a rat across 100 yards of ice up against a bank...Asked Dad if I could shoot it...
He sort of chuckled, and said, "Have at it" not thinking I'd come close from a seated position in a boat rocking in a six inch chop and flowing with a creek at about 2mph...
Single shot bolt .22...1939 Winchester Model 68 with rear peep sight...
One shot to the head on the rolling rise...
Dad was NOT happy having to then chop our way across all that ice to get one rat worth .75¢...
He sort of chuckled, and said, "Have at it" not thinking I'd come close from a seated position in a boat rocking in a six inch chop and flowing with a creek at about 2mph...
Single shot bolt .22...1939 Winchester Model 68 with rear peep sight...
One shot to the head on the rolling rise...
Dad was NOT happy having to then chop our way across all that ice to get one rat worth .75¢...
One day, in my younger years, I was out in my favorite woodchuck fields and happened to see a rusty gallon can, about a hundred yards down in a field. I happened to have my Ruger Standard Auto in a holster, so decided to see if I could hit the can. I braced against a small tree and fired. Then I heard a "PLOP". Hmm, cans don't "plop", so I went down to see what it was. When I got near, I was amazed to find a newly-killed woodchuck with a hole through the head! VERY Lucky shot...could have fired a box-full of ammo and not hit it.
FL-NC
Member
11 years ago, shot a runner off-hand with a M24 from 200 meters while getting shot at myself in eastern afg. I assume this qualifies as "hunting".
entropy
Member
I shot a grouse in the air with a .357 Trooper shooting 148 WC. Shot a teal with one foot on land and one in a canoe, twisting around backwards.
adcoch1
Member
I've also shot two deer in midair with my Redhawk. While neither were difficult shots, it's still humorous to think about...
glc24
Member
Lighting blue tip matches from 50 and 100 yards with a 22.
Specifically, a Mossberg M42 with a 4 power scope. There were way more destroyed ones than lit ones, but very satisfying to finally see the flame.
Specifically, a Mossberg M42 with a 4 power scope. There were way more destroyed ones than lit ones, but very satisfying to finally see the flame.Many moons ago, the Arnold Trail Sportsman's Association in Sidney, ME, used to hold turkey shoots at 100 yards. I never shot offhand, since it was mainly hunters that would do so and I didn't want to beat them with my very accurate rifle, so I shot prone, over a log. One day, they didn't have enough shooters to pay for the turkey, so they asked me to shoot offhand, so I signed up.
Well, as I stood on the line, aiming, the crosshairs were moving around quite a bit, but as they came down to the center, I squeezed one off. They asked me how I did and I said that it looked pretty darned good. When we went down to check the targets, mine was a pinwheel! I'd never even had one shooting prone before, but they never asked me to shoot offhand again.
Well, as I stood on the line, aiming, the crosshairs were moving around quite a bit, but as they came down to the center, I squeezed one off. They asked me how I did and I said that it looked pretty darned good. When we went down to check the targets, mine was a pinwheel! I'd never even had one shooting prone before, but they never asked me to shoot offhand again.
Shot a running coyote at 180 yards with my Ruger #1 .204, which many people have done. My shot took out his left back leg. He kept going, much slower but getting further away. so I reloaded and my second shot hit him in the neck. I've shot lots of moving targets, but none quite like this.
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There was a time that I got to where I could regularly pop running hogs off hand with a scoped rifle out to about 200 yards. Then I got where I could do it out to about 150 with an iron sighted rifle at a fairly reliable rate. I’ve popped more than a couple of cow elk busting out of thick timber with off hand snap shots out past 100 yards.
When I got serious about DG hunting and double rifles I wore out my first .470 NE double inside of two years time, snap shooting hogs, jack rabbits, rocks, sticks floating in a stream etc etc. I’d be a little embarrassed to tell you how many thousands of dollars worth of hand loaded .470 ammo I sent down the barrels of that first .470 I owned, but when I sent it back to the manufacturer for an overhaul he said he’d never seen a double rifle with that much use on it. Not any double rifle ever.
I got to where I could reliably pound a running hog at 100 yards and on good days smoked a couple at 200 yards, off hand on the run. I got to where I was absoloutley deadly at close range snap shots with that .470 and of course the close range snap shot is where a heavy double rifle earns it bread and butter.
And there came a day that all that shooting and practice paid off on a Cape buffalo bull with mortal intent at kissing distance. That was the best snap shot I’ve ever made with any rifle, and the only one I’ve ever made that truly mattered, the one that truly, absolutely mattered.
When I got serious about DG hunting and double rifles I wore out my first .470 NE double inside of two years time, snap shooting hogs, jack rabbits, rocks, sticks floating in a stream etc etc. I’d be a little embarrassed to tell you how many thousands of dollars worth of hand loaded .470 ammo I sent down the barrels of that first .470 I owned, but when I sent it back to the manufacturer for an overhaul he said he’d never seen a double rifle with that much use on it. Not any double rifle ever.
I got to where I could reliably pound a running hog at 100 yards and on good days smoked a couple at 200 yards, off hand on the run. I got to where I was absoloutley deadly at close range snap shots with that .470 and of course the close range snap shot is where a heavy double rifle earns it bread and butter.
And there came a day that all that shooting and practice paid off on a Cape buffalo bull with mortal intent at kissing distance. That was the best snap shot I’ve ever made with any rifle, and the only one I’ve ever made that truly mattered, the one that truly, absolutely mattered.
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