What is your most memorable shot?

[7mmstalker]

Had some luck and drew a herd management tag to hunt a Dall sheep in the Chugach Mtns. very near my home, at that time, near Anchorage. A few days before the hunt my regular and trusted huntin' buddy had to cancel. As the hunt was very near town and not scheduled to last more than 2-3 days I, perhaps foolishly, decided to go for it solo.
Spent most of day 1 hiking in and making a base camp below an east-west ridge. Next morning, as expected, there was a small group of 6 or 8 sheep directly uphill about 1/2 mile. As I got dressed and had a quick bit of food, they started to go up and over the ridgeline, now about 3/4 mile away, no problem yet, still a predictable and simple stalk. Spent the next few hours climbing to the ridgeline and traversing to the east to hopefully get ahead of them or close the distance for the stalk. As I got to the top or "spine" of the narrow ridge, a pair of ptarmigan seemed to take offense at my being there and started to cluck, they wouldn't leave, thought surely they would give me away to the sheep on the north face of the ridge. They finally moved on after almost an hour of intimidating me into almost no progress! Creeping up and looking down into the shale slides that covered most of the north slope I saw those sheep laying down exactly below me, the nearest, and one of the biggest was probably only 75-100 yards.
Laying down made it impossible to determine sex for certain, management tags are very specific- a ewe tag may only be used for ewe, easily mistaken for a young ram. So I backed down the ridge and out of sight to wait for them to get interested in moving, good time to have a little snack for lunch. Then the weather came, snow in the early fall wasn't common, but only a fool would go up after sheep without some cold weather clothes.
So after getting a thick wool sweater under my gore-tex shell, checked on the sheep again. Over 2 hours had passed and they had not moved, until the clouds and snow had made it impossible to see them. They were moving east at the same elevation but several hundred yards away. I quickly backed down out of sight and began to scurry across the hillside attempting to get within range. When I finally got close enough to cross over to their side of the ridge, the closest animal was still nearly 4-5 hundred yards. Too far for a confident and ethical shot. They paused before heading down and out of sight, just enough for me to close the gap. They turned and waited for the stragglers, I had a good quartering head -on shot at the "big one". The 7mm 175gr. Sierra boat-tail entered the left front shoulder and travelled through the cavity and was found when butchering the right rear ham. Fell down like a ton of bricks. Cant be sure of the distance, but using the spacing of the scope crosshair's thinner section as a gauge, estimated to be 250-275 yds. Probably the longest shot I attempted on a target that small. Maybe a bit farther for caribou.

Most memorable for the day-long stalking, just coincidence that my best stalking still required me to do my best shooting!

 

[ricebasher302]

I took aim offhand at a blackbird on a fence post at about 35 yards with my Daisy BB gun. My cousin laughed, but I held high and squeezed. The bird just fell over dead. The BB had hit him in the head. Amazing and lucky.

My one and only "monster" buck is a 168" typical whitetail I shot when I was 17 on Oct. 28th 2003. I had seen the buck the night before grazing a field with a large herd of deer. The next evening I snuck down a dry irrigation ditch above the field. There is a rural highway and some sparse houses in the distance, but the elevation of the ditch over the field creates an acceptable backstop if you're very selective with your shot. As I crept down the ditch, I'd periodically poke my head up to see what I could see. After the third "poke," the deer had winded me and spotted me and began leaving the field in a hurry. I poked my head up further, and one of the deer nearest me, about 80 yds. away, was the big buck. He was standing still, looking around, making his educated plan of escape. Talk about right place right time! I had been raised a meat hunter and rideculed for gut shots, so I considered my shot. It would be a standing, off-hand, downward shot at a quartering away deer. I figured I could aim high and to the rear, shooting above the gut and sneak a bullet through the far lung without damaging the off shoulder. This all passed through my mind in about a second. When I stood up, there were deer running toward my line of fire to the left, deer running away to the right, none behind him, and no houses in this general direction, so I just shot! No time to get nervous. The buck jumped, staggered in a circle and fell over dead. I didn't realize how big he was, but I distinctly remember sitting on my knees, wrapping my hands around his antlers and laughing out loud in disbelief to myself. The bullet had hit precisely where I'd hoped it would and did exactly what I wanted it to.

I genuinely believe the Good Lord blessed me that day, because things just went too right for any 17-year-old to take credit for any of it. The buck had a huge body and the antlers hang over my mantle and the memory still amazes me when I look at them.

 

[HOWARD J]

The shot ( shots ) that sticks most in my memory
1980's outside Mio MI.--I never saw the area so full of hunters.
This 4 pointer was hell bent up the hill coming right at me-as I fired all of the sudden gun
were firing from everywhere. Four or five of us ran to that poor animal--it was shot up real bad---b/4 WW3 was about to break out--one of the guys said " let's flip for it"
I lost which was OK with me--he could have what was left of the deer.......
The part I remember the most---bullets flying around & past me ----WOW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[monwa]

I know most great shots stories are about big game but my most memorable shot was on a teal, wing set, screaming about a 1000000 mph perpendicular to the blind. Maybe 30'-40' away.

Being too young to know better, I dusted that poor foul with a 12ga and the retriever had little to retrieve.

My hunting partners were simply amazed.

Another time I shot a robyn from the hip with a 10/22 ruger at about 40 yards. Damn near s--t my pants and felt so stupid. Why would I even try that.

I'd do it different today.

 

[chains1240]

My most memorable shot would have to be a toss up between the first deer I ever got and the first deer of the next season. I got the first one with a .35 Remington round, at 100 yards, dead on the shoulder. The deer ran about 60 yards and piled up in some trees. I felt bad that the deer did not die right away. I could hear it in the death throws. Hit both shoulders and lungs. The next year I had my own rifle. A Howa 1500 in .308 with 150 grain Nosler ballistic tips. I was sitting in the same place, deer came out in the same place, and I shot her in the same shoulder. Deer turned 90 degrees and died on the spot. BANG, turn, Dead. I felt much better about that deer. The next day I shot another doe with the same devastating results.

 

[Matt018]

When I was a teen my Dad and I were out hiking on my Grandpas land, So we are walking and we see a Gardner Snake sunning in the middle of the trail, and my Dad pulls out my Grandpas S&W model 38 airweight 38spl 5 shot revolver with a shrouded hammer, Held it by the cylinder and pointed the beautiful wood grip at me and said "This gun says you cant hit that" with a wink, So i take the gun, Check it, cock the hammer like i have done hundred of times before and pop that snake right in the head one handed at about 5 yards. It was probably not the most ethical way to get that gun but it was one of the best ways my dad could have passed that gun down to me.

 

[2ndAmFan]

I guess there wasn't anything special about my most memorable shot, except to me. Just about a week ago. Whitetail doe, first deer I shot from my front porch, first with my 30.06 Savage, 1 shot DRT at 70 yds. Nothing spectacular, but I'm still proud of it.
After all the fun I had adjusting the trigger on that old gun; it was used and the pull was waaaay too heavy when I got it, then I had even more fun sighting in the scope. The first 3 or 4 shots didn't even hit the backstop, let alone the paper, so I had no idea what scope adjustments to make except down. Finally got it where it was hitting the extreme right top corner of the backstop and finished sighting in from there. Once I got 6 out of 7 rounds in the bullseye and one right where it broke the line on the edge of it I figured it was as about good as I could do anyway. I was very satisfied with the shot on the deer. The round went right where I wanted it.

 

[Freedom_fighter_in_IL]

2ndAmFan, you should SERIOUSLY take a look at this. Sounds to me like you are in dire need of one.

http://www.blackbearsportinggoods.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=ELLBSABS30&click=12

 

[1stmarine]

My first bird when I was 11. I had a small bird on the sight at about 50 yards with an airgun single shot GAMO 5.5mm gun. bang! It went down like a rock.
I felt bad at that age for the bird but I also felt that I had in my hands something powerful and decided that I will never shoot anything again that I was not planning on eating.
Later in life I learned how to shoot to anyone that shot at me or my squad but that's a different story.
Beautiful memories of a little boy with a rifle.

 

[2ndAmFan]

Freedom Fighter, a friend of mine has a bore sighter which he tried out and it was no good, for his 30.06 at least. He finally took it out and just sighted in with live ammo from a rest. Wasn't that brand, and maybe the link you sent is a better product. I didn't even bother to try his after all the trouble he had. I could use a good bore sighter of course, but I didn't mind doing it the old fashioned way since I had plenty of ammo. I'll look into bore sighters in the future, especially if I manage to expand my rifle collection some.

 

[KosmicKrunch]

Back in 1999 with my dad, qual, upland bird and pheasant hunting, was the last time we hunted together as he aquired Alzheimers in 2000 and then died in 2008. I have one of the birds stuffed and on my desk, everytime I look at it, I rem dad and that weekend.

God Bless You Dad, I remember those times well.​

 

[ADKWOODSMAN]

Almost got to see two bucks fight but I was too trigger happy!!

I was on watch is my converted 1/2 step ladder 8 foot tall tree stand when out in this 175 foot square grassy area two 7 point bucks and 5 does materialized.

I was sitting there with my mouth wide open and realized I had better start shooting. I shot the larger buck and all the deer took off down a small gully and along a deer trail on a high bank below line of sight. I left my stand and walked over to the edge and peered over and there was the buck dead at about 5 feet down on a small lip of earth. At that time I spotted the 5 does with the other seven point buck bringing up the rear headed back toward me.

As they hadn't spotted me I knelt down on the rim of the deer run where they couldn't see me and all of a sudden they were milling all around me but the buck didn’t show. I peeked over the edge and the buck was headed back the way they came from. I took aim with my scope sighted Ithaca 12 gague deerslayer Mod 37 and shot him right behind the back of the head from above at 50 yards. He dropped in his tracks. New York State’s old party permit system in southern NYState allowed a second deer of your choice.