Your Best Shot Ever

[MattTheHat]

After reading another post, I started to think about the best shot I ever made.

It was almost 30 years ago, with a bone stock (and probably never cleaned) Ruger 10/22. My buddy and I were both 18, plinking up at the farm. Glass bottles always seemed to make the best targets, and we had just come up on an old tequila bottle approximately 15 yards away. It was standing up on end and the cap was still screwed on.

I said "Watch this, I'll spin the top right off it." I squatted down to one knee, took very careful aim at the far right upper edge of the cap for about five seconds, and took my shot. The cap disappeared. We both laughed and walked forward to look at the bottle, both assuming I'd shot the top of the bottle off. To our amazement, however, when we picked up the bottle, it was absolutely undamaged. Nary a nick! We stood there speechless, just looking at each other for several seconds, neither quite knowing what to say.

If I were guessing, the cap was probably brittle, and instead of spinning it off like I called, it probably just disintegrated. On the other hand, we could not find a single fragment of the cap anywhere. Either way, shooting the cap off without damaging the bottle was a heck of a shot. Even if it was at fairly close range with a .22 rifle.

If it were to happen tomorrow, that tequila bottle would be enshrined in some kind of display case in my office. At the time, there was no point in wasting a perfectly good bottle, so I threw it in the creek bed and said "your shot."

I'm sure many of you folks have scored an even better lucky shot, so here's your chance to brag. Tell us about your best intentional lucky shot.


-Matt

 

[2000Yards]

Variation - My best call

I didn't take the shot, but I made the call. I was with a buddy at a long-range rifle course, the target was milled at 750 yards and it was for the final qualification exercise. The winds were gusting between 15 and 25 MPH. I was spotting and had him dial however many minutes of windage on to his scope (don't recall) during the initial 30 seconds we had to prepare. Then our heads went down until it was our turn for the shot. My partner was on the gun waiting for "Send!", with the clock ticking and I'm watching the near, mid and far fields. The wind is crazy - blowing left, right, towards and away from us depending on where I look. The clock is almost out when everything stabilizes...the grass is blowing left to right, everywhere, stronger than when we dialed in. Five seconds to go, and I yell "Hold left elbow, send!" My partners shot rings out, he calls "Left elbow" and the guy on the big glass calls out the hit a few seconds before the distinct ring comes back to us from the steel. We were two of 16 teams to make the shot.

 

[Broken11b]

Last year, my friends and I were plinking around on a farm. It was getting to the end of the day, and we only had about two or three rounds left per person. My buddy takes his Skoal can and puts it on a board about 40 yards away.
My friend had a few rounds in his 1911, I had 2 left.
40 yards on a Skoal can... yeah right, no chance i was going to hit it.
My buddy was taking careful aim, trying to line the sights up,
I just pointed my 1911 at the can, one hand only, and squeezed the trigger.
the can popped off the board, when we looked at it, neat .45 inch hole through the center of the can. 3 witnesses and I still dont believe it.

 

[msiley]

Last week. I shot a tiny silhouette bird at about 70 yards with a CZ 75B using the .22 LR Kadet conversion.

Here's the range pic:

 

[Kind of Blued]

Where is that msiley? Cool range, beautiful backdrop.

My best shot ever was when I was ~15 years old shooting a pump air rifle loaded with BBs. I shot a running/bounding squirrel across a creek, through some foliage with one shot into the side of its head. The distance was probably 60-70 yards with iron sights. Pure luck, but it freaked me and my friend out.

Runner up goes to a single shot from my 1911 at 100 yards when my buddy and I were sighting in his .30-06 for deer season.

If you shoot enough, something ridiculous is bound to happen eventually.

 

[wishin]

The most I can brag about is regularly shooting out (snuffing) candles with an open sight .22 as a teenager! Many, many years ago. Ahh, but to be able to see again..............

Msiley, that is some great range!

 

[JamisJockey]

Jack rabbit hunting with a friend in AZ back in the day. Walking some orange groves, when I spot a jack a loooong ways off. Shooting a 10/22 with open sights off-hand. Snap in, squeeze one off. Rabbit drops, kicks in a circle and then dies. Friend has a laser range finder and lazes the jack, 93 yards. Shot went through the spine in the neck.
In hindsight, it wasn't a humane shot, because I wasn't confident I could pull it off. I just snapped the rifle up and did it.

 

[kanook]

Ruger 10/22 ironn sights 50yds, We put the 30/30 shell on a 50gallon drum and shot. First shot hit under the shell, second shot clean thru the primer hole.

 

[762 shooter]

I once shot and recovered a 100 lb doe, double lung, with a .308 at 35 yards.

I was by myself so there is no one to corroborate this. You will have to trust me.

 

[Just One Shot]

I've had a number of them over my many years of shooting.

When I was a young boy (around 15) I went hunting with 2 of my older brothers. We went into a woods to do some rabbit hunting.

We seperated and I was walking along a natural path when a rabbit jumped up from my right.

The rabbit was running from my rear towards my right front. I pulled up my trusty 16 ga., tracked him forward and fired through a young brushy tree.

I went around the tree and found the rabbit lying there. It was the only rabbit bagged that day.

When we got back to my brother's house I could only find one spot that looked like it had been hit by a single pellet.

The rabbit must have been coming down from a leap because it was in the soft part of the center of his belly right beneath his ribs.

I gutted the rabbit and that indeed was the only pellet to make it into his body. It looked as if it went straight up under his ribs and ended up in his heart.

It was more luck than skill but it sure felt good to out do my brothers.

 

[Hk Dan]

I was with my shooting buddies shooting black rifles at clay pigeons on the berm, 100 yards. I took out a Colt 1911, saying "y'all are using waaaay too much barrel for this shot". Much laughter, much derision...

The first shot, free hand, standing, I disintegrated the clay I was aiming at. The group went silent for a few moments...finally, in a low voice, Fred adds "Blind *ss luck, that's what that was..."

Now cocky, I offered to show him exactly how *lucky* it was with a second well aimed shot. Turns out, he was right. 21 shots later I'd not broken another clay (danced all around 'em though).

 

[jfdavis58]

Stock Colt 45ACP GI pistol, 20 yards:



The bulge, top dead center on the stitch line is a 185 grain Hornady XTP bullet. Here's the entry 'wound':



The imparted energy and spin 'threw' the ball another 15 yards into the backstop where is rolled up and over the dirt berm.

 

[ClayInTX]

My family was camping out near a swampy area in Florida. A python had escaped from a local snake-house and had been seen near the area. We heard something in the grass and I went to investigate. Good Lord! It was the python staring me in the eyes! I had a 32 auto and snapped a shot from the hip at about 10 yards. It dropped. I cautiously and slowly approached (Ever ready to defend my wife and kids from the deathly coils of a terrible jungle monster!).

It was a possum. But the shot was squarely between the eyes.
Added by edit: Forgot to say it was middle of the night.

Two weeks ago:
G-kids out to the farm to plink with 22 revolvers. G-son sat up a skull from a rat on a stump about 15 yards away. “Okay,” he said, “the shot is not to hit the skull but to hit under it and make it jump into the air.”

G-daddy missed by a mile. G-son hits close but no cigar. Ten year old g-daughter lays a groove through the stump directly under the skull and it flies up three feet.

 

[Ky Larry]

Years ago, some nephews and neighbor kids were shooting at a pop can sitting on a picnic table with a pellet pistol. Range was about 35 yrds. They fired about 50 times with zero hits. They finally gave up and wondered over to where I was working on a car. I asked them if I could take a shot. The range for me was at least 75 yrds. Knocked the can off the table with the first shot and handed the pistol back. I had a large reputation after that as a dead eye shot. If I had shot 100 times I wouldn't have hit that can. Just plain luck.

 

[rmfnla]

I've had a few.

Years back I was dabbling in fast-draw. I was using a 3rd generation Colt SAA, 5-1/2" nickle in .44 Spl. I set up a milk jug about 20 feet away, walked back to my firing line, whipped around while drawing and snapped a shot dead-center into that jug, fast as a snake.

Of course I was alone at the time.

Another time, tho, I was with a friend who was sighting in a rifle for a pronghorn hunt. I had several handguns with me, including a .22 Walther TPH I had just picked up.

My friend was practicing his off-hand shooting at a large tin can about 125 yards away and not doing very well. I pulled out the little .22 and made that can jump with the first shot; I thought my friend was going to die!

Do tricks count? I was the riflery counselor at a summer camp for years, and one year during the pre-season set-up I had a few of the other counselors down at the range for some informal plinking.

The targets were held by a fence-like structure that was essentially 4 rows of 2x4s strung along posts. I took a broom and jammed the handle betwen the 2x4s and announced that I would split the broom by firing through the board that the stick passed behind. Of course I knew the bullet would deform going through the wood and the shot worked. I was a god for the rest of the summer...

 

[Jonah71]

Killed a rabbit on the run with my Stevens single shot .22 when I was 11. Only tried it once. I knew I couldn't do it again.

 

[Professor Gun]

27 years ago living on a farm in Florida, I was hunting squirrels with a High Standard Sentinel in .22 LR with a 2" barrel (for grins and giggles). A squirrel was on a tree trunk about 70 yards away, my wife said "Bet you can't hit that one". I lined up carefully, squeezed off a shot, the squirrel fell off the trunk to the ground. Turned out it was a perfect head shot. I am not sure who was more surprised; me, my wife, or the squirrel.

Second best: Four years ago, second day of our gun deer season. My youngest son was 12 years old and this was his first opening weekend of gun deer season that he could carry a rifle, he was sitting with me. I had an AR-10 in .308. A coyote came out on the field edge we were watching, saw us, and proceeded to run across the field at a dead run 125 yards away. I brought up my rifle, led the coyote a bit, squeezed off a round. The coyote went tumbling head over butt at the opposite field edge. My son was totally astonished; I was too but I hid my astonishment. I later told him it was a lucky shot.

 

[BitterBeerFace]

"Best" is a relative term.

In this case, it was probably the one that gave me the biggest smile...

A friend had been given a Lance Bass bobblehead doll as a gift. This friend certainly didn't want it, and offered it to me for a target.

Set Lance at the 50-yard berm with a big 'ol pile of other targets for a multi-person rapid fire finale... because everyone wanted to see Lance take one, I got to take a single shot meant to trigger the group's conversion of money in smiles (rapid file). Took my favorite rifle (Winchester Model 61 .22), aimed and popped Lance right in the nose. The top of his bobblehead went about 10 feet straight into the air. No one else took a shot, they were all laughing too hard. We had to run down and examine the damage, as it was assumed I'd hit the 'neck' and decapitated the doll... the direct nose shot was even better

FYI, a bobblehead doll will stop a .22... or at least break at an angle and deflect the round!

 

[Sgt.45]

Most amazing was a small bird in flight with my Daisy BB gun when I was 12. (Still have it, still just as fun.) My dad got me in trouble for that but I honestly didnt think I had a chance of making the shot.
The one that felt the best was my second time qualifying with the USMC. I had been shooting well all week but the night before qual I tore about an inch of skin off of my trigger finger. It was all bandaged up so I shot with my middle finger. I had one shot left on the 500 yard line and it had to be a 5 to get expert. No preessure right? It was cold and raining and I was very tense. I shot that B Mod target dead center. That felt great!

 

[orvpark]

At about 12 years old I had a planned hunt with the nieghborhood kids one fine Saturday morning. I got grounded from my guns (the only real punishment that did anything for me!) sometime that week. Since we were going after tree rats I grabbed my slingshot and went anyway. I bluejay flew overhead squacking our location to all the squirrels and I lost my temper. I slung a 1/2" hex nut (my ammo of choice) his way and busted him mid-flight.

 

[Magwa]

My brothers friend had a range set up on an old landing strip in his couple of hundred acre orange grove. He had it marked out to 450 yds. Took one of those Heineken mini kegs and proped it up to take a shot at it with my Mas 49/56 in .308. I was just impressed to hit it with iron sights at that distance on the first try, and my brother and his friend with their Cemte's couldn't.

 

[happygeek]

One time I got lucky and hit a moving target from a moving [and bumping up and down] humvee. Pure luck though.

 

[ming]

This probably won't mean much to anyone else, but my most remembered shot was my first M-14 shot at the rifle range at USMC Recruit Depot Parris Island. City kid, never shot anything but a cap gun before . Primary marksmanship instructor asks if I had ever fired before, I say No Sir, and he says just do what we told you. I take aim (offhand) and send it and damn if it wasn't a bull's eye. The PMI calls our senior DI over and asks if he's put a ringer in. I knew he was joking but it sure made me feel great. Ended up qualifying as a sharpshooter, but will never forget that first one even though it will be 40 years ago this July.

 

[longbeard48]

I heard a bunch of crows in the pines in my backyard. I went down to get my .17HMR from the basement, and by the time I got back to the door, they had flown away. I watched them as they circled and came back over my house. I stepped out onto the deck and shot at one flying about 75 yards away and killed him stone dead. Had my wife as a witness!

 

[dwave]

Best shot ever? Every time I pull the trigger!