unclenunzie
Contributing Member
My second ever handgun purchase, Springfield Armory stainless loaded 1911. First 1911 shot, bullseye at 7 yards, indoor range. Nothing impressive about it, but the smile...... 
Your best shot with a handgun intentional or not
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Speedo66
Member
Ballantine beer logo was three rings interlocked in a triangle. Worst beer ever. lol
Ballantine Beer was at one time the 3rd largest brewer in the US. Their logo was three intertwined rings that stood for, "purity, body, and flavor". Scroll down in the link to logo.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._Ballantine_and_Sons_Brewing_Company
I learned the term "Ballantine Group" in basic training when zeroing my M14 on a 25 meter range. The best case scenario is you fired your three rounds so they touched, like the Ballantine logo. The instructors and you both knew you were doing your part.
BTW, the 45 I used was a stock Combat Commander. It had been throated and had good fixed sights. Other than that it was stock as stink.
Not bad stuff. I've tasted much worse. It's all subjective.
AFAIK Ballantine introduced IPA to America in the 50s.
Archie
Member
I have two that are etched in my memory.
I had a full size Government Model in Super .38. A friend - another Border Patrol Agent - and I were blathering about something. A rabbit was crossing the dirt strip we called the 'drag road'. I shot once and took the rabbit (agricultural area, they're pests) quite cleanly at 55 paces away. (I am short, about 5'5".) Friend was impressed.
Prior to that, I had cut a playing card in half with an elderly European (German, I think) .22 long rifle Free pistol. That one took me by surprise. Range was beyond point distance and less than 25 yards. Still have that card framed in a picture frame. Ego gets one.
I had a full size Government Model in Super .38. A friend - another Border Patrol Agent - and I were blathering about something. A rabbit was crossing the dirt strip we called the 'drag road'. I shot once and took the rabbit (agricultural area, they're pests) quite cleanly at 55 paces away. (I am short, about 5'5".) Friend was impressed.
Prior to that, I had cut a playing card in half with an elderly European (German, I think) .22 long rifle Free pistol. That one took me by surprise. Range was beyond point distance and less than 25 yards. Still have that card framed in a picture frame. Ego gets one.
Pat Riot
Contributing Member
When I was 17 my Dad had a S&W K22 with an 8 4/8” barrel. I dearly loved that revolver. We lived out in the country in Pennsylvania. One day we were on the back porch and I set up a plywood target with 6 pennies taped to it. I set it out between 30-35 yards from the porch. As I was walking back towards the porch my Dad says “What are you gonna do with that?”
I said “Shoot the pennies”
He replied “Bull!”
I said “If I can hit all six can I have this gun?”
He said “Yeah...we can talk about it.”
I heard “Yeah...”
I sat down on the edge of the porch. It was only elevated by about two feet.
My Dad says “Uh-Uh...do it standing.”
So I did. I shot all six pennies while standing up, two handed, single action. All six pennies flipped off the board when hit. I found 5 of them and all 5 were dented from impact.
I showed them to my Dad.
He said “Where’s the sixth one?”
I told him I couldn’t find it.
“Well, how do we know you actually hit it?”
I said “It flew off the plywood...If 5 pennies have dents from 22 rounds hitting them then odds are the 6th penny is missing because it was hit as well. Can I have this revolver?”
I really hoped he would give it to me.
He said “I said we’d talk about it.”
We never did. I left home a short time later and a year later I joined the Navy. My Dad died while was in the Navy. One of his friends got that Smith & Wesson.
I have often considered buying a model 17 or even a K22 with an 8 3/8” barrel but I haven’t seen one in person since. And when I find them online they want way more than I am will to pay for it.
I said “Shoot the pennies”
He replied “Bull!”
I said “If I can hit all six can I have this gun?”
He said “Yeah...we can talk about it.”
I heard “Yeah...”
I sat down on the edge of the porch. It was only elevated by about two feet.
My Dad says “Uh-Uh...do it standing.”
So I did. I shot all six pennies while standing up, two handed, single action. All six pennies flipped off the board when hit. I found 5 of them and all 5 were dented from impact.
I showed them to my Dad.
He said “Where’s the sixth one?”
I told him I couldn’t find it.
“Well, how do we know you actually hit it?”
I said “It flew off the plywood...If 5 pennies have dents from 22 rounds hitting them then odds are the 6th penny is missing because it was hit as well. Can I have this revolver?”
I really hoped he would give it to me.
He said “I said we’d talk about it.”
We never did. I left home a short time later and a year later I joined the Navy. My Dad died while was in the Navy. One of his friends got that Smith & Wesson.
I have often considered buying a model 17 or even a K22 with an 8 3/8” barrel but I haven’t seen one in person since. And when I find them online they want way more than I am will to pay for it.
My amazing shots occurred over 40 years ago while I was building our first house. After a long days work we, family members, knocked off for the day. As everyone left I decided to stick around and clean up the job site. I loaded scrap lumber in my truck and drove it 75 yards to the back of the property to burn it. While throwing it into a pile I came across a piece of drywall about 14"×20", about the size of a human torso, a perfect target. I tacked it up on a small tree and drove back to the house and pulled out my Colt Trooper MKIII, loaded with handloaded 38 Sp wadcutter. This Colt was not especially accurate, 2 1/2 -3 inches off bags at 25 yards. I cranked the rear sight up a few clicks, 2 hand standing at 75 yards, held center of the drywall and squeezed the trigger. There was a puff of white dust so I knew I had connected, I was extremely happy to hit the target. 2 more shots and 2 more puffs of white dust. But the most satisfying moment was when I walked back to the target and there was 3 holes in a perfect triangle, 1 1/4" center to center.
EMC45
Member
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My 2 involve crows....
First was at my mother in law's house back around 1998 Christmas time frame in Mid GA on leave. I was plinking on her back deck with my Model 63 4in S&W .22LR and the crows were cawing all over the place driving me crazy. I saw a lone crow way up in the top of a tree (maybe 70-80yds) on a branch. I drew a fine bead on it (front sight covered it) and squeezed single action once. It tucked a wing and helicoptered all the way to the ground stone dead. Coulda knocked me over with a feather.
Second time I was at my Dad's house in the same county around 2004 when he was building his log cabin. His property borders a cotton field and there were a bunch of crows on the ground milling about over 100yds out. He asked "you got a gun on you? I bet you can't hit them" I had my KelTec P3AT loaded with FMJs. I aimed and shot and watched where the bullet hit. At round 3 I was about 1 -2 foot from the group and they all flew away. I didn't connect, but was still impressed with the ability to "walk them in"....
First was at my mother in law's house back around 1998 Christmas time frame in Mid GA on leave. I was plinking on her back deck with my Model 63 4in S&W .22LR and the crows were cawing all over the place driving me crazy. I saw a lone crow way up in the top of a tree (maybe 70-80yds) on a branch. I drew a fine bead on it (front sight covered it) and squeezed single action once. It tucked a wing and helicoptered all the way to the ground stone dead. Coulda knocked me over with a feather.
Second time I was at my Dad's house in the same county around 2004 when he was building his log cabin. His property borders a cotton field and there were a bunch of crows on the ground milling about over 100yds out. He asked "you got a gun on you? I bet you can't hit them" I had my KelTec P3AT loaded with FMJs. I aimed and shot and watched where the bullet hit. At round 3 I was about 1 -2 foot from the group and they all flew away. I didn't connect, but was still impressed with the ability to "walk them in"....
Col. Cornelius
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It wasn't my best shot, but it was most memorable. I was competing in a cowboy action shooting plainsman side match - cap & ball revolvers, single shot buffalo rifle & a double barrel shotgun-all loaded with black powder.
I had a jam during the stage with a cap & ball revolver, unfired round. After the stage was over, I asked if I could clear the round by shooting it. I aimed the cap & ball revolver at the rifle target 50-70 yards away, holding it duelist style, one handed. I hit the rifle target and everyone laughed. It was funny because there were some competitors complaining the rifle targets were to far out for the single shot rifle.
I had a jam during the stage with a cap & ball revolver, unfired round. After the stage was over, I asked if I could clear the round by shooting it. I aimed the cap & ball revolver at the rifle target 50-70 yards away, holding it duelist style, one handed. I hit the rifle target and everyone laughed. It was funny because there were some competitors complaining the rifle targets were to far out for the single shot rifle.
Charlie Martinez
Member
My "best" shot was a tennis ball pegged off the ground about a foot at 60 yards from the firing line. We were taking turns shooting one shot each & the first to knock it off got a free lunch from the rest. We were not allowed to use a rest only a two-handed hold. I was shooting my Ruger Bisley Vaquero 44 Magnum, 8.5 grains of W231 behind a 200 grain LRN bullet. With the fixed sights I had to use Kentucky windage to adjust for elevation & blew it clean off the peg on my first shot. I'm not a bad shot but I have to admit I was as surprised as everyone else & it was a great lunch.
U.S.SFC_RET
Member
I have a Kimber and if I concentrate and carefully squeeze the trigger I can make a 5" clay target disappear at 50 yards.
1911 guy
Member
My Dad and i bought identical pistols, .45ACP Springfield XD's. Took them to the range and I center-punched a 1 inch paster at 25 yards with the first shot. I'm a pretty good shot with a pistol, but my Dad thinks I'm a lot better than i really am.
Shawn Dodson
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On a dare, I shot a clay pigeon out of the air with a Ruger .22 Magnum single-action revolver on my first try.
tlynch
Member
It feels so good to shut someone up when they are insufferable about something.
Years ago a friend and I were shooting 22 pistols.
I was shooting my Ruger MKII and outshooting my friend.
We walked out to the target at 25 yards and he said shoot this as he put a empty 38 special cartridge case on the target stand.
Back on the firing line I took aim at the case and fired and it flew off into space.
As we could not find the case my friend said that I didn't hit it and said to try it again putting another empty 38 cartridge case on the target stand.
We walked back to the firing line, I aimed and fired nocking the case off the target stand. We found that case with a hole in it.
2 shots at 25 yards with a Ruger MKII and hit 2 empty 38 special cases, I still have the case with the hole in it that we found.
SC45-70
I was shooting my Ruger MKII and outshooting my friend.
We walked out to the target at 25 yards and he said shoot this as he put a empty 38 special cartridge case on the target stand.
Back on the firing line I took aim at the case and fired and it flew off into space.
As we could not find the case my friend said that I didn't hit it and said to try it again putting another empty 38 cartridge case on the target stand.
We walked back to the firing line, I aimed and fired nocking the case off the target stand. We found that case with a hole in it.
2 shots at 25 yards with a Ruger MKII and hit 2 empty 38 special cases, I still have the case with the hole in it that we found.
SC45-70
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Random 8
Member
Another one came to mind while I was sitting in the duck blind today watching empty skies. I was at a friends pre-bachelor party. He was a big shotgun shooter, and his dad and best man had purchased a LARGE quantity of 12 ga shells and clays and rented a couple of fancy sporting clays throwers. All kinds of friendly wagers, dares, contests were going on. There was also some handgun shooting and I was doing very well with my .357 Taurus. One of the guests really put me on the spot, saying a real shooter can hit a moving target like the old West shooters that would throw things up in the air and shoot them with a pistol! I walked over to the pile of clays, grabbed five, loaded my wheelgun and broke all five in a row throwing them up a short distance myself and firing one handed. He got REAL quiet the rest of the day. I never did tell anybody I had loaded 5 rounds of Speer Shot capsules stuffed with #9 shot.
.308 Norma
Member
At an IHMSA shoot one day, I actually watched through my binoculars as a bullet from my wife's Super Blackhawk kicked up dust when it glanced off the ground 25 or 30 feet in front of a 200 meter ram, but it hit the ram and tipped it over anyway. That kind of made up for the 100 meter pig my wife dead-centered with another bullet from her Super Blackhawk at another IHMSA shoot - the pig target was pushed back a little, and it rocked for a second or two, but it didn't tip over, so it didn't count.
JTHunter
Member
Most of you will probably agree that the old Winchester Wildcat LRN .22LR ammo is of average accuracy, right? Many years ago, I was hunting squirrels with a 12 ga. and a Ruger Single Six. This squirrel was on the ground and was too close to shoot with the shottie so I slowly worked the Six out of its holster on my right hip & thigh (6" barrel). Every time the squirrel was rooting in the ground, I inched the gun up to eye level and froze when it raised its head. The tricky part was when I had to cock this single action revolver and it "clicked". That squirrel's head popped up so fast and it stood there on its hind legs, looking around. Fortunate for me, I was completely covered in camo except for my eyes. I was sitting cross-legged on the ground with my back to a tree that shielded me from the early morning sun which was in the squirrel's face. While I held my SxS in my left hand, I "1-handed" the revolver and aimed at the squirrel's neck as it stood up and stared in my direction. The squirrel fell over backwards at the shot with a tiny hole through its neck.
As I am very near-sighted and have to wear glasses, I was astonished that I succeeded while shooting without support. Granted, the squirrel was only 10-12 yds. away but that shot was one of two in my life that surprised the dickens out of me!
The other was a cottontail that stopped broadside on some railroad tracks at what turned out to be about 40 yds. away. I had aimed above its ears and just in front of it and jacked my Mossberg pump to take out the low-brass #6 for the next shell, a high-brass #4. When I shot, the rabbit fell over and lay there. The strange thing is that, when I got to it, there was no blood showing on the body or the snow and ice under it. I also failed to find any shot in the body when I cleaned the rabbit.
Go figure.
As I am very near-sighted and have to wear glasses, I was astonished that I succeeded while shooting without support. Granted, the squirrel was only 10-12 yds. away but that shot was one of two in my life that surprised the dickens out of me!
The other was a cottontail that stopped broadside on some railroad tracks at what turned out to be about 40 yds. away. I had aimed above its ears and just in front of it and jacked my Mossberg pump to take out the low-brass #6 for the next shell, a high-brass #4. When I shot, the rabbit fell over and lay there. The strange thing is that, when I got to it, there was no blood showing on the body or the snow and ice under it. I also failed to find any shot in the body when I cleaned the rabbit.
Go figure.
adcoch1
Member
We were tipping over 12ga hulls at 30 yards with 22 rifles, and I decided my ruger mk1 could do as well. I knocked over 7 in a row, and 2 were pointed butt towards us. So I proceeded to shoot the primers out of those with my last two rounds. Suprised the heck out of me. Did it several times since then, but had no idea a 22 pistol could shoot that good.
BigBlue 94
Member
Many moons ago, my pops took aim at a flying Canada Goose with his standard ruger MkII. One shot took the goose down and I ran over and wrung its neck.
Yes im aware of the consequences of shooting a gun 45° in the air, and taking a goose without tag or proper equipment. I dont approve of such actions. Its a memory nevertheless. And it was some damn fine jerky.
Yes im aware of the consequences of shooting a gun 45° in the air, and taking a goose without tag or proper equipment. I dont approve of such actions. Its a memory nevertheless. And it was some damn fine jerky.
wiscoaster
Member
This isn't me, but it is someone I know: he shot a prairie dog at about 100 yds with his 1911. And, knowing this guy, I don't think it was pure dumb luck.
I took a bunch of guys from church to a strip mine a buddy of mine owned. It had a lake and 60foot tall high walls on 3 sides of the lake. Guys were shooting clays and I took my model 41 smith .22lr out and busted a clay in front of the guys... they thought I was nutz
CopperFouling
Member
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MrChicken
Member
I was fifteen. At a Marine Corps birthday celebration party. They're was a skeet setup. I had a hard time with the long Barrel bird hunting shotguns. I was a skinny kid back then.
So I was given shorter barreled combat shotgun and did really well with it.
A retired Marine walked up and handed me a 1911. I looked at my dad and he shook that old 1911 and it rattled like it would fall apart. He said they are the best ones, go ahead son and do your best..
I don't remember which one hit a skeet, it wasn't the first or last but I got one out of seven shots.
Side note, my dad was retired Army. Aside from gentle ribbing about the Army, we were treated like honored guests. Great guys and gals those Marines, and hella good drinkers, God bless them all.
So I was given shorter barreled combat shotgun and did really well with it.
A retired Marine walked up and handed me a 1911. I looked at my dad and he shook that old 1911 and it rattled like it would fall apart. He said they are the best ones, go ahead son and do your best..
I don't remember which one hit a skeet, it wasn't the first or last but I got one out of seven shots.
Side note, my dad was retired Army. Aside from gentle ribbing about the Army, we were treated like honored guests. Great guys and gals those Marines, and hella good drinkers, God bless them all.
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