Thread: The Shots of which your most Proud

One of the other threads reminded me that in most peoples hunting life there will be shots (either rifle or camera) which when you think back on them that you are trully proud of.
Typically you don't end up with any great head or trophy and you can almost guarantee that no one saw you do it, but a memory is still strong.

The two that slip into my mind are these:-
1) I'm 13 yrs old, out at dusk with the old farm single shot open sight .22, and I spot a rabbit. The ground's too open to seek in and the rabbit's already toey. So bugger it, I decided to take the shot, Its a long way but make a best guess I hold over a fair bit take the shot. Rabbit does the classic heart shot leap and I have him. I pace it out as 123 paces so it would have been 110m or so. i was proud as punch taking that rabbit back to the house.

2) Some years later. . . I'm out looking for Fallow. Out in the marram grass I spot a buck way down in the gully. First shot clean miss. He takes off and now there are two bucks running. Two more shots ring out each dropping one of those bouncing targets. Distance was about 400m. Best running shots I've ever done or probably will do.

So what shooting memories are you most proud of?

Shot a bunny one handed pistol style with a 22 as ran past me too fast and close to turn and point the gun properly.

Taken a few at ~120m with subsonic 22 which felt pretty good as well. Not open sights like yours though!

I like this thread! Hopefully in awhile I'll have some crazy shots like the above to share with you guys; but right now, I'm most proud of the Fallow I shot a couple years back. First and only deer (not for much longer if the hunting god's some me some favour over the uni break ). Nothing outlandish, but boy did it get my heart racing.

1997 Dunedin TF rifle range Wepons qual for my basic, had only been shootng live rounds out of the styer for a couple of days then got top shot for the course.
1998 Armd offenders pistol range trenthem without a doubt my best day with a fire arm after a day of fireing the sig sauer and then doin eliminations out of my platoon about 35 shooters. The next day we had the top 3 shot off Me being one of them and the coy OC was another, I cleand house on a twenty shot match closest was 11 from the other private!the setup was 5 standing,5 kneeling,5 lying on your back legs infront, then double tap standing double tap kneeling 1 shot lying down prone from ten mtrs into the head spot! Fuckn best day I didnt buy any piss that night, would love a fang on the sig again one day.

Not to many crazy shoots on animals, got 2 fallow in one shot once. The other few probably shouldnt be mentioned on a public forum haha. Done plenty of trick/fuck around shooting on clays. just the usual off the hip type stuff, left handed gun down trench shooting is a bit of challenge... haha. My mate let of all 25 rounds from a 10/22 at a hare running up the fence line and also managed to shoot the mains water pipe for our farm, was quite funny, same friend took a shot at rabbit with the 7mm08 and pulled high and punched a hole through our concrete trough (idiot, but also rather amusing at the time) and last but least i missed a turkey with the cross bow but the bolt put a pin prick hole in a 15mm pipe that was on the fence line behind the turkey about 40m away... is that bad luck or what.
Also hitting my final target in the Single Rise shoot-off at the DTL nationals this year to win my first national title was the MOST memorable shot to date

clay birds one day as a trial, think it was DTL - I would clip a few and miss a few (real close could see it wobble) the guy showing me said stop bloody aiming - follow though - so next one (was my last) the clay turned to dust -

One of the most memorable shots I have made was one of the Whitetails I shot in Canada a few years ago. I had spent ages finding an area that was accessible to the public and held a half decent number of deer in it. I had missed a few good opportunities due to bad luck and was determined to get one before I came home to NZ.

I was out hunting the area with my close mate and my boss (also close friend) and we were standing at an intersection between two cut lines strategising about setting up an ambush when straight ahead what I thought was 100 yards away a young buck popped up and was trying to work out what we were. Without hesitation I dropped to one knee (grass was too tall to lay prone), centred on the front brisket and poleaxed him my new 7mm RM, all within a matter of seconds as they don't hang around long.

As it turned out the buck was 210 yards away (not 100 yards) and now the guys think all is kiwis are crack shots.

To be honest if I had known the exact distance before firing, I probably wouldn’t have taken the shot possibly or looked for a more suitable shooting position, but there wouldn’t have been time to do so.

At the time I was thinking this is probably my last opportunity to bag a deer, and that I better not miss as the guys would give me no end of shite.

Another one would be the day I redeemed myself after missing a pig at 40 yards the week earlier (no excused for that one). I was put again on sentry by my old school pig hunting buddies and mid-morning witnessed one of them stumble onto a nest of pigs who exploded every which way. Once clear of my mate I managed to shoot two pigs in the head from 80-100yards away as they were running away (still trying to work out how I managed that), and another young boar that was charging straight for me, I shot it in the front brisket from about 10 yards away with the last round from my trusty Tikka 270win. Jeez it was an intense 60 seconds.

Duck shooting 2009
Jump shooting a raupo infested pond dog indicated ducks sure enough they peeled out of there, four shots four ducks I didn't have time to think all reaction as every shot was a different scenario left to right, right to left,

On a social club hunt a couple of maggies were in the paddock from the hut in the morning ranged @250y exactly, being a bit of a smart arse I bet I could headshoot one with the 308, well six or seven pairs of binoes watching i took the shot they both took off and someone said"you parted the feathers on its head" sure enough he found a coulple of small fethers on the spot.
Next morning they were there again but closer cant remember the exact distance but round 180y, feeling I had to redeem myself I bet i could knock one over with the pee rifle. subsonic win pphhtt............................................ ..................................thock. dead on spot, absolute tin arse shot but as in pool if you aimed for it its not a fluke

There are a few others from my teenage years but im not posting them on a public forum

The shots that I will always remember and are most proud of are the ones that dispatched the game animal cleanly and humanly.
Sadly, the shots I will never forget are the ones that did not.

I reckon take your pleasure from achieving the former, not from increasing the risk of the latter.

There was one time we were fishing and saw some goats on this hill dad said I can run up and shoot a few for dog tucker. Off I went and it was a little brow kinda thing and I popped up and the goats moved from where they were, they were standing a good 5m from me so I turned and fired a shot at the first one I saw and 2 start rolling over was pretty happy with that.

Other time was deer stalking with my mate and a yearling starts hopping away from us, I just sit there setting up the bi-pod zooming in the scope while this deer is trotting away then it stops at about 120m my longest ever shot on deer but loaded my 6.5x55 and fired it dropped on the spot. I dont know what the best part is, my longest shot or that it dropped on the spot.

Originally Posted by Neckshot

1997 Dunedin TF rifle range Wepons qual for my basic, had only been shootng live rounds out of the styer for a couple of days then got top shot for the course.
1998 Armd offenders pistol range trenthem without a doubt my best day with a fire arm after a day of fireing the sig sauer and then doin eliminations out of my platoon about 35 shooters. The next day we had the top 3 shot off Me being one of them and the coy OC was another, I cleand house on a twenty shot match closest was 11 from the other private!the setup was 5 standing,5 kneeling,5 lying on your back legs infront, then double tap standing double tap kneeling 1 shot lying down prone from ten mtrs into the head spot! Fuckn best day I didnt buy any piss that night, would love a fang on the sig again one day.

You never come up against the master with the rifle or P226 tho, did you?

I always find when I've done some fancy shooting and think I'm pretty smart I'll stuff something up to bring me back to reality

i didnt hear anyone call me out either???????????? have you got a p226 we can have a match!

Originally Posted by Neckshot

i didnt hear anyone call me out either???????????? have you got a p226 we can have a match!

It would result in you curled up in a corner, rocking back and forth, whimpering, with your thumb in your gob.
There is/was 2 trophys in the 2/1 Red Diamond room that has my name on them 3 more times than anyone else has managed, they also havent yet engraved the last year I had on the No4 T. Someone told me they retired it? Probably no room left for the little brass plaques
Before and after your corps training I toured most units running the fam trg on the P226. I fired a ridiculous amount of ammo.