Closest Kill

Ok guys and gals here's the deal. With all the talk and rage of long range hunting these days does hunting with a long range capable rifle make you look down your nose at someone? I will confess my longest kill shot was here in NC on a big doe with my 300 WSM and it was 250 yards. That is my longest shot at any game ever. The rifle and handload I am shooting is capable of longer shots and I practice out to 500 yards but I hate taking that long of shot unless conditions are perfect. So one more question for everyone with a long range capable rifle... What is your closest kill shot with your rig?
Mine was on my biggest buck to date and I took him at 20 yards. To me it is much more fun to stalk than to shoot.
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killerbee
my closest kill was with a rifle, my first bull when i was 15. i killed a 4 point bull at 4 yrds.
My closest bow kill was on a buck at 15 yrds.
my longest bow kill was on this yrs bull at 48 yrds ( and hopefully i will never top that)
My longest rifle kill wasjust a couple yrs ago on a bull at 385 yrds.

I DEFFINATLY think a person has alot more to brag about by telling me how CLOSE they got to their animal vs. telling me how far they pulled a shot off at.

i work with this old guy who's killed a pile of bulls with his bow. his furthest shot has been 35 yrds. he doesnt even practice past 40. he has TONS of kills at 3 yrds, 5 yrds, 7 yrds, 11 yrds ETC... even one story of a 6x6 coming in to 3 yrds shooting it, it jumps out to the other side of him and stops at 6 yrds, he shoots it again, it starts loosing his balance and falls over on his day pack!! ( by the way he's deffinatly not the type you would ever think would tell you a story that wasn't 100% true either) to me , THAT AWSOME!

on the other hand, i have friend who , year after year, tells me stories-- " oh i missed at 95 yrds" ," oh i went ahead and let one fly at 120 yrds"," he was coming in , stopped at 85, i knew i could hammer him so i let er' rip, but he like ducked down and i hit him to high, but i'm sure he's not even hurt" ](*,) ](*,) ( all with his bow) this guy is an amazing shot at a target. but very foolish when it comes to huntingIMO

someone who can get CLOSE cosistantly will make me tip my hat to them 100% of the time!
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ridgetop
My first buck was shot with a 30/30 at about 30 yards and I've shot several under 100 yards, I can't tell you guys how many people wanted me to use there rifle this year on my ram hunt. They claimed I could just "dial up" any yardage out to about 1200. If I would have done that, I would have felt like I lost a big part of the hunt. I declined all offers and used my own rifle and was able to get a one shot kill at 125 or less yards. I didn't range it but knew it was plenty close.
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camodup
My closes kill, with my Remington 887 Nirto, was about 2 weeks ago, and this goldeney seriously almost took my head off, and putting it in numbers i pulled the trigger at 10-15 yards and it ended up 20 yards behind me... Again, almost took off my head :))
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BIG R
My closest was a whitetail with a 30/30 at 8 yds and my longest was an antelope at 806 with a 7 mag.I have killed lots of game up to 500 yds and a few over.The ones over 500 yds was because I could not get any closer.We shoot all summer long,putting 600 to 700 rds down the barrel and am very comfortable out past 500 yds but only take that sort of shot if im 100% comfortable with it.I prefer all my shots be under 500 yds but when alls I can get is 650 and im comfortable with it ill take it any day.In our wide open country of the plains around here thats all you can get sometimes.Shooting so many long range shots through a rifle while practicing makes all those closer shots just that much easier,just as if you were shooting a bow.If you've never tried long range try it but till then don't knock it.Yes there are alot of loose cannons out there but with lots of practice and good choices you can make an ethical kill on anything IMO :thumb
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a_bow_nut
My closest with a rifle is about twenty yards. With a bow it was at fifteen yards.
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silvertip-co
6' on a buck with my .264 win mag. then i fell out of the treestand.
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ABert
Around 30 yard with my .32 Win Special a few years back up in WA on a doe in heavy timeber. With a scoped rifle, about the same distance on a 5X5 bull I somehow noticed in the heavy timber before he noticed me. Turns out he had about 6 cows with him that I never saw.
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Default Avatar
Closest was an 8pt (4x4) whitetail with a bow 10yrds. Longest 98yrds with a muzzle loader, 8pt whitetail. I do howvever have alot of respect for those that can consistantly bring down critters at long range in open country.
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sneekeepete
lol Silvertip!
Lot's of close shots! Keep em coming!
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derekp1999
My closest kills have both been muley bucks with a muzzleloader at 30 yards.
I took a cow elk this year at 250 yards so I know I can do it, but I like to get in close... makes it personal I guess.
With the closer shots I felt like I had earned them more due to the hard work & risk to close the gap. I could have taken shots at both bucks starting at ~120 yards... but both were smaller bucks so I was playing the game see how close I could get. When I got to 30 yards & neither buck was none the wiser I knew I had earned the shots.
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Default Avatar
My closest elk was this year at 30 yards with a 7mm and deer at 15yds with same rifle 2 years ago. My closest with bow is 7 yards for elk and 20 for mule deer. Ive always tried to teach my son to stalk every animal no matter what weapon. This year he shot his first mule deer at 100 yards with a 22-250. He is 10 and has his deer in the photo secion. My 30 yard elk is also in the photo section.
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BIG R
I have just as much fun @800 as I do @100 for the fact its a lot harder to make that 800 yard shot. :thumb I dont understand how you can judge the amount of fun had by anybody that shoots long distance unless you've done it yourself. (???) If you have done it and dont get enjoyment out of it that doen't mean anybody else that does it wont ](*,)
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Springville Shooter
The danger that we get into is when we try to impose what is "fun" for us onto other people. What happened to "variety is the spice"? I appreciate ALL aspects of hunting and though I chose not to participate in some, like muzzleloader, I would never think of putting anyone else down for doing what they love. Remember that the next time you want to say that a long shot would ruin a hunt, or take the fun out. That being said, my closest shot with a rifle was 17yds on a blacktail, and my shortest kill with a bow was 19yds with a 34lb recurve. I personally like to be prepared for any situation that I might encounter in the field. That means that I want to be able to stalk, make quick running shots, make long shots, glass, read the wind etc. Every situation in the field is different and that's what I love. --------SS
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BIG R
Perfectly said 10sign: Shooter.
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Default Avatar
I've shot two whitetails in the northeast at less than 10 feet. Both in the head with an old 30-30 rifle. One was in heavy brush I was very slowly making my way through. It was windy so everything was moving and the noise helped. I was standing wondering where all the deer were when I noticed a little white spot moving in the brush on a ledge at eye level to me. I watched it for awhile thinking it was a bird. It turned out to be the white spot on the lower jaw of a 3 point whitetail buck moving as he chewed his cud. He never moved at the shot. Another buck was shot between the antlers when he put his head down to feed. Same deal. Stillhunting on a windy day, back in the day when they were badly needed food.
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killerbee
i think there is just a fine line of when shooting long range is ok when it's not.

SHOOTER AND BIG-R, i have absolutly no doubt that your plenty practised enough to enjoy long range shooting, and also have not a secong guess weather you should take those shots. i'm all for it and want to hear the stories.

the other end of the line is the downside. there are WAY TO MANY guys who are watching "best of the west" right now, that just ordered their custom turett for $150 and are " instant long range shooters" that is the part that i dont like.
it's the same with any sport, a guy sees it on tv, goes out once and does decent, and assumes he's as good as the guy he watched on tv.

BUT- all things equal,if i hear 2 stories this year, 1 where a guy got to 5 yrds and killed his elk, and the other where a guy shot his elk at 800 yrds, i'm giving a little bigger pat on the back to the guy :thumb at 5 yrds :thumb
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Springville Shooter
I have heard this argument about long-range before and I do agree. But, I don't feel that this is a problem that is unique to the long game. I feel that a large percentage of ALL types of hunters are simply not prepared and practiced enough to take the shots that they take. Bowhunters, Muzzy guys, and regular medium-range rifle guys are all guilty as groups. Here is another thing that I want you to think about; most people who put down the long range game say nothing about taking 100-200 yard offhand shots at moving game. I will GUARANTEE you that I can take a much more ethical shot at 400-600 yards than this. Have you ever tried to shoot a group offhand at a still target? I have and on a good day I shoot about 6 inch groups at 100 yards. On a final note, I would like to agree with killer about the guys who take shortcuts trying to become 600yard shooters without making the sacrifices of time and money to become truly accomplished marksmen. In their haste, they miss out on the true rewards that only us long shooters understand; the tuning of good equipment, the hours of load developement, the days and frustrations at the range when things aren't working the way they should, the aquisition and mastry of all the support equipment and glass. When the culmination of all these things result in a boom-flop instant kill on an animal that is totally in a relaxed state, unaware of your presence, I'll take that feeling anyday over a 5 yard blowover shot.---------SS
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killerbee
and just for the record, i posted a stroy of my awsome year of hunting, only 1 with me being the shooter, but the bull my buddy killed was shot 3 times at 658-668 yrds.( from the first to the 3rd shot) by no means am i anti long range shooters!
i just hate how the readers read this and tomorrow they get set up and are ready to kill their animal at 1000 yrds. same with archery, just a little smaller numbers. guys spouting off about killing a buck at 100 yrds, weekend warrior reads it, tries it one afternoon and gets lucky on the last arrow to put it in the target, from there on he's not afraid to "let er' rip" at 100 yrds, cause he did it once.
no doubt at all you can do it- it just REALLY NEEDS TO BE METIONED who should do it and the work they put into it.
1 more edit- i'm a bow hunter #1, and aqain- by no means am i against long range rifle guys, but i really do get annoyed by anyone who tells me they shoot 80+ yrds with a bow. thats crap IMO)
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sneekeepete
This thread wasn't posted to insult or say any particular style of hunting is better I just like hearing about the guys who are able to get super close on an animal. I understand how much it takes to be a good shot with any weapon at long range. I agree with all Big R, Shooter, and Killer have been talking about .
I think that hunters as a group need to be more responsible and realistic about their personal skill level. It only takes one dumby to smear the reputation of many. I guess we should all try to devote more time becoming more proficient and maintaining our skills too.
Thanks for all the responses this is great to hear!
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Default Avatar
From what I see going on in our country is the belief that somehow if you throw enough money at a problem you can solve it. It doesn't matter how much expensive technology you have it cannot make up for a lack of expertise. Thats' why I shoot my bows, pistols and rifles as much as possible on good days and bad days. I do dry fire drills with my firearms daily and am a very presentable offhand shot with a rifle. I have a moving target I shoot too. If you buy a weapon and take the time to become proficient with it by all means shoot as far as you know how. The practice will show you just how pitiful you really are especially in adverse conditions. If I always shoot in perfect conditions from a bench so that my ego feels good from shooting those 1/2 inch groups at 300 meters I'll be at a total loss if it's raining and the wind is blowing and I'm trying to balance my rifle across my pack while shooting at a 75 degree angle downhill. It takes a great deal of skill to drop an animal at long range cleanly especially under field conditions and it takes as much skill to get close enough to poke the barrel in his ear too. It all takes discipline to be successful on a regular basis.
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Default Avatar
My closest kill was my first buck ever, when I was 14 years old. I shot it at about 45 yards with an old Winchester 30/30, the same gun my dad shot his first deer with. 45 yards sounds like I stalked it but at 14 I had no stalking skills and just got lucky to be in the right place at the right time. Man I love hunting and the great memories it provides!
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28 feet down in a drew. popped him with my 357 mag. put him on the mule and packed him back to camp.
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My first buck was my closest at 60 yards with my 50 caliber smoke pole.
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JDavid
My buck two years ago. Him and his two brother jumper out in front of my at 50 yards. Taken with a 30-06. Im hoping to get an elk this year with my bow I wont shot over 30 yards.
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Default Avatar
about 15' with my 300wm. Had the 7pt at 10', but was having to look at him through the bottom section of my climbing stand.


With a bow my shortest shot was 3yds, it was one of those shoot or get eaten moments.
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My closest rifle shot was with my old 270 at about 15 yards. Funny thing is my closest bow shot is 23 yards. I've likley killed over 100 critters with my rifle, though and only 4 with a bow, so it is a little unfair to compare. I've only killed 5 critters with a muzz and the closest of those was about 75-80 yards.
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bullsnot
My closest kill with a rifle was 30 yards on a bull elk.

I have no problems with long range shooting as long as the shooter is responsible and does thier homework. I wouldn't mind having a long range shooter to dink around with but for hunting situations it just isn't my cup of tea. I like getting close....but I don't think everyone needs to live by my preferences either.
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Default Avatar
The first cow elk I shot a few years back was around 40 yards when she and a few others came busting out of the trees. I agree, it's definitely more exciting to be that close!
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one hunting fool
no lie one time while walking up a trail in a small bowl i steped on a branch that cracked and sent a 3 point running straight down the trail i was on I had to shoot him out of self defence. I shot him at 10 ft and he hit the ground tumbling it took out my legs as he hit me and i went head over "a"... when i got up the buck was dead my buddy called out and i realized why he came toward me. the wall of a rock face made it almost impossible to tell where the sound was coming from. he must have though i was above him so he was getting the heck out of there. lol
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spoofman
my closest and first archery was 15 yards above payson utah a 3x3 about 15 years ago
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