Share your best hunting story
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Indigo22
Well-known member
I once shot a Ruffled Grouse with a 45acp. I was walking a ridgeline fire road when a Grouse flushed from the brush a few feet ahead of me. It flew straight out and landed in a tree no more than fifteen yards straight out from me. It apparently felt safe as it was also forty feet off the ground because the hill dropped off that quickly from the ridgeline. I steadied my aim for a head shot and popped a round off. The bird dropped to the ground flopping around and I scrambled after it as I didn't want to chase it any further down the hill. The shot had struck him right below the beak and the head was being held on only by two thin strips of skin and feathers. I felt pretty proud of collecting that bird. It also tasted really good at dinner.
I had two witnesses with me when I did this, a niece and a nephew were out on the walk with me and it was my sister who made dinner that evening.
I had two witnesses with me when I did this, a niece and a nephew were out on the walk with me and it was my sister who made dinner that evening.
Now that's one heck of a shot! Using a .45 ACP on a grouse shows some serious skill
Especially with a head shot.
Indigo22
Well-known member
My hands were quite a bit steadier 40 years ago... The handgun was a Colt Combat Commander that had gone through a serious fluff and buff with Millet adjustable sights added. My opinion was that it was a lucky shot at 15 yards.
While there might have been a smidgen of luck involved, there was most likely a lot of skill involved to make that shot happen. Never debase something that proves you abilities.
I have 2 stories: while pheasant hunting in Central IL I flushed a pheasant, but it was flying right into the sun, so hard to identify. I was following the bird with my single shot gun, but at the age of 10 I was reluctant to fire. The poor bird was also blinded by the sun and did not see the power line it flew into and killed itself. Turned out to be a hen. I kept the hen but just imagine if we had been stopped by a warden.
The second story is about rabbit hunting in soybean stubble. It was super cold and my feet were numb when I spotted a rabbit hunkered down just ahead of me. As a boy I was trying to practice good sportsmanship I decided to flush the bunny with a boot stroke in the butt. Well, I hauled off and kicked but the rabbit did not run. I had kicked it so hard that I broke its rear end. This time I was carrying an old 410 single so I achieved my first and only head shot on a rabbit.
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Rogue_soldier
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I ate it on a slippery log, spooked a buck and then dropped my rifle while trying to catch myself
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Before I moved to Wisconsin, I lived in North Central Minnesota. A friend and I decided to walk through a tree farm and try to call in some coyotes. This area is 3 miles wide by 7 miles long. We put on our snowshoes ,grabbed a couple mouth calls,and started crossing the 7 mile way. We had backpacks with coffee,and a lunch ,ropes to drag any coyotes we might get, about mid day we had called a bit with no luck and we decided to have some lunch. I unstrapped my snowshoes and stepped out of then expecting to drop knee deep into the snow. Went all the way to my armpits. We spent the best part of an hour trying to get me back up on my snowshoes. Oh and we never saw a single coyote.
