Memories: Your Favorite Shot (and Mine)

BritChaser

BritChaser

Well-known member
While we're waiting for the magic openers, memories can console. What is your favorite shot in your hunting history? A double on pheasant? A scotch double on quail? A duck that fell into the blind?

Give us the when, where, and how of it. You first then I will post mine. ;)

Here's mine: I was hunting alone in western Kansas on a warmish, clear day. Gus the Brittany and I were heading south on a long north-south rise in a patch of CRP. Gus went on point and as I hustled up to him he broke point and began trailing. (Gus is not trained to hold point until released; I leave it up to him.) Then he pointed again, then broke and trailed. And another, and another, and on and on. In all he went on point about 10 - 12 times, vigorously trailing between them. After we had covered about 200 yards in this manner I was panting trying to keep up and then the cock flushed. In the bag. That was my most satisfying shot ever. The dog work was without a single command or sound from me.
 
Last edited:
My dog was on point in some thick grass in a creek bottom. Bro gets a quail up. Goes uphill about 10 yards to my right. Too close for a shot. I had been practicing my turning. Turned about all the way around without taking my eyes off the bird. (I always turn until the hand on the forearm is under the kill zone.) Regained my balance and took the shot.

Immediately, my brother-in-law gave condolences for missing a difficult shot. He's always happy when I miss.

I yelled back, "I got him!"

I will always remember this shot because my practice worked and because it ruined my brother-in-law's happiness.
 
2014 Montana sage & sharptail grouse hunt... Walked up on my dog on point way off to side of my brother & dad I look in front of her & sharptails are walking away from her through sage I see 1 starring at her then I flush the bird along with about 25 more I end up pulling a true in air tripple with my pump 870 3 shots 3 crumpled sharpies fall I was more shocked then my dad & bro...

Day later I watch my dad take a sage grouse at full speed flying with the wind after I missed it we let the dog retrieve that bad boy dogs kinda look at them big grouse like wear do I pick it up at boss???

There a few times I wish I had a go pro due to the shots I've pulled out of my butt then there are them ez gimme going away shots I whiff on that would be bad to watch over & over lol
 
We were hunting an 80 of CRP on the Sunday morning during opening weekend. There were five of us, and we had made two swaths (I couldn't convince them to walk edges) and we watched 15 roosters fly from across the road to the other corner of the field. We tried to flank them the best we could as I went tearing across to the eastern edge while the guy on the other side, ran to the south. We moved up and birds exploded from everywhere. I stood in the same spot and in the space of about 15 seconds, shot three roosters without moving.

Two of the guys shot two others, and my poor dad never pulled the trigger.
 
Last edited:
It was my first day of hunting. I was 15. My Dad and I were duck hunting in a tidal marsh. When the tide was down, we would jump shoot ducks in potholes and drainage ditches. We were walking up on a pothole surrounded by high marsh grass. As I walked up a rooster pheasant jumped up and headed off to my left. I was stunned for a moment at both the startling flush and the fact that a pheasant and not a duck came out. But sort of unconsciously I pulled up, swung ahead and fired. Down he came. My first shot as a hunter and my first pheasant all at one time.
 
I love to hunt pheasants and I could tell lots of stories of incredible shots and easy misses but the one that comes to mind is on my first dove. All I heard about and read about was how hard it is to shoot doves. On my first hunt and first shot at a dove I dropped it easily. I thought I must be a good shot and all those writers are really poor! ha ha. Then I remember the rest of the day and trying to reproduce that first "easy" shot.
 
BritChaser said:
Funny! :D
Click to expand...

I shot well that year. He only saw me miss once that year. That year I shot a 20 gauge 870 express. The next year on opening day I shot a going away rooster about 35 to 40 yards away. He went down but we never found him. Should not have taken the shot. On November 1 it's too green for the dog to run down a rooster in very thick cover. So upset never picked up that 20 gauge again. Even sold it!

STUPID! Should not condemn a gun for one shot.
 
2012 in my favorite quail spot we got a huge covey (80 or more birds) off the roost on a cold morning. My brother and I both doubled, reloaded and doubled again and the dogs found every bird. Two guys, eight shells, and eight birds in the bag. No need to follow up the singles. That was a good day.:cheers:
 
quail hound said:
2012 in my favorite quail spot we got a huge covey (80 or more birds) off the roost on a cold morning. My brother and I both doubled, reloaded and doubled again and the dogs found every bird. Two guys, eight shells, and eight birds in the bag. No need to follow up the singles. That was a good day.:cheers:
Click to expand...

Great shooting!
 
quail hound said:
2012 in my favorite quail spot we got a huge covey (80 or more birds) off the roost on a cold morning. My brother and I both doubled, reloaded and doubled again and the dogs found every bird. Two guys, eight shells, and eight birds in the bag. No need to follow up the singles. That was a good day.:cheers:
Click to expand...


Good shooting & dogs... I was lucky MT on the tripple had 3 dogs each dog found a sharptail for me they were my 1st sharptail & the dogs as well I'm pretty sure all involved will remember that day lol

Multiple birds down & more birds flushing is hard on dogs I've lost a few birds in them situations hunt dead is good to teach dogs I've found out the hard way...
 
I have three or four shots that stick out when I think back. Probably the most memorable was when I was 13 or 14 duck hunting with my dad and older brother. We weren't seeing a lot but the few we had seen skirted the decoys to the left of us. I was told it was OK for me to go sit over on that side of the pond. A while later a flock of 20 or 30 mallards starts to circle. They don't quite want to come into the decoys but once again angle off to the left where I was. I had never shot a well colored drake mallard and when I lifted my gun to take a shot I pulled right up in front of a prime drake. Even though it has been over 30 years I can still see my sight picture and then that drake helicoptering down in my mind like it was yesterday.

When it hit the ground I saw my brother trotting over to me. I was sure he was going to be upset with me not letting the flock work around again. Instead he was congratulating me and trying to beat me to the duck. It is not the best shot I've ever made but on that day I started to feel like one of the hunters and not just a kid being taken along.

Tim
 
My favorite shot came just last fall. Last fall way my springer's first season. We worked down a draw. At the bottom of the draw we ran into some really thick stuff. As we worked around it we jumped a really nice 10 point buck. I watched it run away from us up the hill on the far side. The buck was still in view at the top of the hill on the far side. My pup worked the seem between the native grass and the thick stuff and flushed her first two wild roosters. Fortunately I knocked one of them down. She marked the fall and retrieved the bird out of the thickest of the thick stuff. She retrieved the bird to hand. My pup had a smile on her face as wide as mine.
 
A new pups first bird is always very memorable!:thumbsup:
 
This was over 40 years ago. I was probably 18 at the time and was pheasant hunting in some standing corn with my beagle-mix?? dog. She took off down a row of corn on a dead run with me in hot pursuit....back then I could pick'em and lay'em down with the best of them. As we neared the end of the field I looked in the row next to me and there was the rooster going back they way he just came from. He flushed and I emptied my A 5 without pulling a feather. Til this day I can still him running next to me, flushing and sailing out of the corn unscathed. Yep, good times!!
 
In the mid 90's we were quail hunting draws going down to the river. We were wrapping up a great afternoon hunt and we were working our way back to the vehicle. The draws split so I took my lab and went one way and my buddy his son and 2 Brittany went the other. At the end of the draw there was a huge plum thicket. I sent my lab in and he flushed a huge covey that went out in two waves. Shooting a 20 ga A5 I went 5 for 5 on the covey rise.
 
Was hunting in quail in southern AZ while in College, Hunting with my first dog GSP. Being a poor shot, missed several shots. Cussing/swearing in frustration. Gambel jumps up next to me, presenting a quick crossing shot. Hit the bird square at 5 feet, Bird exploded, only found one leg. The only bird I actually hit, there was nothing left.
 
A couple of years ago in South Dakota I was musing with my hunting party that I've had several doubles on pheasants, I've never gotten a triple. Shortly later in a small thicket of trees I flushed 3 roosters & promptly MISSED THEM ALL !!!
 
Great posts all. Keep 'em coming.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top