Hunting career high point. 175yard shot with S&W 629!!!

[Mystro]

I just got in from a cold wet day of deer hunting. I made my 25 year hunting careers longest ever pistol shot. I took this huge doe tonight with my S&W 629 6" pistol. The load was my own Hornady 240XPT going 1380fps. I watched her work across the field from 300yards in. I was sitting under a hemlock tree at the edge of the field and watch her come in from 300yards away. She would not come any closer and looked like she was ready to run off. It was 4:30pm in the rain/mist and the light was getting dim. it was now or never, so I put my orange front sight across the top of her back, took a deep breath released it and let the shot fly. I was totaly relaxed and used my left knee to stabilize my left arm. She fell like I hit her wih my 300win mag. It was instant lights out. The 240xtp found its mark on her front shoulder. It was a textbook shot. A bit of luck, skill and opertunity all came into play. I am ecstatic. I am gonna do a full examination when I butcher her out. I couldn't be more pleased with my hand loaded bullets performance in my beloved S&W.
I just wanted to share.......

Yea, I still have my game face on....

[ripnbst]

In before the flamers, nice kill but i wouldn't have taken that shot.

[kahrguy]

Nice doe and glad you made the shot work out. I have tried to let iffy shots walk on years ago. I handgun hunted regularly for hogs back in florida for 20 years. Pig have a nack for voiding a well placed shoots so it know all about shooting to far for conditions. Nothing worse than baddly placed shot and we all have made some. If you have not , you will. Only a candle flame.

[Magnum Mike]

To far for me and my 629 with open sights!

[sirgilligan]

Excellent shot. Who's done any better? Not me.

[jimbob86]

With a 12+" drop and a flight time of nearly .5 sec ..... that's an iffy shot, especially with iron sights......

[Seaman]

Great shot!

175 yards is superb iron sight long range handgun shooting. Congratulations. There will be meat on the table for the holidays. My wife is bugging me to go out and get one, but I don't have my 6.5" M29 anymore ... only an M29 snubby, guess I'll have to be... real quiet... and get up real close ...

Yah done well ... Merry Christmas to you and yours!

[Mystro]

I practice out to 75yards and typically thats what I am expecting but being a die hard bowhunter, distance is only a state of mind. I figured if I practice 75yards regularly and have shot many times over 200yards, then why not 175yards?? I have seen Hickock45 shoot farther with his and ring the gong every time. (see him on Youtube) I knew the distance because I have ranged it many times in bow season from my stand that was close to where I was sitting under the tree. I knew the 44mag should still have plenty of power at that distance and the 240 XTP bullet opens up quick and and my mid-power load is a tack driver out of my 629. The gun season is over tomorrow and I had a extra tag left so I figured I would take the 44mag out instead of my rifle cause of all the crappy weather. Thanks guys for all the "Wows"....Pistol guys know how special it is to take game with their handguns. I'm still grinning.
Gonna skin her out in 30 minutes but here is the entry hole. ( I aimed at the top of her shoulder and thats about what the bullet should have dropped with my gun sighted in at 1.5- 2" high at 30 yards)

[Strafer Gott]

Obviously it's all of that clean living. Nice and tasty, too. Thanks for sharing. It's nice to see confidence bring home the bacon!

[scrubcedar]

It's only OVERconfidence if you miss. Long hours of hard work that come together in a shot very few could make, that's skill, and it's earned. Congrats!

[hornetguy]

Good job... GREAT shot. I'm not gonna rag on you at all about the ethics of it, because #1, it's not my place (or anyone else's), and #2, you apparently have worked hard with that revolver, and you obviously know your limitations, and your abilities.
Again... GOOD JOB.

[Mystro]

Thank you. I never thought of it as work but I do have a reducules amount of time working up loads ad testing them out. Shooting and shooting. You just keep at it untill you cant improve the load any more. OCD and reloading go hand in hand.

So far my hunting season is having a Big nutcracking ending.

[WIN1886]

Very nice.....congrats !

[jimbob86]

I practice out to 75yards

So .... you took a shot at a live animal at a range more than twice what you practice at?

Ummmm...... OK........ glad it worked out this time.

[Noreaster]

Congrats. Nice shooting. Too far for me but I have a buddy that shoots steel pigs and chickens and such at that range with open sights. It can be done. Nice revolver also. I like the traditional 6 inch half lug.

I shot a really nice buck at 130+ yards with my muzzle loader. Hornady XTP .44 240 grain and 90 grains of powder. The bullet went through the ribs, heart, broke the shoulder and lodged just under the hide. That bullet will get it done if you put it where it needs to go!

[kahrguy]

And hitting a gong at longer distance for hicok45 ain't makeing a smart shot at live game in the field ether. After you make a really bad shot with your revolver or bow or rifle it should make you rethink your skill levels and where to draw the line for distance to not shoot beyound. Glad you made the shot . but you did make a shoot at a distance twice as far as you have tried at before. Think about that with your rifle or bow. Thats not being a resectful hunter of wildlife. We have all made stupid shots some got lucky some missed and some where really baddly placed shots. You learn by them and learn when to let the game walk on.

[buck460XVR]

I practice out to 75yards and typically thats what I am expecting but being a die hard bowhunter, distance is only a state of mind. I figured if I can shoot at 75yards, why not 175yards?? I have seen Hickock45 shoot farther with his and ring the gong every time.

Hickock45 practices at those ranges all the time. You have claimed to only practice up to 75 yards. When he pulls a shot, he does not end up with a wounded animal. Since you are a "die hard" bowhunter and range is only a state of mind, I assume you practice out to 50 yards. Would you take a shot @ 150 without ever practicing? Sorry, but there was no skill involved here since you claim you have never practiced at this range. You got lucky. Part of being a good hunter is knowing your limitations. Your limitations are determined by what you practice and the skill you obtain from that practice. You did neither. If your practice was limited to 75 yards, that or a distance close to that should have been your limitations. Knowingly shooting 100 yards past your maximum practice distance at a animal with a handgun like a .44 mag revolver is not something most handgunners would brag about. Enjoy the venison, but don't break your arm pattin' yourself on the back.

[mete]

Even in the days when I regularly shot metallic silhouette I wouldn't have gone that distance .But I still can take a one shot 50 yd, one shot kill in 2 seconds !!
Practice , practice !! Proves the M29 and the 44mag are a hunters friend. Enjoy the venison !

[hogdogs]

In before the flamers, nice kill but i wouldn't have taken that shot.

Neither would I... But only because I never created proficiency at long distance hand gun disciplines...

Lots of folks thought I was unethically killing squirrels at 80-100 yards with open sights on my .22lr rifle...

Brent

[feets]

I remember my first 200 meter shot with a 44. It sure took a long time for that bullet to get to the rams. I had written it off as a miss and was reaching for the hammer when the hit rang out and the ram fell.

I would only try a shot like that in perfect conditions after lots of practice.

[44 AMP]

Good shot!

Especially for not having practiced at near that distance. I have to wonder though, why haven't you practiced at that distance?

Note that unlike some others, I'm not questioning you for taking the shot. I wouldn't have done it, but then I don't hunt deer for meat. If I did (and my eyes were younger) the distance alone wouldn't stop me from taking the shot.

Sitting, braced, its not as difficult as many would believe. I can ring the 200yd rifle gong at my local range, standing, offhand, one handed with a 7.5" Ruger .45 Colt. But then, I've been shooting that gun with the same load (250@1100) over that same distance (from my back porch across the canyon) for 30 years. I know precisely what sight picture to use for that combination. And I have a really good idea of how to hold for all my other handguns as well.

You're walking about two feet off the ground right now, and you should be! Great job! The sad part is, that eventually it wears off. Enjoy the venison!

[rclark]

That was quite a shot with a open sighted revolver. Glad it turned out well given the conditions!

[Nanuk]

Excellent!

[jimbob86]

I remember my first 200 meter shot with a 44. It sure took a long time for that bullet to get to the rams.

looked like she was ready to run off.

Even if you knew the exact drop for the range, and even if you made no error in aiming with that short sight radius, with the 1/2 a second flight time, the animal could easily move enough in that 1/2 second to cause a non-incapacitating hit.... if she took a step forward, that's a gutshot animal....

[Winchester_73]

Well what can I say that hasn't already been said? Not much I guess other than that time I hit a deer at 300 yds with a S&W 29 one handed, because I fell out of a tree stand and broke my left arm. The deer was a 24 point with a 20 in spread. It was a great shot and trophy buck, but not my best...There was this other time, during a blizzard, so bad you couldn't see, and I had my 270 with just iron sights...