Shortest range deer you've taken

TXAZ · January 25, 2020, 09:13 PM

There are several threads on longest shot, but I'm curious for you guys that hunt quite a bit, what's the closest you've taken a (non-tame) deer?

Edited title to include all harvesting methods

North East Redneck · January 25, 2020, 10:02 PM

Can't use rifle for deer in Massachusetts, but I did kill a small buck at five yards a couple years ago bow hunting.

Colorado Redneck · January 25, 2020, 11:11 PM

Maybe 20 yards across a gully. Almost 60 years ago, with a 25-35.

1MoreFord · January 25, 2020, 11:34 PM

10 yards or less in timber company cut over with a rifle.

Blindstitch · January 25, 2020, 11:39 PM

7 feet. I was sitting with my back against a tree on the ground and there was a old unusable road in front of me. Near end of light a deer tripped over my extended legs. When it was trying to figure out what happened I squeezed off a shot.

Wyosmith · January 25, 2020, 11:42 PM

My closest deer kill was when I was a teenager. I shot one at about 9 feet.
My closest kill on an elk as about 12 feet.

My closest kill of all however was an antelope which I shot laying down on my side from behind a rock and my muzzle blast took a bunch of hair off it. Distance was about 12-14 inches. It was 8 years ago, and the rifle was a Ruger #1 in 9.3X74R.

Blindstitch · January 25, 2020, 11:42 PM

Another instance I was sitting in a 6x6 box blind with a big open front window and a deer came around the back of the blind and stuck it's head and whole neck in the blind and stared at me. If I had a doe permit that would have been the closest.

NoSecondBest · January 26, 2020, 12:50 AM

I've shot a few directly underneath me while I was sitting in a tree and hunting with a handgun. One of them stopped walking directly underneath me and he must have smelled me. His nostrils started quivering and his eyes got real wide. About that time I touched off my .357mag and it was game over. It was probably five or six feet. Some were a couple of feet further but not much. My stands are only about ten feet up and the other ones were either under the stand or right next to it.

kilotanker22 · January 26, 2020, 02:30 AM

Closest for me was a white tail buck about a decade ago. I was walking back from my spot when I noticed him moving inside the tree line about 10 yards away. I considered not shooting him, because of the distance and I was carrying my 300 win mag with 150 grain soft points. I decided to chance ruining some meat and neatly tucked the bullet between two ribs. The bullet missed the rib bones and penetrated through the heart. The bullet exited the brisket between the shoulders. I ended up with no blood shot meat... Just lucky I guess

David R · January 26, 2020, 08:29 AM

Under my stand with a Flint lock. It was kind if dark, so I had to remove the insert from the peep sight. I was worried the primer would not stay in the pan as the rifle was pointed straight down.
So 5 feet? maybe less.
David

jmr40 · January 26, 2020, 09:14 AM

About 10 yards. I've had them closer, but were either does and not legal at the time or I was unable to get off the shot.

reynolds357 · January 26, 2020, 11:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TXAZ

There are several threads on longest shot, but I'm curious for you guys that hunt quite a bit, what's the closest you've taken a (non-tame) deer?

Edited title to include all harvesting methods

Directly under my stand.

huntinaz · January 26, 2020, 12:45 PM

I killed one from a tree stand in NY at like 20-25 yards. Think that’s my closest deer. Killed coyotes and fox and bobcats closer

ms6852 · January 26, 2020, 01:36 PM

About 80 yards using a handgun. The Taurus Hunter in 44 magnum with a 12" barrel.

7.62 man · January 26, 2020, 04:16 PM

I took one with a bow from about 10'.
An older fawn (without spots) kept playing around my makeshift blind for about the last three time I sat in this place. It must have liked the smell coming from my Thermacell. But it all of a sudden jumped up & ran into the woods. I didn't think much of it but then the fawn comes walking out with a good sized doe following it. It came up to smell the Thermacell & I let it fly. Good eating!

mxsailor803 · January 26, 2020, 05:45 PM

Does hitting one with my truck count? Lol

stephen426 · January 26, 2020, 05:50 PM

Please excuse my dumb question, but if the shot is more than a few feet, do you use the scope (with a rifle) assuming you don't have open sights that you can co-witness? How do you compensate for the parallax error? Do you just point shoot at that distance since the scope probably wouldn't even be in focus at that distance? Thanks for entertaining a non-hunter.

jmr40 · January 26, 2020, 06:27 PM

You just use the scope the same as always. If you're using it right, with both eyes open, it isn't hard to see the crosshair with the eye looking through the scope and the target with the other eye. The target will be out of focus through the scope, but not with the other eye, and the only thing you're seeing through the scope is the crosshair which will be in focus.

It is easier with scopes on the lower magnifications such as 1-3X, but not impossible even with more magnification.

2wheelwander · January 26, 2020, 06:30 PM

just a few yards from my tree stand. I'd JUST gotten in and stopped shuffling around in the dark. I mean climbed the ladder and sat down. Looked up and there were 2 deer looking up at me mere feet away silhouetted in the dark. Shot the largest one and it dropped like a sack of sand. The wad from my shotgun shell was laying in front of it.

Funny part was I walked 1/4 mile to get my BIL to show him how to gut a deer. When we turned the corner of the woods the other doe had returned and was sniffing its fallen comrade. Told my BIL to take it and he'd forgotten to chamber a round. By the time he figured out how on his borrowed shotgun the doe had fled.

Edir - like carjunkie I've finished one off standing directly over it

CarJunkieLS1 · January 26, 2020, 06:32 PM

Does finishing off a wounded deer count? If it does then my closest kill on a deer would be about 10 inches. I held onto the back leg pulling the wounded deer out from under a downed tree. Stretched out my arm and fired a single round into the chest to end it.

If that doesn't count then the closest shot I've ever killed a deer was 17 yards with a 6.8SPC.

Hawg · January 26, 2020, 07:37 PM

Five yards. Walking a fence line and jumped one up off his bed

big al hunter · January 26, 2020, 09:48 PM

Closest deer was about 10 yards, with a pistol, stalking. Next closest were at 25 and 35 yards.

Closest big game animal was an elk, 10 feet, with a muzzle loader, still hunting.

Out of curiosity, why do you ask TXAZ

TXAZ · January 26, 2020, 11:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mxsailor803

Does hitting one with my truck count? Lol

Under the updated rules, yes it does.
LMAO.

TXAZ · January 26, 2020, 11:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by big al hunter

...

Out of curiosity, why do you ask TXAZ

Just curious, some hunters are very good at stalking and closing the distance on their prey. Stalking is something I remember learning in Scouting, requiring serious attention, stealth and cautious movement...

Like, Mxsailor who clearly closed the distance with a massive projectile, all before the deer knew what hit him.....

big al hunter · January 26, 2020, 11:53 PM

Quote:

. Just curious, some hunters are very good at stalking and closing the distance on their prey. Stalking is something I remember learning in Scouting, requiring serious attention, stealth and cautious movement...

Yeah, it's not easy defeating the senses of a deer to get real close. But neither is judging the wind at 800 yards. I have more fun getting close. And I can rarely see more than a couple hundred yards where I hunt. So long shots are not very common.

January 25, 2020, 10:02 PM	#2
North East Redneck Senior Member Join Date: June 6, 2012 Location: Berkshire Hills Posts: 741	Can't use rifle for deer in Massachusetts, but I did kill a small buck at five yards a couple years ago bow hunting. __________________ NRA Patron Member SAF Life Member GOAL Member

January 25, 2020, 11:39 PM	#5
Blindstitch Senior Member Join Date: April 14, 2013 Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin Posts: 2,692	7 feet. I was sitting with my back against a tree on the ground and there was a old unusable road in front of me. Near end of light a deer tripped over my extended legs. When it was trying to figure out what happened I squeezed off a shot. __________________ NRA Lifetime Member

January 25, 2020, 11:42 PM	#7
Blindstitch Senior Member Join Date: April 14, 2013 Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin Posts: 2,692	Another instance I was sitting in a 6x6 box blind with a big open front window and a deer came around the back of the blind and stuck it's head and whole neck in the blind and stared at me. If I had a doe permit that would have been the closest. __________________ NRA Lifetime Member

January 26, 2020, 02:30 AM	#9
kilotanker22 Senior Member Join Date: October 14, 2012 Location: North Central, PA Posts: 2,117	Closest for me was a white tail buck about a decade ago. I was walking back from my spot when I noticed him moving inside the tree line about 10 yards away. I considered not shooting him, because of the distance and I was carrying my 300 win mag with 150 grain soft points. I decided to chance ruining some meat and neatly tucked the bullet between two ribs. The bullet missed the rib bones and penetrated through the heart. The bullet exited the brisket between the shoulders. I ended up with no blood shot meat... Just lucky I guess __________________ “We do not seek peace in order to be at war, but we go to war that we may have peace. Be peaceful, therefore, in warring, so that you may vanquish those whom you war against, and bring them to the prosperity of peace. – St. Augustine

January 26, 2020, 09:14 AM	#11
jmr40 Senior Member Join Date: June 15, 2008 Location: Georgia Posts: 10,805	About 10 yards. I've had them closer, but were either does and not legal at the time or I was unable to get off the shot. __________________ "If you're still doing things the same way you were doing them 10 years ago, you're doing it wrong" Winston Churchill

January 25, 2020, 09:13 PM	#1
TXAZ Senior Member Join Date: September 5, 2010 Location: McMurdo Sound Texas Posts: 4,322	Shortest range deer you've taken There are several threads on longest shot, but I'm curious for you guys that hunt quite a bit, what's the closest you've taken a (non-tame) deer? Edited title to include all harvesting methods __________________ Cave illos in guns et backhoes Last edited by TXAZ; January 25, 2020 at 10:15 PM.

January 25, 2020, 11:11 PM	#3
Colorado Redneck Senior Member Join Date: January 6, 2008 Location: Northeast Colorado Posts: 1,993	Maybe 20 yards across a gully. Almost 60 years ago, with a 25-35.

January 25, 2020, 11:34 PM	#4
1MoreFord Senior Member Join Date: July 30, 2014 Location: Arkansas Posts: 244	10 yards or less in timber company cut over with a rifle.

January 25, 2020, 11:42 PM	#6
Wyosmith Senior Member Join Date: December 29, 2010 Location: Shoshoni Wyoming Posts: 2,713	My closest deer kill was when I was a teenager. I shot one at about 9 feet. My closest kill on an elk as about 12 feet. My closest kill of all however was an antelope which I shot laying down on my side from behind a rock and my muzzle blast took a bunch of hair off it. Distance was about 12-14 inches. It was 8 years ago, and the rifle was a Ruger #1 in 9.3X74R.

January 26, 2020, 12:50 AM	#8
NoSecondBest Senior Member Join Date: December 7, 2009 Location: Western New York Posts: 2,736	I've shot a few directly underneath me while I was sitting in a tree and hunting with a handgun. One of them stopped walking directly underneath me and he must have smelled me. His nostrils started quivering and his eyes got real wide. About that time I touched off my .357mag and it was game over. It was probably five or six feet. Some were a couple of feet further but not much. My stands are only about ten feet up and the other ones were either under the stand or right next to it.

January 26, 2020, 08:29 AM	#10
David R Senior Member Join Date: January 2, 2015 Location: The swamps of WNY Posts: 753	Under my stand with a Flint lock. It was kind if dark, so I had to remove the insert from the peep sight. I was worried the primer would not stay in the pan as the rifle was pointed straight down. So 5 feet? maybe less. David

January 26, 2020, 12:45 PM	#13
huntinaz Senior Member Join Date: September 21, 2010 Location: az Posts: 1,332	I killed one from a tree stand in NY at like 20-25 yards. Think that’s my closest deer. Killed coyotes and fox and bobcats closer __________________ "When there’s lead in the air, there’s hope in the heart”- Hunter’s Proverb "Feed me, or feed me to something. I just want to be part of the food chain." -Al Bundy

January 26, 2020, 01:36 PM	#14
ms6852 Senior Member Join Date: April 3, 2010 Location: Texas Posts: 1,394	About 80 yards using a handgun. The Taurus Hunter in 44 magnum with a 12" barrel. __________________ ONLY TWO DEFINING FORCES HAVE GIVEN UP THEIR LIVES FOR YOU. ONE IS JESUS CHRIST FOR YOUR SOUL AND THE OTHER IS THE AMERICAN SOLDIER FOR YOUR FREEDOM.

January 26, 2020, 04:16 PM	#15
7.62 man Senior Member Join Date: April 30, 2009 Location: Cyber-world USA Posts: 258	I took one with a bow from about 10'. An older fawn (without spots) kept playing around my makeshift blind for about the last three time I sat in this place. It must have liked the smell coming from my Thermacell. But it all of a sudden jumped up & ran into the woods. I didn't think much of it but then the fawn comes walking out with a good sized doe following it. It came up to smell the Thermacell & I let it fly. Good eating!

January 26, 2020, 05:45 PM	#16
mxsailor803 Senior Member Join Date: February 8, 2010 Location: SC Posts: 1,344	Does hitting one with my truck count? Lol

January 26, 2020, 05:50 PM	#17
stephen426 Senior Member Join Date: March 11, 2005 Posts: 3,840	Please excuse my dumb question, but if the shot is more than a few feet, do you use the scope (with a rifle) assuming you don't have open sights that you can co-witness? How do you compensate for the parallax error? Do you just point shoot at that distance since the scope probably wouldn't even be in focus at that distance? Thanks for entertaining a non-hunter. __________________ The ATF should be a convenience store instead of a government agency!

January 26, 2020, 06:27 PM	#18
jmr40 Senior Member Join Date: June 15, 2008 Location: Georgia Posts: 10,805	You just use the scope the same as always. If you're using it right, with both eyes open, it isn't hard to see the crosshair with the eye looking through the scope and the target with the other eye. The target will be out of focus through the scope, but not with the other eye, and the only thing you're seeing through the scope is the crosshair which will be in focus. It is easier with scopes on the lower magnifications such as 1-3X, but not impossible even with more magnification. __________________ "If you're still doing things the same way you were doing them 10 years ago, you're doing it wrong" Winston Churchill

January 26, 2020, 06:30 PM	#19
2wheelwander Senior Member Join Date: January 9, 2018 Posts: 539	just a few yards from my tree stand. I'd JUST gotten in and stopped shuffling around in the dark. I mean climbed the ladder and sat down. Looked up and there were 2 deer looking up at me mere feet away silhouetted in the dark. Shot the largest one and it dropped like a sack of sand. The wad from my shotgun shell was laying in front of it. Funny part was I walked 1/4 mile to get my BIL to show him how to gut a deer. When we turned the corner of the woods the other doe had returned and was sniffing its fallen comrade. Told my BIL to take it and he'd forgotten to chamber a round. By the time he figured out how on his borrowed shotgun the doe had fled. Edir - like carjunkie I've finished one off standing directly over it Last edited by 2wheelwander; January 26, 2020 at 06:39 PM.

January 26, 2020, 06:32 PM	#20
CarJunkieLS1 Senior Member Join Date: October 1, 2013 Posts: 686	Does finishing off a wounded deer count? If it does then my closest kill on a deer would be about 10 inches. I held onto the back leg pulling the wounded deer out from under a downed tree. Stretched out my arm and fired a single round into the chest to end it. If that doesn't count then the closest shot I've ever killed a deer was 17 yards with a 6.8SPC.

January 26, 2020, 07:37 PM	#21
Hawg Senior Member Join Date: September 8, 2007 Location: Mississippi Posts: 16,188	Five yards. Walking a fence line and jumped one up off his bed

January 26, 2020, 09:48 PM	#22
big al hunter Senior Member Join Date: March 12, 2011 Location: Washington state Posts: 1,558	Closest deer was about 10 yards, with a pistol, stalking. Next closest were at 25 and 35 yards. Closest big game animal was an elk, 10 feet, with a muzzle loader, still hunting. Out of curiosity, why do you ask TXAZ __________________ You can't fix stupid....however ignorance can be cured through education!