Last year, while we were on safari in the Selous, we got rained on and were not able to use the truck.

So we decided to go on foot.

We were out most of the morning, when we came across some impala feeding, and decided to bag one.

They were about 200 yards away, and I rested my rifle against a small tree. The buck I was shooting was right in the open, feeding.

Just as I was pulling the trigger, my rifle slipped against the tree trunk, and the bullet landed about 50 yards too short!

We could see the dust fly as the bullet hit the ground.

WE all laughed, as I sometimes do miss, but not by 50 yards!

WE walked over there, and were trying to find where the bullet landed - we were hoping we might recover it.

While we were looking around, I said to Alan "that bullet hit the ground straight towards him. Wouldn't be great if he was hit by the ricocheted?"

"It would. Wouldn't that be something?"

We kept looking, and suddenly we found a drop of blood!!?

A few yards away, was our dead impala!

Walter said we have self guided bullets

Saeed:

Several year ago, there was a DVD made in Australia. They hunted banteng and buff. One client shot into the ground and the bullet ricocheted right into the banteng. It was easily seen.

Personally, I am never that lucky.

Larry,

I have seen some really weird things happen while hunting.

Years back, we had my friend Nelson hunting with us in the Selous.

He was using my rifle, and fired at a kongoni which was partially hidden behind a tree.

His front part was clear, and his rear half was not.

He ran off after the shot, and we followed him.

He went into some grass, and while we were looking for him, he jumped up a few yards ahead of us and ran off again.

Nelson fired another shot at him, and dropped him.

Now we had some really strange things here.

Nelson's first bullet him the kongoni low in the rear leg, cut his scrotum and went out.

How that bullet hit him there was a mystery to us, as that part of him was hidden behind the tree.

The mystery did not stop there either.

Nelson's second bullet, hit the kongoni midway in his body just ahead of the rear leg.

It did not penetrate straight, but turned upwards, following the curve of his back, and went down again on the other side!!

We could never see how that could have happened.

I have a springbuck that was killed by rock-hard pieces of an anthill. The animal had been wounded first, and the followup shot ricocheted off an anthill killing the animal with multiple pieces of shrapnel. It had about 6 holes in it from the shrapnel.

About 15 years ago, in northern Alberta, we were sitting around the fire, at one of my bear camps.
Likely about 6-7 of us, just sitting and talking...
A wolf trots out on a cutline, 750 yes away, and lays down in the sun, right in the middle of the cut..
I had my blaser, in .375 sitting about five feet away, and the boys were all worked up for me to shoot it..
Well, the bullet hit about 10' low, maybe 50 yes in front, and proceeded to drill a hole, right through his skull...
Stone cold dead!!!
They still talk about that shot when we get together...

I saw a television show a few months back in which a neophyte was trying to kill a pig with a bow. He came upon a couple of 50-pounders in the ditch alongside a gravel road. It was very close to dark and the light low. When he shot you could see the arrow strike a spark on the gravel, then ricochet directly into the little porker he was shooting at and drop it on the spot.

A few years ago I shot at a running 10pt buck that was chasing a doe, after the shot he went about 30yds and piled up dead.
When we hung him up to skin him, he looked like he had been hit with buckshot. There were several entry wounds.
I was using a 30-06 with 150gr coreloks.
Went back to where I was hunting & recreated the scene & found about a 3in tree that I had shot through.

Killed two impala with one shot. Not too uncommon, except I was shooting up a steep incline, bullet entered took a 60 degree turn, went down the hill and pole axed another.

Lesson learned. Bullets turn inside animals! they don't usually go straight through.

The first Nyala that I shot was killed by my bullet hitting a small branch just ahead of it, splitting into three pieces and all three hitting and killing the Nyala bull. Strange things happen in this world! (Words to an old 50's/60's song )

We were hunting kudu, and found a nice bull standing about 250 yards away.

To the right of him, and further back from him, was a zebra.

I fired at the kudu, which took off running.

The zebra dropped down with a broken back!

We ran to the zebra, and finished it off.

The kudu was lying dead a few yards further.

The bullet hit the kudu, went through him, changed direction, and hit the zebra which was over 30 yards away!!?

Ya, ya, ya - generally I just miss by 50 yards and then we move on!!!!

Had a client shoot down a sender at a javelina many years ago. The guy was a horrible shot and had already shot the horn off a dandy buck at less than 100 yards. As I watched through binos, the guy skipped a bullet down the rock hard sendero 30 yards in front of the javelina and the bullet smacked him in the neck dead on the spot. Bullet was tumbling and left a huge hole in the neck. Sh It happens.

On my first safari in 1988, I shot my first Zebra. I downed it on the spot. I walked over to a tree to lean my rifle on. I noticed some blood. Upon further inspection , there was a blood trail which we followed quite a way. We found a second zebra. I never knew the second was there.

First Mule Deer I shot was broadside at 300 yds. Hit him in the jaw and the bullet ricocheted into his spine - DRT. First Whitetail I shot was under 100 yds facing me. Shot him under the neck, DRT, and hoped to find the bullet -- nope, but we saw where the bullet exited his arse-hole.

Not to be outdone, I shot at a HUGE Impalla standing broadside at 75 feet a couple weeks ago with my 450 double and MISSED!!! and it ran away un-scathed.

Do I win?

Rory

I shot at a bull hippo standing on land across a river. The bullet hit the river and ricocheted into the hippo, which promptly jumped into the water and swam around in circles making a horrible noise. Several more shots killed the hippo.

Very interesting tales.
Please continue the entertainment.
I missed a shot once upon a time.



Ricochet:



However, even a blind acorn finds a hog now and then ...

I guess the same is true for us now and then.

I remember bouncing an arrow over a coyote one time. He saw it hit in front of him and turned to run. Then he saw it hit behind him. He was so confused, he sat tight looking around. I was laughing so hard I couldn't get another arrow nocked before he figured out he best get out of Dodge.

I hope I'm always as lucky as he was.

Interesting tales. Also proves the point about always knowing what is behind a target when discharging a firearm.

I wonder if animals believe in Murphy's Law?......lol

On one safari, I missed two zebra on two separate occasions.

Both seemed to be standing right in the open, and on both occasions there was a stick between me and them, and despite the fact that I could not see it, it deflected the bullet enough to miss them.