Less than six horizontal feet, but the shot was probably 15 feet as I was that high off the ground. Whitetail doe from a tree stand with a compound bow.
Shortest distance with a firearm was 30 feet. 6-point buck that ran across a field and stopped 10 yards into the woods, right in front of me. Dropped it with a .44 Mag Ruger Super Redhawk. Quartering shot. Recovered the fully expanded JHP under the skin on the opposite flank.
Closest shot I've missed!
I've killed lots of deer with bows, black powder & rifles inside of 10 yards. But this one deer…
There is a story here: I had just returned from an elk hunt in Colorado where I shot a bull in the neck at 450 yards - (totally a God thing).
Friday night the day before the season opener for white tail, I was bragging around the camp fire to all that "If I can see it I can kill it!"
Next morning I climbed a tree on overlooking a fresh game trail and just at shooting light a big buck jumped the fence and stood directly underneath me - 6-8 feet! I aimed straight down between his shoulder blades and MISSED!
Height over bore will get you every time, and my friends never let me live it down!
I have had many deer within 5~10 yards. Not deer season, they were safe.
I lived off the land for a couple/three years bout 5 decades ago. Almost always my food was within ten yards or less.
A few times foxes have come up while I was eating or sleeping. Curious, sniffing, casting slightly left and right. When they noticed I was watching them, they turned and walked away.
Blackmail buck 15 feet 338 Win, black bear 12 feet 257 Ackley, 400lb hog 7 feet 338 Lapua Improved, coyote singed the fur and blew about a 3 inch hole thru his rib cage when i poked him with the muzzle of my 17 Remington
I killed the **** out of a rattlesnake from a foot away.
I was hog hunting going through draws slowly when I found myself standing next to a six foot long rattler. I slowly lowered the .378 Weatherby Mag, pointing the barrel right at its head and squeezed the trigger.
Hasta lom bango rattler!!!
I shot five does as they paraded directly under my stand. I would guess their collective distance horizontal distance might have been 5 ft. They were piled up within a few feet of the tree. It looked like a masacre had occured under the tree.