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Post by ozark on Jul 31, 2009 21:13:00 GMT -5
I learned to hunt before learning to shoot my best. Yes, I could take a few animals but there was always that knowledge that I might miss. It was only after learning marksmanship skills that I hunted knowing that when I fired the bullet would impact at or very close to the point of aim. It is much more pleasure when you know your shot is going to be where you want it and that the animal isn't going to limp away wounded to suffer. I have never loved a tracking job because it means the job was not done correctly. On the range it isn't difficult to develop the skills of aiming, breathing correctly, holding the rifle steady and properly manipulating the trigger. Learning these steps well automatically goes with the shooter on hunts. They find themselves applying the techniques which makes for accuracy when it is crunch time in the woods. Finding a coach at ranges is very easy. Good shooters are eager to help lesser skilled shooters and you can progress from a beginner to a skilled shooter quickly. I urge skilled shooters to help the less skilled. They will never forget the help you have given. Harvesting animals with a rifle or pistol isn't difficult at all when you have the shooting skills needed. With these skills you simply apply the skills for the shot and the job is done right and as humanely as possible. Naturally the animals anatomy must be known in order for the shooter to aim at a vital area. Once you develop sound shooting skills you simply will not fire until you have identified the vital area and applied the techniques to put the bullet there. If you happen to shoot at long ranges then you will do your homeword and know the trajectory of the bullet and how the rifle is zeroed so you can make the necessary compensations for drop and wind. It is all very simple if you know how to shoot well before you attempt to take animals. I messed up a few times before I learned to shoot well but never once since. My point: Be aware that as you punch holes in paper you are preparing yourself to be a good or great hunter.
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Post by whyohe on Aug 1, 2009 3:51:58 GMT -5
well said again Ozark. i think the biggest problem between paper punching and hunting is the Adrenalin, controlling your self when you see the animal you wish to harvest . to keep that cool head and continue to use the skills practiced and learned while paper punching. i have a hard time doing that but i have to take that second or two to take that deep breath and calm down and start the sequence of the shot. what do you recomend to beginners and some that have a hard time contolling the "excitement" so as to not rush the shot or "pull" the trigger and such thing that can cause us to make that poor shot. i have found using a paper deer target to help with choosing the proper bullet placement. thoes darn deer just are not born with that bullseye on the vitals. also when taking shots that are not broad side , one must think in 3D to know how bullet will enter and where it will exit and how to get the vitals in between so as to get the best and most humane shot. example.. if the deer is quartering away , you must aim a little further back to get the best angle on all vitals. i must say archery hunting and 3D targets help it visualize this. when you see where the arrow hit and look at the target and the angle of the arrow( it being streight) and follow the track threw, you can see how the shot tracks and if you would get the vitals or just skim by them.
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Post by wilmsmeyer on Aug 1, 2009 4:54:26 GMT -5
Whyoye makes a very good point about adrenaline. If anyone here has never got excited when a shot at game begins to develop, then you're just cold hearted. ;D With time and experience...and usually a few bad outcomes....you can do some things to prevent missing. This goes for when you are shivering cold too! a) Aim at things at different ranges when an animal is not in view and decide how far you can reasonably hold your sights still with the rest you have b) Don't take the longest shot in your comfort zone based on what you did at the range, You're not at the range. Limit your shots to ranges that allow some wobble....to a range that keeps the wobble in the vitals. If you have a very accurate gun, you can trust that wobble zone. c) Forget about that slow steady squeeze you are used to at the bench. As deer walk, change positions....as your tree sways slightly...and as your heart beat is revealed in the crosshairs......time your aim to these variables and quickly and steadily pull the trigger at the right time.
Don't try to will the shivers from the cold away. It's not going to work. Only time and experience will reduce the adrenaline effect...but not eliminate it.
I've noticed that I get very "pumped up" before a shot at deer. I've also noticed that as time has crept up on me that I get tunnel vision during this experience. My mind becomes a subconscious calculator that races to take in every aspect of the moment. My fingar only twitches as a result of the calculations. After the shot, especially with a bow, I tremble considerably as my mind lets my body just be taken over...the task has been completed. If it's cold out AND I was excited, I usually must sit a while a relax as the body regains itself. My guess is that this way to "handle" a shot only comes with repetative experiences of doing it, a desire to not fail, and a morality factor of having respect for the sport and the game.
It's funny how bad past expeiences...missed shots...wounded game...storied of others doing the same....looms 10X more heavily then the perfect endings. Part of the minds' calculating subconciously factors in those memories and seeks to avoid that situation at all costs.
For those of you that think you have an accurate gun try this: Jog to your target board and put up your target. Jog back and shoot your shot within 10 seconds leaning on the side of a tree. Take a few minute break and jog to the target and mark your shot. Jog back and fire shot #2. Repeat this excercise until you have a 5 shot group. You will probably notice that you will kill every deer inside on 100 yds but not every one at 200 yds. In the woods there is haste...dictated by the deer. You can't always just settle in and adjust your set-up like at the bench....and you can't always control your breathing or your racing heart 100%. SO...you work with what you have. If you can work with it you'll score. If you can't...let 'em walk.
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Post by ozark on Aug 1, 2009 12:29:50 GMT -5
Some good points made. I see many deer that I don't wish to kill. On these I aim and evaluate where I would put the bullet if I were going to take a shot. When a taker wanders into my view I do the same and evaluate the animal with respect to letting it pass or harvest. It the decision is to harvest is reached I feel no rush of adrenalin or exceptional excitement. As a rule the animal isn't positioned for a good killing shot and I need to let it move to a broadside or better angle. I hold my shooting to a high standard because I am sure that when othere hear my rifle report they don't expect a second shot or failure. I guess it is living up to expectations partly. Also, keep in mind that I am seated, usually comfortable and cannot be out walking, or rushing things. I have found that I get more chances by remaining stationary than I ever did hunting indian style. If you are moving the deer shooting can be tough. If they are moving at their own pace it is usually easy takings. As far as becoming excited: After taking a few dozen then we accept that it isn't a biggie. If one concentrates on applying sound shooting techniques then it sweeps away the rush of excitement and you simply aim and mash the trigger when the sights are where you have elected to place them. It is fun regardless of how it is done.
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Post by chuck41 on Aug 1, 2009 23:56:38 GMT -5
Ozark, I do much the same. I photograph hundreds of deer over the length of a season, but only shoot a couple. With many I carefully aim and concentrate on the best bullet placement up to the point of pulling the trigger and then put the gun down and actually take the "shot" with the camera. I typically use feeders so the deer tend to stick around long enough to get several snapshots or "practice" ones before they finally wander away. I have had some literally stick around my stand for an hour or more eating at the feeder, browsing, or apparently just socializing with other deer before finally going on their way. After doing that for a while there is little distracting excitement, it is just another exercise in practicing for the best possible bullet placement.
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Post by northny on Aug 2, 2009 12:42:43 GMT -5
Best tip I have for the adrenaline came from a book Stress Fire by Massad Ayoob. When you practice at the range, always have something riding on the outcome, even if it is a poor shot costs you donating $$ to the club or a charity. That advice started my going to different type of shooting matches (paper pig shoots with handguns, metallic silouhette, 22 target matches, what ever and when ever. When someone is going to see all your shots and score them and post the results in the club house, and your working events with timed fire, the adrenaline kicks in. Pretty quickly you learn how to shoot accurately even with that pressure. So if you can, don't shoot alone, take a buddy along!
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Post by wilmsmeyer on Aug 2, 2009 13:22:53 GMT -5
northny,
That's excellent advise that I have seen work firsthand during practice shooting at camp with bow or gun with my friends.
A little spin off to what you are saying about having something "riding" on the outcome.......when practicing at 3D targets, we put a guy in a tree and one on the ground to move the deer around. Many times the guy on the ground will place the target so that the shooter has to snake an arrow through a 6 inch lane. If he can't do it, a tree will smack his arrow and damage it. We shoot with our practice broadheads almost all the time. There are a bunch of them imbedded in the trees around camp. ;D
With guns, we take old, shot up 3D targets and place them up in the woods and do the same thing. We staple brown bags over the shot out area to cover the shot-out area and also to be able to mark the shots. We'll shoot from improvised rests at the target at 100-200 yds through the woods in back of the target. It is very enlightening as to how effective a shooter is.
This is a great topic. Shooting skills at the bench are one thing but shooting in the woods from stands and at animals are another. It should start at the bench so you know what the gun/load will do and then progress off the bench to see what YOU can do.
If you hunt from covered blinds with sandbags and feeders, this may not apply so much. If you hunt from the ground or hang-on stands using a shooting stick, you will know what I mean.
I think Bigmoose does a lot of shooting off sticks when he's done at the bench. I also remember him saying he can keep his shots inside 3 inches at 100 yds this way. That's great...I wish I could say the same! Since he's shooting at moose and I'm shooting at deer, he's WAY ahead of me! ;D ;D
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