A lot depends on how much I’ve been shooting that gun recently.
You rarely get multiple shots in the field, IMHO!Very few shooters, and especially non target shooting hunters, are unable to put a bullet into a paper plate ( about the vital area of a deer ) at 75 yards when shooting off hand .
To find out what I call your maximum personal point blank range . MPPR, for each position what you should do is set up a paper plate ( about 12") and shoot one shot at it from off hand , sitting and prone from 25 yards then 50 yards 75 ,100 etc .
The distance you can't hit the plate from any position is the past your MPPR for that position , so you walk back towards your target 5 yards , repeating until you hit the plate , you are not looking for a bull just a hit as the plate represents the kill zone for a deer.
You try this from each position until you are confident you have the correct position for the distance you are wanting to take a successful one kill shot .
If you hunt on foot walk 100 yards then take the shot to find how much a little exercise can affect your shooting accuracy .
If you shoot off a hard surface remember the rifle will shoot away from that surface , you need your hand between the hard surface and the rifle , same if you use a vertical tree trunk as a rest for a shot .
This is a one shot test not a grouping exercise or sighting in , multiple shots negate the information you can gather on yourself .
I understand, but a few of mine were just walking very slowly and "Browsing" as they went, very slow. You know ,a few steps then they stop, look and listen, a few steps , repeat. I would have to be patient and wait till they put their head down to browse etc, so I could shoulder my firearm with out being seen. Some times 30 seconds seemed like an hour!! I have never taken a shot at a running animal. I think it ends up turning out poorly for most people with wounded game!I could never find an animal that would stand still long enough for me to take a shot.....
I don't know what size plates you use in the USA......
However they are absolutely nothing to do with what I am talking about , what I am saying is you need to know when your ability to hit your target ,with whatever position you are using and with whatever firearm you are using, runs out .
I agree. Shooting form the bench does not make one ready for the hunt. You must practice from improvised rests etc to simulate the field. It is totally different. Every deer I have take I used a fallen log/tree as a rest or was literally lying prone in the snow to make the shot. etc.Based on our rates of obesity, we us plates larger than any other nation.
I think your drill is excellent advise. It's a giant step up for the those who do their practice from a bench. From my own observation as a member of a club with over 900 members (not strictly a ml club) that is what most do.
What's popular with many traditional archers is "stump shooting" or "roving" wherein one wanders the countryside and shoots at random targets. I do this occasionally with ml and it is an enjoyable eye opener.
Not everyone lives where it's possible to do this but a great alternative is the woodswalk at a local shoot.
I've killed a lot of deer, with every kind of hunting implement, and I don't think I've ever taken an offhand shot at one with a firearm. There's almost always "something" to use as a rest. And IMO, it's always better to use a rest.
I shoot muzzleloaders offhand frequently. I use the bench for load development, and sighting in. I'm confident in my offhand shooting. But when hunting, if there's a rest, even just a tree to lean against, I'm using it. Every time.
Sorry man, but I have been fighting this attitude of, "minute of bad guy," or in these cases, "minute of deer vitals," since I started teaching practical pistol shooting 25 or so years ago. This attitude irritates the heck out of me. It can be dangerous in the practical shooting arena or unethical in the hunting arena."Lighten up Francis "- Sgt. Hulka
I do agree, so many variables in hunting. With iron sights, lighting being one of the biggest. Angle of the animal another, but if you're going hunting and looking for a text book shot to take you will be a hungry man. Each situation must be assessed , might be a 25 yard max range in one situation and may be 100 in another, with sometimes seconds to decide. Even the best well planned shots can be off the mark due to an array of variables. Carry on.
It's all good, I just couldn't resist that quote, "Stripes" is full of good zingers.Sorry man, but I have been fighting this attitude of, "minute of bad guy," or in these cases, "minute of deer vitals," since I started teaching practical pistol shooting 25 or so years ago. This attitude irritates the heck out of me. It can be dangerous in the practical shooting arena or unethical in the hunting arena.
If minute of bad guy is the best one cab do with their pistol or carbine under controlled range conditions (and controlled emotional conditions), that person is in for a very rude awakening if ever really put to the test. At best, they will lose, at worst, they will shoot and kill the wrong person (we had an actual case of that here some years back). With hunters, if the best they can do at the range is keep all their shots in an area (can't even call it a group) the full size of the vitals, at known distances, under controlled conditions and with no emotional stress, it leaves them wide open to a variety of factors causing them to at best miss completely, and at worse wound an animal leaving it to suffer. The animal suffers because some human settled for, "good enough."
Sorry.
Like I said, the subject gets me fired up, so off I went again.
I believe Elmer Keith is credited with saying ‘I like one-shot kills where possible and prefer to do all my hunting before I shoot’."I like to hunt, before I pull the trigger." - (can't remember at the moment)
Got to love auto correct.Elmore? i can just imagine he was called that and worse.
it certainly adds spice and levity to the innerweb!Got to love auto correct.
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