Hunting Target Tip

[Ohio Joe]

Just before the season rolls around I like to get out and make sure I'm zeroed in like the rest of you... One of the ways I do this is by taking a six inch tan/brown cardboard circle and posting it on a life size plywood deer silhouette. I put the target right behind the shoulder and start practicing at, 25, 50, 75, and 100 yards... I like the idea of zeroing in on a shape that I will see when hunting... No, my silhouette does not have antlers...

 

[Ohio Joe]

I would add that by using a silhouette to zero in on, you can set it at different angles and duplicate some situations that may present themselves while on the hunt. I do try and duplicate the color of the 1/2 inch plywood deer silhouete to match a whitetail... I don't repaint for mullie practice... :no:

 

[Stumpkiller]

I do something similar. I take a cardboard target that's an approximation of a deer's torso and set it up so the back is about three feet off the ground. The target is held up with an off-center stake that represents the deer's foreleg. No rings, no aiming dot, no orange sticker. Just a plain, brown deer body sized target. I know I want to put my shots just behind the stake and just a few inches above the base of the torso. Forces me to pick a spot, pick a spot, pick a spot.

I get a kick out of going to a 3-D range after compound shooters have been practicing. All these little orange dots stuck to the foam deer. Must be tough doing that in the wild when hunting. ::

 

[Ohio Joe]

I could never see the value of the orange dots either, Stumpkiller... I figure if a person don't know where the sweet spot is on their target they must have worse eyesight then me, and mine is poor at close range... I can't say as I ever saw a deer bounding through the woods with an orange dot on it either! :no:

 

[Huntinfool]

Hey Joe,

I did see a piebald six point once he was all white except for a 3" brown spot right over his heart. Never saw that critter during the season though! LOL! Talk about pickin' a spot.

So far all the practice I get is our monthly Kanawha Rangers shoot. It's a modified woods walk. We shoot steel gongs, a 3/4" pipe, and a chain hanging in trees! Sort of like a 3D archery course!

I just built a little range out behind my place! Got a bench and all if I need to check one out.

After killing over 175 deer I think I know where to hit em! I've found that it's not what you practice shooting at it's the amount of concentration you can sum up.

That's why I decided a long time ago that I would never be a serious target shooter. Bow or gun it takes a lot of mental concentration. I've been in some competitions that left me totally mentally drained.

But the good news is I decided to make myself gather the gumption to bear down and make one perfect shot. Not near as draining as trying to make 25 or 30 perfect shots. And there ya have the perfect mentality for a hunter.

Keep Yer Powder Dry Fellers,
"The Chuckster" ::

 

[collani]

@all

When I