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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 11,057 Likes: 7
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 11,057 Likes: 7 |
The wife is deadly from a sitting position, though is getting quicker and more comfortable off of shooting sticks. She’s taken an elk and a Bighorn from prone, and her most recent (now residing on the wall) Pronghorn....offhand! It was supposed to be mine....she was quicker out of the truck than me! It truly “sucks” to be the “designated driver”! memtb
You should not use a rifle that will kill an animal when everything goes right; you should use one that will do the job when everything goes wrong." -Bob Hagel
“I’d like to be a good rifleman…..but, I prefer to be a good hunter”! memtb 2024
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Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 5,173
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 5,173 |
Am most happy when I can take a good solid prone or sitting position with a stable rest. However am certainly prepared to take an offhand shot if needed. The sling has been a great help with this.
Looking back, I've actually taken a fair bit of game with offhand shots, typically in fast moving, fairly close range situations.
Guy
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Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 4,213
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 4,213 |
One of my shots this year was from atop a large downward sloping boulder, about the size of a dinner table. Was not really able to get prone because of the downslope angle so I lay on my left side. Had to use my pack to elevate the rifle above the willow and oakbrush. Once I worked through new yoga position it ended OK.
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Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 5,234
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 5,234 |
Probably 80% prone off a pack or bipod, 10% sitting off the Harris and 10% off hand
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Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 320
Campfire Member
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Campfire Member
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 320 |
I'm a still hunter for the most part....If I see them first, I use a convenient tree for a rest. Most of the time though, they see me first. A lot of offhand shooting.
When participating in drives, I am always one of the drivers so any shots I take are up close, personal and offhand.
I'd figure about 75% offhand, 20% from a rest of sorts and the other 5% kneeling or prone.
Don't let the name fool Ya!
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Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 2,558
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 2,558 |
I don't think I have ever shot a big game animal offhand. Generally sitting off shooting sticks, and pretty often prone off a pack.
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Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 87
Campfire Greenhorn
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Campfire Greenhorn
Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 87 |
this is a very good question, i shooting stick for me while big game hunting, ever since i witness a bear attack. it was just the best and only way to get it done safely.
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Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 5,759 Likes: 1
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 5,759 Likes: 1 |
Sitting off sticks usually and off hand when I'm close.
"Camping places fix themselves in your mind as if you had spent long periods of your life in them. You will remember a curve of your wagon track in the grass of the plain like the features of a friend." Isak Dinesen
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Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 5,070 Likes: 11
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 5,070 Likes: 11 |
I can remember 1 I shot prone. The rest were the best supported position I had available at the time. Quite a few off hand a few left handed offhand too if they got too close behind me to the right. I always plan to have a rest for support. Sometimes you have to take what you get though.
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 2,499
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 2,499 |
I haven't needed to take an offhand shot in many years. I've always been able to find a rest of some kind. I always carry 1 trekking pole which has many uses including as an improvised rest. With a little practice, you can use the pole against your leg or in many other ways to steady a rifle. One trick that works great is from a kneeling position. Hold the pole and the small end of a twig with the same hand. Pull away from the bush and lay the rifle over your wrist. The pole will control height and twig will keep it from swaying. The pole is also a great hiking and balance aid for us older guys. I am with you on this, for the shooting position depends on the terrain and things like trees and other, as well as the type of game hunted. For example, where I hunt moose I have never shot offhand since there are all kinds of trees and things I can support the rifle on. I also hunt from a stationary position on a rocky knob where I can use not only trees to support the rifle, but wooden tripods that I build and place in strategic locations. In this area I can only shoot while standing, but I also carry a tall bipod that I can use if the need arrives, but I have never used it. The most steady rifle aim for a longer shot is one where the rifle is supported at the front, just ahead of the trigger guard, and also around 3" from the recoil pad. A friend of mine shoots targets at long range while supporting his rifle at the front, and the stock with a bipod. He wins competitions that way. I learned the shooting positions when in the military, and my favorite was the prone. But I doubt that I will have the chance to shoot that way where I hunt because of the tall brush and trees blocking the view.
Last edited by Ray; 11/18/17.
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Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 5,939
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 5,939 |
Thursday I used an electric pole standing.
I use a rest of some type for 99% of my shots any more. Bi-pod, mirror sitting, tripod, tree, hood, box, standing. Prone off a pack if terrain will allow. We have some huge boulders on our property and used them as shooting rests also. I bet it has been 5-6 years since I took an initial shot off hand.
Arcus Venator
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Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 19,179
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 19,179 |
I don't have percentages but the vast majority of mine are braced in some way.
For the last several yrs I've been using Stoney Point shooting sticks (2 legs). Before that I was in deer leases and shot from box stands.
I have shot some deer off hand but it's not my preference. I assure you I'm much better off hand shooting moving (walking or running) deer. The fluid movement makes it more certain. I'd say I'm only 50/50 at standing deer off hand.
Jerry
jwall- *** 3100 guy***
A Flat Trajectory is Never a Handicap
Speed is Trajectory's Friend !!
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Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 1,870
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 1,870 |
This year; elk, sitting w/sticks 230 yds. 2 antelope, sitting w/sticks, 1 167yds.; 1@ 120yds. deer, prone @ 310 yds. over daypack. 4 shots fired!
"The more I am around people the better I like my dog." Mark Twain
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 5,611
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 5,611 |
Fascinating topic and thread. I am a bit surprised at how few shoot offhand, but then, like Okie John, I go east to hunt mule deer and waaay east to hunt antelope.
At least 50% of my shots lifetime have been offhand, probably more. When possible I prefer a brace: lean on a tree etc. A high percentage of my shots are under 50 yards, and a lot of those are offhand. As I age, I risk spooking game in order to get a more solid shot.
I've shot two antelope prone and can't think of another animal shot from a prone position. Can recall two shot from a sitting position, braced on my knees. In my haunts we can't see game when prone, and bipods are seldom right for the terrain and vegetation. Lately I have been carrying a wooden walking stick, similar to what writer Sam Fadala called a Moses Stick. Wood is quieter than metal or carbon sticks and I discard and pick up new ones frequently. It is infinitely adjustable to its full length. At least half of my shots have been braced by a stick in recent years.
When I call game, and I call every kind of critter that I hunt, I pick up a stick on the spot to use as a brace and trim it as needed to fit the terrain.
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Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 7,735
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 7,735 |
60% from a shooting house or tree stand with a rail 20% kneeling 20% off a mono pod
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Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 17,254 Likes: 1
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 17,254 Likes: 1 |
Mostly from a rail of some sort in a stand, be it a box blind, tripod, or ladder. Some minor amount of offhand when a situation presents itself, and some sitting on the ground with my back against a tree.
Now with even more aplomb
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 29,974 Likes: 11
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 29,974 Likes: 11 |
Necessity is the mother of invention, and for me that mostly applies to some creative finding or spur of the moment construction of a secure rest. My ever present pack frame has served in most instances.
1Minute
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Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 6,981 Likes: 2
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 6,981 Likes: 2 |
I try not to shoot off hand. Most of my shots have been between 100 yards and 300 yards. I prefer to use some kind of rest and most of the time I can find something. Occasionally it's only my trekking pole. But that's better than shooting off hand.
I can shoot reliably well in the sitting position specially when it's down hill.
KC '
Wind in my hair, Sun on my face, I gazed at the wide open spaces, And I was at home.
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 5,611
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 5,611 |
Two deer in the past two weeks split my stats: 1. 30 yards while I was standing and steadying the rifle on a wooden walking stick I'd picked up. My front hand was lightly gripping the stick and rifle fore-end. The deer was standing still. 2. 40 yards offhand while standing, at a walking deer with a be-quick-or-don't-get-the-shot.
The first deer dropped on the spot with a high shoulder shot as it angled slightly toward me. Mule deer doe. The second deer went 28 yards with a broken low shoulder plus heart and one lung taken out. I wobbled and hit two inches lower than intended. Whitetail buck.
Still running 50-50 on offhand shots. vs rest/steady braced shots.
Last edited by Okanagan; 11/30/17. Reason: clarity
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Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 12,369 Likes: 7
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 12,369 Likes: 7 |
Most of the deer I've taken in the past 10 years have been shot off a sandbag placed onto a 2X6 shooting rail while sitting in a folding chair.
The new tower blind I built is considerably more primitive-- just a 1X3 top rail with pipe insulation covering the top surface. I'm still figuring out how to get the swivel recliner hoisted in.
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