I shoot a good deal of jugs and steel plate at distances from 200 to 450 yards throughout the spring to early fall.
Distance on game with a particular rifle is limited to the ranges where I was 100% successful during the final weeks of practice. Meaning I hit the jug or the painted circle on the plate first time and every time.
Reality of course is more challenging than practice, so I am accepting a less than 100% chance of success, but I am shooting under conditions where I have assessed my equipment and skill sets as being up to the task.
GRF; Top of the morning, BC time its still technically morning, regardless I trust you and your fine family are well.
Once more I find myself agreeing with your methodology sir.
Since you and I have both met and conversed a number of times, I'll leave it to your good discretion as to the amount that should concern you.
Speaking of shooting milk jugs and plates, this video showed up in my feed this morning and whether or not one likes the channel, I thought there were lessons to be learned from it.
Regarding your testing of the first shot out of a cold, clean bore, besides a hearty "Amen" from me, I'll give credit to Mike Venturino for an article on that subject way, way back in dinosaur times for my moment of epiphany.
At the time I had a BBR '06 that shot it's best when the barrel was hot enough to barely be able to touch it.
Also in that time period I had rebarreled a Liberty Model 77 to .308 Norma that refused to settle down until about the 3rd shot. Oh and I'd rebarreled it from a .338 factory barrel that would just toss a flyer at random with seemingly no pattern at all, so I'd quit hunting with it because I never knew when that one would show up.
Years, well truly decades later now, that same .308 Norma has stayed sighted in for the past 12 or 13 seasons and as long as the pre season couple of shots land where they need to, I know I'm good to go for another year.
Many roads to Mecca as always and this is merely the horse path that this semi-ancient BC redneck is currently trodding upon.
All the best to you all, have to run now and work on a project at the kids' place.
Dwayne
Wow. That video will deflate a lot of internet ego's. I found it interesting that supposedly the ranging with a rangefinder was causing a lot of issues, which I actually might buy because of the amount of misses under 300 yds. And that was at targets, not live game. I find it amusing and frustrating watching some of these hunting shows and everybody wants to know the range, and you will hear it whispered 155 yds, 130 yds, etc. Any deer under 225 yds or so I might not know the yardage but I will know if I do my part I can hold on the deer and hit it. No need to range, just be able to reasonably judge range and shoot decent. All that equipment and only 4 out of 8 targets hit between 200-300 yds. Geeze. Beyond 400 it got completely abysmal. Not that I could've done any better.
I will say bringing a un-braked 300 WM in a Tikka when planning on shooting 100 shots in field positions was a poor choice.
One is alone in a land so vast, there is only the mountains, the wind, and the eyes of God.
I shoot a good deal of jugs and steel plate at distances from 200 to 450 yards throughout the spring to early fall.
Distance on game with a particular rifle is limited to the ranges where I was 100% successful during the final weeks of practice. Meaning I hit the jug or the painted circle on the plate first time and every time.
Reality of course is more challenging than practice, so I am accepting a less than 100% chance of success, but I am shooting under conditions where I have assessed my equipment and skill sets as being up to the task.
GRF; Top of the morning, BC time its still technically morning, regardless I trust you and your fine family are well.
Once more I find myself agreeing with your methodology sir.
Since you and I have both met and conversed a number of times, I'll leave it to your good discretion as to the amount that should concern you.
Speaking of shooting milk jugs and plates, this video showed up in my feed this morning and whether or not one likes the channel, I thought there were lessons to be learned from it.
Regarding your testing of the first shot out of a cold, clean bore, besides a hearty "Amen" from me, I'll give credit to Mike Venturino for an article on that subject way, way back in dinosaur times for my moment of epiphany.
At the time I had a BBR '06 that shot it's best when the barrel was hot enough to barely be able to touch it.
Also in that time period I had rebarreled a Liberty Model 77 to .308 Norma that refused to settle down until about the 3rd shot. Oh and I'd rebarreled it from a .338 factory barrel that would just toss a flyer at random with seemingly no pattern at all, so I'd quit hunting with it because I never knew when that one would show up.
Years, well truly decades later now, that same .308 Norma has stayed sighted in for the past 12 or 13 seasons and as long as the pre season couple of shots land where they need to, I know I'm good to go for another year.
Many roads to Mecca as always and this is merely the horse path that this semi-ancient BC redneck is currently trodding upon.
All the best to you all, have to run now and work on a project at the kids' place.
Dwayne
Wow. That video will deflate a lot of internet ego's. I found it interesting that supposedly the ranging with a rangefinder was causing a lot of issues, which I actually might buy because of the amount of misses under 300 yds. And that was at targets, not live game. I find it amusing and frustrating watching some of these hunting shows and everybody wants to know the range, and you will hear it whispered 155 yds, 130 yds, etc. Any deer under 225 yds or so I might not know the yardage but I will know if I do my part I can hold on the deer and hit it. No need to range, just be able to reasonably judge range and shoot decent. All that equipment and only 4 out of 8 targets hit between 200-300 yds. Geeze. Beyond 400 it got completely abysmal. Not that I could've done any better.
I will say bringing a un-braked 300 WM in a Tikka when planning on shooting 100 shots in field positions was a poor choice.
Pretty interesting to see his confidence when it's clear he hasn't learned how to follow through on his shots - one of the shooting fundamentals - and his head jerks up at the trigger break every time.
I shoot a good deal of jugs and steel plate at distances from 200 to 450 yards throughout the spring to early fall.
Distance on game with a particular rifle is limited to the ranges where I was 100% successful during the final weeks of practice. Meaning I hit the jug or the painted circle on the plate first time and every time.
Reality of course is more challenging than practice, so I am accepting a less than 100% chance of success, but I am shooting under conditions where I have assessed my equipment and skill sets as being up to the task.
GRF; Top of the morning, BC time its still technically morning, regardless I trust you and your fine family are well.
Once more I find myself agreeing with your methodology sir.
Since you and I have both met and conversed a number of times, I'll leave it to your good discretion as to the amount that should concern you.
Speaking of shooting milk jugs and plates, this video showed up in my feed this morning and whether or not one likes the channel, I thought there were lessons to be learned from it.
Regarding your testing of the first shot out of a cold, clean bore, besides a hearty "Amen" from me, I'll give credit to Mike Venturino for an article on that subject way, way back in dinosaur times for my moment of epiphany.
At the time I had a BBR '06 that shot it's best when the barrel was hot enough to barely be able to touch it.
Also in that time period I had rebarreled a Liberty Model 77 to .308 Norma that refused to settle down until about the 3rd shot. Oh and I'd rebarreled it from a .338 factory barrel that would just toss a flyer at random with seemingly no pattern at all, so I'd quit hunting with it because I never knew when that one would show up.
Years, well truly decades later now, that same .308 Norma has stayed sighted in for the past 12 or 13 seasons and as long as the pre season couple of shots land where they need to, I know I'm good to go for another year.
Many roads to Mecca as always and this is merely the horse path that this semi-ancient BC redneck is currently trodding upon.
All the best to you all, have to run now and work on a project at the kids' place.
Dwayne
Wow. That video will deflate a lot of internet ego's. I found it interesting that supposedly the ranging with a rangefinder was causing a lot of issues, which I actually might buy because of the amount of misses under 300 yds. And that was at targets, not live game. I find it amusing and frustrating watching some of these hunting shows and everybody wants to know the range, and you will hear it whispered 155 yds, 130 yds, etc. Any deer under 225 yds or so I might not know the yardage but I will know if I do my part I can hold on the deer and hit it. No need to range, just be able to reasonably judge range and shoot decent. All that equipment and only 4 out of 8 targets hit between 200-300 yds. Geeze. Beyond 400 it got completely abysmal. Not that I could've done any better.
I will say bringing a un-braked 300 WM in a Tikka when planning on shooting 100 shots in field positions was a poor choice.
Pretty interesting to see his confidence when it's clear he hasn't learned how to follow through on his shots - one of the shooting fundamentals - and his head jerks up at the trigger break every time.
I'm not gonna bash on him too much, other than to say 98% of those misses between 2-300 yds could've been eliminated by being able to decently judge yardage all by himself, no big holdover necessary, and a simple 3-9 scope, which comes back to simply knowing your rifle and the fact that the majority of all game is killed under 300 yds. And, that a light Tikka in a 300 WM was not the best rifle for that scenario with continuous shooting in field positions.
I know 3 guys personally this past yr that have the gear to shoot at distance, and do. 2 out of the 3 killed deer between 5-600 yds. Impressed me until I later learned some very important details. One guy hit his deer on the 2'cnd shot. The other hit his deer on the third shot. The last guy missed at 400 and some yards and didn't get a second chance. Not to say I wouldn't attempt it under the right circumstances, but in general, no thank you. I'll stick to what I'm doing.
One is alone in a land so vast, there is only the mountains, the wind, and the eyes of God.
Thanks for the video Dwayne I just finished watching it. Very eye opening. Agree with Jordan he is lacking in follow through and was jerking the trigger on occasion.
To go 100 for 100 up to 600 yards, incredibly difficult and well outside of my skills.
I've definitely taken some shots that in hindsight I shouldn't have taken, but I try to never pull the trigger unless I expect to hit my target. We make the best decisions we can with the information we have at the time we pull the trigger. That's all any of us can do. Last year I had a clean miss on a nice buck that was running flat out. He jumped up out of a gully as I came over the crest of the ridge. I had less than a second to make the decision and as I pulled the trigger I knew I was too late. As I raised the rifle, I could see that I wouldn't get the space I needed to make the shot because of the density of the forest. As I pulled the trigger, I knew I didn't have enough space between his nose and my muzzle. I knew I was going to miss as I fired. But the round went downrange all the same because I had rushed it. And then I spent an hour beating the brush to make sure there was no sign of blood or hair. Five minutes after that I headed down the mountain in the same direction I had last seen that buck and a different, much smaller, buck jumped up and stopped. He was quartering away from me left to right and he stopped to look back over his shoulder at me. I dropped him on the spot at 50 yards with my .25-06. Not the hardest shot I have ever made by any stretch of the imagination. It doesn't make up for the sting of missing the other buck, but at least I am reasonably certain that I missed him clean.
I don't have unlimited time in the woods. I might get to go rifle hunting four days in a given year, if I am lucky. So, you bet your ass that if I have a reasonable shot, I am going to take it. Perfect conditions don't exist in the real world. You miss 100% of the shots you don't take. I'm not out there blazing away at everything, but I'll shoot at a running buck in heavy brush if I have a rifle that I think can get the bullet there. That may be a "low percentage shot" by the books, but if you practice and train to take moving shots, and you know how to lead and follow through, it is something you can do with a reasonable chance of success. On the other hand, if I see a buck at 300 yards while I have my Winchester 1886 .45-70 with iron sights, you can bet your ass I will try to find a way to stalk up within a hundred yards or less. Stalking is part of hunting skill. It's not all about shooting ability. If I want to demonstrate my shooting ability, I can shoot at paper targets. The only test of hunting ability is meat on the table. And being able to look yourself in the mirror without wanting to puke.
I once watched my Dad drop three does with four shots at ~600 yards (all four were hits, but he shot one of them twice). He was sitting down and using a very accurate Browning Hi-Power Safari in 7mm Rem Magnum. Those were shots I would never have taken, but he'd been carrying that rifle everywhere for the past six months, had spent a lot of time working up the perfect load for it, and was supremely confident in his abilities. I would have taken advantage of terrain to cut that distance at least in half before I took the shot. But, for him, that was the pinnacle of his hunting.
I shoot a good deal of jugs and steel plate at distances from 200 to 450 yards throughout the spring to early fall.
Distance on game with a particular rifle is limited to the ranges where I was 100% successful during the final weeks of practice. Meaning I hit the jug or the painted circle on the plate first time and every time.
Reality of course is more challenging than practice, so I am accepting a less than 100% chance of success, but I am shooting under conditions where I have assessed my equipment and skill sets as being up to the task.
GRF; Top of the morning, BC time its still technically morning, regardless I trust you and your fine family are well.
Once more I find myself agreeing with your methodology sir.
Since you and I have both met and conversed a number of times, I'll leave it to your good discretion as to the amount that should concern you.
Speaking of shooting milk jugs and plates, this video showed up in my feed this morning and whether or not one likes the channel, I thought there were lessons to be learned from it.
Dwayne
I guess I have a new goal in life. Dirty Harry says, "a man's got to know his limitations." That's one Marine who clearly didn't know his limitations or do himself any favors. Busting his forehead open while checking his zero should have been a clue that he wasn't prepared. And I have no doubt that doing that would have [bleep] with my confidence. Some people are confident only because they don't have a [bleep] clue what they are doing. I know someone who won a Bronze Star for running across a mine field to bring his squad more ammo. The person who wrote the award left out the fact that the Naval Academy graduate in question was cluelessly unaware that it was a mine field.
Then again, as I said elsewhere, you miss 100% of the shots you don't take. I'm proud of the fact that every time I went on the range, I always shot a possible at the 300-rapid fire. But by no means would I expect that to translate to perfection at unknown distances over a span of 100 shots between 100 and 600 yards. That's a challenge that is as hard as it sounds. I've known plenty of HOGs who wouldn't do that successfully. Just firing 100 high-powered rifle rounds (for me, almost anything over 5.56 would be "high-powered") in one sitting would be something novel to me. I don't think I have ever fired more than a box of .257 Roberts/.25-06/.270/.30-06/8mm/etc. in a given day. And practicing the effects of that kind of volume on my shooting would be the first thing I did before I took up such a challenge.
Out of the 70 or 80 Mule Deer and Blacktail bucks/does that I have killed I can remember two shots that I still remember to this day. One was a big doe at close range walking up a hill. I shot for her head and she went down DRT. As I walked over to her, she jumped up and ran downhill, with her lower jaw swinging as she ran. I gave up after several hours of trying to find her. The second was a small buck that I did not kill, but bounced one off of his forehead. I never found him and am sure he recovered. I swore NEVER to try a head shot again, and I haven't. And have encouraged others to do the same. As a final thought, 80% or more of the animals I have taken are from a sitting or prone position. I practice occasionally throughout the spring, summer, and fall, and am capable of frequent 4" groups at 300 yards, a lot smaller off of a bench. I have never lost an animal at medium range all of my losses have been under 200 yards.
I shoot a good deal of jugs and steel plate at distances from 200 to 450 yards throughout the spring to early fall.
Distance on game with a particular rifle is limited to the ranges where I was 100% successful during the final weeks of practice. Meaning I hit the jug or the painted circle on the plate first time and every time.
Reality of course is more challenging than practice, so I am accepting a less than 100% chance of success, but I am shooting under conditions where I have assessed my equipment and skill sets as being up to the task.
I'd hope most guys do this or similar.
OP- I restrict my shots to only taking those in which I fully expect a dead deer when i squeeze off. What is that? 90? 95% 100? I dont know.
Through experience at the range and in field, I've learned that for me this means taking offhand shots at moving game in timber is out. Period. I dont accept a 50-50 shot on game animals. (why I accept it on varmint is, I think, another thread).
Some seasons, with more practice, I extend my range limitation. Others, less. I tend to hunt closer and quieter when I range restrict myself.
Disclosure, 99% of my big game hunting is with some form of Muzzleloader.
Last edited by Crockettnj; 03/28/24.
Originally Posted by Archerhunter
Quit giving in inch by inch then looking back to lament the mile behind ya and wonder how to preserve those few feet left in front of ya. They'll never stop until they're stopped. That's a fact.
... Then again, as I said elsewhere, you miss 100% of the shots you don't take.
Yeah, ok Gretsky.
Originally Posted by Q_Sertorius
I'm proud of the fact that every time I went on the range, I always shot a possible at the 300-rapid fire.
But by no means would I expect that to translate to perfection at unknown distances over a span of 100 shots between 100 and 600 yards. That's a challenge that is as hard as it sounds. I've known plenty of HOGs who wouldn't do that successfully. Just firing 100 high-powered rifle rounds (for me, almost anything over 5.56 would be "high-powered") in one sitting would be something novel to me. I don't think I have ever fired more than a box of .257 Roberts/.25-06/.270/.30-06/8mm/etc. in a given day. And practicing the effects of that kind of volume on my shooting would be the first thing I did before I took up such a challenge.
^ sniff sniff. AI trollbot, 13 year old, or future scammer post padding?
Meh, maybe I am jaded. That final sentence though... I dunno man. ESL at the very least.
Originally Posted by Archerhunter
Quit giving in inch by inch then looking back to lament the mile behind ya and wonder how to preserve those few feet left in front of ya. They'll never stop until they're stopped. That's a fact.
... Then again, as I said elsewhere, you miss 100% of the shots you don't take.
Yeah, ok Gretsky.
Originally Posted by Q_Sertorius
I'm proud of the fact that every time I went on the range, I always shot a possible at the 300-rapid fire.
But by no means would I expect that to translate to perfection at unknown distances over a span of 100 shots between 100 and 600 yards. That's a challenge that is as hard as it sounds. I've known plenty of HOGs who wouldn't do that successfully. Just firing 100 high-powered rifle rounds (for me, almost anything over 5.56 would be "high-powered") in one sitting would be something novel to me. I don't think I have ever fired more than a box of .257 Roberts/.25-06/.270/.30-06/8mm/etc. in a given day. And practicing the effects of that kind of volume on my shooting would be the first thing I did before I took up such a challenge.
^ sniff sniff. AI trollbot, 13 year old, or future scammer post padding?
Meh, maybe I am jaded. That final sentence though... I dunno man. ESL at the very least.
4th reply look what he got, a selfish clod who buys all the .22 ammo he doesn't need and comes here to brag about it as if it's worthy of adulation. Will never admit to being part of the cause of shortage or high prices, a real gentleman indeed !
You really are, a stupid, irrelevant PRICK !
Paul.
"Kids who grow up hunting, fishing & trapping, do not mug little old Ladies"
The vitals of a deer being the size of a basketball - would have to be really bad rifle not to hit them at average deer hunting ranges. Those that shoot long range/ELR and should be shooting at that range probably don't need a scope to tell them anything. Those that are shooting long range/ELR and shouldn't be - probably wouldn't listen to the scope anyway.
And if one can't make a good hit by aiming at the top of that basketball, they are probably too far away.
Shooting from field positions solidifies that, as most would have a clean miss anyway.
Have never needed a second shot on "big" game. If conditions are not right, I won't shoot. I will not take a shot that isn't 100% I don't want to eat meat that was wounded, gut shot, or otherwise stressed. Birds, prairie dogs and varmints are a different story.
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Edmund Burke 1795
"Give me liberty or give me death" Patrick Henry 1775
