Posted on 12/04/2018 5:02:28 AM PST by w1n1
Hours pass, and in the fading light you glass across the sage into the glare of the sun. Catching some movement your eyes focus on an ear flick; low and behold its a shooter buck. Hes far, but your heart is soaring with the hopes of success as you range him before he feeds out of view into the dark timber just a couple dozen yards away.
At 460 yards, your .300 WSM is more than capable, but you can't lay down in the high sage, and the only shooting support you have is your pack and a set of Stoney Point sticks that youve used only once or twice. You know you can shoot that far, but only from a bench or prone. That elated feeling quickly drains as your gut tells you "No, you can't make that shot," and you watch what you thought was your buck walk away.
I know some of you are thinking, "460 yards off of sticks is too far, anyways; you shouldnt take that shot even if you feel good about it." How far is too far? The truth is range is just a number for a shooter who practices regularly. Its as simple as "range, dial, hold for wind, and press" for someone who is confident with their rifle and, most importantly, their ability to apply the fundamentals of marksmanship in field conditions.
Now, let's be clear; there is a big difference between training on steel targets that are stationary and a living, breathing animal.
Its OK to miss steel, but as hunters, our quarry deserves the utmost respect with a quick and humane expiration from a well-placed shot.
With animals we play for keeps, and staying inside of your limits with a rifle afield should be our primary concern.
So, how can we extend our comfort zone? How can we push those limits with confidence so we don't have to see those bucks walk away? Takes dedication and lots of time on the range. Here are some pointers on how to do it effectively:
The first thing we should identify right off the bat is what our rifle can do under ideal conditions. Spend a day with your rifle shooting it at distance and record your data. If youre using hold-overs, thats fine, make sure you write down the range to the targets and the hold you used to get center hits. If youre dialing your turrets, record the turret settings... Read the rest of field shooting positions.
My question is slightly off topic, but speaking of shooting positions, does anyone out there of the late 1960’s Army basic training era remember “quick fire”, where we were taught to shoot from the hip? Basically a point and shoot method to get that first shot off quickly and accurately. We used BB guns shooting at quarter sized discs the Sgt threw like clay pigeons.
To this day I can use this method, left or right handed, with a pistol and hit a man sized target at 100 feet with ease. It’s really similar to what we see the cowboys do on TV.
Thank you. The stance shown in your illustration is similar to what I use.
I’m used to watching these TV shows where all the clowns are running around holding a pistol with both arms outstretched keeping the weapon in their line of sight at all times which means twisting their whole body instead of quickly turning their head to see what’s on either side.
To me this is just dumb as ones forward and peripheral vision is reduced. In addition the first thing visible when walking through a door is the weapon and outstretched arms making it easy to just knock the weapon out of the clowns hands.
With Point Shooting the aim can be adjusted about as quickly as a target can be recognized.
Another stupid thing on TV is when they expose their entire body as a target when shooting around a left corner using their right hand or both hands. It’s just dumb!
I hope real cops and soldiers do not do this. It is very possible to train ones left hand for accurate shooting.
I’m in agreement with your point, as this is also another one of my movie pet peeves. I watched the clip which brings out another one which is tucking a pistol into the back under the belt. I’ve actually tried this.
If it’s tucked too high it will fall out. Too low and it winds up in your pants. Very uncomfortable to sit down with. Very unnatural to reach for in a quick draw moment. And I can also envision someone fumbling trying to grab it and accidentally shooting himself in the rear end.
I was wearing a thin outer garment which created a giveaway bulge making the weapon obvious. Which means just about anyone can walk up behind you, take it away, and shoot you with it.
Yep. It’s called a Mexican Style carry. And it is muy stupido.
You have good hand-eye-coordination.
We never shot that way.....
I recall taking my concealed weapon test where we had to fire at a human size target at 25 feet until our weapon was empty, demonstrate a safe reload, and fire again. I hit every time as 25 feet is a nothing.
But the poor guy up next, taking careful aim with each shot, never hit it. LOL
I credit this to my early Army training.
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