I've never hunted deer with a rifle. I'll probably give it a try this year though. I do hunt squirrels with one though, and I can tell you that I have never taken an offhand shot at a squirrel. I can always find a rest somewhere, even if it's just my hand on the side of a tree, or I don't take the shot. Since I don't HAVE to kill a deer, I don't think I'll do anything different. I doubt seriously I'll ever shoot at a deer more than 50 yards away. Actually I doubt I'll be able to SEE one more than 50 yards. At least not well enough to take a shot. I figure if I can hit a squirrel at that distance with a 22, I should be able to hit a deer.
How Accurate is good enough for you to head into the field to hunt?
- Thread starter Dearhunter61
- Start date
Huntergirl
New member
Interesting that some posters feel it necessary to tell other posters that they don't have to be as accurate with their shooting practice. Tighter accuracy allows more room for error in the field. That is common sense.
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Wow this is getting hot! 
I have a few things to say, but first to Christ dude.
I fully agree, I love tunnel mounts specifically for that purpose.
OK.
Several of you have stated that the death of the stalked game must have a Humane Death. And, I do not fully agree if I am to be guided by my Christian beliefs that the good lord said these beasts are ours to eat... Back then there were no Sig's nor Mausers, nor Winchesters, Etc. They got clubbed or stabbed repeatedly if they were wild, and likely just a slice on the throat if they were kept game.
Now keep reading... If guided by my Human nature, I surely don't want the animal to suffer! But, if said animal is going into my freezer, I really don't give it much thought. I think that anyone who gut shoots an animal is a slob, unless it was a fluke of circumstances, rather than a poorly placed shot. And I'm also sure that nobody shoots an animal to wound it (lawyers and politicians excluded
)
Now that that part of my wrangling of words is out of the way....
When I got shooting with a new gun and then once a year after that, I zero it in on a bench preferably with a sandbag... That's only about 5 shots to get the gun sighted in perfectly at about 75 yards.
After that, my gun is perfect! If I shoot it 3,000 times while out blowing junk to pieces, and drop it 3 times, then shove it back in the safe for several months without even cleaning it, and then the season comes around... I take it out and put a pie plate at 75 yards. I take me a nice breath and shoot it, just like it was a game animal. Then I go through a vigorous routine to tire myself like I've been climbing mountains all day and finally see something big enough to take home. Then I shoot the pie plate again. If I miss totally or just barely make it on a 10" pie plate. I stay and practice my shooting some more because it's simply NOT good enough to hit your plate (or your silly 1" 4 shot pattern at 200 yards) after climbing out of your truck and seeing your game, simply because it almost never happens until you've been out walking for 2 to 5 hours and are fatigued.
Pre hunting season, I shoot the pie plate exactly like it was a Deer/elk/Gopher/Hummingbird etc... I shoot it to kill it, not to wound it, I believe this is the goal of EVERY hunter that squeezes the trigger after he takes the safety off! TO think otherwise would be silly!
If I hit my plate after all that and I hit it exactly where I wanted to or within 2 or 3 inches, there's no further need to practice shooting game because there's no need, you've proven to yourself that you can kill it, now it's time to get the plinkers out and shoot golf balls at 200 yards or something fun like that....
I think that EVERYONES posts have been helpful, and will assist the original poster in achieving his goal of understanding what is proficient in order to take his game when he finally makes it into the field to hunt. I wish him good lucks and Big Buck's!
Sorry for being so long winded but occasionally I can't shut the heck up.
koolminx
P.S. I shoot my pie at 75 yds because I'm the sneakiest still hunter the world has ever known, and my game wouldn't DARE be more than 75 yards away from me when I decided to take it....
I have a few things to say, but first to Christ dude.
I fully agree, I love tunnel mounts specifically for that purpose.
OK.
Several of you have stated that the death of the stalked game must have a Humane Death. And, I do not fully agree if I am to be guided by my Christian beliefs that the good lord said these beasts are ours to eat... Back then there were no Sig's nor Mausers, nor Winchesters, Etc. They got clubbed or stabbed repeatedly if they were wild, and likely just a slice on the throat if they were kept game.
Now keep reading...
If guided by my Human nature, I surely don't want the animal to suffer! But, if said animal is going into my freezer, I really don't give it much thought. I think that anyone who gut shoots an animal is a slob, unless it was a fluke of circumstances, rather than a poorly placed shot. And I'm also sure that nobody shoots an animal to wound it (lawyers and politicians excluded)Now that that part of my wrangling of words is out of the way....
When I got shooting with a new gun and then once a year after that, I zero it in on a bench preferably with a sandbag... That's only about 5 shots to get the gun sighted in perfectly at about 75 yards.
After that, my gun is perfect! If I shoot it 3,000 times while out blowing junk to pieces, and drop it 3 times, then shove it back in the safe for several months without even cleaning it, and then the season comes around... I take it out and put a pie plate at 75 yards. I take me a nice breath and shoot it, just like it was a game animal. Then I go through a vigorous routine to tire myself like I've been climbing mountains all day and finally see something big enough to take home. Then I shoot the pie plate again. If I miss totally or just barely make it on a 10" pie plate. I stay and practice my shooting some more because it's simply NOT good enough to hit your plate (or your silly 1" 4 shot pattern at 200 yards) after climbing out of your truck and seeing your game, simply because it almost never happens until you've been out walking for 2 to 5 hours and are fatigued.
Pre hunting season, I shoot the pie plate exactly like it was a Deer/elk/Gopher/Hummingbird etc... I shoot it to kill it, not to wound it, I believe this is the goal of EVERY hunter that squeezes the trigger after he takes the safety off! TO think otherwise would be silly!
If I hit my plate after all that and I hit it exactly where I wanted to or within 2 or 3 inches, there's no further need to practice shooting game because there's no need, you've proven to yourself that you can kill it, now it's time to get the plinkers out and shoot golf balls at 200 yards or something fun like that....
I think that EVERYONES posts have been helpful, and will assist the original poster in achieving his goal of understanding what is proficient in order to take his game when he finally makes it into the field to hunt. I wish him good lucks and Big Buck's!
Sorry for being so long winded but occasionally I can't shut the heck up.
koolminx
P.S. I shoot my pie at 75 yds because I'm the sneakiest still hunter the world has ever known, and my game wouldn't DARE be more than 75 yards away from me when I decided to take it....
an exellent standard John.
You should get gun's capabilitys during load devlopement.
You should know your own abilities from different shooting positions.
you should know your ammo's performance and trajectory.
there for you should know well in advance of dear season how far game should be to allow you to make a clean kill.
All I want to check before I head into field is does POI=POA.
Wild Bill Bucks
New member
The country I hunt does not allow for shots any further than around 100 yards. Most of the shots I get are looking at a piece of the deer, not the whole deer. I have taken several deer by having to shoot between trees that only allow me a 2 or 3 inch window of vitals. I have taken three deer in the last 5 years, that have only given me eye-ball shots.
Because of this, I spend a lot of time at the range with my rifle, and I try to maintain a 3/4" group at 100 yards. I know my rifles trajectory from 10 yards all the way to 100 yards, within a 1/4 of an inch, so that I can feel comfortable taking these kinds of shots.
To me a 3 or 4 inch group would keep me from taking a lot of shots, that would otherwise put meat on the table, and in some cases would have meant going home empty handed.
I don't take shots that I am not completely sure with, and I never take shots free hand or in a hurry. This has cost me some deer, but I feel better than the guy walking around looking for a deer that he did not get a good shot on, and has had to track blood for a 1/4 mile.
A lot of the hunting accuracy of the rifle has more to do with the terrain you will be hunting, than it does with how tight the groups have to be at the range.
At the very least, I want my rifle to be as accurate as it can be, so that any missed shot is my fault, and not the rifles inability to put a good group together.
Because of this, I spend a lot of time at the range with my rifle, and I try to maintain a 3/4" group at 100 yards. I know my rifles trajectory from 10 yards all the way to 100 yards, within a 1/4 of an inch, so that I can feel comfortable taking these kinds of shots.
To me a 3 or 4 inch group would keep me from taking a lot of shots, that would otherwise put meat on the table, and in some cases would have meant going home empty handed.
I don't take shots that I am not completely sure with, and I never take shots free hand or in a hurry. This has cost me some deer, but I feel better than the guy walking around looking for a deer that he did not get a good shot on, and has had to track blood for a 1/4 mile.
A lot of the hunting accuracy of the rifle has more to do with the terrain you will be hunting, than it does with how tight the groups have to be at the range.
At the very least, I want my rifle to be as accurate as it can be, so that any missed shot is my fault, and not the rifles inability to put a good group together.
wyobohunter
New member
Prolly not as much as I should. I was fire forming cases the other day and used that as an oppurtinity to check my offhand skills. I qualified "Expert" 3 times while in the USMC so I'm a decent shot and thought that the shots would just reaffirm what I already knew. Groups were not quite as good as I hoped but I saw an improvement from first to last group. It was enough to get me practicing the unsupported offhand a little more.
James R. Burke
New member
You can shoot a pretty big group and still be in the killing zone on a deer. It comes down to what you feel is good enough for you, and human for the animal. Lots of folks can shoot sub 1" groups at 100 yards off the bench, but try it off hand. It changes real fast. I feel best around 1" at 100 yards, and then practice alot a differnt ranges off hand. Sitting, standing, laying down, etc. You will know when you are confident on what you are doing.
90% or more of my shots are fired from offhand annually. I may, on rare occasion, opt for an IRD (improvised rest device
) such as a tree trunk etc...
Being a florida boy, I am limited heavily in comfortable seated/kneeling spots, we gots them thar "FAR AIN'TS" That sting like... well... "FAR"!!! We also got ticks in most of the woods as well... My severely bad back makes standing upright my closest thing to comfort. My knees make getting up a chore.
But as far as bench shooting, I do run a few rifle rounds preseason from a bench or porch rail to make sure sights/scope are still where I left them and do the same with slugs to reaffirm to myself that I remember the "your eye is your rearsight" rule. I shot 30 rounds of .30-30 from the bench recently, making that the most I ever fired from a bench at one time and real close to the total from a bench in my entire life.
I rarely shoot paper, I do shoot a squirrel per week or so for Junior's snake... and a bunny now and then for the dogs. At this home, I am not free to bust off several hundred rounds due to some sorry neighbor folks.
Brent
) such as a tree trunk etc...Being a florida boy, I am limited heavily in comfortable seated/kneeling spots, we gots them thar "FAR AIN'TS" That sting like... well... "FAR"!!! We also got ticks in most of the woods as well... My severely bad back makes standing upright my closest thing to comfort. My knees make getting up a chore.
But as far as bench shooting, I do run a few rifle rounds preseason from a bench or porch rail to make sure sights/scope are still where I left them and do the same with slugs to reaffirm to myself that I remember the "your eye is your rearsight" rule. I shot 30 rounds of .30-30 from the bench recently, making that the most I ever fired from a bench at one time and real close to the total from a bench in my entire life.
I rarely shoot paper, I do shoot a squirrel per week or so for Junior's snake... and a bunny now and then for the dogs. At this home, I am not free to bust off several hundred rounds due to some sorry neighbor folks.
Brent
wyobohunter
New member
I need to get back to this, most times tall grass and brush make other positions impossible where I live and hunt.
Crankylove
New member
I droped my antelope last year with one shot from 525 yards........and that range is not really out of the ordinary for the area we hunt. On the flip side, where I hunted Elk last year, a 250 yard shot would have been a freakishly long shot.
I am happy if I can keep 3 kinda quick shots in a 4-6" group shooting off hand at 100 yds. From a rest, my rifles will outshoot me anyday, so unfortunately for me, if I miss, I can't blame it on the gun.
Rangefinder
New member
Honestly, I can't even tell you when the last time was that I fired from a bench. Even at membership ranges, I hit the dirt because of how I see "shooting capability" defined. It bugs the hell out of me to hear someone claiming to be a shooter when they lock their rifle down in a bench vice, turn a few knobs, and then get excited when tight groups happen--that's not really skilled shooting in my book unless they can pick the darn thing out of the vice, shoulder it, and produce similar grouping. I'll flop down in the dirt, lay across a berm or my day-pack, sling-support, whatever. But I shoot the same whether I'm killing paper or game.
srt 10 jimbo
New member
If I'm Hunting something that can Hunt you in return....I make sure them groups are alot tighter.