I have walked away from several shots. My longest was a doe antelope at 638. One and down. I had enough elements in my favor there was no question I could make the shot.
I have seen more bad rushed 100+/- shots than anything.
- Thread starter Steelshooter842
- Start date
I have seen more bad rushed 100+/- shots than anything.
My buddy that practices shooting steel at 100 yards made a ghastly shot at a doe at 70. He aimed for high shoulder and hit behind the ribs barely missing the abdomen. It definitely wasnt the rifle as he couldnt be bothered stabilizing his shot first before torching off a round. Its amazing that I actually had to explain to him that conditions in the field are not the same as the bench he was shooting from at our local range.
It is amazing how many people don’t understand that hunting is largely mindset and tactics.
Here in Wyoming we have a lot of truck hunters.
For me I freakin hate truck hunting. My best days are hiking 6-12 miles looking at sign then planning a strategy for the next time out. Like Wayne Gretzky says “, "I skate to where the puck is going to be, not to where it has been”
If I do it right I have all the time in the world for my shot and I even have put the wind in my face……
I watch Backfire at times. He showed a hunt, blemishes and all, which I admire, that went sideways for a while. This proves the statistic that there are two types of hunters.
a) people who have wounded an animal
b) people who will wound an animal
There is always the risk.
So, Jim Harmer (the H is silent, like the pee in swimming,) takes a shot at an ethical distance with his Fierce Mountain Reaper (in 6.5 PRC), I believe. A remarkable and accurate rifle. Jim has a three step process in his trigger squeeze. The animal was slightly quartering away. He had pressed and was going through break when the animal moved. So, this wounded the animal and he took off, fast. They looked for a while, hiked all the way back to the spot they were at, then hiked back to the vehicle.
Leaving the property, he saw the animal again and took another shot, this time, farther away but completely broadside.
go to the 10:00 mark.
That being said, on the public land where I have hunted, the distances are not all that far and I have heard (not seen) where someone shot a doe and did not harvest. The reason is because this particular land I hunt is managed by the USFS. And you can only rifle hunt a doe if you win a tag from the state's drawing system. And the USFS does have trail cams in there. Well, harvesting the doe would be illegal. And also, one should ethically and legally burn a tag but many don't want to do that. And that is from shooting at the first sign of movement in a forest. I consider that scuttlebutt. Believe half of what you hear.
I walked away from a 40 yard shot in my front lawn , nice heavy rack whitetail . I shot his bigger brother in the back lawn 3 days later . I guess we all have hunting stories . Who really gives a shit ?
Yeah I like him. Recently a buddy of mine was at a restaurant and saw him their meeting with some scope company folks. Snapped a quick pic with him on the way out as everyone was leaving. Nice in person too.
Hunting is a test of a lot of factors. You’re in it. Those who have hunted for a while and claim they have never had a kill they wish they had done better, are either not being truthful or insanely lucky. If you’re that lucky, I say, go buy a lottery ticket. My goal is to simply do everything I possibly can to have a clean kill. I’m always learning, and I always will be learning.
There is a time and a place for everything. I truck hunt with my FIL last couple of years. He is 75 and deer hunting is the highlight of his year. Looks forwards to the next year as soon as it closes.
But back to the topic. I've walked away from plenty of bad shots and held my kids back as well.
They have a variety of tools in their toolbox. Some guys will shoot one caliber, some shoot others, back in 1990 you can say they shot 1 caliber. Today they shoot at least 4 different calibers.
556
308
6.5 variant (260-6.5CM)
300WM
300NM
338LM
.50Cal
They manage these variants today. The schoolhouse guys used 300NM and one guy had 300PRC as the Navy uses the 300PRC over the Norma lately.
It’s a huge mix today.
I just want to know what scope @Steelshooter842 is using?
