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You know it's deer season when...

G

Graham

Generalissimo
Full Member
Minuteman
Oct 30, 2007
49,806
48
Michigan
At the range this morning a guy shows up, unboxes a twelve guage shotgun, clamps it into a Lead Sled, then goes down range and puts a tennis ball in the dirt at 100m.

He shoots a few rounds, declares 'that's good enough, I mean, shit, I hit the tennis ball', then boxes up the shotgun and leaves... No doubt ready for deer season.

Well, you know me: I couldn't resist going downrange to have a look at the tennis ball. Here it is, still in the dirt, unscathed:
tate8e2a.jpg



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You know it's deer season when...

Adam B said:
wow, they really need to make members take a test before they allow them on the range.
Click to expand...
The unfortunate thing is that there is a test, right after you watch the mandatory safety video.

And I only caught him handling his shotgun once while I was downrange. When I looked at him he yelled 'I'm clear!, I'm clear!'


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Like Graham said, this is deer season. It brings out all the guys who never shoot their guns except perhaps at a pumpkin 10 feet away for fun. Three shells at the range before season starts is good enough. That way, a box of ammo last for years, ya know...

Those would also be the ones that you hear on opening morning emptying out their gun at something they heard, or maybe saw, or saw but didn't hit, or wounded but will never track and find. In other words, they are the ones that provide the bad name for hunting and shooting in general.

This time of year, the range always gets somewhat trashed with cans, jugs, other trash, and the backboards get thrashed and usually require replacing. These guys think that it's a good idea to lean their trash target items up against the backboard supports while they blast away at them. Then wonder why (or laugh when) the 4x4s fall down.

:)
 
Few days ago we had a windless day...RARE here in Central MT. I went to the Range to do an OCW with my old .222 Rem Lt Varmint gun.

A guy is set up to my left with a Rem 700 in .300 Ultra Mag with an ancient 2-7X Leupold in Weaver rings and bases. Complete with the leather 3" wide "carry" sling with 20 rds of ammo on it. The sling is of course still attached and he is shooting off a sandbag with the barrel resting on the bag. He is continually making the line STOP so he can go downrange to check his target. Finally another shooter sets up near him and spots using his spotting scope.

The guy whangs away with a box and a half of shells, with groups all over a very LARGE piece of cardboard. Declares it's GOOD and starts to pack up.

But NOT before telling his spotter about his 500 and 600 yard elk and deer kills. ALL head and neck shots, as ..."You don't want to waste meat, Ya Know"!

I wondered how many deer and elk the clown wounds each season?
 
I teach the Ky concealed deadly weapons classes and have guys show up that have been shooting "Longer than you've been alive" I get that alot as Im not yet 30. Most of whom dont pay attention, talk during class barely squeeze past the written test and shoot a pizza size group on a full size target at 21 ft and are proud as hell of themselves. Its interesting to know that some "Riflemen" are the same. I started keeping a few of those reduced distance AQT targets for when the big mouths start telling me how good a shot they are. Most cant even get close to a riflemans score.
 
...when you see smiles on the faces of the shooters that do 50YD groups spread all over the 8" paper plate they were using.

...when someone sits down with 3 boxes of thirty thirty to "site in" from last year and asks if i think it's enough ammo.

...when even the queers at work start growing beards.

...when the guy next to you sets up and blows the dust off his scope lens.

...when the guy with .3006 pump shooting at 100yds and 2" high scope rings has a mixed bag of different ammos, shoots them all without separating them and still is clicking his adjustments on the last round.

...when the walmart parking lot is full of cars with out of state tags the night before, and they have to bring out another pallet of cracked corn.

...when clothes lines resemble pumpkin patches a week before.

...when the usually dark country side are lit up like las vegas.

...when there's a gleam in your eye and missus mistakes it for being horny.

...when discussions turn from the ordinary day to day stuff to what type of Pee do you use.

...when i ask the missus to wear the bullwinkle hat i bought her last anniversary.

...when burly manly men ask each other if one their one camo is clashing with the other.

...when a week before the sound of hammering wood into trees echoes throughout the mountain side.

...when the "finding bigfoot" crew stays home.
 
I had a guy I know ask me if he could sight his hunting rifle in at my range last year. He shows up and first three shots are around 8" high and 6" left of center. I was looking through my spotter, and told him he needs 6 moa right and 8 moa down. Next 3 shots were 6" high and 4 3/4" left. He asked my why my correction was wrong, and I told him I said minutes and not clicks. Then he goes into that a click is a minute because when the military guys say they are 3 clicks from a location that means they are 3 minutes from there. After my laughter I go over and dail his correction in to where he needs it. He shoots 3 more and they're pretty close to being dead on. He then tells me he wanted to be 3" high at 100 so he'll be good at 300. I said, why didn't we zero from the 300 yard line then? And his answer... I'm not confident in myself shooting groups at 300! But this guy is willing to shoot at a deer at that distance. It was an interesting day for sure.
 
docdredd said:
Whats even better is that its a rental.....
Click to expand...

If I had to bet, I'd say they are from Illinois. I laugh because I see this almost every deer season. I enjoy seeing people walking through Wal-mart up to a week before in full blaze coveralls and jacket complete with the stocking hat. Some are back looking at deer rifles like now is a good time to be buying one. I love it! Deer season is close!
 
This all brings memories of every damn time I go to bass Pro as soon as its close to Bow season. See all the people with the crooked ass hats,camo at that, and low dragging pants bringing there old 90's white tail compound bows in.
I dont really have any range stories since I shoot at my Dad's place,which gives me 400 yards to shoot.
 
I must be 'one of those'. I get my riles (aka: tools) sighted in and put them away in the gun cabinet for when I need them. I know where they are printing at for a particular load/pill and so long as I'm using the same, I don't fiddle with them. The only one I might fiddle with is my long range rig but thats because I like to fissle with loads.

A 100 yard range is useless to me. I sight in at 200 for anything in the low 3 series and 500 for anythying above. My 22, 100 would work. Thats it.
 
its funny to me when people at the range dont like to touch their turrets..... i get the whole dont move it its already zeroed...then freak out when i dial for 500m and back to 100m like if its rocket science...
 
when you go to an ordinarily empty range to find its over an hour wait at the "long" range. Even more troubling is this is not a rifle county.....
 
I teach shop classes in a high school and last week, a couple of girls (sisters) in my class told me their dad was taking them deer hunting over the weekend. On Monday I asked about their hunt and learned that one of them shot twice and missed so the ranch owner killed the deer for her. The other sister told me that she gut shot a doe and the ranch owner finished it off for her. They said they were shooting at about 70 yards. I asked how often they practice with their hunting rifles and they informed me that they shoot at a target when they get to the deer lease and that is the only shooting they ever do. Since it's my job to educate these young people, I took it upon myself to let them know what I thought about all that and even insinuated that it might be somewhat irresponsible for their dad to take them deer hunting without first teaching them how to shoot. They informed me that their dad is taking them on another deer hunt next month, so I suggested that they hit the shooting range at least a couple times a week between now and then, but they said they didn't have time for that and would simply sight in their guns when they get back to the lease. I'm all for getting young people interested in shooting and hunting, but this sort of thing disgusts me. As I see it, if this guy wants his daughters to take an interest in hunting (or just use their tags to fill his freezer), he should at least put in the effort to teach them how to shoot the damn gun! Besides, how much fun could it be for a kid to go hunting and miss or gut shoot the animal?
 
I run the Sight In Days at our range for out of state hunters each season. Last year two guys from Penn. show up and one digs out a brand new rifle. Says he hopes he can get it close, he just bought it at Cabalas on the way through Rapid City and they mounted and bore sighted it for him.

He starts to set up and mention to his partner, that I didn't thing I would drive 2000 miles on an expensive hunt with a brand new rifle I've never shot. The partner laughs, tells me I don't understand. The guy does this ever year, gets almost to his hunting area, calls his wife, tells her he forgot his rifle and needs to buy another one.

It too the guy a pair of seconds to get on and he did quite will hitting first at 100, then 200 and on to 300.

Not all things are as they first appear.
 
My favorite part of hunting season (at least before the panic) was picking up all the brass from the local range from all the hunters sighting in their rifles. I think I got brass from every popular N. American hunting caliber. Ended up giving most of it away, but it was fun.
 
That pic is a classic! You know though, not near as many deer hunters now, as there were 20 years ago. At least in my neck of the woods.
 
when you here the story of how the 270 is the flattest most bad ass thing ever made and to shoot a running deer at 500 just hold on its back
 
HA! I just had a guy at work today tell me his .270 shoots over 4000fps. Without being a dink and calling him out I said, You must be shooting some light weight bullets?
 
Va_Gentleman said:
Ah... the season when MOPP replaces MOA. (Minute of Pie-Plate)
Click to expand...

Funny you said that, cuz my experience at the local range is that it seems like everyone at the bench is striving for MOPP! When the range goes cold and I walk down to the targets it seems like all the targets look like they were blasted by a shotgun but mine. I mean, I'm no champ, but if any of my groups are further than 1/4" away from POA or are larger than an inch MAX I'm pissed! Yet these guys go and pick up their MOPP group targets, ppt their rifles away, and you don't see them again until next deer season.


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bodywerks said:
Funny you said that, cuz my experience at the local range is that it seems like everyone at the bench is striving for MOPP! When the range goes cold and I walk down to the targets it seems like all the targets look like they were blasted by a shotgun but mine. I mean, I'm no champ, but if any of my groups are further than 1/4" away from POA or are larger than an inch MAX I'm pissed! Yet these guys go and pick up their MOPP group targets, ppt their rifles away, and you don't see them again until next deer season.


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Click to expand...

You nailed it Werks...

From the (1) One shot, First Shot Hole on the plate followed with the statement "That's all I need right there" as the rifle goes back into the bag, (2) Three shot, 8" Group followed by the previous statement and storage of the rifle, (3) The said plate that you discussed with holes blasted all over the place and the best 3 holes circled... (Followed up by the many favorites after said "grouping": "She's always dead on", "It's never missed" and "All I have got to do is pull the trigger") and (4) The dreaded 50 shot session with wild, seemingly random rotation of all turrets with the statement, "Something is dead wrong with her this year, Must be that time I laid her sideways in the pickup last season".

If they happen to look over and any structure in your groups or a much better exhibition of basic rifle principles.... then you are in for the whoppers such as the mentioned above .270 "hold on the back at 500 yards", etc.... etc...

You have to admit, It's all quite amusing...
 
Oh yeah you gotta love it. All year I don't think I could pay someone to come shoot with me, you just have to listen to their stories about how their factory guns will put em all in the same hole every time! Then about a week or two before season they might show up to "make sure she's still hitting" which always ends the same, with them trying to explain away their 2.5" to 6" groups. "I don't know whats wrong with her today last time I shot her it was one hole"! But when you hint that maybe they should practice more its either "no usually i shoot really good" or "I'm never any good at shooting targets, but I never miss when I'm shooting at game"!

Perhaps the best one yet was when my brothers ex-girlfreind told me that her Tikka 270 WSM was the "best gun made" and "shoots so good". To which I replied really I didn't know you could by the best gun made from wal-mart! Then she explained that she new the gun was good but when she read about them online she realized that they were the best. She didn't have near as much to say when her groups were covering two sheets of paper and her shoulder hurt!
 
I just got back from hunting with my Brother-In-Law and my young nieces...I was told that they shot at a six point buck but hit him in the leg and wounded it so I said, was you rifle zeroed, as I knew it was a new 243 that was purchased, and I got the funniest deer in the head light look from all in the room. So I went on to explain what zeroing means and how you need to align the bore of the rifle to your optic so you hit where you are aiming at. Oh my...so, now there is a wounded deer in the woods with a bum leg. Man that torques me off!!!
 
You mean they don't just hit what you aim at straight outta tha box? That's just crazy! What's this world coming to?
 
I was just at the range and a couple of guys in their mid 20's showed up with a rifle, I don't know what caliber.. maybe 308. One of them ran down and placed a coffee can about halfway up the 100 yard berm and then they set up to shoot at it. I was about finished shooting, so just out of curiosity I stuck around to see what would happen. First shot about 6 inches above the can. Second shot, again 6 inches high. Third shot, once again high. Fourth time he fired, he hit the coffee can! What came next was the funny part....The shooter jumped up from the bench with a big grin on his face and then he and his buddy let out a good hard laugh and gave each other a high-five. Then, they walked back to the car and put the rifle away and got out a shotgun....I had seen enough....
 
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We live across the road from 43 acres of deer infested timber. On opening day when the fleet of pickups roll in I have the kids go inside and play a board game BEHIND the gun safe. You can hear them yelling while shooting. "Watch the red pickup", "Hey isn't Billy back there" etc... After the yelling and multiple slugs (shotgun only here) being launched, they pack up and move on. In the 6 years of living here, I've NEVER witnessed a deer harvested. If it wasn't so damn dangerous, it would be funny.
 
I watched a guy at the range a couple of hours ago do his best to burn out a 7mm RemMag. He set up his rest and went straight to the 250yd steel plates (8") to apply a fresh coat of paint. The rest of us on the line decided to wait until he got back to continue firing, even though he didn't bother to wait on us to finish or ask for a cold range before walking out on a hot range. After 10 rounds of him cursing his scope, the ammo, the bench, and a few other things I decided to take a peek at the plate with my binos while he shot. He'd fire and hit a foot left, then 2ft, then off a foot on the other side, over, under, everywhere but the plate. On the last round of his second 20rd box of ammo in less than 20 minutes, he made contact with the plate at 6 oclock 3" low.

At no time did he touch his turrets, but instantly hopped up and muttered "bout fuckin time I got this thing sighted in" and packed up. I'd love to see what that throat looks like now.
 
Fellow was was a good boyhood friend, now just an ex-acquaintance, got everything in life he ever wanted. When I got a 30-30 Win. 94 at the age of 14, he got a Rem. 742 Woodmaster carbine in 30-06.

Long story short . . .

His little trophy wife stewardess, bought him a top of the line Weatherby in .300 Weatherby mag. He calls me up, "Dennis, I've shot 9 or 10 3 round shot groups with my rifle and I just can't get it zeroed!" I can see him now after squeezing the trigger for the first time. Probably looked the the video post of the top Syrian sniper.
 
Yall kill me. As a hunter, QDMA member, and NWTF member it breaks my heart to hear these stories because I whave no doubt of their truthfulness. We aren't all like that, but as with most things, there are a very vocal and visible few.

I went to the range to do some ladder testing Wedneday of this past week. I try to go during work so I don't disturb anyone else going back and forth to mark my shots. Well a gentleman drove up who was nice enough. Before he started shooting he came down to ask me some questions about zeroing and bullet performance. He had set up a target at 50 yds. Yes, it was a paper plate. He was shooting a Weatherby 300 Wea. mag with a nice swarovski scope. He was done zeroing it when one shot hit the plate. He also did say he never shoots past 100 yds, which is good, but a 300 Weatherby mag for 100 yds and under? That surprised me.

Good luck to all the ethical, safe, thoughtful, practiced hunters out there. may the force be with us.

Ryan
 
Punisher29073 said:
Yall kill me. As a hunter, QDMA member, and NWTF member it breaks my heart to hear these stories because I whave no doubt of their truthfulness. We aren't all like that, but as with most things, there are a very vocal and visible few.

I went to the range to do some ladder testing Wedneday of this past week. I try to go during work so I don't disturb anyone else going back and forth to mark my shots. Well a gentleman drove up who was nice enough. Before he started shooting he came down to ask me some questions about zeroing and bullet performance. He had set up a target at 50 yds. Yes, it was a paper plate. He was shooting a Weatherby 300 Wea. mag with a nice swarovski scope. He was done zeroing it when one shot hit the plate. He also did say he never shoots past 100 yds, which is good, but a 300 Weatherby mag for 100 yds and under? That surprised me.

Good luck to all the ethical, safe, thoughtful, practiced hunters out there. may the force be with us.

Ryan
Click to expand...
Well I, like many, was fortunate enough to have been taught to hunt by a safe and knowledgeable father who cared that we learn the right way to shoot well before we ever got the chance to carry our own weapon on a hunt. I spent a couple years just being part of the hunt before I was allowed to carry and shoot. Those are great memories and taught me well. It's unfortunate that many never had that luxury and thus rely on machismo and street knowledge in their quest to participate in the hunt.
 
^ good points.

...when thoughts go back to time spent with family and friends that may no longer be with us, the sight of a passed dad's hunting cap brings tears to eye's...then you know it's deer season.
 
I grew up on a dairy farm in upstate New York and every fall the area was invaded by THEM, city people! One of our neighbors had about 80 milkers – black and white Holsteins mind you - and every deer season he would buy buckets of red paint and on each side of his animals paint the letters C...O...W

Also, just up the road from us some folks from NYC had bought about 10 acres for a weekend property. They had put a trailer on it and would run their Volkswagon dune buggies and motorcycles. One day my dad and I are in the front yard and we can see two of the older boys by the trailer. They spot a deer on the fence line maybe 50 yards away and start blasting. The deer runs off and they run down to where they shot at it. We can here one say “There's the blood, it went that way.” Then they.....walked back up to the trailer.

TMA
 
^^^ same here except it was mid-Hudson Valley part of New York. One year a hunter from NYC was stopped while trying to load up a prize Arabian race horse he shot while it was fenced in the racetrack property...

You know it's deer season when... You have to lock up any animal larger than a small dog for fear it will be mistaken as a deer and shot.
 
This thread reminds me of so many experiences at the range with hunters sighting in their rifles. My most recent experience was a group of gentlemen blaming a 5mph wind for their 12 inch group (that's a conservative estimate) at 100 yards with a 300 win mag.
 
rso for a range in western pa. here. in this area opening day of rifle deer season is a national holiday.at the range yesterday: i caught one person clearing his pistol pointed at his buddy's stomach. had a club member sweep the new member orientation with his deer rifle. one person had to go and get a third box of ammo, as he had missed a 36" target @ 50 yards with the first 2. got accused of being a range nazi, in front of club president. his comment after rofl was, yes and he's mine and i'm going to keep him. this goes on wed thru sunday 10-4 until the last day 12/1. 12/1 we will by packed with a waiting line at 3:30. at dark we will send the last one on their way. the really bad ones i ask where they will be hunting as self preservation is a strong instinct.
 
We just had a guy at the local range damn near blow his face off shooting an m1 garand replica rifle. Not sure if it had anything to do with deer season but it wouldn't surprise me.
I also had a guy next to me see my savage that I built and was setting up. He said, "wow a savage ultra mag, yeah I could tell by the long action". Now, how he guessed that it was an ultra mag is beyond me, but my guess is it was just that, a guess, cuz he then said "I could tell cuz the heavy barrel and long action". I said it's actually a short action, and a short action ultra mag. He said, "oh, wow, cool. Yeah I just got done shooting my 270[nodding with a smirk on his face]". At that point I immediately started thinking about this thread...
What else was funny is I was strapping my magnetospeed to the muzzle and he started staring at it and says "do those things really help with accuracy?" I said "what do you mean?" He said, "well I can get the concept but I don't see how it improves accuracy".
I told him it's a chronograph and he had this blank look on his face and just said, "oh, I never seen one like that"
Yep, interesting conversations at the range this time of year...

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