A minimum of shooting skills shoud be mandatory for hunting....
- Thread starter caramel
- Start date
They used to have that in New Brunswick as well. You had to put two out of three in a 16 by 16 inch target AT 50 YARDS!!! You were allowed to shoot offhand, kneeling, sitting or even prone!! Not much of a shooting test but apparently it was introduced to discourage non hunters from applying for a license and have someone else shoot the moose. Either way it is long gone. I watched a lady take hers and she was using a Remington 742 auto. She put five rounds in the rifle, fired the first shot, hit the bolt release and pulled the bolt back ejecting live round number two, fired her second shot and manually ejected live round number four. Then fired her third shot and of course the rifle locked open being empty. Passed the test though. I wondered at the time who her shooting instuctor had been.
While at the Nanaimo Range a number of years ago, a man fired one shot with his 300 Winchester Magnum at 100 yards. I spotted for him and said he missed the target. That was not good enough, he had to walk to the 100 yard line and check for himself. He fired a second shot, and it was one inch high. I then asked if he was going to shoot at 200 yards, and was informed, "This is the 300 Winchester Magnum, the flattest shooting gun ever. It is one inch high at 100, 1 inch high at 200 and dead on at 300. Last year I shot a deer in the head at 500 yards. I held on the tip of the nose, raised up to the top of his head, and fired".
As a RSO, a shooter was hitting the target next to his, was challenged, and when I went to the 100 m. targets, there were no hits on his target so I showed him where his hits were. He had fired 10 rounds at 50 and 10 at 100 so thankfully he was out of ammo.
Another time two men sighting in a rifle had one round hit the target at close range. On checking the target it had key holed. They could not get it sighted in last year either. The "fire formed brass had the shortest neck" I had ever seen on a 7mm RM. It was sold to them as a 7mm RM. Checking the barrel proved it to be a 300 WM.
Another hunter at coffee told me he missed a moose at 400 yards. Shot low. Turned his scope up to 400 yards and missed. On questioning, the rifle was sighted in for 100 yards. Do you have a bullet drop compensator? Well yeah, on the front of the scope. Turning up an AO does nothing to make the rifle change its point of impact. "So you never read the instructions?"
I should have kept a journal.
As a RSO, a shooter was hitting the target next to his, was challenged, and when I went to the 100 m. targets, there were no hits on his target so I showed him where his hits were. He had fired 10 rounds at 50 and 10 at 100 so thankfully he was out of ammo.
Another time two men sighting in a rifle had one round hit the target at close range. On checking the target it had key holed. They could not get it sighted in last year either. The "fire formed brass had the shortest neck" I had ever seen on a 7mm RM. It was sold to them as a 7mm RM. Checking the barrel proved it to be a 300 WM.
Another hunter at coffee told me he missed a moose at 400 yards. Shot low. Turned his scope up to 400 yards and missed. On questioning, the rifle was sighted in for 100 yards. Do you have a bullet drop compensator? Well yeah, on the front of the scope. Turning up an AO does nothing to make the rifle change its point of impact. "So you never read the instructions?"
I should have kept a journal.
Exactly right. Shooting from the bench tells you how well your rifle is shooting. Getting off your ass and shooting off-hand, prone, sitting and braced tells you how well you can shoot your rifle.
I love your analogy,that separates the men from the boys real fast.
The best one I ever saw. I was shooting at the range and the guy next to me was shooting a 300 Win. He had a spotting scope and fired about 10 shots and then said to that's perfect. I looked through my scope and saw one hole dead center. I asked what happened to the rest of the shots to which he replied "It only takes one shot to kill em" I couldn't argue with that logic
Northman999
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Southern Yukon
Good one.
I once saw a guy with about $3000 invested in a Weatherby Mk V package, chambered in 300 Weatherby, take seven shots over about five minutes to hit a typical black bear at under 100 yards. There was no rush on at all, the bear wasn't going anywhere, and plenty of good quality, field expedient rests available, etc. I was a young man at the time, and had listened intently to his earlier bragging about his rifle package, as well as his (self-assessed) extensive skill and experience as a bear hunter.
One needs to pass a shooting test on a moving target in order to hunt moose or bear in most Scandinavian countries.
From the Swedish hunting regs;
"Hunters who want to go hunting for moose in Sweden should arrange through their host to visit a moose-hunting training range before the hunt.
Many landowners and hunting hosts makes it a requirement that moose hunters must have passed a recognised test at the bronze level before they take part in the hunt.
During the test, hunters shoot at a life-size figure of a moose at a distance of 80 metres in the standing position with no other support than shooting sticks or rifle sling. The
test involves shooting at the figure both while it is stationary and when it is "running"."
From the Swedish hunting regs;
"Hunters who want to go hunting for moose in Sweden should arrange through their host to visit a moose-hunting training range before the hunt.
Many landowners and hunting hosts makes it a requirement that moose hunters must have passed a recognised test at the bronze level before they take part in the hunt.
During the test, hunters shoot at a life-size figure of a moose at a distance of 80 metres in the standing position with no other support than shooting sticks or rifle sling. The
test involves shooting at the figure both while it is stationary and when it is "running"."
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
I dunno, I always figured a 7 mag was pretty gentle (the rifles are often on the heavy side) I bet that guy wouldn't do any better with the mid capacity cased cartridges.
We'd probably nearly halve the number of hunters here if this was law. Unbelievable the number of unprepared and unpracticed people heading out into the woods (or thinking that an open truck window is 'in the woods'). I was at the archery lane near my place about a week before season throwing arrows at about twenty yards (I try to make it down there twice a month at least) when a guy shows up, wipes a thick layer of dust off his bow and fires three arrows. One hit the ceiling and the other two were about 10 inches off the target, high on opposite sides. We walked down to retrieve our arrows, I put five into about two and a half inches just above the bull. He says 'I just need a little warmup before hunting' and proceeds to shoot another two foot group, avoiding the ceiling this time. That was apparently close enough, he packed up and left. That poor deer...
- Location
- West Quebec
Got to be brave to shoot in an unknown area these days..
Cranky Pants
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
While I despise the thought of any more government meddling in our lives. A basic proficiency test should be mandatory for hunting licenses. I know so many people who shoot deer on their father's/mother's/wife's tag. If the actual license holder had to do a basic shooting test every 5 years it would weed out a lot.
One guy I know shot 4 on family tags last year and I didn't even get to see a tail.
One guy I know shot 4 on family tags last year and I didn't even get to see a tail.
It is a fun test with good moving targets. All timed. I didn't get a chance to go hunting the last time I was on tour in Sweden but I wanted to warm up for hogs in Germany. Lots of fun real situation shooting practice.
