How do you set up your shots?

Dogleg said:
I wonder how all those guys shooting from box stands remain undeafened?
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You saw the error in my post- I forgot the phrase "without proper ear protection". Having fired rifles in enclosed places I can speak from experience at it being a poor decision. Having the barrel outside the box and the ears inside the box (truck) definitely makes a big difference, but the end result is a much louder than usual BANG.
 
kolkim said:
Thanks for your time.

I've shot maybe 100 rounds through my rifle and always at this one spot. It's a dirtbiking quarry full of shotgun shells and rifle cartridges. I like this place because it's not too far away from my house but theres no trees, stumps or anything to lean against so the best shooting position I can get is sitting offhand and I have a hard time keeping my rifle scope steady. I don't have a bipod yet. I think if I had some kind of rest I could shoot very accurately.

I also have an SKS, and sitting offhand I have very good accuracy without a scope.
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You have gotten some really good pointers here. And I have little to add.

I would suggest taking a target out thats at least 12"-14" and placing it at 100 yards. Take three shots at this target from a rest and turn your magnification all the way up.

The result is the best your present set up will shoot, Including your ammo. Your group should be under 6", hopefully its under 2" but don't worry if it isn't.

Now I would take your rifle and try a standing shot at 50yrs. Turn your magnification all the way out this time, hold your rifle's forend at the rifles Center of gravity (almost never where the manufacture places the forend grip). If you shoot right handed, hold your rifle in your left hand, and place your right hand on the grip (trigger finger extended forward down the side of the stock, not on the trigger.) Now stand with your left leg and foot pointing at your target and your right leg and foot naturally pointing at the 2 o'clock ish position. Shoulder your rifle while keeping your eyes on the target. IF YOUR NOT NATURALLY LOOKING AT THE TARGET WHILE THROUGH THE SCOPE, ITS NOT MOUNTED RIGHT. The scope should naturally fall into place in your field of view. If you have to move your head its wrong. now lean slightly forward and place weight on your front leg (don't bend the back just weight forward. pull the trigger (notice you aimed before the rifle was shouldered, all you did was place the scope in your line of sight)

I would take three shots like this, reseting or better yet taking a couple steps to the side. If your in the 12" circle. your a killer. keep moving your target out 10 yards at a time and try again (if you know you can go out 30 more yards do it). Once you start hitting out side of the 12" inch ring STOP. This is your freehand limit. until you can practice and improve. limit freehand shots on live game below this range.

For point of reference I can hit .75-1" in a rest and inside 10" at 100 yard freehand. At 200 yards I can hit under 3" in a rest. and can't hit the target freehand.
 
kolkim said:
I've never hunted before and I have some questions about accuracy.

I have a Tikka rifle, and I am not very accurate with it. I look to see accuracy tips on Youtube but everyone uses a bipod. I don't own a bipod but in my mind I can't see a time where you could lay on the ground and use your bipod in the bush. So maybe Bipods aren't good for hunting in the bush, but tall shooting sticks are probably good, or my instructor said he leaned against a tree alot.

So my question is, when you are hunting in the bush, like a forest, how do you shoot? Do you just hold it up and against your shoulder boom, or do you carry shooting sticks, lean the barrel on a stump or branch, or lean your body against a tree.. I'd like an idea.
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I always hunt with a bipod on my rifle, when utilized, prone position only. The buck I shot last year was a kneeling position.
 
Boomer said:
IMHO, everyone should work towards attaining basic marksmanship skills before shooting at a live target. But lets dispense with idea of MOA as an index of the accuracy necessary for big game hunting. A more useful index should be based on the target size, which tends to be 12"-16" on deer sized game. Provided you can keep your rounds within 8" at a given range, that is sufficient for a positive outcome. The opportunities a hunter has in thick cover is weighted towards the off hand position, but if you can use a natural rest to support the rifle, your chances of making a first round hit on a stationary target increases dramatically. But in the bush, where the range tends to be short, and the action can be fast, so marksmanship must be balanced against time.

Begin your practice at short range, say 25 yards, shooting off hand. Shoot pairs, working the action of your rifle as quickly as you can between shots. When you become comfortable with that, move back to 50, but now introduce kneeling and seated positions to your off hand. From here you go back to 100, where you can also introduce prone to your positions. If you can continue to increase the range until you can no longer keep your rounds within 4" of your intended point of impact, which defines your maximum range.

Work at getting onto the target quickly, get a repeatable cheek weld, and press the trigger, don't slap it or jerk it. If you find your aiming point swinging off the target, don't decrease weight on the trigger, just wait for the sight to come back to center, then increase the pressure until the shot breaks. With practice, this can be accomplished quickly. Keep at it, and don't get discouraged. Dry firing at home will be beneficial to improving your target acquisition, sight alignment, and trigger control.
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Boomer, excellent post with lots of good information. I usually practice both offhand and kneeling at 100yds with a rimfire rifle shooting at an 8" paper plate. Goal is to keep 20/20 on the plate. I have found that gives a good basis for deer as the plate is smaller than the vitals on even a smallish whitetail deer.

As for OP, my shots are split about 75/25 between offhand and kneeling. There is seldom time to get into a sitting or prone position, but occasionally a handy tree or fencepost can be used to steady the shot. Ranges are not usually that far, seldom much over 125yds.


Mark
 
hundreds of hours of walking gopher fields shooting standing off hand I would like to say I am quite proficient, HOWEVER for anything over 100 yards (especially with the excitement of deer or other big game) and I'm a shaking mess.
I have one of those walking sticks that with the press of a button extends out to be a mono pod, this does really sturdy things up if I have to shoot from standing, and maybe to 200 yards. anything over that I need a sturdy rest that isn't going to move at all, tree, bipod, pack etc.
 
I use a remington 700 xcr tactical in 300 win mag for hunting; from prone with my by-pod or from a really good rest I can shoot .5-.75"@100 groups all day with it. The second I do not have a good rest that group goes to 1-2"@100 and standing with no rest 3-6"@100 I know I cant shoot very good standing so I always find another option unless I'm really close.
 
kolkim said:
My scope's magnification is 3-9x and I always shot at 9x, but it makes sense to shoot at 3x at 50 yards so I will do that next time. I want to get a 22 with a scope for practice although my .270 rounds aren't that expensive as I reload my own. I think my next gun purchase will be a sling, either a ching sling or a USGI sling.

That deer with his tongue sticking to the side made me laugh :p
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I teach my new hunter friends to keep their scopes at 3 or 4 on the 3-9 scale. Then , shoot thru the various shooting positions at 50 yards until proficient and comfortable with trigger and sights.
Snap shooting at 25 then 50 yards comes next with 4 targets up, I'll call either target 1 thru 4 and shooter with rifle slung on shoulder must load and fire on that target from the offhand position.
Then the same is repeated from the field carry position.
Practicing all these with your sks will be cheaper, to build muscle memory ect.
Then pick the ammo your rifle bench shoots the best with and try the above.
It's real fun with a buddy or two in a gravel pit practicing shooting positions with someone calling out random targets at 25 and 50 yards.
Then graduate to 100 and beyond.
I'm no expert, but the above has worked really well improving the in the field shooting skills both for myself and buddies of mine.
Bottom line though, you must be comfortable shooting the rifle you own, she should shoulder naturally with eye in perfect position to optic, and her trigger should break almost as a surprise ;)
I used to shoot fine one the bench but in offhand, I had a tendency to slightly roll my trigger hand as I squeezed the trigger, causing me to pull shots down and right on a perfectly sighted in , sub moa win 70 7mm rem mag. A trigger job and purposeful attention to relaxing my trigger hand.... And bingo.... Offhand shots at 100 yards became natural.
 
I take any lean I can possibly get. Sure, I've made long offhand shots, but I try to limit them when possible. I never liked shooting sticks as they're not very solid. I usually use a bipod when available or lean on a tree. Even back up against a tree sitting and rest between my knees. Anything that allows you to square up will help. Of course your gun needs to fit you too.....
 
When I saw that T870 had posted I expected something about money shots ;)

It's been too long since I shot, I've spent so long building these rifles that I'm probably completely out of practice by now.
 
If it's big game. I will take a off hand shot inside 100yrds. Any thing past that I'm looking for a rest. I also won't take shots past 300yrds. That's just me.
 
Slippery_Pete said:
Gotta love the guy who says he shoots running animals at 250 yds offhand. Reminds me of so many hunters stories where "I shot a 14 point buck at 400 meters, running, offhand. I'm just that good." I'd love to see someone demonstrate such an amazing feat.
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You do realize that some guys can pull shots like that off, correct?
And it is exactly like Demonical said, the rifle is here as an extension of your eye, and then the shot is sent and it connects. I've made more than a few shots like that personally. Some guys are simply a natural rifle shot, and some aren't.

That said, find your animal, quick look for anything you can use for a rest, and take the shot.
 
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