Marksmanship/proficiency of average hunter...
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Someone should stick up a little for some of the magnum shooters so no one gets the idea owning a mag is immediately a sign of a poor shot.
I know a guy who is now over 600 rounds through his 375 H&H and shoots it very well and uses it to take everything from pronghorn to Moose. Not because he needs it but because he likes it. He can shoot sub inch groups at 100 off bags and is competent from field positions too. I know a couple others as well who handle the big stuff very well, be it a 300 ###X magnum or a 416 of some sort. However they are few and far between.
I know a guy who is now over 600 rounds through his 375 H&H and shoots it very well and uses it to take everything from pronghorn to Moose. Not because he needs it but because he likes it. He can shoot sub inch groups at 100 off bags and is competent from field positions too. I know a couple others as well who handle the big stuff very well, be it a 300 ###X magnum or a 416 of some sort. However they are few and far between.
I don't think Wayne's comments were meant to put down magnum shooters....just to point out that super fast speeds and flat trajectories do not make a shooter out of you as some believe. Lots of great magnum shooters out there. Heck I own a bunch....416 Rigby, 375 H&H, .338, .300 Win, 7mm STW, .264 and I'd like to think I'm proficient with all.
go hang out at a gun range the weekend before hunting season and you'll soon realize the average hunter will shoot a 3" group at 100 yards off the bench with factory ammo and a scoped rifle (new or old). Take away the bench and I bet most guys are 5-6 moa shooters
- Location
- Langley, BC.
I suck off-handed.
No rest, no shot... Let'em walk.
Everything that I have dumped (big game) has been sniped from the prone position.
No rest, no shot... Let'em walk.
Everything that I have dumped (big game) has been sniped from the prone position.
I have seen were if you dont train for a 3 second shot by the 5 to 6 sec it is already unstable practice it at the range till you get good at it other wise uses something to keep you steady and learn to shoot that you can cover your holes with a 1/4 you never will have to chase your game again. by the way long shots should only be for things like a goat up on the side of the mountain
Most of the best shots I know are magnum shooters, but tend to have a pile of different calibers. It all goes together, enthusiasts shoot more and have learned to handle recoil along the way. They ask more of themselves and can get more out of their equipment. More accuracy, more velocity, more power. More of whatever they value. Sometimes it's just to try something different. I normally don't recommend heavy recoiling rifles for anyone that feels like they need to ask about recoil, but those that have any business shooting the big guns don't need advice from anyone. Or critism. Who wants to be average anyway?
- Location
- The Conservative part of Ontario
If you practice regularly at 100 yards, you probably shouldn't be shooting much further.
You can't depend on ballistics tables to tell you the truth about YOUR rifle/load, only the one they used for the test.
You can't depend on ballistics tables to tell you the truth about YOUR rifle/load, only the one they used for the test.
- Location
- The Conservative part of Ontario
Yet so many go hunting with the belief that they know exactly where their bullet will land, because it's printed somewhere. They will argue about how great their chosen cartridge is, while waving the table in the air.
And like as not, given a long shot, either miss, or wound.
Get out and practice at the distance you want to shoot at. Do it from positions you are likely to use in the field.
For me, that's standing on my hind legs with no rest, because that's the way I'll most likely be shooting, and there will be no time for a rest, because the game will be gone in a few seconds.
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I absolutely agree, if my previous post indicated I felt different it was only miscommunication on my part. It's also funny that the guys I know with the biggest calibers often leave them at home in hunting season.
Scar270,
I agree with you and thought I'd join you in sticking up for the magnums and their owners. Personally I don't think that recoil is the biggest reason that the average hunter can't shoot, it's just lack of practice. I can go to the range day after day and be the only person there.
I agree with you and thought I'd join you in sticking up for the magnums and their owners. Personally I don't think that recoil is the biggest reason that the average hunter can't shoot, it's just lack of practice. I can go to the range day after day and be the only person there.
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
A guy doesn't have to be a world class shot to take game, but he does have to recognize his limitations. If when shooting off hand, hitting an 8" target on demand is what you can do at 100 yards, and you know that when you see a game animal at 200 yards without being afforded the opportunity to shoot from a rested position, you have to get closer, you are on the right track. Knowing what you can do on demand and under what conditions you can do it is the key. For most of us the adage, "If you can get closer, then get closer and if you can get lower, then get lower!" applies. It does make you wonder why a guy needs a rifle with 5" of drop at 500 yards.
What bugs me is that guys are out in the field with no concept of range to a target, trajectory or time of flight of their bullet, effect of light and wind, the affect of the angle of departure, or even how to assume a correct shooting position, let alone the basics of marksmanship. Add to this a game animal that is moving and it's not going to be a happy ending.
What bugs me is that guys are out in the field with no concept of range to a target, trajectory or time of flight of their bullet, effect of light and wind, the affect of the angle of departure, or even how to assume a correct shooting position, let alone the basics of marksmanship. Add to this a game animal that is moving and it's not going to be a happy ending.
X2. The young guys with magnums that I meet at the range in the fall often have trouble with "pie plate" groups at 100 m.
If an experienced shooter is hunting in the Alberta foothills, shooting prone from a bipod I'm sure he can reliably take shots beyond 300 yards but in most hunting situations 300 yards is a tough shot. Taking in to account brush, less than optimal rifle support, windage and trajectory not many hunters can do that with consistency.
I read an article years ago that was based on info gathered by one of the western states conservation services. One of the pieces of data that they collected was the range at which game was taken. They concluded that 93% of all big game taken was shot at under 100 yards. I suspect that about 97% would be taken at under 200 yards.
X2
I often shoot offhand at 100 m at a 6" swinging steel plate with a good .22. Its a great low cost way to practice that doesn't leave you feeling beat up after 50 rounds.
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