Tips on Shooting Running Small Game with Rifle

Mount Sweetness

Mount Sweetness

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Whose got the skills?

Post your technique on smacking down running game with varmint rifles...

Jackrabbits are challenging, as well as coyotes at long ranges, fox can seem impossible....always looking for ways to improve.

So many factors to consider:
- running speed, angle, distance, wind, bullet trajectory, bullet speed
- lead, swing, follow through, stance, shooting positions, rifle zero, hold over...hold under

Who has mastered this fine art? Hit percentage?
 
10/22 with a 50 round magazine? Jokes aside, I think it would be quite hard to hit a running rabbit in mixed terrain with a .22. I use a shotgun instead and still havent gotten any.
 
Lead is essential, how much, at least in my case, is instinctive.
Been away from it too long now to be any good I suppose. Best start off with not even bothering to try for the long range shots. Try to get the ones inside 50 yards first, you can get the long range skills with experience.
When I was in my teens, I fired ten rounds out of my brother;s scoped semi auto at a snowshoe that finally dropped when I was out of ammo. Had eight holes in it. Lesson, use hollow points.

Perfect training for running shots on deer.
 
Practice shooting trap. Keep both eyes open. Learn to shoot iron sights with both eyes open. No, I'm not kidding.

Fox? They're all fur and not much body. If you can hit them deking, dodgeing, running and jumping you're a better shot than I. I hit one with a chev once, does that count? :wave:
 
a little trick i picked up learning to shoot trap: follow your target with your sights, when you squeeze the trigger, keep following the target with your sights. Don't think about shooting the target just following it, and some time while following you squeeze the trigger. works for me.
 
That's the way I was taught, and it works. :confused: It's sort of like practicing on a pool hall 12' table with tight pockets, then going to the bar that night and drinking for free on the 8' sloppy pocket tables. ;)

I'm not really sure why it works, but it does. You may be doing it now when you're shoot trap and not even realize it. It really doesn't take much practice to do it, and you'll be amazed at the difference. I wonder if it doesn't have something to do with depth perception, or peripheral vision?
 
animalamidon said:
a little trick i picked up learning to shoot trap: follow your target with your sights, when you squeeze the trigger, keep following the target with your sights. .
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Good advise for shotgunning, but not so much with a rifle.
Doesn't work well on running game, unless in open country with rifle. Doing this in the bush you will shoot more trees than game.

The best way I found to hit rabbits on the run with a 22, is to aim just ahead of them (inches), and fire as soon as you see hair, keeping distances short( furthest being 20yds). It takes alot of practice.
We did this as kids chasing pine plantations. Got pretty efficient at it, then we started using beagles. Thats when I swiched to a 410. They move alot faster with a dog.
 
animalamidon said:
a little trick i picked up learning to shoot trap: follow your target with your sights, when you squeeze the trigger, keep following the target with your sights. Don't think about shooting the target just following it, and some time while following you squeeze the trigger. works for me.
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He's right. Lead is almost never required, just proper follow through. You can practice by shooting a tire with a target in the center rolling down a hillside. Shooting clays with a shotgun also helps. I took a coyote on a dead run in front of hounds with a scoped bolt action .270 3 years ago hitting him with all 5 shots. Takes practice but follow through eventually becomes natural.
 
I hunt with a group that use rifles for jacks and coyotes. We have lots of fun and have been very successful over the years. We use mostly .243 with some .22/250. Generally sight in for 1.25" high at 100, this gives a little elevation so you don't have to hold over until 200 yards or so and will not shoot over the close ones. Two factors are most critical, lead and follow through. I will say follow through is most important. If the snow conditions are right you can see your misses in the snow, usually behind the rabbit I cannot emphasize follow through enough, if you stop your swing you will shoot behind the rabbit every time. Assuming the rabbit is running perpendicular to me at 100 yards, the first factor in deciding lead is running speed. If the rabbit is loping along I hold at the front of the chest. If the rabbit is striding fairly long but his ears are still somewhat erect I hold just in front of the nose. If he is bounding and his ears are laid back, usually after I have missed the first shot , I use about one to one and a half rabbit lengths. If that doesn't work I generally double the lead for the next shot. I very seldom shoot in front of a rabbit.
Coyotes are a different problem. If I miss a coyote, it is generally from too much lead. I hold on the shoulder for 125 yards or less, the front of the chest as a hold for 125 to 175 or so and the nose for 175 to 225 or so.
Jack rabbits are my favourite type of hunting but unfortunately they are few and far between in our area now. We have too many coyotes so we have switched to hunting them. We went out last Friday in an area where we used to see 20 to 30 jacks in a day. I saw 2 sets of jack tracks, no rabbits and we shot five coyotes for the day.
Here is one of the two I got Friday.
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coyote14Jan11.jpg
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Redmist....excellent info, your numbers are bang on, one to two rabbit lengths for me...anything after that and he is getting out there. Seems that most of the running Jacks I connect on are well within 180 yards....after that I am lucky to see snow fly within 3 feet.

Huge Yote their buddy, Nice Shot! Jack numbers are low around home as well, but I am seeing respectable numbers within an hour drive, I've taken three and missed...a few...
 
Used to do this.....WAY back when I lived nearby Moose Jaw, here's where I started, get a good fitting shotgun, preferably a 12 gauge for added range on the big grassy plaines. Get some buckshot & target jackrabbits. I used a Baikal SxS and had great results on running game, remembering to keep the scattergun moving while you press trigger and followthrough. Once getting the leade was fully mastered only then did I pick up the varmint rifle. No word of a lie, often three weekdays of the week I was out shooting various varmints with a 222 rifle & fixed 6 power scope, often one of the two weekend days as well. With enough powder burned on small critters, you yourself will have worked out your own habits that provide success. Southern Saskatchewan is blessed with many varmint species that fit exactly into your needs.
Good luck to you......you'll have tons of fun developing the quick reflex/game shooting skills most of us would relish as hunters/shooters.
 
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A straight away and angle running shots are easier for me than across. Shooting a yote in deep snow is jumping more than running flat out on a hard flat surface. The fuffy snow days are your best days to shoot because at times you will see where the bullet hits the snow and you can correct your mistake. After you miss a few that should be slam dunk shots you will rethink what you learned?
 
Brutus said:
Used to do this.....WAY back when I lived nearby Moose Jaw, here's where I started, get a good fitting shotgun, preferably a 12 gauge for added range on the big grassy plaines. Get some buckshot & target jackrabbits. I used a Baikal SxS and had great results on running game, remembering to keep the scattergun moving while you press trigger and followthrough. Once getting the leade was fully mastered only then did I pick up the varmint rifle. No word of a lie, often three weekdays of the week I was out shooting various varmints with a 222 rifle & fixed 6 power scope, often one of the two weekend days as well. With enough powder burned on small critters, you yourself will have worked out your own habits that provide success. Southern Saskatchewan is blessed with many varmint species that fit exactly into your needs.
Good luck to you......you'll have tons of fun developing the quick reflex/game shooting skills most of us would relish as hunters/shooters.
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Why would you use buckshot on a rabbit?
 
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