Is your rifle’s accuracy falling short of your expectations? It’s time to brush up on your abilities in preparation for the next hunting season. There are a few things that can be done to improve it. However, things like improving your sight, adding a match-grade barrel, or getting a new stock might not make as much of a difference as you think. Much of rifle accuracy, like shooting any other firearm, has to do with the shooter rather than the weapon. The following are some pointers to keep in mind, especially if you’re a newbie. Good shooting.
- Select the Proper Tools
Shooting in the field compels us to kneel, squat, crouch, stand, or bend over and around a strange assortment of stones, trees, brush heaps, posts, and thin air. This is what we need to adjust our weapons and scopes for. And it must be done quickly.
You’ll likely have a good rest and lots of time if you sit in a tree stand or box blind viewing pastures and meadows. You can possibly prepare a prone shooting platform if you perch on a high point and glass. However, if you go on a trek, stroll, still-hunt, or look for deer, bear, or elk, you may find yourself confronting “The Shot” from a variety of angles. This is something you and your tools should be prepared for.
- Train to Use Your Rifle Right
An effective hunter does not fish for safety; scans the terrain through his scope in search of the target; pauses to study a cheat sheet; twists and dials turrets, then recalculates. You should practise shooting as fast as you can start your pick up and get out of your driveway. Complete confidence. No hesitancy. Smooth and lightning fast.
Organizing all the moving elements is an important aspect of this. If you have to first range your target with a laser—and you can’t remember which pocket you placed, it in—your ability to swing a rifle into action and hold it solidly on target is greatly hampered. And you’ll kick yourself for swinging onto the enormous deer that comes from behind a bush.
- Plan Your Approach
The worst thing you can do on opening day is blow out the very deer you want to hunt before first light, by being lazy or dumb about how you approach your setup spot. For instance, don’t walk through the very fields or clear-cuts where whitetails will be feeding. Instead, make a circuit, or come in the “back door” by another route. Even wait until shooting light to slip into your stand. It’s worth the extra effort.
- The Most Versatile Field Position
While all field positions are useful, the most versatile is sitting with fore-end bipod support. Why? Because it gets your rifle above many obstacles that compromise prone, is steadier than kneeling or standing, and can be quickly modified to shoot at extreme downhill and uphill angles. You can even reposition left and right quickly and almost silently by spinning on your butt. Try that while prone.
The perfect seated bipod may be carried in one hand and has an infinite spread. This type’s legs may be squeezed together to increase height and fanned out to decrease it. Leaning forward and back reduces height fast as well. You may reach it quickly without adding weight or bulk to your weapon by carrying it in your hand or on your belt.
Sit with your back against a substantial object such as a boulder, tree, or even sage brush to increase your stability. Anything to keep the upper body from swaying and quivering. For added stability, place a stick, bag, or rock beneath your trigger arm. You’re almost as stable as if you were sitting on a bench at this point.
- Hire a Teacher or Attend Shooting School
These days, there are a lot of shooting schools all throughout the country. Private lessons are also available. If attendance will save you time and effort, do so. But make sure they teach field shooting, not just long-range sniping, to hunters. You’re seeking for field abilities that can be used in a variety of situations, not precision, long-range artillery operations. The FTW Ranch Safari course, for example, provides realistic hunting settings.
- When is the best time to shoot a buck?
According to research, you should set up your stand before dawn and stay there until approximately 1 p.m. Most deer are killed between 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., with a few bigger killings extending into the afternoon.
However, some people wait on their stand from nightfall till morning, or until the permitted shooting period expires. Keep in mind that during rifle season, deer are more easily pushed by hunting blunders, scents, or sounds, causing them to get highly anxious. As a result, large deer may wander into your neighbourhood.
When a huge deer was chased off a neighbouring farm some years ago, this occurred to me. He’d been jogging and strolled into my shooting lane, peeking over his shoulder every now and again. For an easy harvest, his course brought him approximately 20 yards from me.
- Moving to your stand
It’s always hazardous to walk to your deer stand since you can scare surrounding deer. Take the quietest path you can find — streams are wonderful for this – and stroll slowly. In the woods, the only thing that sounds like a person is a human. When you watch a deer, you’ll see that it will take a few steps, then halt, pause, and then take a few more steps.
Using a flashlight to startle the deer out of the area is a proven method to scare them away. Cover the lens with red cellophane and only direct it straight down where you’re walking. This prevents you from stepping on objects that make a lot of noise, such as sticks or dead leaves. For a quieter step, remember to step from heel to toe. Finally, because zippers and metal snaps are human made, tighten or unfasten them carefully.
- Deer seem to know when the rifle season opens
Deer don’t have a built-in calendar, but they do grow concerned when they detect human scent in locations where it isn’t expected. Keep in mind that some hunters go to the deer stand on dead leaves and sticks. Deer become aware of new odours or noises and get agitated.
- Deer have much better eyesight than a human
Deer can see five times better than most people, according to biologists. They have difficulty seeing specific hues, such as reds and greens, but can recognise shades of yellow and blue.
For most hunters, the most difficult aspect is getting about. When a deer approaches, sit completely motionless and only draw your weapon or bow when the deer’s head is out of sight or facing the opposite direction.
- Practice Longer Shots in The Offseason
When it comes to taking an animal with the calibre we selected to hunt with, we all have our own degree of comfort. For some, the distance is 200 yards; for others, it is 500 yards. To everyone his or her own. All hunters who have a cutoff distance for an ethical shot have my admiration. What if you could extend your effective range by 50 yards, to over 200 yards? It’s no secret that practise makes perfect; nevertheless, the key to this advice is concentrated repetition. Take a couple of shots that are outside your comfort range whether hunting on public property or at the range. Don’t just take a shot and call it a day; pay attention to the small details. Keep track of the sequence you shot, the weather conditions, and the distances you fired from. Continue to practise these shots to gain confidence in yourself so that when you get that shot this season that was out of range last year, you’ll be ready to make it count. The only drawback to this suggestion is that ammo may be costly, but it can pay for itself over time.
Have a safe hunt!
