Do you hunters re sight or practice shoot your rifle before the season start ...
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Do you hunters re sight or practice shoot your rifle before the season start ...
For sure, that is a Priority One.
Not only just before season , always shooting through out the year.
Absolutely. I just sent in my gun club renewal payment today actually. I handload every round I shoot also.
In our gang it's a must... Just so we don't injure deer. ... And give free meals to the yotes!...
anything can happen since last year
always several times threw out the year. As well as practice with the 22 with the same action.
I shoot it throughout the year and most definitely just before the opener... You need to get comfortable and confident with your firearm (tool) in order to use it properly. I also practice a lot of free hand shooting with my .22 which really helps me shoot tight groups better.
I may be sticking my neck out on this one, but I would think not taking the time to ensure your weapon of choice "is on" is irresponsible. I sight before going, and once I get there (as I travel a fair bit to get to the hunt and stuff gets shuffled around a bit).
I never stop practicing
You're not sticking your neck out at all.Quote:
Originally Posted by TurkeyRookie
If you're not sure if your gun is on, then you shouldnt be in the bush.
I shoot year round, increasingly up to the time of the moose and deer hunts. Likely 60 minimum from each of my large calibre rifles, and a few bulk packs of .22LR. A couple cases of shot as well. I always shoot minimum two shells the weekend before each season opens, with the box of shells I will be using that week.
I shoot my hunting rifles all year round. I handload as well so I'm usually testing different loads as well.
I shoot all year also. Mostly .22 but each fall I do take out whatever deer rifle I plan to use and put a box of rounds through it.
One thing to add, I start with it well cleaned, make sure it is right on, then clean it again, then just before the hunt, a couple of fouling rounds down the tube with the ammo I will be using, and then don't touch the bore until after the hunt.
Probably most of the regulars on this board shoot year round.
I shoot all year round mostly shotguns and 22. My hunting rifles a few times during the summer.
Going through a box of clay pigeons is a great way to unwind.
Can't practice on a live target.
Practice? No, I don't. However I do go to the pit and set my bench and target up along with all the other paraphernalia that goes with sighting a rifle in. I always make sure the rifle/scope is set up properly before the season begins. After the season, the rifle is put away until the next year. I'm not an avid shooter, but I do believe in making sure all is sighted in prior to use during the hunt.
While I don't get out to shoot as much as I would like anymore, I wouldn't even consider hunting with a gun that wasn't properly sighted in. Usually at a minimum, that's done a couple of weeks before the opener. Like PaulR, I like to leave the barrel fouled.
I used to hunt with a guy (friend of a friend in camp) that showed up with a shiny new rifle one year. When I asked him how it shot, he shrugged and said "they bore-sighted it for me at the shop, it should hit fine". Not the first guy I've heard that from either.
Having been smacked in the face with the core of training methods by a friend so many years ago, I am a huge proponent of 'Currency and Proficiency'. The skill of shooting effectively is perishable contrary to popular belief. The mechanics of sighting, breathing and trigger squeeze need to be rehearsed regularly.
So yes, I practice as much as I can to make sure I have the confidence and feel to be able to make a good shot to dispatch game humanely. I reload like many others have posted to save a few pennies on practicing. All the other benefits are gravy. :)
Any true hunter would!
And if they have time mutilpe times throughout the year would improve and have to 'rust' to shake off lol
Yeah I'll put 2-3 rounds down the barrel the weekend before the hunt. What responsible hunter wouldn't
I hope that when you guys are doing your shooting, you are taking the time to use the same position that you would when the hunt starts. I do most of my shooting from a bench these days so my blinds have a gun rest..... If I am out wandering then I always try to grab a tree for a rest. Make things as easy as possible, it's not a government project.......
1/2 the guys in my camp do that the Sun before the hunt....put a can on the post, shot it once...good to go :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Fishy Wishy
It's ok...I use the $50/box fancy bullets. They're super accurate and will kill anything they come near ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by MikePal
Some people think this has an effect on game. Im of the mind it doesnt do anythingQuote:
Originally Posted by MikePal
Once a bull moose walked out and stood between us and the target (Sunday before the hunt). Another time just before deer season I took shots to confirm my rifle, and turned around and there was a doe and fawn grazing in the field behind me.
ohhh so you know Dave too :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Fishy Wishy
Yep. I shoot year round.At the range at the cottage not just for staying sharp for hunting season but cause it's Dang Fun.Remember "Happieness is a warm gun"
Yes... along with regular practice, it's expected that everyone at camp either sights in their firearm on the Sunday before the hunt, or has done it on their own time prior to the hunt.
Thats about the extent of it for me I,am a cheap bugger and dont like using my ammo up,if it hits the target,good to go.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fishy Wishy
You would be surprised to see how many guys take there deer rifles home from camp and never lay a hand on it until it is time to case it for the drive to camp the following year. Sad.
I hope you realize I was being cheeky with my post.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gilroy
While I don't shoot regularly I do shoot a few times throughout the year. For fun. It is more about my ability than the rifle's. Before I leave the range I ensure I hit the 200yd gong from a standing position off-hand. Then I know I'll be good to shoot a moose whether I'm walking into a beaver pond or sitting in my stand.
I also shoot a few at camp the day before the hunt (when I get there) to know neither my car ride nor the long ATV ride has jostled anything.
Doesn't everyone?Quote:
Originally Posted by MikePal
I even re-pattern my turkey loads each year as well. I know the guns and ammo distance and effective shot pattern. Doesn't matter, I still print of a few turkey targets and go out and check it again.
Seems like a no brainer.
Get in trigger time, the more the better.
Guys who come out hunting without practice are doing the game a disservice, and they're being a pain to their hunting buddies.
Why's that, you say? Because a poorly placed shot means other ethical hunters will leave their watch to assist in tracking / finding the wounded game, and miss out on any opportunities that might have been had from their own watches.
Don't just hit the range, and fire a couple off the bench and say "good to go" either. Last time I checked, there aren't any benches out in the field. If you're a cheap bugger, take a box of 20. Take a few off the bench for zero, then take 2-3 in the prone, sitting, kneeling, and standing positions, and leave yourself 5 for the hunt.
I too am of the belief that anyone who doesn't make sure their rifle is sighted in is irresponsible.
Our rule is if you don't get in some trigger time before the hunt, don't bother coming....
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gilroy;
You heard the one about the Scotsman who accidentally dropped a quarter down the hole in the outhouse.....................
Wasn't that how open pit mining got started?Quote:
Originally Posted by sawbill
Hunting is a very expensive sport. I can't imagine a person would invest all his $'s and time into hunting and then go into the field unsure if his firearm is accurate.
I liked to fire a few rounds on the range at camp before the hunt, knowing that I would probably be going a week or so without firing another shot......
If you get involved in any precision target shooting, that crowd have a saying "zero of the day". First thing in the morning, as a rule, you go to the 100 meter range to check zero before moving to further distances. I would say more than half the time you're moving things a click or two from the previous day. So, the point is, yes. Not only before the hunt, but as often as you can get out. Scopes do weird things from time to time, but more important, hunters do even more weird things. Especially those that don't practice. And don't be afraid to move your scope. If by moving it, it doesn't correct to what you "click" in, you may want to go scope shopping, unless you can figure things out.
sure cf ammo is pricey these days. but practice with 22 as much as you can preferably with one as close to your big game rifle. Then definitely get out the big gun and put a few down the range to make sure it hits where you want and you have a feel for the gun.
Never.. My gun goes from safe to the hunt camp. I sit in my stand. Load my gun shoot the buck.. And put my gun away till next year. I bought a box of ammo 10 years ago. Still have 10 rounds left. All my shots were head shots. And dropped my game instantly. Also, I prefer to give the buck a "chance" so I shoot with my wrong arm.
Wow your amazing!
Yup.. And all my shots were done at a minimum of 800 yards.. With iron sights..Quote:
Originally Posted by hunter391
Depending on what rifle I take hunting. If it has a scope. I sight it in before a hunt. My model 94. I do the same. Take the box that is 30 years old, load the rifle and sit and wait.Quote:
Originally Posted by topher
Some people don't do it , and end up just wounding the game .
The most important thing is to know your gun and what it can do at what distance. You got to know how much the bullet/slug drops at what distance and how comfortable you are shooting a specific range. Also, shooting off a bench and shooting free hand makes a big difference. Know where you stand with that.
With both scopes and iron sights, it's important to see just before the hunt that nothing has moved. And yes, iron sights can be knocked out of place, I've seen it happen on a couple of occasions.
Practice makes the Marksman. Hunters that wound game, usually guess the distance, shoot beyond the capacity of the bullet load or shoot when the animal is at a bad angle. I'm a strong believer in knowing where an animals vitals are located. Head Shots on Deer are not recommended, unless it is to put the animal down while lying on the ground to prevent suffering.
Also, taking to different hunters at the range can be useful in collecting tips.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bushcannon
Absolutely agree and well said , and big portion of hunters should read this , not just one's .
it is a must to sight and get to now your gun....
but the prob is were to do it ...
it has taken me 3 years now to find some good spots to sight in my rifle but none are more than 50 70 yards would love to know of some places were can a least get out to 100
Where do you live?Quote:
Originally Posted by ginochipchip
i live in sutton area .....
make my way up to norland area to sight in and clay shoot the 12g
oh and get some monster skis lol
I think the closet place would be the Barrie Gun Club. Contact them around August, I think they still allow "walk on's" just before theQuote:
Originally Posted by ginochipchip
Moose season.
Not too sure about the one in Oshawa.
The one that I now allows "walk-on's" in the fall and has a 100 and 200 yard range is Springdale in Grimsby which is a 3 hour drive from Sutton.
Hope that helps.
thx for the info will find out ...
Oshawa Club has sight in days check the web sight or call Julie in the office.Quote:
Originally Posted by bushcannon
Thats a must. Wouldnt go hunting without a practice shot if i havent shot the gun regularly
Itt is good to became a habit to practice shot
Good wether is here lets go target shooting , practice for the season
Practice all year long, that's what makes you a better hunter, knowing your rifle and cartridge and what it does at different distances. You really need to know what that rifle will do so you can make a clean/ethical kill and know when not to take a bad shot.