Accuracy

Joefrazell said:

I disagree. I hunt mule deer and elk. The kill zone is much larger then 6". I guess it's going to depend on what your hunting.

Click to expand...

The kill zone on a deer is about 18" wide and 10 Tall, on an elk or moose considerably larger.

We owe it to the game we seek to be as accurate as we can but the good lord designed in a wide margin of error, otherwise our ancestors would have starved.

Great post and timely, thanks Alex! I can't count the number of "TV experts" that put rounds well off the vitals and the camera quickly turns back to the hunter & high fives. Just how often do we see the entrance/exit.

Consistent small groups, at long-range are hard enough. For hunting, throw in a couple of wind conditions and the "he's a monster" pucker factor, and things can go down hill in a hurry.

As hunters, we owe it to the animals to accept the truth about our own capabilities and to shoot within those limits.

Jjeffhunter said:

To all there own I like head shots so I don't screw around with ruining meat or wounded animals

Click to expand...

How long do you think it takes a deer or elk to starve to death when they are missing the bottom part of the jaw? Shoot for the vitals.

^^^ Seen it before. It is not pretty. ^^^

Barrelnut said:

^^^ Seen it before. It is not pretty. ^^^

Click to expand...

Same here. Grizzly and Gruesome.

What's wrong with shooting steel? Been doing it for several years and much prefer it to paper. Immediate feedback and can see hits at long distances. The only time I like to shoot paper is when zeroing and load development. The only other time I do it (on purpose) is on a range with guys in the pits, again the immediate feedback.
I do shoot my rifles at distance to see what they are capable of accuracy wise and to actually check drops, but then afterwards I'm not testing the rifle as much as I'm testing myself in my ability to make that first round hit. Groups don't mean much when it comes to hunting, first round does.

Alex Wheeler said:

I dont want people to believe the marketing. Those lr hunting shows DO edit out the gut shots. And theres plenty of them. You cant buy long range accuracy for any price. Its takes skill and hard work. Paper doesn't lie. Take the extra couple minutes and hang a paper target.

Click to expand...

I do agree with the "motivation" behind the thread. I just watched a very popular long range hunting show where the guy straight up screwed the pooch on a nice muley buck and hit it waaaay back. Dropped the buck (probably spined) and the camera got off it quick. There is some marketing involved also when you are selling products. However, I've seen just as bad with a bow at 10 yards.

Bravo 4 said:

I do agree with the "motivation" behind the thread. I just watched a very popular long range hunting show where the guy straight up screwed the pooch on a nice muley buck and hit it waaaay back. Dropped the buck (probably spined) and the camera got off it quick. There is some marketing involved also when you are selling products. However, I've seen just as bad with a bow at 10 yards.

Click to expand...

We see the same on a lot of hunting shows. Last week's Swarovski Optic had an antelope hit in the rear flank they got off of really fast.

Bravo 4 said:

What's wrong with shooting steel? Been doing it for several years and much prefer it to paper. Immediate feedback and can see hits at long distances. The only time I like to shoot paper is when zeroing and load development. The only other time I do it (on purpose) is on a range with guys in the pits, again the immediate feedback.
I do shoot my rifles at distance to see what they are capable of accuracy wise and to actually check drops, but then afterwards I'm not testing the rifle as much as I'm testing myself in my ability to make that first round hit. Groups don't mean much when it comes to hunting, first round does.

Click to expand...

If your painting it and measuring the groups its ok. I used to shoot a local match that was on steel gongs at 1000. All down the line you would hear about how the rifles were holding 2" of vertical. But then when we would shoot paper the next weekend it was rare to see under 6". It just fools you if your watching impacts. Groups mean a lot. If your shooting 1 moa at 1k that means your fist round hit could be a max of 5" from the aim point. Add in all the other errors from the shooter, conditions and wind calls, ext. The worse the rifle shoots the better you have to be.

Great Post! I think I am just going to keep my current plan of keeping my shots within 100 yards. I don't have enough confidence on shooting game outside that range. I have lost a deer before (75 yard shot, scope got knocked off somehow, hit it real low), and its an awful feeling. I will take your advice and tune to 1000 just to have an accurate rifle / increase shooting skill!

Also, not to get into the head shot debate, but just shoot in the boiler room.

My personal comfortable range is 600 yards. That's as far as I can go and hit a 6" or smaller target first round. I need to actually group it at 600 though to see what I can consistently hold for a group. I've had some very impressive groups at 1000 yards and over, but never tried to duplicate them.

300whisper said:

Great Post! I think I am just going to keep my current plan of keeping my shots within 100 yards. I don't have enough confidence on shooting game outside that range. I have lost a deer before (75 yard shot, scope got knocked off somehow, hit it real low), and its an awful feeling. I will take your advice and tune to 1000 just to have an accurate rifle / increase shooting skill!

Also, not to get into the head shot debate, but just shoot in the boiler room.

Click to expand...

Im not advising you tune at 1k. Its not the easiest thing to do. Im just advising you shoot paper targets to verify your rifles accuracy at the longest distance you want to hunt

practice at distance on windy days---its far easier to laser range the distance than it is to shoot in a 5-7mph wind with 15-20mph gusts

jskmtd said:

How long do you think it takes a deer or elk to starve to death when they are missing the bottom part of the jaw? Shoot for the vitals.

Click to expand...

jskmtd said:

How long do you think it takes a deer or elk to starve to death when they are missing the bottom part of the jaw? Shoot for the vitals.

Click to expand...

I guarantee there are more animals die from getting legs blown off,gut shot,butt shot or getting hit to high above the vitals then jaws getting blown off
I've personally never made a bad head shot never had to shoot them twice with it either have you ever heard the saying aim small miss small. I have seen deer get hit in the jaw before and it's not good it's from an inexperienced shooter aiming for the vitals getting to excited or just being a poor shot. The majority of people won't take a head shot because they aren't comfortable or they just aren't proficient with it that's fine I do it because I can and it wastes no meat they bleed out great because there heart is still pumping blood