How well does the average big game hunter shoot?

The only thing that I'm saying is that 95% or more of us and the really good shooters started with a 22 and paper. It was fun before it got complicated with extreme drop and windage, ballistics, etc. I still remember a 1 time shot that I made. A squirrel was chewing on a nut. It would have been easy to kill the squirrel but instead I shot the nut out of his hands and mouth without really shooting him. I watched him run around confused for what seemed like an hour but it was less than 5 minutes. I still get a kick out of it when I think. About it. I was about 6 or 7 years and that was iron sights on an old Springfield simi-auto probably from Western Auto.
 
The only thing that I'm saying is that 95% or more of us and the really good shooters started with a 22 and paper. It was fun before it got complicated with extreme drop and windage, ballistics, etc. I still remember a 1 time shot that I made. A squirrel was chewing on a nut. It would have been easy to kill the squirrel but instead I shot the nut out of his hands and mouth without really shooting him. I watched him run around confused for what seemed like an hour but it was less than 5 minutes. I still get a kick out of it when I think. About it. I was about 6 or 7 years and that was iron sights on an old Springfield simi-auto probably from Western Auto.

22 LRs are fun. Since I had cataract surgeries, that now I can see the front sight, I broke out the old 40X and mounted an old Brookfield rear sight, and Tompkins front sight. Sighted it at 50 yards, then proceeded to sight it in at 200. The sighting target is covered behind the picture attached. The black target was confirming the elevation on my rear lugged McCoy 308 M1.

22LR at 200 with irons is a load of fun and challenging.

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I am a Firearms Instructor at the S.O. Range and we have a Hunter Sight in day every year before hunting season. In addition to that, we have a public shooting day the first and second Thursday of every month. Shooting from sandbags off of a bench, most people can't shoot a three inch group. They come with equipment in awful shape, with a WalMart scope on a 7mm mag that won't group at all. Again, this is off of sand bags off of a concrete bench. A hodgepodge of ammunition, different brands and bullet weights. They shoot as fast as they can chamber another round regardless of what we instruct them to do. A six inch group at 100 yards, and they want to start cranking on the adjustment turrets not having any idea about shooting a "group", then moving the group. They shoot 5 more rounds into a worse group, then crank on the adjustment turrets. At the end of the session, if the shots are anywhere on a sight-in target at 100 yards, they proclaim: "That's good enough". They then throw their rifle into the bed of their pickup and drive away. Most have no ammo left, and say they are heading to Cabelas or WalMart to get more ammo, not realizing they need the same brand and bullet weight they are sighted in with, but realistically wouldn't matter the way they are shooting. Of course we have exceptions to the above where someone will show up with a rifle already sighted in and shoot a nice 3/4 inch group two inches high at 100 yards. BUT that's not very often but it does happen.
I've seen that a bunch myself. In fact a neighbor once gave me a 30-06 to sight in for him when he injured his shoulder and cave me a cup with about 25 rounds total and from 4 different manufacturers and weights. I explained to him why you can't do that and his reply was "hmmm. I thought they all shot the same. Maybe that's why I missed that deer last year. Well shoot a 3 shot group with each and I'll go buy a couple boxes of the ones that shoot the best." Which he did. I sighted it in and ran like a squirrel.
 
I've seen that a bunch myself. In fact a neighbor once gave me a 30-06 to sight in for him when he injured his shoulder and cave me a cup with about 25 rounds total and from 4 different manufacturers and weights. I explained to him why you can't do that and his reply was "hmmm. I thought they all shot the same. Maybe that's why I missed that deer last year. Well shoot a 3 shot group with each and I'll go buy a couple boxes of the ones that shoot the best." Which he did. I sighted it in and ran like a squirrel.
o_O so 110 grainers don't track like 200s?
 
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