Shooter wanting to learn how to be a hunter

[10point]

My first two shots at deer turned out to be easy from my brother in laws blind. Then I tried spot and stock. Not easy hesitant to take the shot got lucky twice. Thought shooting trap with a 12 gauge would help my hunting with target acquisition and off hand shooting. I do not get to hunt more than twice a year for deer and sometimes elk. I did grow up hunting and would appreciate suggestions.

 

[HARPERC]

One thing that helps me is shooting archery style animal picture targets. Work on target identification, acquisition, aim point and finding good enough, fast enough.

Benchrest style practice for small groups doesn't help much, every kid we did this with got one shot kills first time out.

 

[wyowinchester]

Leave the bullets home. Go out in the "woods, hills, mountians...." where ever you hunt. Practice sneaking up on animals. Watch their actions. If you can, pack your rifle or bow. If you want to spot and stalk practice it. SLOW DOWN

 

[FearNoWind]

Leave the bullets home. Go out in the "woods, hills, mountians...." where ever you hunt. Practice sneaking up on animals. Watch their actions. If you want to spot and stalk practice it. SLOW DOWN

That's real good advice. Get a good pair of binoculars. Practice at a variety of elevations. Game animals adapt to their environment. A deer in the woods or brush at lower elevations will behave differently than it might at 10,000 feet where it's steep, rocky and offers little cover. Learn to read the wind, both for knowing how to stay up wind of the game and how it affects the accuracy of your shot. Learn what the game you're hunting relies on as food. Watch the habitat and identify fringe areas (the area between food and cover where you can watch game movement) and learn their bedding habits. Learn their timing and other influential factors that might cause them to move from one elevation to another. Learn to read "sign". (How does the droppings of the game you're hunting differ from droppings from other game). Go out before daylight as often as possible a couple of weeks before hunting season opens and locate what will be a legal target when season opens. Watch that animal and record his habits/schedules. Be alert for what environmental factors might influence his choices of movement.
Learn to shoot uphill, downhill, in cross winds, low light, harsh light, cold, wet, dry, warm, and moderate weather conditions. Limit your shooting distances to include only the range at which you can consistently hit an 8 inch pie plate.
Practice shooting standing (preferably with some sort of support) sitting, kneeling, and prone. If you develop good stalking skills you are less likely to find it necessary to shoot at a running target. (IMO, shooting at running targets results in a lot of poorly placed shots that ruin a lot of good meat) Remember that trying to locate wounded game isn't much fun ... and it all too often leaves a wounded animal to die a slow death in a secluded location where it cannot be located and the meat goes to waste.
That should get you started ...............
Best of luck in your hunting experiences.

 

[Birdhunter1]

I like squirrel hunting, all the skills can be practiced, honed and perfected; stalking, planning a route to your quarry based on vegetation between you and your target, shooting from less than perfect situations (using a tree or limb as a rest, using your body as a rest).
I am able to go quite a bit but I make different games out of it, no shots over 10 yards, no shots under 50 yards, headshots only, ground shots only. One time I used a .223 for downhill ground shots only beyond 100 yards, that was fun!

 

[10point]

Great ideas from everyone. I appreciate the advice. I can go hunting and stalking often.