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The shooting instructors at the shooting site have seen it all. Most have a lifetime of shooting experience and train hundreds of people of varying skill levels each year. According to these experts, most hunters are about 30 percent prepared when they walk into Gunsite’s range for a course like Hunter Prep, The 270 Rifle Class, or private instruction. Last winter, I was one of those hunters on a Safari Prep course and definitely learned a thing or two shooting with instructors Dave Hartman and Gary Smith.
As hunters, we tend to consider ourselves pretty good shooters and most of us have antlers on the wall to prove it. But, like many skills, shooting is full of pitfalls that become deeper when not practiced. Hartman and Smith are hunters, but more importantly, they are teachers. They have seen almost every mistake a hunter can make when it comes to rifle shooting. These are the five most common and how to fix them.
Mistake number 1: misjudging the range and your shooting ability
With high-tech optics, rangefinders, and super-accurate rifles, it’s easy to get carried away by how far you think you can shoot. But hunting is not the place to improvise. “Hunting is all about taking an ethical shot, and to me an ethical shot is a shot you can take 100 percent of the time,” Smith says. “Generally, the 200 yards is where we start to see most shooters fall apart.”
Hunters may have problems inside 200 yards too. Smith told the story of someone he was guiding that he didn’t find a moose at 35 yards, for example. The key is to have an accurate gauge of your ability before you enter the field. You also need to know how to estimate distance in case you misplace your rangefinder or need to take a quick shot.
Smith and Hartman suggest practicing range estimation and confirming it with a rangefinder until you improve. They also suggest using a 200 yard zero so you can shoot anything you see within 200 yards without needing to mark a turret. To get a better idea of how far you can shoot beyond that, practice with different distances and shooting positions. If you can’t hit the target 100 percent of the time at a given distance, you have no business shooting an animal that far away.
Mistake #2: Lack of understanding of the fundamentals of aiming
Most hunters might be better at getting out of shooting positions. This is surprising because among anyone who shoots a firearm, hunters are the most likely to be far from a shooting bench. Still, that’s where we do most of our practice.
“You need to get off the bench and shoot more,” Hartman says. “Once you aim the rifle, get up from the bench.” In my Safari Prep course, we never touch a shooting bench. We filmed standing, sitting, kneeling and prone. Both Smith and Hartman suggest incorporating these positions into your range sessions. In addition to this, instructors also see problems in hunters’ use of optics.
“The biggest problem I see is hunters focusing on the animal or target instead of their reticle,” Smith says. It may sound strange, but concentrating on the sight (not the animal) while pulling the trigger will improve your ability to hit the target.
It’s also important to learn to trust the wobble you see in your reticle. “Our bodies are never perfectly still,” Smith says. With a stable field position, your aim point will move a little, but all that movement must be within your target’s kill zone and consistently. If so, focus on the reticle and pull the trigger. Whatever you do, don’t try to time your shot when your reticle crosses the sweet spot on your target. Doing so will likely pull the trigger and divert the gun from the target.
Mistake number 3: not shooting enough
We all know hunters who have been slowly working their way through an ammo box for years. They take out their rifle during deer season, fire off a shot or two, and then put it away for the rest of the year. That works until it doesn’t. Shooting is a perishable skill that requires practice. The problem is that practice is expensive, especially when it comes to shooting hunting ammunition.
“I’m a big fan of the substitute rifle,” Hartman says. “For example, if you have a 300 Win Mag, buy a similar or same model rifle in a smaller caliber. That way you can get a lot of range time for less money and less recoil.”
Today, many manufacturers even make 22LR sneakers for larger rifles. Investing in one could save you a lot of money on ammunition if you want to practice more. And as we mentioned before, you don’t need a lot of ammunition to have a good shooting session. Shooting fewer rounds more frequently will keep you in good shape for deer season.
Smith also suggests that you can get better at shooting without live ammunition or going to the range. “You can achieve a lot with dry firing,” he says. “When you go to the range, you are simply confirming that you are doing your dry fire practice right.” Practice shooting positions, pull the trigger, and work to focus on your reticle. Smith says a good way to know if you are dry firing correctly is that the gun should not move when you press the trigger.
Related: 4 Dry Fire Drills Perfect for Hunters
Mistake number 4: believing that better equipment will make you a better shooter
“A lot of people want to buy their way to targets and X-rings,” says Hartmann. “They buy a $10,000 rifle and expect it to do all the work for them, but it doesn’t. I would suggest keeping it simple and then meeting your team’s expectations. You can always update later.”
Hartman and Smith also suggest adapting your equipment to your environment. For example, if you are hunting in a lot of tall grass, you probably won’t be able to use the bipod because you won’t be able to see from the prone position. The equipment is great, but learning the fundamentals is better. It’s also best to make the most of the equipment you have.
“Learn to use the sling for support,” Hartman says. “I was on Prince of Whale Island last November to hunt blacktail. I didn’t bother carrying shooting sticks or a tripod because I know how to use knee braces and other positions with my sling.” The more you know about shooting, the less equipment you will have to carry into the woods.
Mistake number 5: not being familiar enough with the equipment you have
Many hunters don’t fully understand how their rifle works or how to fix it in the field if something goes wrong. Time in the field will help with that. But attending a course like the one you’ll find at Gunsite or firing a match will be even more helpful in exposing any defects your rifle, optics, or other equipment may have.
“We just had a Hunter prep course where some of the shooters’ optic mounts came loose,” Hartman says. “Before I go hunting, I would make sure everything is Loc-Tited and adjusted to the correct specifications. Also check things like the swivels on your sling.”
“You also need to know how to handle the rifle,” Smith says. That means simple things like how the safety works, how to reload and take down the field. While at Gunsite, we practiced things like loading individual bullets into an empty rifle under pressure, checking to see if the bolts on our rifle locked when the safety was on, and taking note of whether the suppressors we were using were coming loose after several shots. In the classroom, we spent time reviewing equipment lists and thinking about things to pack to repair our rifles if necessary. If you don’t know how your rifle works, read the manual, go online, or sign up for a class like the one you’ll find at Gunsite.
