Field Practice to Make Better Hunting Shots

[FIGJAM]

Off a tripod it shoots 6MOA" higher than if I shoot prone off my backpack. Rifle is glass bedded and floated.

Is the stock flimsy and making contact with the barrel when its on the tripod? I had a 223 that did that.

 

[Golovkin]

Is it clamped into the tripod or is it allowed to recoil straight back into your shoulder?

Harris bipod, mounted to front swivel, bibod legs loaded (slightly leaning into rifle) on dirt, prone position. Hand on forend.

Haven't tried without loading bipod...

 

[Golovkin]

Is the stock flimsy and making contact with the barrel when its on the tripod? I had a 223 that did that.

Its wood with a rod imbedded in the forearm to prevent warping and has plenty of clearance.

 

[Golovkin]

Natural point of aim is natural point of aim. When on tripod you aim, close your eyes, breath, open. Where are the crosshairs? Is the rifle balanced on the tripod? Is the height correct? I would say you may see some drop from reduced velocity prone vs. tripod but not worth 12" at 200.


One round elimination sounds manly, but do you get a chance to develop a fix and muscle memory if you're constantly changing the position, conditions, range, fatigue of your shots? I'd recommend getting consistency THEN play the game because it will reenforce the lessons under pressure. YMMV.

I don't think the change is from reduced velocity. I think its how the rifle recoils.

It may be kicking straight back off a bag, but off the bipod it may be rocking back and dropping the butt which raises the muzzle?

I'm not really sure, but I've shot low recoil rifles and it didn't do anything this dramatic so I've got a hunch its from the mega recoil this thing produces.

 

[Mike AVM]

If I had to take an offhand shot, I would have to pass it up. I sway more than the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.

Your game sounds fun. Take a couple of friends, and set time limits for moving spots. Make it hard, get the adrenaline going.

I took a black bear recently standing and leaning against a car at 217 yards. Not my best shot....

 

[ddavis5030]

I've recently learned that my rifle (338 RUM) shoots dramatically different from the bench vs. tripod. vs bag due to the fact it recoils differently based on my shooting position and hold. Its a major difference, as in 12" at 200yds between tripod and shooting off my pack.

Realizing this, I've decided to focus my efforts on shooting from field positions such as offhand, sitting, kneeling off a tree limb, prone off a back back etc. on various terrain in various conditions.

The whole point being to get away from shooting groups off a bench and instead focus on taking one shot from random distances in various positions so that I really know my limitations.

My plan is to pack a 10" AR500 Gong up into the mountains and set it up so that I can hike away and take a shot from various distances. I was thinking of making it a bit of a game so that its a 1 miss elimination, meaning game over, pack it up if I miss. The goal wouldn't be to get "lucky" on some long range shots, but to KNOW EXACTLY what is a sure shot given the wind, tough shooting position, slope etc.

I would be practicing off-hand out to the point I wasn't sure of a hit, then going to kneeling or sitting beyond that, then prone over my pack out to farther ranges.

Anyone have any other tips, tricks or strategy that you've used to improve skills and learn your limitations?

Sounds like a good idea!

 

[BrentM]

I teach a long range hunting class and see a lot of basic issues at first. Once those are solved the shooters move to positional shooting and I push them hard to practice it. Some students are repeat and you can tell they never practice positional shooting.

 

[ndking1126]

I had the same problem with a Rem 700 in 30-06. I zeroed it on a bipod prior to the season and I knew it was on. I missed a deer at 120 yards shooting off shooting sticks. Took it back to the range and shot off a bipod and it was exactly where it was when I zeroed it. Took off the bipod and shot it off a rest that closely matched my shooting sticks and it was off by about 4" high and 2" to the right. You're on the right track. Subbing so I can read people's responses as I'm always looking for ways to shoot better in the field.

 

[Stokesrjsr]

I think you are on the right track but I would offer a few suggestions that you may find helpful.

I'm not a fan of shooting steel, hitting a 10" gong is not sufficient for hunting big game, bullet placement needs to be much more precise than that for consistent clean kills. I would offer that a lighter and better solution is a life size cardboard deer target with vital organs illustrated, this will reveal much more to you than simply hitting steel. It is also lighter.

Also, the one and done, won't work, you will not learn enough quickly enough to achieve much. Learning to shoot a rifle well is all about cycles of learning, with informed feedback for each cycle.

I actually do something very similar to what you are suggesting and would give up quickly if I spent the time, energy, gas, etc to shoot one shot and go home. I do this probably 20-30 times a year. I'm a US Distinguished Rifleman and it took me many thousands of rounds to truly learn how to shoot a rifle to a level of true competence from standing, sitting, and prone positions.

As others have indicated there is something really wrong if you are seeing 5 MOA shifts from prone with bipod to bench. 1.5 MOA would be normal. Perhaps your forend is too flexible allowing contact with the barrel under loading pressure from the bipod.

Attached is a pic of the life sized deer target I shot at 568 yards with my Blaser R8 308 Win with a 16.5" suppressed barrel from a field position. This is in an estimated 8 MPH 3/4 value wind with a hold on the left edge of the paper. Making accurate wind calls is also one of the important lessons of practicing in the field. For this shot I was measuring the wind at my location with a Kestral which was only 4-5 mph left to right but I could see by the mirage through my spotting scope that it was closer to 10 MPH at the target.

I hope this helps you.

 

[Jeffrey Van Zandt]

I've recently learned that my rifle (338 RUM) shoots dramatically different from the bench vs. tripod. vs bag due to the fact it recoils differently based on my shooting position and hold. Its a major difference, as in 12" at 200yds between tripod and shooting off my pack.

Realizing this, I've decided to focus my efforts on shooting from field positions such as offhand, sitting, kneeling off a tree limb, prone off a back back etc. on various terrain in various conditions.

The whole point being to get away from shooting groups off a bench and instead focus on taking one shot from random distances in various positions so that I really know my limitations.

My plan is to pack a 10" AR500 Gong up into the mountains and set it up so that I can hike away and take a shot from various distances. I was thinking of making it a bit of a game so that its a 1 miss elimination, meaning game over, pack it up if I miss. The goal wouldn't be to get "lucky" on some long range shots, but to KNOW EXACTLY what is a sure shot given the wind, tough shooting position, slope etc.

I would be practicing off-hand out to the point I wasn't sure of a hit, then going to kneeling or sitting beyond that, then prone over my pack out to farther ranges.

Anyone have any other tips, tricks or strategy that you've used to improve skills and learn your limitations?

just go shoot some matches even fun matches 100-1000 yards in all positions and get a good sling but if your point of aim is that much at 200 yards I would take a look at your stock it may be the reason,not fitting you well.

 

[ndking1126]

I teach a long range hunting class and see a lot of basic issues at first. Once those are solved the shooters move to positional shooting and I push them hard to practice it. Some students are repeat and you can tell they never practice positional shooting.

Looks like a great class! Picture three (back to back) reminds me of being in the Army. We used to sit like that anytime we were out in the field, range, etc. If you don't have anything else to lean against, it's actually pretty good option. That or we'd put our helmets on the ground near the small of our back and lean back on it letting out body armor support our weight.

 

[Jeffrey Van Zandt]

Off a tripod it shoots 6MOA" higher than if I shoot prone off my backpack. Rifle is glass bedded and floated.

is there pillers in your stock?

 

[Xrayvision]

I like it. I need to try and practice this more with my equipment.
Have fun and be safe. I'm always worried about starting fires shooting in the middle of summer at metal.

 

[H82MISS]

When hunting/practice, I shoot prone off back pack, and my bullet impact doesn't change at all. Has to be something related to bedding in the stock. The couple of times I have shot off bi-pod at antelope, shot went exactly where it was supposed to. I watched another hunter years ago, shoot off shooting sticks, and he rested the barrel on the sticks, missed horribly, and guide tried to tell him what was going wrong.