What makes one a "good shot?"

[Mallardsx2]

Off hand shooting.

I have wonder how many hunters could shoot offhand and hit a pie plate at 100 yards with even 75% consistency.

I would say 10% at best.

 

[old roper 42]

I never came for hunting family and what I learned about shooting was from 5yrs in USMC. 1960 to 1965 and I'm life member Veterans of Foreign Wars.

 

[Happy Myles]

Off hand shooting.

I have wonder how many hunters could shoot offhand and hit a pie plate at 100 yards with even 75% consistency.

I would say 10% at best.

~

I never came for hunting family and what I learned about shooting was from 5yrs in USMC. 1960 to 1965 and I'm life member Veterans of Foreign Wars.

old roper, thank you for your service

 

[Flatbrimmer]

Are you Eatin it?



Must of been a good shot

 

[Flatbrimmer]

Off hand shooting.

I have wonder how many hunters could shoot offhand and hit a pie plate at 100 yards with even 75% consistency.

I would say 10% at best.

Challenge accepted

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Most hunters are flat awful shots with a rifle. IMO most don't have basic knowledge of what goes into shooting accurately. Trigger presses are terrible and they don't have a clue how to build a stable position. You can give them a rest but they still don't know how to utilize it worth a crap. Perfect example is when I work the public rifle sight in days at my local private range - we're at benches and i bring all the possible ways to build a solid position, show them how to utilize, and there are lots of guys who still want to use muscle to hold their rifle when zeroing.

I agree that practice makes a big difference but if the average guy just goes out and practices what they were taught at 11 by dad or firearms safety instructor guy (who also didn't know how to shoot worth a crap) the value is quite limited.

I think taking a basic intro to precision rifle style course that has positional shooting training and practice afterwards a few times per year would do way more for the average hunter than shooting twice as much without a clue what they are doing.

 

[MNElkNut]

Simply put: not missing. Missing means a gut shot elk or a lower jaw shot off a deer. Missing means a bullet likely sizzling its way past your target on its way to impact something not intended.

The reasons for missing is many and very few, if any, are more noble than any other.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

An unfortunate truth for many that might be considered a "good shot" is that they likely got there by taking plenty of bad shots and learning when they shouldn't shoot.

Adults often tell kids what range their weapon is effective at. When I was a kid that meant something within that range was getting shot at whether I had high odds of a clean kill or not. Nobody taught me any different. I'm sure some kids have more concern for their quarry and are more cautious but I just had blood lust as that was the norm with my surroundings. Over years of bad shots, i learned when not to shoot in order to avoid the heartbreaks and rodeos chasing wounded deer. It shouldn't be that way!

 

[OntarioHunter]

Most hunters are flat awful shots with a rifle. IMO most don't have basic knowledge of what goes into shooting accurately. Trigger presses are terrible and they don't have a clue how to build a stable position. You can give them a rest but they still don't know how to utilize it worth a crap. Perfect example is when I work the public rifle sight in days at my local private range - we're at benches and i bring all the possible ways to build a solid position, show them how to utilize, and there are lots of guys who still want to use muscle to hold their rifle when zeroing.

I agree that practice makes a big difference but if the average guy just goes out and practices what they were taught at 11 by dad or firearms safety instructor guy (who also didn't know how to shoot worth a crap) the value is quite limited.

I think taking a basic intro to precision rifle style course that has positional shooting training and practice afterwards a few times per year would do way more for the average hunter than shooting twice as much without a clue what they are doing.

I think most "hunters" miss or mess up game due to lack of hunting skills which has little or nothing to do with shooting skills. Perhaps taking game at 500 yards requires more rifle skills than hunting skills ... because little or no hunting is involved. Stalking game for a shot less than seventy yards requires special skill derived from experience (either the shooter's or his mentor's). At that distance shooting skill, while not immaterial, becomes less significant. I put 200% more time in at the range last year shooting from a bench to work up a good 300 yard African load for my 30-06. I didn't fire a single round offhand or from any other position. Yet during the Montana hunting season the one shot I missed was a little over 300 yards in a very hard wind from prone position off the bipod. I knew as soon as I fired I probably shouldn't have taken that shot. It's why I didn't shoot again. Because I spent all that time at the range last summer, I figured I could make the shot. Should have listened to my hunting experience. Earlier that day I shot a coyote putting the sneak on four does I was watching. It was 100 yards in the same hard wind (albeit that time headwind instead of sidewind). Shot offhand from standing position with no sling support or rest. The next morning in half the wind I shot my buck at sixty yards offhand from standing position no support and dropped him instantly. Both those shots were not terribly difficult (coyote pushed the envelope towards difficult) and though I have literally no range experience shooting offhand or in wind, I was confident I could make them. Because at that range they aren't difficult shots to make. The difficulty is getting shots that are that close.

Edit: I see Wind Gypsy posted his thoughts on hunting skill exactly at the same moment I was posting this.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

I think most "hunters" miss or mess up game due to lack of hunting skills which has little or nothing to do with shooting skills. Perhaps taking game at 500 yards requires more rifle skills than hunting skills ... because little or no hunting is involved. Stalking game for a shot less than seventy yards requires special skill derived from experience (either the shooter's or his mentor's). At that distance shooting skill, while not immaterial, becomes less significant. I put 200% more time in at the range last year shooting from a bench to work up a good 300 yard African load for my 30-06. I didn't fire a single round offhand or from any other position. Yet during the Montana hunting season the one shot I missed was a little over 300 yards in a very hard wind from prone position off the bipod. I knew as soon as I fired I probably shouldn't have taken that shot. It's why I didn't shoot again. Because I spent all that time at the range last summer, I figured I could make the shot. Should have listened to my hunting experience. Earlier that day I shot a coyote putting the sneak on four does I was watching. It was 100 yards in the same hard wind (albeit that time headwind instead of sidewind). Shot offhand from standing position with no sling support or rest. The next morning in half the wind I shot my buck at sixty yards offhand from standing position no support and dropped him instantly. Both those shots were not terribly difficult (coyote pushed the envelope towards difficult) and though I have literally no range experience shooting offhand or in wind, I was confident I could make them. Because at that range they aren't difficult shots to make. The difficulty is getting shots that are that close.

Edit: I see Wind Gypsy posted his thoughts on hunting skill exactly at the same moment I was posting this.

[Edit: I think there is a lot to be said for hunting experience but mostly in the way that one makes decisions and executes with the additional stress and adrenaline that comes with it. It's hard to know how your body will respond in those situations. Beyond that, strictly from a rifle shooting at stationary animals standpoint i don't think "being a good shot" SHOULD have a ton to do with hunting experience.]

A mule deer buck from back to belly is what 18-22+"?

Lets be conservative and say 18". @ 100 yards, to hit fur, we're talking about a target that's 18MOA in elevation and much larger in windage, @ 200 yards we're talking about a 9 MOA target, @ 300 yards were' talking about a 6 MOA target.

Hunters (as you just admitted to) often completely miss deer. Not wound, but completely miss. A modern bolt action should be able to shoot in a cone of accuracy of about 2 MOA. So all a hunter needs to do at 300 yards to hit fur is execute a shot at the correct POA within 5 MOA of correct elevation (and even larger in windage). That should be easy! You missed at 300 yards because you suck at shooting and don't understand the factors at play with hitting your target at that distance in those conditions, or "buck fever". I don't mean that as an insult! Knowing what you can hit under certain conditions has little to do with hunting experience beyond just managing the "buck fever" aspect and lots to do with being a competent rifleman. The fact that WAY more hunters learn about their shooting capabilities by wounding/missing animals rather than with good instruction and time at the range is the perfect illustration of the fact that we as a group, suck at shooting.

I don't doubt that you have shot targets at some point in your life at a better than average level. You think that makes you acceptable at rifle shooting but the truth is you could find basic things on the internet and with some practice it would make you drastically better at hitting reasonably sized targets in field positions. There are many more like you and worse.

 

[OntarioHunter]

Nonsense.

A mule deer buck from back to belly is what 18-22+"?

Lets be conservative and say 18". @ 100 yards, to hit fur, we're talking about a target that's 18MOA in elevation and much larger in windage, @ 200 yards we're talking about a 9 MOA target, @ 300 yards were' talking about a 6 MOA target.

Hunters (as you just admitted to) often completely miss deer. Not wound, but completely miss. A modern bolt action should be able to shoot in a cone of accuracy of about 2 MOA. So all a hunter needs to do at 300 yards to hit fur is execute a shot at the correct POA within 5 MOA of correct elevation (and even larger in windage). That should be easy! You missed at 300 yards because you suck at shooting and don't understand the factors at play with hitting your target at that distance in those conditions. I don't mean that as an insult! Knowing what you can hit under certain conditions has little to do with hunting experience beyond just managing the "buck fever" aspect and lots to do with being a competent rifleman. The fact that WAY more hunters learn about their shooting capabilities by wounding/missing animals rather than with good instruction and time at the range is the perfect illustration of the fact that we as a group, suck at shooting.

I don't doubt that you have shot targets at some point in your life at a better than average level. You think that makes you acceptable at rifle shooting but the truth is you could find basic things on the internet and with some practice it would make you drastically better at hitting reasonably sized targets in field positions. There are many more like you and worse.

Nonsense? Really? And I "suck at shooting?" Let's see ...

2021 I shot this kudu at 440 yards prone off a bipod. One shot. He didn't go down but didn't go far.

A few days earlier I shot this black wildebeest at 370 yards also prone off bipod but in 35 mph crosswind. Dropped dead.

Note that both were not shot with my WWII Springfield but rather my PH's fancy CZ 270 WSM that I had never fired before.
And there's this kudu shot in 2019, also with a borrowed gun (CZ 30-06) after the new scope on mine crapped out. On the shooting sticks, 330 yards in the neck, quartering towards me, and facing downhill. Dropped in his tracks.

No, I don't suck at shooting 300 yards. I have plenty of evidence to prove it. I maybe suck at shooting that far in 50 mph crosswind because I've never spent any time at the range zeroing my gun in those conditions. Don't know too many people who do, though I'm sure you're the exception. I thought I had enough range experience without wind to adjust for it. Dumb assumption. Won't make that mistake again. And I hope others are learning from my mistake.

 

[The Hedgehog]

You miss 100% of the shots you don't take. If there's lead in the air there's hope.

 

[Irrelevant]

You miss 100% of the shots you don't take. If there's lead in the air there's hope.

Spoken like a true chukar hunter...

 

[Jbotto]

Spoken like a true chukar hunter...

Chukars don’t count against marksmanship. I say this as I’m having my best percentage of hits to shots fired this year. It’ll still go downhill somehow.

 

[tjones]

Nonsense? Really? And I "suck at shooting?" Let's see ...

2021 I shot this kudu at 440 yards prone off a bipod. One shot. He didn't go down but didn't go far.
View attachment 260978
A few days earlier I shot this black wildebeest at 370 yards also prone off bipod but in 35 mph crosswind. Dropped dead.
View attachment 260979
Note that both were not shot with my WWII Springfield but rather my PH's fancy CZ 270 WSM that I had never fired before.
And there's this kudu shot in 2019, also with a borrowed gun (CZ 30-06) after the new scope on mine crapped out. On the shooting sticks, 330 yards in the neck, quartering towards me, and facing downhill. Dropped in his tracks.
View attachment 260980
No, I don't suck at shooting 300 yards. I have plenty evidence to prove it. I maybe suck at shooting that far in 50 mph crosswind because I've never spent any time at the range zeroing my gun in those conditions. Don't know too many people who do, though I'm sure you're the exception. I thought I had enough range experience without wind to adjust for it. Dumb assumption. Won't make that mistake again. And I hope others are learning from my mistake.

I think these pics have been posted more times than shraps moose.

 

[Doublecluck]

When the animal hits the dirt 2 seconds after the bullet leaves the barrel and 1 of the seconds was flight time. It was a good shot.

 

[OntarioHunter]

I think these pics have been posted more times than shraps moose.

I guess Wind Gypsy missed seeing them ... somehow.

 

[one ate E grain]

Off hand shooting.

I have wonder how many hunters could shoot offhand and hit a pie plate at 100 yards with even 75% consistency.

I would say 10% at best.

My kid has gotten nuts over offhand lately. The gong is 11" and I told him he couldn't hit it at 100, came back and said he was getting more than 50% at 200 and 20% at 300, all this with the 223. Next weekend he was half as good and 4x as frustrated. Told him go back to basics and shoot the 22 off hand at a paper target and see how he is grouping. The 223 is enough to put me in the poor house. Good to see off hand though.