range accuracy vs. field accuracy

[mainecoon]

How closely does accuracy at the range translate into accuracy in the field? If you can shoot a 3" group offhand at 50 yards, does that mean you're good to go for that deer hunt? Or will your nerves turn your skills to dirt once you're actually shooting something?

 

[Sam1911]

Wow, lots of possible answers to this question.

1) Practice whatever shot types you're most likely to take. Most of us won't shoot deer from a completely unsupported position most of the time, so offhand might not be as useful practice as setting something up that's a bit more like the blind or stand you use. Or some improvised rests, kneeling, prone ... whatever is similar to how you'll hunt.

Of course, if you're jump-shooting them, walking up on them at close range, you need practice at that. Moving targets, fast presentations and snap shots, etc. Of course, you're at least practicing something challenging with offhand shooting, so it isn't like you're shooting your rifle 20 times from the bench and assuming you'll be that accurate when you're out in the wilds.

2) Everyone's nerves affect their skill to some degree. Assume that you'll shoot about as well on your best day in the field as you could on your WORST day at the range.

 

[sappyg]

Don't know how to answer the OP with any verifiable experience because I've never shot groups at live game.

The absolute best advise I can think of is to shoot.... A lot.... And have fun.

 

[Art Eatman]

Most of my range shooting is to test the accuracy of my rifle and its loads. All I want, really, is the assurance that if I do my part in the field, chow time follows.

 

[Walkalong]

That's about it, you prove at the range that the rifle will shoot where it's pointed if you do your part.

 

[gspn]

Once you get the rifle zeroed on the range, most of the variables will come down to where you hunt, and how you hunt.

The more supported the firing position the more accurate you will be.

If you always shoot from a big box blind then your field accuracy should closely resemble your range accuracy because you'll likely have a solid rest.

If you stalk game and need to take a quick offhand shot then you might not have anywhere near the accuracy you'll have from a bench.

I've shot deer from the prone, kneeling, and offhand positions. I've shot them left handed (I'm a right handed shooter). I've shot them off solid rests made of lumber and I've shot them off field improvised rests...ie a sapling branch. I also use shooting stick. When I'm in a hasty ground blind sitting on my butt I have my rifle on top of my knee.

I say all that to show that there are a lot of ways to get a good shooting position...and the more supported that position is the longer your effective range will be.

 

[Jitterbug]

I couldn't hit a 500 yard Prairie dog or a 400 yard Coyote until I learned how to shoot less then an inch at 100 yards, off a bench...5-10 shot groups...NOT 3.

 

[JDGray]

I couldn't hit a 500 yard Prairie dog or a 400 yard Coyote until I learned how to shoot less then an inch at 100 yards, off a bench...5-10 shot groups...NOT 3.

And include the cold bore in your group.....

Or better yet, 1 cold bore shot in the bull.

 

[henschman]

I always zero a rifle the way it will be shot in the field... i.e. hardly ever from a bench. Also, I find doing cross country run 'n gun competitions, in which you have to shoot for time when hot, sweaty, and exhausted, are great practice for stressful situations, and give you a good idea of the reduced level of accuracy you will be looking at, and whether your weapon manipulation skills are well practiced enough.

 

[twofifty]

Nerves or buck fever are definitely still part of the equation for me. I'm an 'old' target shooter (and lowly competitor) but am new to big game hunting.

A deal breaker is familiarity and confidence in your hunting rifle. The more you shoot it pre-season, the better. If your mind is at ease in those respects, you will be more confident when lining up on your quarry.

 

[Caliper_Mi]

I love the benches at the range. They make a great place to set my gear while I'm shooting.

If you want to practice for the excitement of taking that shot in the field, simulate it. Do jumping jacks or take a jog around the parking lot THEN shoot from a field or improvised position.

 

[back40]

what your nerves do to your shooting skills is subjective. some handle it better than others and experience is the best medicine.

i always zero form a bench or prone, as it gives me the best indication of what the rifle is capable of. the rest is up to me, and is why i generally practice from field positions. i just shot my buck on saturday with a 30-30 with open sights at ~45yds. i took a knee for a more supported position than offhand. in the field it's always best to make use of the most supported position you can muster.

 

[Edarnold]

Mainecoon:
What everyone else seems to be ignoring is your statement that you can: "shot a 3" group at 50 yards". If this true, you are a better shot than 90% of the Nimrods heading off to the woods with their new rifle that shoots sub-MOA groups ... off the bench. Having observed many, many hunters at the range cussing out their equipment because they couldn't find their bullets on the target backer from offhand, the ability to take a game animal cleanly is seldom the equipment. Keep practicing and you should get your deer.

 

[sage5907]

I've been hunting with a rifle for a long time and I offer a few tips. As was previously said, shooting at a range is basically good to make sure your rifle is shooting in the right place and to learn how to pull a trigger. When it comes to hunting you need to sight in your rifle from the same shooting position that you will be using when you hunt. For example, most hunting shots are taken from a straight up sitting position and if this is your method you need to sight in your rifle and shoot from a straight up sitting position exactly as you hunt. This is different from slumping over a bench while shooting with sand bags. You also need to practice shooting wearing the coat and gloves that you will be using when you hunt. This will quickly tell you if your stock is too long. I shoot many long shots and during the summer I often set up a target on a game trail several hundred yards away and I make a note of the actual holdover in inches to hit an animal walking down that trail. This rehearsal really helps during the fall hunting season.

 

[Cee Zee]

Humans are funny about certain things. Some folks just can't kill a living creature no matter how much they think they want to do it. Their arms just won't cooperate. They turn to jello when those people point a gun at any critter. Other people have zero problems shooting animals of any kind. They can go too far with that IMO. They'll sometimes shoot anything that moves and I'm not real keen on that. But of course not everyone that can kill a game animal will kill anything. That's not even a close number. I'm just talking about how people are different.

As for shooting at game you're talking about the exact reason we refused to ever shoot with a rest of any kind when I was a kid learning to shoot. I never started shooting with a rest until I was getting older and my body parts didn't work as well as they did. I also started enjoying shooting tiny groups. But to this day my brothers will razz me to no end if I try to use anything at all to rest a rifle to shoot. We always knew that hunting required shooting from different positions and often with a quick shot. We mostly hunted squirrels in those days and we didn't like blasting them with a shotgun because we didn't want to bite into the shot that we put into those squirrels. So we started learning to hunt squirrels with a .22 from an early age. And we weren't happy unless we hit them in the head too.

This is where plinking is a good idea for hunters. You learn a lot from plinking. Most bench rest shooters will tell you not to plink because you pick up bad habits. Well they are bad for shooting from the bench but they are good for hunting.

Sight your rifle from a bench but then make sure you are still going to hit what you aim at from an offhand shot. Sometimes we hold a rifle way different off hand than we would shooting from a bench. You may have to adjust your scope accordingly. Or if you're like me and my brothers we do most of our hunting without a scope. That's just something you'll have to work through to find out about yourself. Practice is the key to all forms of shooting.

Personally I keep different rifles setup for different purposes. I have a rifle that I use to shoot benchrest and a rifle for scope hunting and a rifle for iron sight hunting and a rifle for varmints including nighttime varmints. And those are just my rimfire rifles. It means buying several rifles but to me it's no different than having a different set of pliers for different types of jobs. Guns are tools and I like to use the best one for the job. I'll admit that I sometimes end up wishing I had a different tool with me when I'm hunting but I generally hunt with an iron sighted rifle which is the most versatile kind of rifle to use IMO. YMMV as always.

 

[palmrose2]

I taught my oldest son to shoot. The US army taught me. As a man pushing 50 when my son was 25, I thought he might be better than me. Real world killing of game told me otherwise. He was terrible.

The advise I gave him was twofold.
(1) Relax. Treat the game like you would any other target. Remember all that you have learned and fire away.
(2) Fire at the first opportunity of a shot you can make. You may think that the target will present a better shot if you wait a little longer, but it may not. If the target is presenting itself in good enough fashion, then that is good enough. Take the shot.

I find myself using my .243 Handi Rifle more and more. It only takes one shot.

 

[shafter]

If my rifle won't shoot where I'm aiming it all the skill in the world isn't going to help, especially if all I get is one shot. I use a bench to make sure my sights are on and the rest is practical practice.

 

[Hangingrock]

As a past observer of sighting-in days before deer season at a 1200 adult member sportsmen’s in southwestern Pennsylvania I’d say we are not a nation of riflemen. The variety of hunters and their firearms covered a broad spectrum. A majority of those individuals in attendance had not fired their rifles since the previous year’s sighting in days and or that deer season. The range yard lines were 50 – 100 & 200. Mostly the 100yd line was used. Those that had problems used the 50yd line and the 200yd line was seldom or not utilized at all. The malady of wondering rifle zero was prevalent. A limited number of shooters after benching their rifles shot standing offhand. I think most individuals saw opening day or the week as a social event getting away from work, family, and being at camp.

The more serious had no need to attend sighting in days as they had practiced using their rifles at intervals during the off season. Some had attended the running deer target shoots that were conducted periodically during the year by the club.

Using the present-day as an example in this part of North Carolina I don’t see that much difference between the non-dedicated and the dedicated as I previously witnessed in Pennsylvania.

We had to cease letting people hunt on the property for a period of time. Those that we now allow to hunt here we have a simple rule: Shots fired must equate to deer taken or you are not allowed back.

In summation know your equipment, your ability and limitations.

 

[zenshootist]

How closely does accuracy at the range translate into accuracy in the field? If you can shoot a 3" group offhand at 50 yards, does that mean you're good to go for that deer hunt? Or will your nerves turn your skills to dirt once you're actually shooting something?
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Shooting at the range is generally a lot more comfortable - but why would you shoot a deer off hand with a pistol?

 

[PedalBiker]

Range accuracy vs field accuracy --- I don't know of anyone who shoots better in the field than at the range. If you can't shoot at the range you shouldn't hunt.

If you're good at the range you're at least on the way to having the skills you need in the field, but you're only part way.

At the range I now shoot a 10" metal gong. I shoot from different positions that simulate field positions. If I can't hit the gong at the range I won't shoot from that position/distance in the field.

We have a fairly large gong at our range that is at 380 yards. From a well supported position I can hit it 99%. I still don't feel comfortable shooting game at that range.


Recently I saw a friend shoot an animal from a well supported position, with minimal wind at well under 200 yards. The hunter was certain the animal was hit, the spotter was certain the animal was hit. We found the animal a significant distance and time later. We did a "reconstruction" of the scene and determined that either it was shooter error or a small branch deflected the bullet slightly. The branches were too small to be seen from the shooting position. --- In the field you can never be 100% certain of all variables. The range is best case.

 

[sappyg]

How closely does accuracy at the range translate into accuracy in the field? If you can shoot a 3" group offhand at 50 yards, does that mean you're good to go for that deer hunt? Or will your nerves turn your skills to dirt once you're actually shooting something?
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Shooting at the range is generally a lot more comfortable - but why would you shoot a deer off hand with a pistol?

That's a good one. I can think of several answers.

 

[ole farmerbuck]

Once in a while I shoot targets out of my Yukon window since thats where I shoot p-dogs from.

 

[gdcpony]

I shoot several ways that help translate my practice to the field.

1. Load testing and sight-in: I use as solid a rest as I can get. Every shot is controlled.

2. Field practice: I do this from the various positions I might end up in. I am cool and calm and just trying to figure out if a different position affects my POI and my grouping from them. I use shooting sticks, the side of my truck, the tail gate, off hand in various positions, and both with and without a sling.

3. Rapids/ follow-up: I go from carrying to shooting, or I make a quick follow up after the shot seeing how long it takes me to reacquire my target. I will also practice multiple targets here.

4. Stress shots: This one is the most missed by other shooters. To simulate the adrenaline rush of a black 'yote, or huge buck, I run about 100m then pick up my rifle/shotgun/bow (most common) and shoot. This may not be the perfect way, but your heart rate will be up, and you'd be surprised how much you shake.

I use these, but I generally don't go out and say "today is stress training." I usually make it a game (except for #1). Posting up clay pigeons and bottles to simulate targets smaller than my actual ones helps too. It makes a great show I figure when I run up grab my shotgun drop to the kneeling and bust a pigeon at 100yd (H&R UltraSlugger not a pump smooth bore). It has helped that I get allot of this training for free as a Marine too.

As far as how it relates? I can perform the above trick 50% of the time. However, I am the same from 200yds if I am calmly shooting from my tailgate. My AR 15 can bust out a 2"@200yds rested, but just me standing makes a clay safe at 100yds about half the time too. I consider my effective range while hunting based on the shot. 300-400yds when I am shooting my .257Roberts off sticks sitting with a clear view of the song dog about to receive my "blessing" is not a big deal. Make me twist around and lean out around a tree in a treestand with my muzzleloader and I am limited to 50yds.

 

[Andrew Leigh]

The two do not correlate at all.

What you should do it is check your field accuracy. I will use every competitive advantage I can to get a steadier shot. A tree, mound of sand, backpack, someones shoulder, shooting sticks, my knee, a sling (we seem to have forgotten that a correctly set up sling makes a large difference to offhand shooting).

Offhand shooting is very difficult and I will only do so out to about 70yds.

Try setting your scope to lower magnifications, I find it stops the shakes and stops me from overcompensating with regards to aim.

 

[JohnBT]

And then there are people like my father. He was a fair shot at the range, but in the field he fast and cool.

He was deer hunting with his brother one day up a little hollow behind my uncle's home. My father was 79 and his knees were going and climbing was hard, but he walked up there in the dark and took his assigned stump behind some trimmed cedars. The planned shot was across the hollow at the deer trail going up the other side. It lasered 104 yards.

Using a BAR .280 Rem with a 3x-9 scope set on 3x, he shot the first deer once and the second deer once. The first dropped, the second stood there, and the rest took off. So he shot the second one again.

Those two shots on the second deer measured exactly one inch apart. My uncle said it was the dernedest thing he'd ever seen. Except for the day he saw my dad shoot a pair of turkeys out of the air with 2 shots using a pump 20 ga. Model 12. He got them before they could dodge around one of the hundreds of apple trees.

My father said the hardest part was getting up off the stump to shoot over the cedars - which needed trimming again.

I think I inherited his knees, the shooting touch is on-again, off-again.