doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com So, how poorly do 'most' hunters shoot?

Maybe one little problem with determination is that it's going to be defined in different ways. I'm pretty sure there're folks that would say my effort is not good 'nuf, which doesn't bother me, at least right up to the point where they tell me I can't go hunting. I'd hope we're not thinking the US can afford to loose a bunch of hunters by shooing them away with more hoops to jump through.

I see many shotgunners who do OK. For them it's 30% to 50%. That really is just OK. But if that makes a guy happy, then I hope you have a lot of fun. Most shotgunners do pretty well and I'd be happy to have them join me in the woods and field. I find rifle shooters to be dreadful!! Especially the guys (majority of deer hunters) who dust off the rifle 2 days before the season opener, shoot a 12" group at 100 yards and then hit the woods and "spray and pray". Then they put the gun away until 2 days before the next season and wonder why they can't hit a bull's posterior with a snow shovel!!

I "wasted" my youth mainly shooting rimfire and centerfire rifles and for fun, would often times pick the heads off ruffed grouse, while deer hunting (never did elk hunting). I went though thousands of rounds of rimfire at ground squirrels and targets and mainly targets with centerfire.

My folks didn't give me money for my rimfire ammo needs, I would walk the highway picking up beer and pop bottles to sell to the store at 3 cents apiece to supply my 22 cal needs at 9 or 10 years old and mow lawns or other odd jobs later on for the same reason. Centerfire, I would reload from my dad's ample stock. My shooting ability has slipped as I've gotten older, my eyes have deteriorated and I shoot much less.

Concerning a shotgun, I got tired of embarrassing myself while upland hunting with friends so was determined to improve. I've spent the past 8-9 years during the off season shooting clays, which has helped me to become a fair upland shot, with still much room for improvement.

Stan has it spot on.

Two things I really wanted to do in life. I wanted to fly like Jimmy Stewart and shoot like John Wayne.

I well remember working in an underage sweat shop making $1.65/hour running a punch press in 10th grade. I saved enough working 5 hours a night for close to a year to buy enough lessons to pass first solo. When flying time is that dear, one does pay attention. There is no substitute for motivation. If you really want it, you can achieve it.

Fast forward a few years.... I had a flight student who was a shooter. He showed me his Browning broadway trap, and his Ljutic monogun. They were the most amazing things I had ever seen.... Eric was kind enough to provide some basic instruction and a couple cases of shells.

I have no actual talent at any of this... just desire and drive. It's better than all the money in the world. Know why? Because I did it myself.

Do average duck hunters suck you ask? I can't speak for their shooting skills but I have been able to observe over several decades that many have a lack of ability to estimate range, or they are just desperate.

Game shooting does not provide the opportunities to shoot enough to become proficient with a shotgun. Clay pigeons; Skeet, Trap and Sporting can provide the ability to learn to mount, evaluate the path of the target and make the move to hit it. Those games still can not provide the same experience as shooting a live bird. That is why I enjoy crow hunting, lots of inexpensive time in the field shooting a lot of live birds during a very long season. If one can kill 50 to 70 percent of the crows he fires at he is a good shot in my experience. One of the nice things about crow shooting is the ability to learn how to hit long shots with full choke as the use of full choke at close range is of no consequence as we are not shooting the birds to eat them.

Oddly enough one of the best wing shooters in the world is a crow hunter.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Cn6MEymVXk

I learned in 20 years of involvement (not behind the gun) with driven Pheasant and Partridge shooting in the UK that 'team wise' the best teams were about 2.5 'bangs per bird' - and the worst over 5 'bangs per bird'.
On an individual basis, I have seen one or two individuals who choose the best (highest birds that are still in range), but only take an 'marginal out of range' shot when a bird is already wounded by another shot manage 80% kills and more. Such people are rare to see and a joy to watch.

One individual (sadly now no longer with us) stands out. I have watched him give clean kills on bird after bird, mostly high challenging birds without a miss using 1 oz loads in 1920s (made for his Father) 12 bore featherweight Purdeys weighing just on 6 lbs.

Naturally in 20 years in the field, one sees all types from beginners to very experienced shots, and using all guns from the finest English names to some very budget examples, but the best shots are indeed memorable.

Doubled post, deleted duplicate.

No need to mince words, Stan. After all, you told us that you started out with Daddy buying your shells for you. How come you weren't carrying newspapers or cutting grass to buy them YOURSELF? Kinda gave you a leg up learning the game, didn't it?

Good shooting is certainly critical hunting, if for no other reason that we have an ethical obligation to take game humanely when we choose to hunt for sport. But there are a lot of other skills required to hunt effectively - good dog work, good scouting, shooting the right loads. For many (myself included, who is still serving time in AmarilloMike's Gulag), it is easier to go to the range and practice to become a reasonable shot than it is to put in time on quality dog training, scouting game, patterning loads. But knowing where to find game and knowing how to work with a good dog is as important as good shooting when it comes to putting game in the bag.

Rather a difficult situation for a farm boy to have a newspaper route or mow lawns when he had FARM work to do for his Dad.