In gun stores and online forums hunters are always arguing about the accuracy of their rifles. Candidly, I myself am guilty of this. However, what these discussions of accuracy fail to take into account is that the rifle is very rarely the limiting factor come crunch time. Most often, it is the capability of the shooter that walks the edge between success and failure. As such, it is important to use shooting practice strategies that will translate to success.
Shooting in high pressure real world situations is very different from punching paper. Early on in my hunting career I struggled to execute solid fundamentals on game despite shooting well at the range. This forced me to develop strategies to improve my practical shooting skills. In turn, these strategies helped me when I transitioned over to law enforcement and started doing more tactical-focused shooting. So without further ado, here are some strategies to help you become a stone cold killer come the pivotal moment.
1. Get Off the Bench
First of all, stop practicing off of a bench. Shooting off a bench is good for three things: Load development, zeroing, and gathering DOPE. Full Stop. In fact, for basic practicing shooting off the bench can be counter-productive. This is because felt recoil is heavier off the bench than most other positions, making it more likely to develop a flinch.
Instead, practice shooting from positions that you will actually use in the field. If you can, track what positions you actually shoot at game from and divide your practice accordingly. For example, with my hunting style most of my shots are improvised supports from the seated or standing positions. Therefore, I practice those positions the most. In order to practice these, you need to bring the appropriate props to the range. Typically, I bring a step ladder and a shooting mat, which opens up a myriad of different shooting positions. The step ladder is a phenomenal shooting practice strategy to practice improvised supports. The varied heights of the supports mimic those commonly found in the field.
2. Use the Gear You Actually Carry
Another key is to use the gear you are actually going to have with you in the field. Often I have seen guys practice shooting off of a bipod. However, when it comes time to carry the rifle the bipod is nowhere to be found. The same applies to shooting sticks, and other supports. I practice shooting off of my binocular tripod, not because its ideal but because I know I will actually have it with me.
This also applies to rear bags. If you are not going to carry a rear bag while hunting, don’t practice with one. Instead, use your day back, or binocular harness, or puffy jacket, that you will actually have with you! The groups at the range will suffer slightly, but there are two big benefits to doing this.
First, you will have a realistic understanding of how far you can shoot with your equipment in field conditions. This allows for more ethical decision making when it comes to deciding to take the shot. Secondly, you will be better with your equipment because you are familiar. There is nothing worse than not practicing enough and discovering an equipment issue while an animal is right in front of you.
3. Incorporate Stress
Next, begin to incorporate stress into your shooting practice. Buck fever is very difficult to replicate, but you can practice staying composed under stress. Do some practice shooting on the clock with a timer. While everyone would like to have plenty of time to set up and take a shot, sometimes that just isn’t possible. If you hunt long enough you will run into a situation where your quarry knows you are there and time is of the essence. In preparation, having experience building a stable shooting platform quickly and executing a shot is invaluable.
Another excellent shooting practice strategy to incorporate stress is using competition. Competing with friends is a great strategy to push yourself to your limits building a position fast while retaining marksmanship fundamentals. Additionally, practicing with your buddies is much more enjoyable and I am more apt to get out with training partners than if I were alone.
4. Practice Your Follow-Through
The final shooting practice strategy is to diligently practice your follow-through. First, stay down on the rifle and maintain your sight picture through the scope. Next, quickly cycle the action while staying in your scope, regardless of the outcome. Always being prepared for a follow-up shot goes a long way to avoid long tracking jobs and lost game. Finally, if you do miss, make a quick adjustment and remedy your error.
Not only is this solid shooting form, it will help you stay composed if you do miss in the field. This is because muscle memory will deal with cycling the next round and keeping the critter in the scope, greatly reducing the mistakes that can come with panic. Also, dry fire is a great place to practice follow through. What better opportunity to get a ton of repititions without putting a dent in your pocketbook.
Closing Thoughts
In closing, using these shooting practice strategies will help make you a better hunter. Too often hunters forget what they are practicing for. Olympic level marathon runners don’t spend hours in the gym working on their bench press. Likewise, few hunters are competing in the benchrest world championships. Tailoring shooting practice strategies to the end goal will make you more composed, effective, and ultimately deadly when staring down an opportunity to drop the hammer.