Shooting while scouting

[TradLife406]

I have zero experience shooting in the mountains. I'm halfway decent on the prairie. But I know that goes out the window when it comes to reading thermals and mountain wind.

With the elk tag I've got I'm trying to scout about every weekend I can. Which cuts into range time. I don't want to go drive to a different mountain range just to shoot. Especially with the price of gas.

Any issue with packing a rifle (obviously suppressed) and shooting while waiting for the elk to appear? Or midday when things are slow?

Only issue I can see is the unit gets a ton of recreational use. So I'd have to be damn sure I'm not going to accidentally ground check some world class cougar in yoga pants. But on the plus side the elk and deer are used to humans. Just wondering if firing off a bunch of rounds will kill my glassing session.

I'll be buying a tikka 223 in a couple of weeks. But I've also got other rifles to train with until then. Maybe even just taking the 22 trainer and work on different positions with sub sonics?
I did take the 22 a few weeks ago. Some hikers came in from behind me and they were a little freaked out I was shooting. They asked what I was shooting at. Ha just rocks

Any drills or things to work on specifically? I've got a set of Wiser trekking poles connector thingers coming. So I'm planning on training a lot with the poles. I know I need to break the habit of always defaulting to a tripod. And I know I need to work on freehand shooting.

Maybe [mention]Formidilosus [/mention] has some advice?

 

[RockAndSage]

Nothing you're suggesting doing may be "wrong", per se, but it may not be the most effective approach to taking an animal during your season. It may be a bit more effective to firmly compartmentalize everything, and have a distinct place, plan, and time for your shooting. Say, a place on the way back from your unit, maybe at the edge of it, and don't even consider shooting at all while you're scouting. Combining the two, in theory, may sound more efficient, but it'll likely just leave you less prepared for the season than you might suspect.

The reason why, is that it'll distract you from scouting. Which, I personally consider to be every bit as serious and focused of a thing as hunting, because that's what it is to me. It's pretty easy to give yourself the easy-out of hard work when out there, by "just taking a couple of shots for practice". Especially mid-day, when the game isn't moving, and it's hot, and "boring"...next thing you know, you've screwed around for a few hours. Instead of dialing in harder with your glassing, driving, hiking, and tracking, to find out where the animals are, you end up getting lazy, and then only looking when you might catch them on the move. And instead go for taking a nap, having a long lunch, getting on your phone, or shooting. Or any other distraction. It's more effective to treat scouting as one of the very few, precious, irreplaceable days you get during season, and make every bit of it count in finding and patterning your animals.

The flip side of that is that by compartmentalizing your shooting, you can do it with more intensity and focus, and put yourself through a more structured, goal-oriented training evolution - with peace of mind. Peace of mind that you're not short-changing your scouting, and that you're not going to have to run into any aghast hippies.

 

[justinspicher]

I do both all the time. I generally try to take my rifle for a walk weekly and I take a small piece of steel with me to shoot at.

 

[EdP]

Unless I have misunderstood what you are proposing, it sounds like a good way to get accused of hunting out of season. Out in the woods with a rifle ahead of the opener, and shooting?

 

[HuntHarder]

I do both often. I typically will set aside some time midday to get some practice in.

 

[WeiserBucks]

world class cougar in yoga pants

I'm stuck here.

 

[WeiserBucks]

Unless I have misunderstood what you are proposing, it sounds like a good way to get accused of hunting out of season. Out in the woods with a rifle ahead of the opener, and shooting?

Nothing illegal about it whatsoever.

 

[LongWayAround]

You have a late rifle tag, correct?

I wouldn't worry about it. Fire at will.

 

[LongWayAround]

Unless I have misunderstood what you are proposing, it sounds like a good way to get accused of hunting out of season. Out in the woods with a rifle ahead of the opener, and shooting?

It's totally normal for people in the West to be out shooting on Forest Service or BLM ground at any time of year. Tag or no tag, open season or not. You're good to go.

There are high use areas with shooting bans, but that's a different situation.

 

[LongWayAround]

Any drills or things to work on specifically? I've got a set of Wiser trekking poles connector thingers coming. So I'm planning on training a lot with the poles. I know I need to break the habit of always defaulting to a tripod. And I know I need to work on freehand shooting.

Maybe [mention]Formidilosus [/mention] has some advice?

I like to shoot seated off my pack. Typically with my pack as the rear support and crossed trek poles as the front support. I need to work on trying with my pack as the front and poles as the rear though.

In 2023, I had a quick shot at my bull about 150yd, used my pack vertically as my front support with no rear.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

I do this all the time. It’s not an issue. Make sure no animals are in the immediate area /line of fire and have fun.

 

[Bohunter33]

Yeah after the deer went to bed this morning I fired off some rounds, but I also didn’t see anything I was dead set on shooting. If I had seen a big buck I probably wouldn’t have shot.

 

[TradLife406]

I'm stuck here.

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[TradLife406]

Nothing illegal about it whatsoever.

Yeah as long as I make sure I'm observing the usual safety rules. Not shooting anywhere near a trail...


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[TradLife406]

You have a late rifle tag, correct?

I wouldn't worry about it. Fire at will.

Yep. I can archery hunt on it but I've not rifled an elk. Looking forward to trying something different.


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[KenLee]

No need to practice every weekend if it can bother game movement. It comes naturally after awhile. You either can do it or you can't. Busting off some rounds a few more weekends won't change the odds. Im long in the tooth, so a Cougar in yoga pants sounds more exciting than hiking

 

[mtnbound]

I have zero experience shooting in the mountains. I'm halfway decent on the prairie. But I know that goes out the window when it comes to reading thermals and mountain wind.

With the elk tag I've got I'm trying to scout about every weekend I can. Which cuts into range time. I don't want to go drive to a different mountain range just to shoot. Especially with the price of gas.

Any issue with packing a rifle (obviously suppressed) and shooting while waiting for the elk to appear? Or midday when things are slow?

Only issue I can see is the unit gets a ton of recreational use. So I'd have to be damn sure I'm not going to accidentally ground check some world class cougar in yoga pants. But on the plus side the elk and deer are used to humans. Just wondering if firing off a bunch of rounds will kill my glassing session.

I'll be buying a tikka 223 in a couple of weeks. But I've also got other rifles to train with until then. Maybe even just taking the 22 trainer and work on different positions with sub sonics?
I did take the 22 a few weeks ago. Some hikers came in from behind me and they were a little freaked out I was shooting. They asked what I was shooting at. Ha just rocks

Any drills or things to work on specifically? I've got a set of Wiser trekking poles connector thingers coming. So I'm planning on training a lot with the poles. I know I need to break the habit of always defaulting to a tripod. And I know I need to work on freehand shooting.

Maybe [mention]Formidilosus [/mention] has some advice?

I shoot suppressed frequently when scouting, but I avoid areas that have a lot of traffic from day hikers. Work on the basic shooting positions in broken terrain and practice reading the wind. I put more emphasis on the positions that are most likely for the terrain, e.g., brush in my area typically does not allow me to shoot prone very often. I'm not generally in areas with high foot traffic, but if you are, you are going to get some people who will likely not be very happy with your shooting and will likely call law enforcement on you.

 

[EdP]

It's totally normal for people in the West to be out shooting on Forest Service or BLM ground at any time of year. Tag or no tag, open season or not. You're good to go.

There are high use areas with shooting bans, but that's a different situation.

OK then. That's not the case in the east. From the hunting regulations in Va applicable to Nat Forest Land:

It shall be unlawful to use or discharge a firearm or hunting weapon on department-owned and managed lands other than to take legal wildlife while hunting or trapping during open seasons.

Discharge of a firearm or hunting weapon for target shooting is prohibited on departmentowned and managed lands, except on designated shooting ranges designed for specific firearms and hunting weapons on posted days and hours during which the range is open for operation.

 

[TradLife406]

I went out Friday night for an over nighter. Packed the 10/22 trainer.
I found four big bulls with a dink! And a really good mulie.

Late morning I looked off the opposite side of the ridge and found some rocks at 2-300 yards. Dialed her up about 14 mils and worked on shooting off the trekking poles. Wow you can really tell if you flinch or your follow through was !

Shooting supers suppressed had the little cracks going the opposite direction of the animals.

 

[mtnwrunner]

I'm stuck here.

"World class cougar in yoga pants?" That was going to be my comment as well.
What unit is this???

Randy