The 1 Thing You Learned- Rifles

[thinhorn_AK]

I wish I could upvote this post 10 more times. I've wasted so much time and money on optics and rifles even though I have proven tack drivers I consistently killed with in the past. Its a horrible rabbit hole to go down...
Pick one rifle, learn to master it in all temps and terrain, and dont look back. Spend the rest of your resources on quality personal gear.

Guns are cool and all but like you said, when you have proven shooters that always worked, why go looking for the next best thing....again and again and again....??? If you think about a big sheep hunt, you spend the entire time, 7, 9, 13....however many days hauling the pack, beating your feet and sleeping on the ground. The actual shooting part is like 3 minutes of that 240 hours.

I’m not saying people shouldnt do what they want with their $$$ just that I’ve never missed an opportunity due to the gun. A 30-06 with a 3-9 will go farther than you realize.

One of my buddies missed a sheep at 300yds last year, he went and spent 10k on a gunwerks and went to their shooting school, buys their Ammo etc....dosent seem very cost effective to me. Especially when you factor in plane tickets, hotels and the fact that he now has a 10k+ rifle that you can’t find Ammo for....and he Dosent hand load....

 

[dieselchessy]

Guns are cool and all but like you said, when you have proven shooters that always worked, why go looking for the next best thing....again and again and again....??? If you think about a big sheep hunt, you spend the entire time, 7, 9, 13....however many days hauling the pack, beating your feet and sleeping on the ground. The actual shooting part is like 3 minutes of that 240 hours.

I’m not saying people shouldnt do what they want with their $$$ just that I’ve never missed an opportunity due to the gun. A 30-06 with a 3-9 will go farther than you realize.

One of my buddies missed a sheep at 300yds last year, he went and spent 10k on a gunwerks and went to their shooting school, buys their Ammo etc....dosent seem very cost effective to me. Especially when you factor in plane tickets, hotels and the fact that he now has a 10k+ rifle that you can’t find Ammo for....and he Dosent hand load....

Your saying your buddy has that kind of money and he didn’t buy 500 or more rounds of ammo when he got set up with the rifle?
What exactly do they teach at that school?

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Your saying your buddy has that kind of money and he didn’t buy 500 or more rounds of ammo when he got set up with the rifle?
What exactly do they teach at that school?

Nope thats not what I'm saying. He has ammo he got when he was there but it isn't something he is going to find on a random gunshop shelf.

 

[ozyclint]

After you have dialed in your pet handload and you're happy with it's performance, go and buy a lifetime supply of those components before they change them or make them obsolete.

This can be applied in many ways in life

 

[kickemall]

That is awesome. And inspiring!

I take a lot of rookies hunting. The single most common issue that I see that causes lost opportunities is the inability to get on target quickly. I see this a lot with guys who have too many gizmos. Bipods, funky slings, overpowered or overcomplicated optics, bulky clothing, you name it.

So my one “thing” is to recommend that you take inventory of your crap, reduce the unnecessary stuff, and practice getting on target fast and making it count. That golden opportunity might be fleeting.

This, without a doubt, this. Beat this into your head, practice this and be ready. I can't repeat this enough.
THIS!

 

[NomadHunter603]

That is awesome. And inspiring!

I take a lot of rookies hunting. The single most common issue that I see that causes lost opportunities is the inability to get on target quickly. I see this a lot with guys who have too many gizmos. Bipods, funky slings, overpowered or overcomplicated optics, bulky clothing, you name it.

So my one “thing” is to recommend that you take inventory of your crap, reduce the unnecessary stuff, and practice getting on target fast and making it count. That golden opportunity might be fleeting.

I couldn’t agree more! Especially depending on where you hunt. I’m up in New Hampshire and often times you’re in swamps/thick stuff. Usually 100 yards is your furthest shot. My buck this year came out at about 110 yards and as soon as I saw him, I basically only had time to see antlers, put cross hairs on him and shoot offhand. No time to get comfortable or find a rear really. He would have been gone lol. It can all chance in a second


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[dieselchessy]

Nope thats not what I'm saying. He has ammo he got when he was there but it isn't something he is going to find on a random gunshop shelf.

My dad has that kind of thought process. He seems to want a rifle that uses store shelf ammo.
I can’t understand that way of thinking. I roll my own and can pretty easily roll more of a given load than most them store shelf ammo shooters would shoot in a lifetime.
If he has good ammo at hand why the concern for store shelves?

 

[AK_Skeeter]

Reactive targets for instant feedback.
Practice shooting at reactive targets (balloons or gongs) in hunting conditions (in the wind, in rain, uphill, downhill, with swarming mosquitoes, etc.).

Handloading helps as I can get 300 TTSX bullets for $180 and I will shoot them all over a summer.

Practice with a .22 shooting off hand, practice shooting off a pack, practice shoot of shooting sticks.

On a slightly windy day practice shooting balloons as the roll across a gravel pit with each gust of wind.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

My dad has that kind of thought process. He seems to want a rifle that uses store shelf ammo.
I can’t understand that way of thinking. I roll my own and can pretty easily roll more of a given load than most them store shelf ammo shooters would shoot in a lifetime.
If he has good ammo at hand why the concern for store shelves?

I just think it’s kind of dumb that he’d down to 1 rifle that dosent use a common round when he dosent reload.

I reload, I don’t really buy ammo. I do get comfort knowing I can though.

 

[Oregon Hunter]

My Eureka moment was when I discovered the importance of length of pull.

I was developing a flinch from punching myself in the face with the thumb of my trigger hand. Whether it was iron sites or a leupold on 3x. I was also prone to scope eye whenever I was shooting in a field position.

I finally went out shooting with a buddy who competes in biathlon. His first response when I shouldered my rifle was "Holy ... You have a long neck".

I'm not a super tall guy at 6'4, but apparently my head and neck belong on a guy over 7ft tall. It's funny how these goofy proportions helped my sister get into modeling, meanwhile I'm just easy to catch in a headlock and hard to fit for a stock.

Anyways, I put an inch of cheap polymer spacers on the back of my rifle and suddenly I was a way better shot.

I've always heard how important the correct LOP is, but haven't put any effort into it. How would you recommend getting measured? Use an expert?

 

[Oregon Hunter]

Practice. Trigger time so the rifle is an extension of your body. Learning how to drive it properly has made accuracy increase exponentially

I made the mistake of falling out of practice last year, and I think it caused me to miss an antelope.

 

[Oregon Hunter]

I sure hope this whole chassis thing is just a fad. Just like hunting with AR’s. Neither are proper hunting guns for the vast majority of circumstances. I do not at all understand the attraction.

I’m guilty of it too, but I sure see a lot of it on this website... we get so hung up on having the equipment to shoot stuff at a country mile, yet that is usually quite rare. If you aren’t much more than half drunk it’s usually not impossible to get within 300 yards.

Like you found, a good old 3-9x on a traditional bolt gun is best suited for normal occurrences. I recently heard a blurb of a podcast with an ID wolf hunting guide. His number 1 suggestion was to leave the cannon and the monster Nightforce at home. He said when it happens it happens fast and he wants you ready with that .270 you’ve had since high school and the scope on 4x!

We’ve somehow lost appreciation for simplicity. Darn tactikooks!

I've seen a couple guys goof up close/easy shots because their gear was too complicated. I've also seen a bunch of people improve their shooting by practicing at longer ranges with these crossover setups. So maybe we need to be honest with ourselves and feel free to use the fancy tactical rifle if we practice regularly. Otherwise leave those on the shooting bench, and take our simple rifles when it's actually hunting season

 

[Oregon Hunter]

I learned a Nightforce 2.5-10x is all I need. Not sure why I would need to leave this Nightforce at home.

I think the key is practice and familiarity, which it sounds like you have covered

 

[ODB]

The main thing I’ve learned over the years is that at reasonable hunting distances cartridges of the same caliber are a lot more alike than they are different.

Meaning we spend a hell of a lot of time worrying about things that, in the end, don’t matter.

 

[Oregon Hunter]

Reactive targets for instant feedback.
Practice shooting at reactive targets (balloons or gongs) in hunting conditions (in the wind, in rain, uphill, downhill, with swarming mosquitoes, etc.).

Handloading helps as I can get 300 TTSX bullets for $180 and I will shoot them all over a summer.

Practice with a .22 shooting off hand, practice shooting off a pack, practice shoot of shooting sticks.

On a slightly windy day practice shooting balloons as the roll across a gravel pit with each gust of wind.

We use steel plates discarded from railroads to hang for reactive targets. You're right, it makes shooting more fun, which encourages us to do it more, which makes us a better hunter!

 

[Oregon Hunter]

The main thing I’ve learned over the years is that at reasonable hunting distances cartridges of the same caliber are a lot more alike than they are different.

Meaning we spend a hell of a lot of time worrying about things that, in the end, don’t matter.

I read an article recently about how much time we waste talking about cartridges, when the actual bullet is more influential

 

[Oregon Hunter]

Yeah, I've had this rifle for a few years and just had to make myself carry on a hunt. It shoots like a dream but it's awkward for me to hunt with. I just stuck it up for sale a few days ago. I think the precision rifle stuff is fun, but I'm primarily a hunter and anymore the only shooting I do is hunting related.

You could also buy an ultralight stock to swap it out for hunting season

 

[Oregon Hunter]

For this year, it’s don’t forget you’re hunting when your hunting. That and Elk don’t always follow the rules we’ve established for them:

Day 3 of my R1 hunt when moving from A to B in mid afternoon, bright and hot sunshine on a south facing, exposed, beetle kill slope I should have anticipated bumping a real nice 6x6... but I knew he was supposed to be bedded down, or sheltered on a dark north facing slope. Don’t just A to B. Hunt slow and hard, even when you are where they are not supposed to be!

You're so right. I got my biggest buck right before dark, about 100 yds from the gate back onto the highway

 

[Oregon Hunter]

My biggest lesson ive learned is to prepare everything the night before and to check all my essential gear. That's my biggest thing to to ensure everything functions as it should.

This year specifically, I learned hunting with 3 guys over 70 is a chore. All very fun, knowledgeable and experienced. But they couldn't remember shit, were slow and had some physical limitations. I grew up hunting with them since was a wearing diapers, it's my turn to help them.



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It always amazes me how often people (I've been guilty too) change stuff up at the last minute. Too often it creates a problem at the last second and we haven't had a chance to account for it.

 

[Oregon Hunter]

A rifle that fits is a must. Like Marmots said the length of pull is very important. Unlike him I am height challenged at 5'7" so I dont have long arms either (or a long neck). I found many years ago that when Im target practicing on a nice day off a bench wearing a T-shirt vs out hunting wearing layers, coat, backpack, your length of pull get short really quick. So I started shortening my length of pull to fit when Im hunting and it made a big difference on getting on game quickly. Yeah, when target practicing in a T-shirt now my rifles are a little short but I can put a pad in between and that also helps out on the sore shoulder.

It's nice that more manufacturers incorporating adjustments into their buttstocks now