Training New Hunters

[treillw]

How do you develop "the killer instinct" in a new hunter? This is my wife's second year of hunting. Overall she does great. She hikes miles and miles and thousands of feet of elevation with me through deep snow and bitter cold. She definitely has the physical and mental part down. Last year she was able to harvest her first elk after a lot of hard work and was extremely happy.

Where I would say her skill set is lacking is in getting setup on animals quickly, anticipating shot windows, and taking shots. The herd we were chasing this past weekend is extremely lucky that she is a beginner. We were chasing them though the timber and had brief shot windows and shot opportunities where you couldn't see the entire animal and had to estimate the vital area.

How do you help somebody practice and develop these skills? Some things I thought of are sporting clays shooting, hiking around and shooting random rocks in the mountains, hunting easier targets (doe deer or gophers), and just more experience elk hunting.

How do you coach them in the woods? I usually take the lead and find the shot opportunity and then try to communicate what she needs to do. Sometimes there isn't enough time for this and the animal gets away or I can't explain things perfectly clear in the short time frame.

Thanks!

 

[Blackdirt Cowboy]

Estimate vital area? Damn man. That part needs to be clear before you ever put your finger on the trigger.

 

[treillw]

Estimate vital area? Damn man. That part needs to be clear before you ever put your finger on the trigger.

I mean it is half standing behind a Christmas tree and you cant see its head or front leg. Not the basics of where you should aim for a textbook shot.

 

[bowieknife50]

I've got a friend didn't get started until he roomed with me in college, been hunting for 10 years and still doesn't have it. I believe my 2.5 yr old already does. I walked around the corner in my house today after not hearing him for a while and found this.

He never said a word and I've never talked to him about shooting from a concealed position but there he is set up with his toy lever action. From my experience a killer instinct can't be taught. People can absolutely hone their other skills and become very good hunters without it, but instincts are instincts.



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[JohnnyB]

In my opinion setting up for a shot is a learned skill and it is different based on terrain conditions and weapon choice. Practicing good technique before hunting can free up a lot of bandwidth for the things that follow.

My friend suggested that I bring my bow and range finder scouting and practice setting up on every doe we spotted. It really paid dividends later when it counted. I didn't need to think about the location of my range finder, drawing while kneeling or a host of other things that become second nature through repetitions.

I would try to spend time in the environment you are going to hunt (steep, grassy, snowy, etc.) and let her practice quietly setting up on rocks till it gets easier.

Or just be happy your wife hunts with you and enjoys the outdoors and let her put in the effort she wants without getting burned out! She already has harvested more elk than most...

 

[rayporter]

you can encourage and provide all the necessary opportunities but you can not make them want to.

 

[TREE ‘EM]

Spending 10 minutes per week year round dry firing and cycling the action while focusing on sight picture is incredibly helpful.

For live fire practice, cut out a life-size cardboard silhouette of the game animal you are hunting. Make a simple frame out of 1x4 and 1 x 6 pine boards that can be easily transported to the range. Buy a 10 inch steel gong to suspend behind the vital zone of your silhouette.
If you have the ability to set up the silhouette target in field conditions, there is even more benefit to this.

 

[2ski]

I don't know that any of what you asked about is the "killer instinct". The things you asked about are only learned from experience.

If your wife already goes with you and hikes that much without complaining, I would say she has a pretty great killer instinct.

Practice brainstorming scenarios with her. That's an underutilized tool in all areas of life. People practice the obvious..hiking and shooting. People dont practice the less obvious.

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[SoDaky]

Shoot,shoot,shoot.All positions,distances,different terrain,all weather.Time and practice.
Have her estimate distances whenever,wherever.Keep on with the time in the woods and the time talking together.
Keep it fun and challenging.

 

[Btaylor]

I will sort of piggyback off of what JohnnyB said above. The only way to get really good at killing is by killing. It is imo nearly equal parts learned experience and willingness to take life for food. Every hunter will eventually find their level in the process where they get all they want to get from a hunt, if she is there now great, if she wants to continue to learn and fine tune her skill that's great too. Your role is to read what and where she is in the curve and support her there.

 

[16Bore]

If it’s “her” hunt, stay outta the way and let her hunt.

Can’t google experience.

 

[2ski]

Just another thought man. If you want her to be where you are with your level of hunting and she's happy with where she's at, you dont want to ruin her joy for hunting. You may have to make a choice, is it more important to get her to where you are but risk turning her off. Or be happy she hunts with you and you take her limitations.

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[treillw]

Just another thought man. If you want her to be where you are with your level of hunting and she's happy with where she's at, you dont want to ruin her joy for hunting. You may have to make a choice, is it more important to get her to where you are but risk turning her off. Or be happy she hunts with you and you take her limitations.

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She wants to get better and likes my help and coaching. I'm not hitting any bee hives.... She's reading this thread too - she just doesn't care to have her own account on a hunting forum website and trusts me to give her guidance on what backpack would be good for her, etc.

The most frustrating thing for her was having the elk get away after we worked so hard to find and get on them.

 

[Idahomnts]

I’d say more time isn’t he woods with little pressure , definitely like said before don’t make it not fun and kill the fire , close encounters are fun and exciting , and all that frustration is just part of “the hunt”
Just be sure to invite her when possible and it’s not always the kill ,

 

[Btaylor]

The most frustrating thing for her was having the elk get away after we worked so hard to find and get on them.

No amount of reading and for that matter I am not sure if there is an amount of experience that will fix that. I've seen the quote a few places "The dictionary is the only place you will find success before work" and it is spot on. We all feel that same frustration but the more experience we get the easier it is to get past the feeling and look at the why we failed. Identifying and understanding the why is what will ultimately make a hunter lethal.

 

[16Bore]

Having game “get away” is part of the deal.

Not everyone gets a trophy, it ain’t Parks & Rec Basketball, and you ain’t entitled to Jack Schit.


It’s a dirty four-letter word called WORK

 

[KurtR]

experience and making mistakes so you know what to not do the next time. Hell i have killed a hole lot of stuff and i still get excited when it comes time to shoot. If i loose that its time to find some thing else to do.

 

[treillw]

Having game “get away” is part of the deal.

Not everyone gets a trophy, it ain’t Parks & Rec Basketball, and you ain’t entitled to Jack Schit.


It’s a dirty four-letter word called WORK

We've been working hard since September. One floor is 10 feet in elevation. Don't expect a consolation prize.

 

[Becca]

Some good thoughts here. I relate to what you are describing because I feel like I have just gotten better at the target acquisition and getting set up for the shot piece in the last few years. I didn't grow up hunting at all, and only fired a gun for the first time after I got married. Actually pulling the trigger is such a small portion of the time spent in the field (at least for me) that I found I got way better at the backpacking, camping, glassing and even butchering pieces of hunting than I did at actually killing things.

After a couple of negative experiences (either shots I couldn't get set up in time for, or poor shots that required tracking and follow up to actually kill the animal) I decided to spend more time shooting. I took my backpack to the shooting range, and spent a couple of afternoons practicing shooting from field positions. Prone, off my bino pouch, off my backpack, etc...anywhere but off the bench. people looked at me like I was crazy, but who cares? It did a lot to increase my confidence in the field. I also started doing this during downtime in the field. Practice finding a rock, stump or stick, range it and get set up with it in the scope. Then dry fire on it (or not, depending on the situation).

I'd have a chat with your wife too...if she feels like there's places SHE wants to improve, then the above are ideas that might help. If she is satisfied with her experience and time in the field, I'd probably let it go.

 

[BAKPAKR]

I think small game and varmint hunting helps a lot. I grew up hunting ground squirrels on my parents’ farm and in the local clear-cuts. If I was within 22 range when I saw one, there was a good chance it knew I was there and it was likely the ground squirrel wouldn’t be hanging around long. So I had to become quick on the trigger. I know that has helped me capitalize on shot opportunities on big game. I don’t think there is any substitute for practice on targets that can move/disappear.