Rifles: Choosing the right weapon and ammunition can make your hunt much more enjoyable, and can really boost your odds for success. When selecting a rifle, you should consider how it fits, the sights, how heavy it is, plus its action and caliber. A properly fitting gun will help you fire a more accurate shot. A stock that is too long will get caught in your armpit if your wearing a thick jacket. If the stock is too short the scope may strike your eyebrow, giving you what's known as "scope bite."
Stock lengths can vary greatly among the different rifle models. A gunsmith can easily change the length of the stock for you if needed. Another downfall to an iproper fit is the amount of drop you will encounter. When you have your cheek pressed firmly against the stock of the rifle, your shooting eye should line up with the sites. Too much drop will prevent you from placing your cheek against the stock, and the recoil could cause the stock to slam against your cheekbone. Ouch!
If you hunt in heavy brush where you must use short sights, you should buy a low power scope or a peep sight that has a large aperture. Either one can be aimed quickly and very accurately. Variable power scopes within the ranges of 1.5x to 7x are ideal for this purpose. Open sights, which are the standard on most rifles are difficult to line up quickly and accurately.
Another consideration is the weight of the rifle. Most rifles used for hunting weigh between six and nine pounds. Lighter guns are much more comfortable to carry, and the heavier guns kick less. The heavy rifles are easier to hold steady and are better for stand hunting and long range shots. It is recommended that you use a sling to tote your rifle when you are not hunting.
The action you choose will depend much on your need for a quick second shot, accuracy plus your personal preferences. Keep in mind not all calibers are available in each type of action. Actions can range from sturdy single shots to reliable and accurate bolt actions, to fast shooting lever actions, pumps and semi automatics. If you will be hunting in sub-zero climate you should remove all dirt and oil from the gun's action because the oil will thicken and may cause your gun to jam. Most actions will function fine without oil for short periods of time. If you do a lot of shooting in very cold climates, you may want to consider using a graphite lubricant.
Important: When hunting whitetails, your cartridge should deliver at least 900 foot-pounds of energy at the point of impact for a clean kill. Most states have laws that specify minimum cartridge specifications for white- tail hunting. Medium calibur, high velocity cartridges are the best choice for deer hunting. .30-06 Springfield, .308 Winchester, .270 Winchester, and 7mm Remington Magnum are ideal cartridges for making clean kills when used at optimum ranges.
Shotguns: Shotguns and slugs are commonly used for deer hunting in densely populated areas, many states don't allow rifle hunting. Some of of southern states permit you to use shotguns with buckshot. The ideal shotgun for deer hunting is one that has a rifled barrel and special sights. Rifled barrels shoot slugs more accurately than do smoothbores. Rifling causes the slugs to spin and stabilize, allowing shots at deer up to 100 yards away. Slug guns and ammunition are available in all of the popular guages. The 12 gauge is the most widely used. You should NEVER use anything less than a 20 gauge for deer hunting.
Muzzleloaders: Using a "smokepole," you better make that first shot count or you'll be out of luck. Most muzzleloaders can only fire one shot, and take too long to reload, but some are accurate to about 125 yards. Many states have muzzleloader seasons, which allow you to extend your time on the field. Hunters can choose between caplocks and flintlocks. Many hunters prefer flintlocks, but caplocks are less likely to misfire. Most hunters prefer the .50 or .54 calibers. With muzzleloaders, you have your choice of round balls, conical bullets and pistol bullets. Check with your state laws, many states only allow the round balls for muzzleloading.
Handguns: Handguns, while not always the most accurate and powerful weapons, do present a challenge for hunters. You must be an expert marksman and should realize the limitations of handguns when shooting at deer. The best handguns to use are the long-barreled bolt action or break action single shots that are chambered for rifle cartridges such as the .30-30 and .35 Remington. Becoming an expert pistol shots requires a great deal of practice and patience. To improve the accuracy of your
handgun, you should consider purchasing a 1x to 4x scope if it is legal in your area.
Bow and Arrows: Bowhunting, while certainly not the easiest method of hunting, provide longer seasons for deer hunting. It is a real challenge for a hunter to bring down a trophy kill with a bow and arrow. The most commonly used bow today is the compound bow. Compounds use cams and pulleys to provide more power and speed to the arrows. A bows draw weight must meet your state's legal minimum. This is usually in the range of 35 to 45 pounds, but you may want to check to be safe. Despite the popularity of compound bows, several hunters still prefer to use the traditional bow. The traditional bow, which of course doesn't deliver as much power, is a real challenge.
Shot Placement
With a little luck, you might get one or two "perfect" shots in a lifetime. Ideally, the animal would be in the open, and standing broadside at close range. But more likely, you'll have to shoot while the target is partially blocked by vegetation, and moving at a less than ideal angle.
There are 7 basic types of shot placement:
BROADSIDE. With 100 percent of the heart-lung area exposed, you have a target roughly the size of an 8 inch paper plate, with additional room for error.
QUARTERING TOWARD. About 65 percent of the heart-lung area is exposed. Aim for the near shoulder. Don't try this shot with a bow, you'll most likely hit the shoulder bone if you do.
QUARTERING AWAY. About 60 percent of the heart-lung area is exposed. To hit the vitals, aim along an imaginary lnie through the deer's far shoulder.
HEAD-ON. With only 35 percent of the heart-lung area exposed, this shot is too risky for archers. Gun hunters should take it ony if the deer is about to bolt.
WALKING AWAY. About 45 percent of the heart-lung area is exposed. The tendency is to shoot too far forward; aim along an imaginary line exiting between the deer's legs.
QUARTERING TOWARD. About 55 percent of the heart-lung area is exposed, but it is protected by the shoulder bone, and the deer will probably see you move as you prepare to shoot.
QUARTERING AWAY. About 55 percent of the heart-lung area is exposed. You should aim along an imaginary line exiting low on the far shoulder. The deer is not likely to see your movement.
Up and Down Shooting
When you shoot uphill, you aim over the target, and if the target is downhill, you hold low. Or is it the other way around? Or does it make any difference? Shooters love to argue this, but seldom do we hear a convincing argument or explanation. The answer is easy once you understand the principle. Before getting into reasons why, let me promise you that the point of aim does indeed change if you shoot at a target either above or below you. Also, as the uphill or downhill angle increases, so does on-target bullet displacement.
Let's say you're going after a mountain goat with your new rifle in .270 Winchester caliber. You adjust the riflescope so that the bullet hits dead center at 200 yards. This means that the point of impact is 1 1/2 inches high at 100 yards, about 6 1/2 inches low at 300 yards and 19 1/2 inches low at 400 yards. In the mountains, you get a shot at a big billy at what you and your guide estimate to be close to 400 yards. It's a longish shot, but you roll your down vest into a rifle cushion and, taking a solid rest, settle the crosshairs a few inches over the goat's back. Allowing for the 19 1/2 inch drop at 400 yards, you hold high and figure that the bullet's trajectory will curve right into the goat's boiler room. But you have forgotten something.
The goat is 45 degrees above you. What a difference will that make in the bullet's flight in respect to the line of sight? Do you need to aim higher, perhaps? Or lower?
If you aimed at the goat the same way that you would over level ground, the old billy would live to see another winter because the bullet would zip harmlessly over its back. At an upward angle of 45 degrees, the bullet would only fall 8 1/2 inches in respect to line of sight, less than half as much as it would drop when shot horizontally. Exacly the same would be true if you were shooting downhill at a 45 degree angle.
By now, we're very much aware that gravity causes the path of the bullet to curve downward. But let's put gravity to work another way. Imagine, if you will, a rifle held perfectly perpendicular so that when it is fired, the bullet goes straight up. If there were no wind or other variables to disturb the bullet's flight, the projectile would go straight up until it ran out of momenum. Then, gravity would pull it straight back down again, base first.
Here's where you need to use your imagination. This time, we'll tilt the rifle slightly, say 1 degree off plumb. This time, the bullet's flight is almost straight, but not quite. As it nears the apex of its trip, it begins to curve ever so slightly. So, let's keep shooting (and using our imaginations). Each time we fire, we tilt the muzzle another degree from the vertical, and the bullet path of each succeeding shot is progressively more curved. At last, we come to 90 degrees (horizontal), and the bullet follows its normal curved trajectory.
By now, I'm sure that you're getting the picture. we know that our logic is sound, but it must be demonstrated. How? Let's use an ordinary fly rod- the one you take trout fishing! Assuming that the rod is not warped, set the butt on the ground and hold the rod vertically. It remains perfectly straight. Now, holding it by the grip, lower it horizontally. See how it curves downward? (If it is too stiff to bend very much, attach a weight to the tip.) Now, slowly angling the rod from the vertical to dead level, note how gravity causes the curve to increase as the angle nears the horizontal.
Now, let's get down to basics. Realizing that shooting uphill or downhill causes the bullet to strike higher than it would on the horizontal, in respect to point of aim, how can we judge where to aim? The easiest way is to use a cartridge with a flat trajectory. Obviously, if a bullet has a relatively little cuve in its trajectory, that curve will be less affected by variations in shooting angle. For example, let's compare two cartridges with widely different trajectories. One is a 7mm Magnum with a 145-grain pointed bullet loaded to 3,100 fps. The other is a .30/30 Winchester with a 150-grain flat-nose slug loaded to 2,100 fps. Both rifles are scope-sighted, with the scopes 1 1/2 inches above the bore centers, and both are sighted in at 200 yards.
Changing the angle form horizontal to 45 degrees but still shooting at 200 yards, the 7mm Magnum hits 2 32/100 inches above the point of aim, and the .30/30 is all of 5 65/100 inches high. Now you see why a cartridge with a flat trajectory elimnates some of the guesswork when shooting uphill or downhill.
Another way of "guesstimating" where to hold on angle shots is my rule of thumb. For many years, I've reasoned that a bullet fired at an upward or downward angle will hit very close to where it would hit if fired over the horizontal leg of the angle-the horizontal distance to a vertical line running through the target.
A triangle is formed by the horizontal line, the steep (angled) line from rifle to target, and the vertical line from the horizontal distance up to the target. In any such triangle, the horizontal line is shorter than the uphill (or downhill) line. Gravity affects the bullet's flight only for as long as the projectile is in the air - along the shorter, horizontal line.
Ballistics Table
|
|
|
