Successful Hunting, Getting to Know Your Weapon
As someone that has hunted in some form or fashion for most of my life, I have always had a variety of weapons in my hunting room. I have had rifles, bows, muzzleloaders, shotguns with the various optics and aiming systems to go with them. The success I have had with each of these has varied over the years. Most of the time if I am not able to make a shot I can conveniently blame the weather, or the distance of the shot, or many other excuses that I can think of. Regardless of my excuses, many times the reason I miss the shot is because I am simply not used to the weapon I am using.
To some this may sound foolish, but realistically every gun shoots differently as well as every bow. A good example of this would be my old Winchester rifle that I have had for years. It has a wide stock with a built in cheek rest on the side. When I pull this rifle up to a shooting position on my shoulder, it takes less than a second to see directly down the rifle scope to locate my target. I have also used this rifle for years so when the time comes to perform this action, I do not even think about it, as it is almost second nature. On the other hand, I have also purchased a Kimber short mag rifle that I wanted to use for elk hunting. The stock on this rifle is much thinner without the cheek rest and for that reason takes me a bit longer to line up. This may not seem like a big deal, but when you are out in the field and every second counts, it can be a huge deal.
The same can be said with a bow although it usually is not the bow itself, but rather the changing of trigger pulls or sighting pins. I know for me I began shooting my bow in the early 80’s, before the revolution of trigger pulls and such. I was so used to pulling the bow string with my fingers and anchoring with my thumb on my earlobe, that when I finally gave in and purchased a trigger pull, it took me six months to finally get used to the change.
Both of these examples are just a scratch on the surface of the challenges hunters face when hunting with a new weapon or with new optics. With the technology of optics and weapons changing on practically a daily basis anymore, the only solution for hunters that wish to keep up is lots of practice time.
Before going to the range and burning through about a hundred dollars worth of bullets though, I suggest that perhaps the solution can be simpler. The problem is not the shot but the preparation for the shot, the aiming in particular. So before going to the range, I spend some time getting to know the weapon by incorporating it into a daily workout. I will take a new rifle or an old rifle with a new rifle scope and practice pulling it up and aiming as quickly as possible. I also do the same thing with a bow or a shotgun, as this allows me to adjust how I hold the weapon without actually firing it. By doing this a few time a day you will eventually find that the aiming get quicker and easier regardless of the weapon and you will be ready when that moment of truth in the field comes.