Freehand 50/50
#196841
12/30/2018 3:35 AM
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Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 212
bscott
OP
enthusiast
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OP
enthusiast
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 212 |
Took my first freehand shot in my handgun hunting career today. Please don't be deceived by the old cowboy flicks showing guys on their belly's shooting prone w/ 6 shooters shooting Indians off galloping horses. Really she had busted me so i dropped prone on my belly to hide myself for a shot. Well it was a 50/50 chance for me to score. So i let 1 fly and the rest is history. I hope i didn't offend anyone with the Indian comment. If did i will delete the post.
"THEY FALL LIKE DEAD WEIGHT!"
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Re: Freehand 50/50
[Re: bscott]
#196843
12/30/2018 11:39 AM
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Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 649
dhom
addict
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addict
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 649 |
I have been taken by surprise and had to shoot offhand. It seems no matter how much you plan stuff happens. Some years back when I first got my 475L, I got set up to be able to take a 270 degree shot. The deer didn't get my email. I had to take the shot offhand. Well, I generally loosen my grip a bit for offhand shooting. Needless to say the gun hit me between the eyes. The shot was great though and the deer was down.
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Re: Freehand 50/50
[Re: dhom]
#196844
12/30/2018 12:57 PM
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Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 300
MS Hitman
enthusiast
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enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 300 |
Just goes to show one needs to practice offhand and with shooting sticks or using available rests in the woods. Good on you for keeping your wits about you and getting off the shot.
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Re: Freehand 50/50
[Re: MS Hitman]
#196847
12/30/2018 6:54 PM
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 9,836
Whitworth
Shootist
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Shootist
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 9,836 |
Nicely done. You did what you had to do.
And this is precisely why I feel that using some of these "portable" rests, do a hunter much good from a skill standpoint. Allow me to explain. When you drag a scaled down facsimile of your bench out to the field, you may be increasing your chances, but you aren't increasing your skills. If all you do is treestand hunting, you will probably be okay. But it you mix it up, you might not be doing yourself any favors. This is why I think offhand practice is the most useful as it is often inevitable that you will end up taking an offhand shot. Or your follow-up shots will probably be offhand. When you get good offhand, everything else is really easy. I would implore everyone serious about handgun hunting to dedicate a good portion of your practice to shooting offhand.
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Re: Freehand 50/50
[Re: Whitworth]
#196848
12/30/2018 7:26 PM
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Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 212
bscott
OP
enthusiast
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OP
enthusiast
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 212 |
I had no rest for 1 moment i felt like Elmer Keith which i have much respect for.
Last edited by bscott; 12/30/2018 7:27 PM.
"THEY FALL LIKE DEAD WEIGHT!"
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Re: Freehand 50/50
[Re: Whitworth]
#196849
12/30/2018 7:41 PM
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Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 3,020
tradmark
Shooting Expert
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Shooting Expert
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 3,020 |
Nicely done. You did what you had to do.
And this is precisely why I feel that using some of these ?portable? rests, do a hunter much good from a skill standpoint. Allow me to explain. When you drag a scaled down facsimile of your bench out to the field, you may be increasing your chances, but you aren?t increasing your skills. If all you do is treestand hunting, you will probably be okay. But it you mix it up, you might not be doing yourself any favors. This is why I think offhand practice is the most useful as it is often inevitable that you will end up taking an offhand shot. Or your follow-up shots will probably be offhand. When you get good offhand, everything else is really easy. I would implore everyone serious about handgun hunting to dedicate a good portion of your practice to shooting offhand. You sound like lynn thompson. I listened to him speak on this years ago and It effected my hunting significantly in a good way. All but one of my african animals was off hand and half were on the move. It has helped my success immensely.
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Re: Freehand 50/50
[Re: tradmark]
#196850
12/30/2018 8:53 PM
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Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 9,715
jamesfromjersey
Shootist
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Shootist
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 9,715 |
you did just fine Brandon....
Life member-NRA-SCI Member-HHI #2900-HHASA #067 Colt-Ruger-Freedom Arms-and S&W Collector Assoc.s "I have more guns then I need but not as many as I want" "Handgun hunters HAVE to be good"
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Re: Freehand 50/50
[Re: jamesfromjersey]
#196851
12/30/2018 9:42 PM
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Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 523
Walkingthemup
addict
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addict
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 523 |
+1 to Doc and Max. Like many competition shooters, 99.9% of my shooting is at the range standing unsupported. While this certainly has given me confidence in shooting offhand, it also has a downside. It was only when I went to Africa that I was introduced to shooting sticks. I felt like a fish out of water. I had no idea how to use them properly. Nothing seemed natural and I didn't have a good understanding of how to adjust height or how the sticks could change point of impact.
The same could be said about using trees, packs and other rests.
It showed me the need to practice extensively using every position, aid and feature likely to be encountered when actually hunting.
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Re: Freehand 50/50
[Re: Walkingthemup]
#196852
12/30/2018 10:20 PM
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 9,836
Whitworth
Shootist
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Shootist
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 9,836 |
+1 to Doc and Max. Like many competition shooters, 99.9% of my shooting is at the range standing unsupported. While this certainly has given me confidence in shooting offhand, it also has a downside. It was only when I went to Africa that I was introduced to shooting sticks. I felt like a fish out of water. I had no idea how to use them properly. Nothing seemed natural and I didn't have a good understanding of how to adjust height or how the sticks could change point of impact.
The same could be said about using trees, packs and other rests.
It showed me the need to practice extensively using every position, aid and feature likely to be encountered when actually hunting. If you use the same grip tension whenever you shoot, your POI will not change appreciably irrespective of shooting position. I agree that sticks are not easy to shoot off.
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Re: Freehand 50/50
[Re: Whitworth]
#196853
12/30/2018 11:13 PM
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Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,048
wvhitman
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,048 |
I.ve come acclimated to the PSR on a Bog Pod. I practice this way. I shoot many groundhogs this way. I've taken all my "big game", but one, this way over the last 3 years. I've found one very important key is not to rest the butt of your gun on the PSR platform. I rest my left hand on the platform just a few inches and grip my gun the usual way with both hands. You can also put a very small sand bag under the grip. Otherwise you get a little bounce of the gun. The same thing can be done with the last generation of tripods with the short arm rest to put your right forearm on it. Almost as stable as the PRS. I've bugged the Bog Pod makers to reintroduce the PSR (since I just broke mine, and before). Maybe if others could chime in, it might help. I was forced to use "African" tripods early in my trips there. It was a total fiasco. With my PSR I've made shots out to 581. It adds another tool for the handgunner.
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Re: Freehand 50/50
[Re: wvhitman]
#196854
12/31/2018 12:35 AM
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Joined: May 2013
Posts: 1,596
racksmasher1
veteran
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veteran
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 1,596 |
You got it done,and that is what matters,this sport is not easy, handgun hunters do what they have to do, you made the shot !
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Re: Freehand 50/50
[Re: wvhitman]
#196855
12/31/2018 12:38 AM
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Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 3,020
tradmark
Shooting Expert
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Shooting Expert
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 3,020 |
Also, congrats. Good shooting and congrats. If anyone is offended by the indian comment you shouldnt be the one to apologize 👍
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Re: Freehand 50/50
[Re: wvhitman]
#196857
12/31/2018 2:09 AM
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Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 212
bscott
OP
enthusiast
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OP
enthusiast
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 212 |
So have I bugged PSR to bring the rest back. Deer caught me in stalk position so i did want was best for the matter at hand. I don't feel bad about the shot. Glad it was a clean miss
"THEY FALL LIKE DEAD WEIGHT!"
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Re: Freehand 50/50
[Re: bscott]
#196858
12/31/2018 3:02 AM
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Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 779
Okie Hunter
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 779 |
Congrats and good shooting.
With God all things are possible. Matt.19:26
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Re: Freehand 50/50
[Re: Okie Hunter]
#196860
12/31/2018 3:36 AM
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Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 525
Brenden
addict
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addict
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 525 |
Off hand is tough. I've made a couple off hand shots, but I also completely missed a big doe at 50 yards a couple weeks ago. Had snow on the ground, plenty of light behind me to see the sights. No excuse other than I haven't had time to practice much this year. Like you, I was thankful for a clean miss.
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Re: Freehand 50/50
[Re: bscott]
#196866
12/31/2018 7:05 AM
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Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 3,020
tradmark
Shooting Expert
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Shooting Expert
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 3,020 |
So have I bugged PSR to bring the rest back. Deer caught me in stalk position so i did want was best for the matter at hand. I don't feel bad about the shot. Glad it was a clean miss I repeat my congrats. 2 good outcomes and one poor one. You got one of the good ones, though not perhaps the best of the two.
Last edited by tradmark; 12/31/2018 7:06 AM.
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Re: Freehand 50/50
[Re: tradmark]
#196869
12/31/2018 12:16 PM
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Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 212
bscott
OP
enthusiast
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OP
enthusiast
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 212 |
I humbly respect your evaluation
"THEY FALL LIKE DEAD WEIGHT!"
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Re: Freehand 50/50
[Re: wvhitman]
#197159
01/17/2019 3:45 AM
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Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 212
bscott
OP
enthusiast
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OP
enthusiast
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 212 |
All fellas I got 1 freehand 45 yards in the woods freehand from a 20 foot ladderstand that's 2x too small to fit. It was cold this particular morning so I had to bundle up.
"THEY FALL LIKE DEAD WEIGHT!"
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