With longer range hunting getting more and more popular there are ton of everyday shooters that decide to buy a magnumn cartridge and are set on the idea of killing something at 1000yds. I feel these hunters need to have a bit of guidance when venturing into this realm. Its time we set a few rules for it. Not laws, but general "rules". These should be similar the 4 rules of safe firearms safety where they are all a great idea and we need to break at least 2 of them to have a real issue.
Firearm Safety rules 1 – Treat Every Firearm as if it is Loaded 2 – Always Keep the Muzzle Pointed in a Safe Direction 3 – Keep Your Finger Off the Trigger Until Ready to Shoot 4 – Know Your Target and What’s Beyond It
These rules do not limit what a person can do, but will set shooters and hunter up for better and safer success. Maybe long(er) range hunting should have a few of the same rules or guidelines. These are mostly meant for shooters that are not used to longer range hunting or shooting to use.
Here are the 5 rules I came up with. Do you think these work? should they be different? Lets chat about it.
1. Get Closer if you can.
2. Practice 2x farther than you plan to attempt shooting.
3. Only attempt high Confidence shots.
4. Know your target and what's beyond it.
5. Get Closer if you can (a second time)
I repeat the first one a 2nd time because I think that one is important.
1. Get closer if you can.
If you can get 50, 100, 300yards (or more) closer and still make the shot your should try to do that. The closer we are to our target the higher chance we will make the perfect shot.
2. Practice 2x farther than your plan to attempt shooting.
We need to know, with certainty, our ballistic solutions and shooting skills are up to the task. Practicing at twice the distance will create a higher chance we will make the perfect shot. Doing this will also set your personal limits.
3. Only attempt High Confidence shots.
Distance, Wind, Environment, Shooting position and Animal position all affect the confidence of a shot. A shooter/hunter needs to know thier limitation and what things effect thier ability to make a long rang attempt. A long range opportunity in high winds vs low winds is a very different situation. A day with high wind should reduce the range you are willing to attempt shot. Another situation might be If you are ready to shoot but cannot build a comfortable shooting position with acceptable reticle wobble, maybe we should not execute that shot.
4. Know your Target and what is Beyond it.
The shooter is responsible for the bullet until it come to a complete stop. While hunting it is easy to forget to assess the backstop for our bullet in the heat of the moment. Knowing your back stop needs to be a part of your shooting process.
What do you think of these general rules? Do you abide by them? do you think there should be additions? Are these to strict?Thanks.
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