By David E. Petzal - (Story Source: Field & Stream - March 2010)
In 2006, After two weeks of slogging through the bogs of Southern Alaska, I finally got a chance to drop the hammer on a bull moose. The enraged ungulate was approaching at a rapid trot. I was out in the open, and if I moved, he would see me. This meant that as he came abreast I would have to mount the rifle, aim, and get the shot off in the space of a second or two before he figured out that something was amiss, or amoose, as it were. I did, and he learned too late that the best-laid plans of moose and men gang aft agley.*
What's the Rush?
Sometimes you have to shoot fast. Not only that, but you have to be able to hit what you're shooting at. Guides and outfitters whine that far too many hunters these days are no more capable of getting off a fast, accurate shot that they are of flying. One outfitter told me, as he approached apoplexy, "You work your butt off to get them a perfectly easy offhand shot, and they look around for a benchrest."
In areas where the game population is hunted hard, or where you will have to shoot at close range, you had best fire right smartly. On the other hand, there are places where the critters are more curious than concerned about humans. If you're one of the growing number of nimrods who shoot at over 300 yards, you probably have time for a leisurely first shot and two or three more as well.
Get in Touch With Your Inner Earp
Wyatt Earp, who died in his bed at 80, summoned up the art of fast shooting to perfection. When you slap leather, he said, you get your revolver clear of the holster just as fast as you possibly can, but then you take your sweet time aiming.
Translated into rifle shooting, this means getting the gun to your shoulder quickly, with no wasted motion, all the while keeping your eyes on what you want to shoot. Remember that you don't yank the stock straight up; you bring it forward, up and back in a short semicircle.
When you gun is up and you are aiming, you have to make a fundamental decision: How much time do I have? Experienced hunters can judge by an animal's behavior whether they have no time at all, or five seconds, or five minutes. Whatever time they think they have, they will take all of it.
If you're not an experienced hunter, it's better to assume you have no more than three seconds. So, pick a spot on the critter, aim for it, and when the crosshairs are on it or close, pull the trigger. Do not keep aiming, hoping your sight picture will get better. It won't.
Practice Makes Perfect
I've said it before, and I will say it again (because, unfortunately, too many clods don't listen to me). Get to the range and burn some ammo. Doing so will at least keep you from making the following four mistakes:
- Finding out the hard way that you can't shoulder your rifle because what you are wearing is so thick you can't get the scope close enough to get a sight picture.
- Sighting in your rifle with the scope on 10x and leaving it there instead of cranking it down to 4x.
- Forgetting where your safety is, or how it works, or that you even have a safety.
- Keeping the rifle slung over your shoulder, or worse, across your back.
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