lswoody

There's alot of articles and most of the pros say staying familiar with your gun and shooting it alot and at different distances will up your chances for successwhen your deer or deerspresent a shot. I don't doubt any of it, but, I just can't afford to shoot alot like I really need to. AndI don't have readily access to shoot on land on a regular basis that is much more than 100 yds. or so. Some of my hunting land has places on it for 300 yd. shots or better but the owner's have cows and for me to go and shoot a couple of boxes every so often at different distancesmightkeep me from getting a permit. I've never shot at anything over 240 yds. and don't plan to. But I would like to know that I could do a 300 yd. shot if I had it present itself. Now I do just use one rifle and have had it for over 16 yrs. and have taken lots of deer with it. But I have missed my share of them too. Most of the misses were less than 60 yds. I think mainly because I got excited and rushed shots. What could I do to stay more familiar with my gun without having to spend hundreds of dollars on ammo through out the yr. Some can afford to practice like that but I'm like alot of hunters out there, I make less than 50 grand a year, have house payment, car payment, wife, 3 kids, etc. etc. Thanks, Scott Woody

PA Bow/Flinter

One idea that you could try is getting snap caps for your rifle. That way you could just pull the rifle out when you had a spare moment, and work on your breath control, squeezing the trigger, and follow through. Without even firing a single bullet you would have improved your chances because you have now become closer to your gun being an extension of your own body. Also you could work on raising the rilfe up and aquiring a target as fast as possible. That will also help you to become one with your gun.

Hunter06FlKy

yeah like .308 said get a set of snap caps and just practice breathing and taking in the trigger and such. also you might try going to the would with the rifle with snap caps and practice walking around and then pick something and practice getting a solid rest and taking you time with the shot but not too long. also if you get a .22 i've learned that plinking and small game hunting can be extremely helpful when shooting large game and it doesn't cost very much.

Wingbone

I'd recommend getting a cheap Lee loader or used reloading outfit. It'll allow you to shoot more, cheaper. If you're buying your ammo by the box, it's expensive to shoot. Or shoot a .22. You've got to go through the aiming andfiring process enough so that it becomes hard-wired into you.It has to beso automatic and instinctive that even under stress, you follow the process.

stubblejumper

22's or air rifles provide cheap practise for the closer shots.For longer distances shoot more often but shoot less per trip.I believe that you are better off shooting five rounds four times at various distances,that shooting twenty rounds at once.After all,you are certainly not going to shoot twenty rounds at a time while hunting.

Ken B

another vote for dry firing. I do it with my main deer rifle about once per week in off season, since I can only get to the range once per month or so during the spring with my job. I do it with my main pistol too since I shoot competition when i can.

on a side note, when I enlisted in the USMC in '85, a large part of our range regime was getting into position and dry firing, working on trigger control, sight alignment and breathing.

Ken B

T-bird

Hey Scott -- I vote with wingbone. You can usually find a used reloader at the pawn shop fairly cheap. It's a lot of fun to learn and a heck of a lot cheaper than buying factory fodder.

For practice places, you might contact your local police or sherriff's department. Most of them have ranges, and like ours, many are made available to the public at specific times or with the right contacts. If they don't have a range or it isn't made public, your local sporting good store may have some info on one that is, or you can check with the NRA - they list stuff like that near the back of their American Hunter and American Rifleman magazines.

Good luck!

lswoody

Thanks for the suggestions guys. This has helped alot, Thanks, Scott Woody

RedAllison

I agree with all the above, "snap cappin" works great (and you can simply use fired cases, a spent primer will work for several "shots") and perhaps THE most effective practice IS a scoped 22 and alot of time and rounds. Also, have you considered a scoped air rifle and indoor practice? You don't want anything expensive or really powerful, a $20 Wallyworld special with a cheap lil airgun scope can be shot down a hallway or in a gameroom and is GREAT practice and fun for both you and your family (once you convince the wife that you are not going to "shoot up the joint").

It's all about "bio-mechanical memory" which only comes with practice, practice, practice,
RA

retrieverman

I understand your position and, yes, target practice can get expensive, but I don't think there is any real substitute to pulling the trigger using live ammo at an actual target. I also don't see reloading as a real cost saver. I don't reload for rifle or pistol but used to for shotgun, and I finally quit because the components got to a point that "production shells" were almost as cheap. This may not be the case with rifle ammo, but I would research it before buying the first piece of equipment.

I am fortunate to have a range within 35 miles of my house and have driven to it to onlyfire 5 shots just to stay "fresh". This is not that costly and does keeps me in practice during the off-season. In my case, I usually take more than one gun and my sons to let them shoot too.

Another way I keep my cost of shooting down is to shop for ammo. I buy alot of my ammo from online or mail order places likeNatchez Shooter Supply when they have sales. The only consideration to ordering ammo is the$20 hazmat fee that will be included,but if you buy enough, the fee averages out minimally per box.