I recently replaced the scope on my deer rifle and went to the range to sight it in and practice before hunting season. It seems like I am constantly tinkering with different guns and scopes, so this trip to the range was pretty routine. But it took a couple wrong turns and reminded me to focus on the basics, double check things, and always strive to improve my shooting.
I made a mistake bore sighting the scope and ended up shooting completely off the target at 50 yards. Moving to 25 yards, I found the rifle was shooting about 8 inches high because when bore sighting, I aligned the cross hairs with laser dot rather than 1.5 inches above it. It was a rookie mistake, and it took more shots than normal to even hit the target at 100 yards.
I tried to fine tune the rifle at 100 yards, but managed to crank my scope in the wrong direction. When the shots didn’t hit where I expected, I started second guessing myself and making excuses. I must have flinched, or the barrel over heated. Nope, it was another case of mental error.
I stepped away, readjusted my scope, settled down and took slow, methodical shots, and they fell into place. It took me longer to sight in than it should have because I failed at some basics, but I gained confidence in my rifle and scope.
The second phase of hunting practice is stepping away from the bench rest because I’ve yet to shoot a deer from one. I also swap paper targets for steel ones. They’re great hunting practice because I can instantly hear when I hit (or miss), and I don’t obsess over group sizes. It’s a pass/fail exercise.
I practice from different shooting positions and with the same things I use when hunting, such as a sling for added stability and my hunting backpack for a rest. I typically practice by shooting several steel targets (similar or smaller sizes than the vitals of a deer) at between 75 and 150 yards because that’s where I take the majority of my shots, and I rarely practice beyond 350 yards with a hunting rifle.
I also practice at minimizing the time it takes to get on target and get an accurate shot off because I know I won’t have the luxury of unlimited time to fire when hunting. Shooting quickly and accurately is a different skill set than shooting slow, deliberate groups from a bench rest.
I have experience shooting at long ranges, and I have occasionally hit steel targets at 1,000 yards. I also own a rifle specifically for that purpose. I routinely shoot between 500 yards and 1,000 yards with it, but I wouldn’t consider those distances when hunting. I rely on my hunting skills to get closer rather than my shooting skills to close the gap so I don’t risk wounding an animal.
Long-range shooting is a fun hobby and an excellent way to hone my shooting skills, but I limit those shots to steel targets at the shooting range. When hunting, closer is better.
Here's a directory of shooting ranges in Idaho.