Sighting in that favorite Deer Rifle

Sighting In

It is absolutely necessary to sight in your deer rifle before you go hunting. You owe it to the deer to make certain your rifle shoots where you point it. Even if you just bought a rifle and the store bore-sighted the gun with a collimator, you still need to shoot it and fine-tune the point of impact. Bore-sighting can be precise and can make a rifle shoot close enough to hit a paper target at 25 yards, but it’s not meant to be a substitute for sighting in the rifle on a range.

Twenty-five yards is where you should start shooting when you take a new rifle to the range. You can get a friend to sight in your rifle for you, but I do not recommend doing so. You need to know how to make adjustments to your sights, no matter if you shoot a scope or open sights.

If your sights get knocked off while you’re hunting, you’ll have to resight the rifle yourself, and you need to know how it works. Besides, the more you shoot your rifle at targets, the more likely you are to make an accurate shot on a deer.

Take your rifle to a range where you have a solid bench to shoot from. Use sand bags to create a solid rifle rest.

Most popular deer rifles that shoot slightly low at 25 yards will be about 2 inches high at 100 yards. Hunters who take shots out to 200 or 300 yards usually sight in a little high at 100 yards. If you never take a shot beyond 100 yards, sight in to be dead on at that distance.

Any time you put a rifle on an airplane, you should shoot it at a target before you hunt. For that matter, you should fire at a target every now and then throughout the hunting season.

Once sighted in, most hunting rifles are very reliable, but even the most accurate rifle can be “off” if it’s knocked around enough.

–Jackie Bushman

Ballistics Don’t Have to be Complicated

I like to study ballistics charts because they help me fully understand what my ammunition will do at varying ranges. Most ballistics charts show bullet drop out to 500 yards and include information about crosswind drift.

Such detailed information is extremely helpful, especially if you’re used to hunting where shots are close and you are planning a hunting trip to somewhere with wide-open spaces. Modern rifles and bullets will do their job at very long distances, but only if you know where to hold so the bullet hits the target.

Studying a ballistics chart also will help you in selecting a bullet design and weight. It can likewise help you determine what caliber gun will work best for your style of hunting.

For example, the .35 Remington, a popular caliber for deer hunters in thick woods, works just fine in close quarters. If you have to make a 400-yard shot with a .35-caliber rifle sighted dead on at 200 yards, however, you’d have to hold 70 inches above the target! I don’t know many hunters who can make that shot ethically.

A ballistics chart allows you to compare calibers and loads to help you make decisions regarding various hunting conditions.

Once I have made a decision on caliber and load, I study the table for bullet drop like I’m preparing for a test so I know where to hold in different yardage situations. If you have trouble remembering numbers, you can even write the drop figures/yardages on a piece of paper, laminate it and tape it to your rifle stock. If the deer is several hundred yards away, you’ll probably have time to consult the chart — and you’ll be glad you did when you make a nice, clean shot!

–Jackie Bushman of Buckmasters

Get to know your Animal Tracks

 

On the Right Track

As simple as it sounds, every deer hunter should study whitetail tracks. In fact, it’s good to learn to identify all the tracks you see in the woods, from turkeys to bears. It makes the time you spend in the woods more interesting.

It happens all too often — we want to hunt a particular area so badly that we falsely believe we can overcome the weaknesses of the possible setups and shrug off the little voice that tells us we’re going to get “busted” if we hunt there.

You can’t always tell a buck track from a doe track, but there are clues. If the track has a lot of depth to it and it’s not spread out like the deer’s been running, there’s a good chance it’s a pretty big buck.

Bucks tend to drag their feet more than does, and they particularly do so during the rut. Bucks tend to run with a peculiar gait during the rut. Their hooves are usually more rounded at the tips from this dragging, and from the weight of their heavy front shoulders and rack.

When you hunt deer in fresh snow, tracks are easier to read. Bucks tend to drag their feet more than does, and they particularly do so during the rut. If you’ve watched a buck chasing a doe, you know they run with a peculiar gait that you don’t see at other times.

 

Tip courtesy of Buckmaster:

 

 

Fix Wavy Vanes Without Refletching

Fix Wavy Vanes Without Refletching

Plastic vanes are great, but one of their drawbacks is the tendency become wavy if the fletchings are coming in contact with your rest, or if you shoot through your target. While it’s good to know if your fletchings are coming in contact with your rest, it’s also a pain to have to refletch every time you get a wavy vane.

Believe it or not, these wavy vanes often can be straightened with a hot hair dryer. Put a hair dryer on its hottest setting and heat up your wavy vanes. Often they will straighten up in the hot air and be good as new.

Tip courtesy of Buckmasters:

 

 

Don’t Give Up On A Good Scrape

Most hunters like to hunt near fresh buck sign, and what could be better than a hot scrape? Unfortunately, hunting a scrape can be a real hit-or-miss proposition. After all, it’s a good possibility that the buck is checking/refreshing its scrapes at night. Rather than spending day after unproductive day on stand or (and more likely) spending one or two days and then giving up and moving somewhere else, get into the buck’s head.

Help the buck make that daylight mistake by juicing up the scrape and staying with it. Sprinkle in some buck urine and some hot doe pee as well. Make him think he’s really missing something throughout the day. Watch the scrape carefully to make sure the buck is still refreshing it. If he’s not, then it’s time to move.

Choosing the Right Shotgun this Turkey Season

* Make sure the shotgun fits you. There is no sure way to determine gun fit other than seeing a firearms expert. To ensure that your gun fits, pull the gun to your shoulder (with the muzzle pointed in a safe direction, of course). Ask yourself the following questions. Does it swing into place without extra movement or effort? Does the weight feel comfortable? Try adjusting the placement of your forward hand. Can you hold the shotgun steady for a given amount of time? Can you comfortably carry the shotgun for long distances? You should be able to answer “yes” to all of these questions. All these variables play a role in determining gun fit for turkey hunting.

Tip courtesy of “The National Wild Turkey Federation”

Recoil, It doesn’t have to be as painful as you might think.

Recoil, this is something that has always been in the back of my mind especially as we get older. I for one sometimes will feel the recoil for quite awhile afterwards and it does catch up with you so here are some tips from Federal Premium Ammunition that was posted at Buckmasters that are very helpful and informative.

The amount of recoil you feel on your shoulder depends on three basic factors: the weight of the bullet, the velocity of the round and the weight of your gun. Choose a load that fits the weather you’ll be hunting in (thickness of clothing) and maximizes your chances of making an effective kill. Big magnum cartridges aren’t for everyone.

Make sure you test a few loads before taking to the field. Starting at the range will give you an idea of your tolerance for recoil. If you’re flinching and not putting shots on target consistently, it’s time to downsize, add a recoil pad or wear a thick jacket. Federal offers Fusion Lite for effectiveness on game to 200 yards without shoulder punishment.

– From Federal Premium Ammunition

Save a Button Buck

courtesy of Buckmasters:

Deer hunters are becoming more aware of the need to keep buck-to-doe ratios in proper balance. In many areas of the country, that means targeting does for harvest. Many states are extending seasons for does or even creating new hunting opportunities for antlerless deer. With the goal being increased doe harvests, how can we as hunters be sure we’re taking a doe and not a button buck?

While it is just about impossible to be 100 percent sure, there are some simple things you can do that will tip the odds dramatically in your favor.

The first and most simple thing is to take a good look at a deer before you pull the trigger. That is the safe, smart and ethical thing to do anyway. Take a good look at a deer’s head and check for those tell-tale bumps.

Next, avoid taking lone deer. Even veteran hunters can’t always judge the size of a solitary deer at distances more than 30 yards. Wait until you see several deer together and pick out a mature doe.

Lastly, take a look at the deer’s face. A mature doe has a long face and snout; younger deer will most often have a pudgy, short look to their faces.

Backpacks or Fanny packs can keep all your gear in one place

When I go out hunting I like to carry a backpack for one reason and that is I don’t like to be held down with full pockets. My backpack carries everything you can think of and once on stand you can hang it from a limb out of the way. Here are just a few things that I bring along with me,1. water

2. lunch

3. knife

4. extra gloves

5. ammunition

6. orange raincoat

7. cell phone

8. drag rope

9. mini mag flashlight

10. extra hand warmers

11. orange surveying tape for marking a blood trail

12. disposable camera

The list can go on and on. It is easier than filling all your pockets and can be hung out of the way till you need it.

Clearing Trails and Shooting Lanes before your Season

I realized I hadn’t posted a tip in awhile so here is one for you to think about although it might be a little late for some because your season has started already but, for like me I still have two weeks to go.

Clearing your trail in and out is important so as not to spook deer while you are heading to your stand, and while leaving your stand. I will be going out in a few days to mark sections of trails that I will be using because in the dark these trails in certain places are not easy to see, even with a flashlight. I will trim certain spots which will help keep the noise to a minimum hopefully. Once I get my trails trimmed and marked than I will concentrate on my stand location. One other thing to keep in mind when you are making trails is you need to have at least two different trails to the same location because of the wind. If you can’t use one trail maybe you can use the other.

After you have pick a tree to use you need to clear yourself a couple of shooting lanes that you think the deer will be going through. Don’t cut to much, the more you cut and trim the more the deer will notice. I will usually try to trim at least three different shooting lanes but two will work nicely if placed in the right spots.

If you are using a fixed position stand than limbs are not really going to be a problem for you. They will act as steps and also breakup your outline. You will need to maybe trim a couple around where you sit, especially if you are bow hunting. If you are using a climber like I am you need to pick a straight tree without limbs. You will also need to have some sort of cover near you to break up your outline. The particular tree I am using is actually in a small group of trees on the edge of a dried up pond. I will be on the opposite side of the tree facing out so I should be hidden from the pond side and outside the pond I will have the other tree’s in that group to hide me. I should still be able to look all around and pick my lanes.

All this trimming and stuff should be done as early as possible before you even start to hunt but we all know things happen and sometimes you do not have that choice. To minimize noise and your scent while trimming and setting up so close to your season I would recommend doing it on a rainy day. Any movement is very quiet do to everything being wet and as far as your scent, any you leave will wash away with rain and air currents will not move them they will generally fall to the ground.

Trim and setup what you have to and quietly leave for awhile to give the area a chance to calm down. For me it will have a week and a half before I go back to hunt.

Good Luck and Happy Hunting! ” remember to respect the environment and it’s wildlife “

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