Archive for the ‘Small game hunting’ Category

For accuracy, function follows form

Tuesday, October 6th, 2009

I hope all you archers out there are having a good early deer seaso1n. The first parts of the deer gun season will be here before you know it, and fall turkey season is less than a week away.

We’ll all be out in the woods doing our thing before long.

As everyone hits the woods, both bow and gun hunters should be very mindful of accuracy. And I am convinced that accuracy, my friends, has as much to do with your feet, hips and spine as it does your trigger finger and eye.

Think about how you shoot at the range. Not counting sandbag time for sighting in a firearm, do you fire most shots from a standing position, with feet evenly planted, back straight and upper body aligned to support the rifle or bow? Do you occasionally kneel, sit or go prone? If so, how often?

And just how often do you find yourself shooting from those exact positions in the field?

Photo by Matt Cunningham

Photo by Matt Cunningham

The last thing you’re going to find in the field (unless you’re very fortunate) is a flat, even spot where you can shoot across 50 yards of cut grass at a deer standing broadside. More likely, you’ll find yourself crouched under a tree or twisted at an odd angle in a treestand. How do a kinked spine and hunched shoulders affect your release or trigger pull? It probably doesn’t help.

There are two practice tips I use to overcome odd shot angles: First, replicate the situations you’ll face in the field. Put a block, gun case or the like under one foot and shoot standing (stick it under the rear foot for more challenge). Better yet, sit in the most awkward position you can imagine encountering in the field, and see what it does to your aim. Make notes on how you adjust.

The second technique is more of a mental trick. When shooting gun or bow, I pay close attention to what’s going on inside my body. What muscles are tight, strained or loose? How are my bones aligned? I remember these alignments when I make a good shot, and try to replicate as many of them as I can in the field. For the bow, this means bending at the hips to angle up or down so that my shoulders stay perpendicular to a straight spine. For the rifle, this means shifting my lower body to follow a moving target, rather than twisting at the waist.

Play with this second concept at the range. When you make a good shot, hold your form for a second and take a quick inventory of what’s tight, what’s loose, and generally where your body parts are in relation to each other. With a few hours of practice, you’ll find similar alignment of head, back and shoulders in good shots from different positions. Take that knowledge into the field, and you’ll be a more flexible, more confident hunter when it comes time to take that critical shot.

Posted in Bowhunting, Deer hunting, General hunting, Small game hunting, Turkey hunting, Uncategorized, gun hunting | 1 Comment »

Thoughts on hollow points

Thursday, October 1st, 2009

I’m staying on the squirrel/small game kick with this post for two reasons. One, it’s just plain fun to pursue small game with an appropriate hunting implement. Two, I had an experience last week while in the squirrel woods that provides a striking lesson for gun hunters of all stripes.

That first point doesn’t need much explaining. Between the crisp, clear weather of early in the week and the light, misty rain that’s currently keeping the leaves quiet underfoot, this is a great time to be moving about in the woods. Especially if you’re looking for protein of the sporting variety. This is the time of year to cut out from the office, plan for very early mornings, or simply use some of the vacation days you didn’t take advantage of in July. Gotta use them while they last.

But enough about priorities; on to the second point. While hunting a favorite tree rodent spot at Pater Wildlife Preserve near Hamilton, I scored a hit on a good sized female Fox squirrel. It took an hour of creeping through honeysuckle while she played “bump on a log” in a succession of tree crotches, but I finally got the position I wanted – a quartering-away shot that skimmed the left foreleg on its way to a quick-kill vitals impact.

Pass-through shots are nothing new to squirrel hunters. In fact, I was confused when I collected the squirrel and couldn’t find an exit wound. Upon skinning that night’s dinner, I found the reason:

Left to right: Crosman field hunting pointed tip, Crosman Premier hollow point, Premier hollow point after impact

Left to right: Crosman field hunting pointed tip, Crosman Premier hollow point, Premier hollow point after impact

I recently switched from the hunting point to the hollow points, and the pellet I pulled from below the squirrel’s skin confirmed that I made a good decision. Pointed pellets can do the job, but I’ve noticed that they often exit as clean as they enter. This suggests little deformity and a greater possibility of wounding game if the shot is off.

The hollow points, on the other hand…the image speaks for itself. I’m confident the shot would have been a quick kill with either shape, but that mushrooming, jagged edge that flares out sure gives one an added measure of security.

We, as respectful, dedicated hunters, owe it to our quarry to deliver a quick, decisive kill with the first shot. For an archer, that means using scalpel-sharp broadheads that draw blood with the least pain. For gun hunters, unless you need the big-game penetration delivered by a monster, flat-nosed round (and let’s face it – how many of us have tens of thousands to drop on an elephant hunt in this economy?), a hollow point makes a lot of sense.

I’ve heard that hollow points can be finicky in wind. But in my experience, switching from field points to hollow points in a .177 springer air rifle (a type notorious for its sensitivity to pellet choice) did little to affect my accuracy. Maybe I’m just getting better at the range, but I shot tighter groups with Crosman Premier hollow points than I did with comparable Crosman field points.

I suspect that scaling this experience up to a larger pistol or rifle would yield similar results. At typical Ohio hunting distances with calibers appropriate for local species, hollow point bullets or pellets are certainly worth your consideration.

Posted in General hunting, Small game hunting, gun hunting, squirrel hunting | 8 Comments »