Shooting Off Hand

[Rare Breed]

Just an observation made from my recent two week safari…the ability out to 50 yards to shoot your rifle off hand is not something most people think about in the age of sticks. However as I discovered on both my cape buffalo and my elephant having the experience of shooting off hand was absolutely critical to my success. So glad I practiced out to 50 yards shooting off hand before my latest safari

 

[Sika98k]

Time spent practicing is never wasted. Nobody ever became a good hunter by rocking up in front of an animal and pulling the trigger.
Instead, along with many other things, they crept in quietly and squeezed the trigger.

 

[Ridge Runner]

Everyone should practice shooting off sticks, sitting down and standing shooting offhand supported and unsupported as these are the most often positions one can expect to shoot from.

 

[pilar]

I saw this answer in a magazine on long distance shooting but it applies across all hunting groups imo .
“I'd tell your friend to get a 6.5 Swede and a few thousand rounds to practice with, and go shooting. when he can reliably hit the 400 meter gong, in ALL weather and wind conditions from FIELD positions (standing, kneeling, sitting, prone) no bench rest, THEN he can START considering the ethics of shooting a game animal at 400 yards +.”

 

[Ridge Runner]

I saw this answer in a magazine on long distance shooting but it applies across all hunting groups imo .
“I'd tell your friend to get a 6.5 Swede and a few thousand rounds to practice with, and go shooting. when he can reliably hit the 400 meter gong, in ALL weather and wind conditions from FIELD positions (standing, kneeling, sitting, prone) no bench rest, THEN he can START considering the ethics of shooting a game animal at 400 yards +.”

Once upon a time......but not anymore....damn old age lack of mobility to kneel or go prone.....without support....to steady and shoot a firearm.

 

[BigSteve57]

One thing I found after years of practice was that becoming more proficient at offhand shooting made me a better marksman in all shooting positions. This includes positions that employ sticks, placing the rifle in the "Y" of a tree or any other scenario one could imagine.

 

[Rare Breed]

you have said it so much better than me. in years past I did not practice this. But by far this two week safari has been my best shooting given I am just an average shot. I too put it down to more off hand shooting practice

 

[Inline6]

I'm doing a lot of offhand shooting with the 22. 100 yards on a 3" round target, ground squirrel targets, 8" at 200 yards. That's about as far as I can get at my place.

 

[Safari Dave]

I'm fortunate enough to live in a rural area, with no restrictions regarding shooting firearms on private property.


I shoot .22 bolt actions all the time. Mainly just for fun, but it also makes for great practice.




I've got a swinging steel target in my backyard, that probably takes at least 1,000 rounds a year.


Open sights and though scopes.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

I shoot a LOT of skeet low gun. It definitely helps shooting a rifle offhand, especially in a hurry. A well balanced rifle is also important. I know the current fad is for lightweight guns, but they typically don't hold steady ... and kick like the devil. Join a gym. Then buy a rifle that weighs nine pounds and balanced at the forward end of the floorplate. See what a difference that makes.

 

[RR 314]

What’s completely strange is I find it very natural to shoot offhand at 250 yards plus at moving game with my weary brain somehow automatically calculating lead etc. At the same time, it is almost awkward shooting at a stationary animal in the 150 yard plus range without a rest. I can’t explain it, but it is what it is. Like Ontario Hunter stated, I think being comfortable (at the moving game in my scenario) is due to growing up shooting a lot of clays, dove, quail, rabbits etc. with a shotgun.

 

[375Fox]

My sportsman club has a very good sporting clays course. I found shooting shotgun a lot when I was younger made me a much better offhand shot today. However, I find trying to get perfection a problem with a scoped rifle that doesn’t exist with a shotgun. The faster and more natural I can make it with a rifle usually the better I shoot offhand. If I turn scope up and take time to really aim for bullseye and overthink it usually the less accurate my shot ends up being. If I turn scope to lowest setting, get on target, and pull the trigger usually it works better for me offhand at 50 yards. I’ve never shot DG without sticks yet. My best offhand shot has actually been on a bushbuck. We had the tracker push it out of the thick brush. I shot it on a fast run at about 80 yards. I can’t remember anything about the shot, but I know it went down immediately. All the $5 sporting clay courses paid off that day.

 

[Flewis]

I used to shoot out to 100 a lot with open sights off hand but haven’t in years. I need to start again.

 

[Rare Breed]

whoa you are my hero my friend!!! I thought practicing at 50 yards was extreme until this last safari for both cape buff and elephant. Was very sobering to me realizing you do not always have the option of sticks

 

[RR 314]

See if this works. . .


file:///var/mobile/Library/SMS/Attachments/55/05/CDDE0443-351C-48FB-BAA1-1C373B482381/IMG_8652.mov


Nope. . Was trying to post a video of a red lechwe on the run. I am technologically limited.

 

[Puddle]

Our local range has available a set of steel targets of various diameters. A few of us gather every 2 weeks and set them up at various distances out to 300 yards. Then we cycle through firing off-hand, kneeling, and sitting positions to see who's buying the coffee afterwards.

 

[Doubleplay]

I shot international skeet when I was younger at national level.
Faster targets with relay and low gun.
Helped me a lot to be able to shoot off hand and moving targets.

 

[Longwalker]

A majority of rifles used by North American hunters are no longer well suited to offhand shooting. Stocks are too straight, length of pull too short, balance and handling wrong, scopes oftentimes too big and with too critical eye relief. The USA manufactured hunting rifle market has evolved to provide a majority of hunting rifles that are best suited to prone shooting or shooting off a bench rest and for shooting at long range. Probably because that's how most people shoot when practising at the range.

I try to avoid offhand shooting while hunting, but I practise quite a lot, and my hunting rifles are all designed to be well suited to offhand shooting. Most of my rifles are made in Europe. Manufacturers there seem to understand the design features required for optimum versatile hunting functionality.

I prefer Bavarian style or Monte Carlo stocks, some weight forward balance, a relatively open pistol grip, small, low powered scopes with non-critical eye relief and mounted low, with simple reticles, and an action that is smooth enough to quickly reload without taking the rifle off the shoulder. Quite a rare thing to find and purchase in today's market.

 

[sureshot375]

Wise words sir. I think realistic training involves shooting freehand and with all types of improvised rests, like rocks, trees, backpacks, or whatever.

I have a disorder called essential tremor that causes me to shake. With that, freehand is a struggle for me and requires training on my part.

I have a go pro down the barrel video from my last ele. You guys are going to rib me so hard about the shaking when I get around to posting it. For whatever reason I ended up with no sticks when the time came. I never even thought about it and made it happen because I had trained for that scenario. It was only after that I thought, well some sticks would have been nice.

 

[Ridge Runner]

A majority of rifles used by North American hunters are no longer well suited to offhand shooting. Stocks are too straight, length of pull too short, balance and handling wrong, scopes oftentimes too big and with too critical eye relief. The USA manufactured hunting rifle market has evolved to provide a majority of hunting rifles that are best suited to prone shooting or shooting off a bench rest and for shooting at long range. Probably because that's how most people shoot when practising at the range.

I try to avoid offhand shooting while hunting, but I practise quite a lot, and my hunting rifles are all designed to be well suited to offhand shooting. Most of my rifles are made in Europe. Manufacturers there seem to understand the design features required for optimum versatile hunting functionality.

I prefer Bavarian style or Monte Carlo stocks, some weight forward balance, a relatively open pistol grip, small, low powered scopes with non-critical eye relief and mounted low, with simple reticles, and an action that is smooth enough to quickly reload without taking the rifle off the shoulder. Quite a rare thing to find and purchase in today's market.

One, of many, reasons I personally prefer "older" firearms, or rather older style of American manufactured firearms.

Seems like the stereotype American is: short, fat, with Tryanasaurus Rex arms. And (firearm enthusiasts) only want so called "Black Guns" with synthetic stocks, large capacity magazines that can reach out a mile with ammo good enough to ring a steel target.

American hunters are only left with sad choices as to what firearm to purchase, then spend more money on having the firearm customized to what a proper firearm should really look and feel / handle.