I've been in the woods or on a lake hunting or fishing since I was four. I consider myself an above average marksman after many years of shooting. My passion for the outdoors was instilled in me by my Dad. We spent many hour together as I was growing up hunting squirrel, rabbits, quail, doves, duck, deer and turkey. He was without a doubt one of the best wing shooters I've ever known.

When I reached my teens we started bow hunting for deer. We spent countless hours in the back yard practicing with a recurve. Before every gun season we'd go to the range and sightin our deer rifles to ensure we were ready for the upcoming season. Around the age of twenty I started re-loading and would go to the range bi-weekly and shoot. I became very efficient in my skills shooting off a bench. Today, all of my deer rifles shoot a dime group at 100 yards.

My Dad's long time hunting buddy was named Jack O'Quinn. Jack was an excellent woodsman. While deer hunting he would always still hunt and never went into the woods before 9 a.m. in the morning and would hunt the remainder of the day. He moved through the woods like a ghost and would cover maybe 100 yards in an hour. He sure could put the meat on the table and took some fine deer over the years. Jack lived out in the country and had built an excellent shooting range on his property of 100 and 200 yards. My Dad called me one night and said that he was going to Jack's to sight in his rifle and wanted to know ifI'd like to join them. I jumped at the opportunity and met him at Jack's house the next morning. Jack had made a fine breakfast and after a few cups of coffee of to the range we went.

Back in those days I was shooting a Browning Bar 30-06. Once we started, I shot a nice three shot group that you could cover with a dime. Needless to say I was quite proud of my results. While we were shooting I noticed that Jack never fired a shot. Once we finished, Jack went down and removed the target and replaced them with two paper plates on which he had placed a one inch black dot. He returned to the bench and said to me "so you think you can shoot, try one of those on for size." I told him I didn't think I'd have a problem hitting one of those dots. He laughed and stated that any good marksman could hit one of those dots off the bench rest but could I hit the plate shooting free handed. Sure, no problem I thought. My first shot I missed the entire paper plate. Well needless to say that was a humbling experience, he just laughed. Jack then took his .270 Winchester model 70 and shot three rounds free handed and all were near the heart of the plate at 100 yards. He was a very quick shot. He stated that his rifle could also shoot dime groups off a bench rest; however, in most hunting situations you're not shooting off a rest. He shared with me that once you know the abilities of your rifle when using a scope that once the cross hairs are on the target to take the shot. By prolonging your aim you create movement after a period of time. He said once you find your target make the shot. After taking his suggestion to heart, I was able to place my next three shots in the paper plate.

Jack and my Dad have long since gone to that happy hunting ground, but I still use Jack's method of free hand shooting today. I often play a game while sitting in my deer stand. I'll pick out a rock, stump, knot on a log or tree and take aim and make the shot in my head. I also encourage you to take the time to learn how to shoot off hand. By this I mean that if your a right handed shooter then you practice shots shooting left handed. All to often we talk about practice, practice, practice with our bows and take for granted that we can shoot our guns with little effort. It's just as important to become proficient with your firearm. Know your weapon's abilities as well as your own. I encourage you to shoot often and ensure that the accuracy of your rifle is dead on. As hunters we spend hundreds of hours sitting on stand waiting for the opportunity to harvest that trophy of a life time. As Dirty Harry would say "a man's got to know his limitations." Preparation is the key to success. If you've done your homework and taken the necessary steps to become a good marksman, you'll be ready to face whatever situation presents itself. Today, we have excellent tools available to enhance our abilities to make our shots count. Range finders, shooting rails on stands, and shooting sticks are some of those tools, but all to often while hunting we get into a situation where we have to make the shot either free handed or off hand. Take the time to let that paper plate become life's lesson and close the deal. Happy Hunting!

By: Jerry "Split toe" Austin

Comments(1):

1. Life's Lessons

   Hey splitoe Great article. There is more than one message in your article. Well Done

   Monday, September 06, 2010 Dennis