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Momma May I?

“Mamma, Can I?” “I don’t know! Can you?” Mamma, may I?  “Yes you may.”   While I mostly remember being annoyed by this little grammar drill, maybe Mom was trying to teach me something:  to get the right answer, you’ve got to ask the right question.  With this realization, the trick to finding the answers is realizing when I’m asking the wrong question.

With the hunting season rapidly approaching, many Sportsmen will be heading to the range.  Most will grab a box or two of ammo, sit down at the bench, and proceed to try to shoot tiny groups into the center of the bullseye.   As soon as their gun is sighted in “good enough,” most will head home and await opening day.  I’d say these guys are asking the question: “Is my rifle sighted in good enough?”

Some Sportsmen, especially those with subscriptions to the hunt mags, will head to the range with the latest greatest ammunition and proceed to meticulously fire 3 or 5 shot groups in search of the most accurate load.  Reloaders may take this to the extreme varying bullets, primers, powders, and cases.  God help the poor guy who can’t get his rifle to group under 1” at 100 yards.  I believe these guys are asking the question, “How accurate is my rifle and ammunition?”

Occasionally, a Sportsman will head to the range with alot of ammunition, a few targets, and a spotting scope.  They will get off the bench and practice shooting from different shooting positions.  These are the weirdos sitting on the ground, lying down prone, shooting off a buttpack, or standing.  Sometimes these guys will use bipods, shooting sticks or slings to aide in their shooting.  These shooters are striving to recreate actual shooting conditions that they expect to experience in the field.  These guys are asking very specific questions like “How accurate am I at 100 yards from a sitting position while using a sling?” “How accurate am I at 50 yards from a standing position?  “How accurate am I at 300 yards from a prone position?

While I am frequently one of the weirdos at the range that gets off the bench practicing shot after shot under field conditions, that doesn’t mean to say that I don’t shoot for groups or sight in my rifle.  It is just that I strive to clearly understand what question I am asking before I fire a specific round.  Most Sportsmen including myself spend far too much time shooting for groups and sighting in their rifle.  While these exercises are productive and they do provide a limited amount of practice, they never ask the right question.  What we really need to know before heading into the field is what our confident effective range is under specific field conditions. 

Undoubtedly shooting at the range provides Sportsmen with many answers.  The problem lies when the Sportsman doesn’t realize what question they asked.  The guy who sits at a bench with his rifle rested on sandbags consistently putting five rounds into a 1.5” inch circle at 100 yards may incorrectly assume that he can confidently make a 300 yard shot or even further.  Truthfully, the only shot he knows he can make is a 100 yard shot from the bench.    

Remember Momma.  Not asking the right questions can cost you time and bring on undue frustration.  When it comes to the quest for accuracy, it can cost you a lot of money as well.  Conversely, asking the right questions can save you a lot of time and money.  By getting off the bench and shooting from field positions, most shooters will quickly find that their abilities are the limiting factor in the quest for accuracy.  Spending time and money fine tuning loads and accurizing rifles will most likely be less productive than realistic practice under field conditions.

Hopefully, I have got you thinking a little bit about how to approach your range time for the upcoming season.  To make the most of your time, I suggest selecting a single type of ammunition which is suitable for the game you plan to hunt and quickly sighting in your weapon.  Sighting in from a bench will give you a basic idea of accuracy, but don’t dwell on it.  From there, I suggest getting off of the bench and shooting from the shooting positions that you realistically expect to encounter in the field.  Sure you will waive all over the target and your groups will open up considerably.  That’s the point.  Usually, I shoot from the standing, sitting, and prone positions with the goal of answering the question, “What is my confident effective range under each condition”  In my opinion, these are the answers that I can directly apply to the hunt.  Ask the right questions and you’ll get the right answers.  Of course, you may end up being a weirdo.