One Shot One Kill teaching!

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wolf695

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I see many of new hunters using automatics or pumps for hunting. Take deer hunting,many go out with a new gun every year always a automatic or pump action! Why? I was taught, like many by my father who was taught by his and so on. I got a JC Higgins bolt action single shot 12 gauge and one slug, If I missed I had to go back to Dad and explain to get another. It taught skills that are sadly lacking in younger hunters. I taught my sons with a Mossberg 185 bolt action, and the same methods that my father taught me. I fact many times he was there in on the hunt.My rules were if you get a deer next year you can have any shotgun you want. After all that,they picked bolt action guns for hunting... Now two of them are in the U.S.ARMY, and when they get leave to come home to hunt they get there bolts! I see more than a few deer taken that have two or three holes in it! I tell them they need more practice, and think before you shoot....We need more of the (one shot-one kill) method taught to the younger shooters.
 
My dad gave me his semi, and I immediately traded for a 700. I did not do the single shot rifle, but I did do the one shot one kill.
In the TN woods just after first light you would hear pow, pow, pow, pow. I would just smile and wait for that grey ghost to appear.
 
While I'm all for clean, one shot kills, there are times when follow up shots are warranted and appropriate. I don't think sending a kid to go find his dad for a 2nd shell while a wounded animal is limping off to be possibly lost is effective training. Sooner or later every hunter will experience a shot not working out as intended, and sometimes a 2nd round available can mitigate a bad situation.
 
I completely agree with Timsr I can't fathom not taking extra ammo, I'm not saying I bring 6 30 round mags but I'm not only going to bring one round. Remember Murphy at all times.
 
One of the quickest ways to loose a wounded animal for good is from something called shot admiring. Shot admiring is the vice of desperately wanting to make a one shot kill and not taking a follow up shot while you had the chance. While we should all strive for a clean one shot kill. Don't let your one shot ego be the cause of a wounded non recovered animal. Even the critters I kill with the first shot generally have at least one other hole through the vitals. The one shot phase of a hunters career has cost more than a few wounded not recovered critters over the years.

If you ever move beyond thin skinned non dangerous game hunting into the realm of serious dangerous game. You'll need to get over the one shot mind set real quick or it might cost you or one of your team members their life.
 
I have seen both methods "mess up". "Shot admiring" is probably the most common fault (I admit to doing it). However, I have seen guys who almost automatically shoot a second or third shot if the animal is even twitching. It definitely gets the animal but with more meat ruined than necessary.

I hunt mainly for the meat and ruining more than necessary is anathema to me.
 
There are numerous hogs that I have shot multiple times, not necessarily because the first shot was bad, but because the hog decided to run after being shot. I have seen hogs go over 100 yards with solid boiler room shots that took out the heart and/or the lungs. Had one hog go over 50 yards with two broken shoulders and one or both lungs hit (partner's hog, .308, through and through).

I do not like looking for hogs in the brush. I don't like looking for then when I don't know if they are dead or not. Usually, they are, but you never know until you find them.

It is good to be able to break down a hog that runs on you after being shot, if just to stop him while he is still out in the open so as to make for a safer recovery of the animal.
 
It taught skills that are sadly lacking in younger hunters.
This being based on what? Their choice of firearm? Heck then why even use those new cartridge guns at all, I mean a real hunter should be able to load powder, ball and prime the frizzen or cap the lock in no time at all. Or why even bother with that fancy new powder, a real hunter can set an arrow faster anyway...

Technology improves and with it so does our hunting methods. No one here, nor a serious hunter, would ever tell someone to take a shot that was not clean but to suggest that taking multiple shots makes someone less of a hunter is just ridiculous. I'd rather put a second or third round into an animal then leave it to wander off to die a long slow death.

Always aim for the clean kill but be ready for the follow up shot. Some animals just don't know when they are dead...

For the record I use a bolt action rifle, but that was more a choice of my caliber than anything else.
 
Hmm. My first deer was shot with an automatic (742 Carbine), but with one shot. What does that make me? I have taken deer with one shot, and with follow up shots. There are too many variables, each one is different. I aim for and with one exception, have always hit, the aorta. (That exception was at 125 yards with a .50 BP Hawken, and I was 2 inches above it, got both lungs.) But the reactions have varied; The first one went over on it's side instantly, the second went 75 yards full out with the top of his heart missing. Some went one or two steps, some 50-100 yards. Those got a second shot either standing or after going down.
But I digress. The point I'm trying to make is: Yes, try for the one shot kill, but have a way to back it up. Carrying only one round into the woods is just plain foolish.
 
I'm a firm believer in passing on marginal shots and being prepared to shoot again if needed. The goal is not "one shot, one kill", the goal is a quick and humane kill, balanced against not shooting the animal to pieces and wasting meat.
 
ive seen some crackshot shooters with semi autos in the field and have seem poor shooters with single shots and bolts. In my opinion the type of gun you use doesn't represent your skill level and isn't any of my business.
 
It's hard to take any screed seriously when it refers to hunting with "automatics". I personally stopped hunting with my 240 bravo because it's a pain in the butt to try to find all the links under the tripod... :rolleyes:

One of the great blessing of running a commercial deer hunting operation is that we very frequently have parents bringing their children, and I'll tell you that from our experiences, there is nothing lacking in the skills or proper hunting ethos in the upcoming generation of young hunters.

Although, this is a first... I never thought I would see a post about young whippersnappers and their newfangled bolts and pumps... Now if you'll kindly excuse me, I have to run a patch through Ma Duece before I head to the stand.
 
I'm not an expert hunter by any means as I've only killed 2 deer in the 3yrs I have been seriously hunting. However I've only fired two rounds. Deer fell dead within 20 yards. One was with a bolt action .270Win the other was a semi auto AR-15 in 7mm Valkyrie. After hunting all year with a semi auto I see the merit in having a quick follow up shot if needed. I will always strive for a quick ethical one shot kill though.

I guess I'm a young whipper snapper that doesn't know the "one shot one kill" method...
 
No matter how good the shot animals often run. A 2nd or 3rd shot may be needed. Personal preference, but I don't care for either pumps or autos for hunting. Has nothing to do with rate of fire. I just prefer a bolt gun and have learned how to shoot fast if needed
 
While I'm all for clean, one shot kills, there are times when follow up shots are warranted and appropriate. I don't think sending a kid to go find his dad for a 2nd shell while a wounded animal is limping off to be possibly lost is effective training. Sooner or later every hunter will experience a shot not working out as intended, and sometimes a 2nd round available can mitigate a bad situation.

I gotta agree. Besides, experienced bolt shooters can manipulate their action as fast as most pumps. I learned to hunt squirrels with a single shot .22 and pigeons with a old Benjamin single shot air rifle. I learned to make my shots count long before I hit the deer woods. This is what I see as leading to poor shooting deer hunters. Hitting the deer woods with any gun without putting enough ammo downrange to become proficient or familiar with their firearm. I had one of those old Single Shot J.C. Higgins bolt action shotgun with a single bead for a sight. While it was a good grouse gun, it's accuracy with slugs took a lot of Kentucky windage. IMHO, Not really an appropriate deer gun for a beginner. Many other better options out there that will give a beginner a better chance at getting a clean and quick kill on their quarry.
 
I learned one shot, one kill in the 1960s, with an 18-round capacity Glenfield 99G .22 semi-auto rifle. Squirrel hunting with my uncle. Head shots only, to save meat. A miss meant the squirrel ran away or hid; second shots were folly and embarrassing. Best I did was eight squirrels with ten shots. The advantage I saw with the semi-auto was I was only concerned with safety and trigger controls, and did not have to manually load the next round.

My son took his first deer with an AR - one shot.

Maybe it's the people I hang with, but semi-auto and pump hunters I know make the first round count. A swift follow up is nice if needed. But their goal is one shot, one kill, and more than one reflects badly on the hunter, even if the target as a varmint and not game. Might have to do with the fact that my dad grew up on a farm in the Depression, he shot for food or to protect livestock, and ammo had to be bought at the store when every penny counted.
 
My dad taught me this, the first shot is the best shot so you need to make the best of it that you can. I've almost always had a Remington bolt gun of one flavor or another. There's been ocasions where a Savage 99 or a whinchester lever action have been in my hands though. You should never need more than one shot, but things can go wrong. Kill them with the first shot, expedite getting to gutting with the other 4 rounds in the magazine.
 
One shot kills are great and something I do regularly, however, if the animal is still flopping around after the first shot I don't hesitate to shoot again. As soon as the rifle fires I'm already planning my next shot. I have been deer hunting for a long time and I recognize why the one shot kill happen to me most of the time. If I see the animal before it sees me I have about a 90% chance of making a one shot kill no matter the distance. If the animal sees me first the percentage goes down to less than 50%. Many times I won't shoot at all, depending on the situation, but I will take a running shot if a good opportunity presents itself. Deer know how to move through low places in the terrain and they will take every opportunity to put distance between you and them making the shot more difficult.
 
Most hunters are going to strive for quick, humane, one-shot kills, regardless of the quarry. There are times when one may have a killing shot thru the lungs, or other mortal wound on an animal, but takes another follow up shot to anchor the animal before it goes into rough terrain or the neighbors land where access is denied. Sometimes folks just pull the shot, misjudge the distance/wind or do not see that branch in the way. These are all things a first time hunter or a hunter with little or no experience would easily do. Thus giving them only one cartridge(Barney Fife style) would seem to me, to make for more wounded and lost animals than a mag of 5 regardless of the platform they are shot from. While giving a kid only one round may help teach them the importance of making the first shot count, the one that pays for it in the end, may be the suffering animal. Add to that the chance the kid may loose his first buck and/or the buck of a lifetime, to the neighbor.

IMHO, if one has taught ethical hunting and marksmanship to the youth, before they hit the deer woods, limiting them to one round would not be necessary, nor prudent.
 
Mostly of my hunting is with a muzzleloader. Got to put the bullet in the right place first time around or the animal suffers needlessy. Couple weeks ago i made a less than stellar shot on a hog. After a couple hours of searching i found the animal. She traveled in a near straight line for about 250 yards and had bled to death internally.
 
While the process has some merit on a target range, I'd be concerned using it on game. If rather than that first shot missing the game it wounded the game, a good hunter would want a fast followup shot to finish things off humanely.
 
I shoot, and if I can't spot the hit, pop 'em again.
Better safe than sorry.

Grew up hunting chucks with a Ruger #1.

The type of gun makes no difference. I shoot as fast as my mind can process the information. If I need another shot, it's delivered.

Some folks think and act slower than others. BTW, the speed being lesser, is not a guarantee of performance.
 
Yeah, used to catch heck at the deer check in, for having multiple hits (all good ones too) in my deer (shotgun state back in the day).

Deer died quickly, rode to the check-in with my vehicle. But some folks will argue with such success LOL.

Popping a couple into a mover is great fun.

If ya got it, flaunt it :)
 
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