- Joined
- Jan 28, 2003
- Messages
- 13,341
From years of taking guys out either as a paid guide or just as a friend. The number one thing causes guys to miss and to generally miss out on shot opportunities is the scope they are using and how it's mounted.
Gynormous, heavy, huge, over powered target style scopes are the number one detriment to successful general hunting IMO. If you are actually hunting and not sitting in a snipers nest waiting for something to come by these types of scopes are going to handicap you severely in 99.9% of hunting situations. And they do so for several reasons.
The higher power a scope is the more narrow the field of vision the more shot opportunities you are going to miss out on. You simply cannot quickly acquire a target at anything approaching normal hunting ranges with one of these giants mounted on you rifle the field of vision is simply to narrow. I can't tell you how many elk and deer I've watched calmly trot off as our sniper wanna be frantically searches for his intended target in his target scope.
The other negative is that by default these types of scopes with massive objective bells require that they be mounted too high for a natural quick cheek weld. So you've got a double negative happening here. First your field of view is way too narrow for general hunting and second you've got to put your head up and do the funky chicken to find your cross hair because the scope is sitting high enough that it requires an unnatural head hold to find your optical center. And when you have to lift your cheek off the comb you've lost your natural third point of contact further limiting your shot stability.
A good general hunting scope should be tough, weather proof, reasonably clear and have a maximum of 3 preferably 2.5 or less power on the bottom end, the top end isn't as important, anything from about 4 to 10 power will suffice. It should have a maximum of about a 40MM objective bell so that it can be mounted as low as possible to the bore. When you bring your rifle to your shoulder all you should see is a perfectly clear picture with a cross hair in the middle of it. If you've got to do any head jiving at all to get that picture something is wrong it's most likely mounted to high, possibly to low or it is to far forward or aft but it's going to spank you at the moment of truth.
Range finders. I carry one but if as a rule of thumb if you have to use one the shot is probably to far to take. The primary use of a range finder should be to figure out that you need to get closer and not take shot. The other thing a range finder does for you is it helps in those optically tricky situations such as a cross canyon or weird lighting situation where visual range estimation becomes almost impossible. Cross canyon always looks further than it is, a range finder tell the truth. Low angle light early in the morning especially shining brightly on an animal gives the appearance of something being bigger than it is therefore making it seem closer, once again a range finder dispels that myth.
What is the maximum range to ethically take a shot at a live animal? I can't answer that with a set number. On a day when the conditions are perfect and I have a rock solid rest, the wind is calm, I am not breathing hard and am calm, my ethical shot range increases dramatically. On a day when the wind is howling and snow is falling sideways my maximum shot range is dramatically decreased. Maximum range depends on you, your level of proficiency with your chosen rifle, and environmental conditions for any given day.
The caliber and rifle is not really that important as long as it is adequate for the game you are hunting. But if you want to increase your shot opportunities using a heavy for caliber bullet that reliably penetrates deeply will do just that. If you are shooting a caliber that requires a perfect surgically delivered broadside shot behind the shoulder obviously you are severely limiting your shot opportunities.
Example a .30-06 or a 7MM with a 180Gr or a 175Gr controlled expansion bullet will traverse a big mule deer or even a cow elk length wise after hitting bone. The same in either a 150 or 140 gr ballistic tip stoked to the max will not. Obviously these are just examples as there are lots of reliable useful calibers and rifles out there.
Your mileage will vary. Good hunting this fall!
Gynormous, heavy, huge, over powered target style scopes are the number one detriment to successful general hunting IMO. If you are actually hunting and not sitting in a snipers nest waiting for something to come by these types of scopes are going to handicap you severely in 99.9% of hunting situations. And they do so for several reasons.
The higher power a scope is the more narrow the field of vision the more shot opportunities you are going to miss out on. You simply cannot quickly acquire a target at anything approaching normal hunting ranges with one of these giants mounted on you rifle the field of vision is simply to narrow. I can't tell you how many elk and deer I've watched calmly trot off as our sniper wanna be frantically searches for his intended target in his target scope.
The other negative is that by default these types of scopes with massive objective bells require that they be mounted too high for a natural quick cheek weld. So you've got a double negative happening here. First your field of view is way too narrow for general hunting and second you've got to put your head up and do the funky chicken to find your cross hair because the scope is sitting high enough that it requires an unnatural head hold to find your optical center. And when you have to lift your cheek off the comb you've lost your natural third point of contact further limiting your shot stability.
A good general hunting scope should be tough, weather proof, reasonably clear and have a maximum of 3 preferably 2.5 or less power on the bottom end, the top end isn't as important, anything from about 4 to 10 power will suffice. It should have a maximum of about a 40MM objective bell so that it can be mounted as low as possible to the bore. When you bring your rifle to your shoulder all you should see is a perfectly clear picture with a cross hair in the middle of it. If you've got to do any head jiving at all to get that picture something is wrong it's most likely mounted to high, possibly to low or it is to far forward or aft but it's going to spank you at the moment of truth.
Range finders. I carry one but if as a rule of thumb if you have to use one the shot is probably to far to take. The primary use of a range finder should be to figure out that you need to get closer and not take shot. The other thing a range finder does for you is it helps in those optically tricky situations such as a cross canyon or weird lighting situation where visual range estimation becomes almost impossible. Cross canyon always looks further than it is, a range finder tell the truth. Low angle light early in the morning especially shining brightly on an animal gives the appearance of something being bigger than it is therefore making it seem closer, once again a range finder dispels that myth.
What is the maximum range to ethically take a shot at a live animal? I can't answer that with a set number. On a day when the conditions are perfect and I have a rock solid rest, the wind is calm, I am not breathing hard and am calm, my ethical shot range increases dramatically. On a day when the wind is howling and snow is falling sideways my maximum shot range is dramatically decreased. Maximum range depends on you, your level of proficiency with your chosen rifle, and environmental conditions for any given day.
The caliber and rifle is not really that important as long as it is adequate for the game you are hunting. But if you want to increase your shot opportunities using a heavy for caliber bullet that reliably penetrates deeply will do just that. If you are shooting a caliber that requires a perfect surgically delivered broadside shot behind the shoulder obviously you are severely limiting your shot opportunities.
Example a .30-06 or a 7MM with a 180Gr or a 175Gr controlled expansion bullet will traverse a big mule deer or even a cow elk length wise after hitting bone. The same in either a 150 or 140 gr ballistic tip stoked to the max will not. Obviously these are just examples as there are lots of reliable useful calibers and rifles out there.
Your mileage will vary. Good hunting this fall!
