shooting positions

[starsandstriper]

Well, after my first deer season in Massachusetts and my first deer, i talked my father into taking me out to hunt PA next year. since i am used to hunting with a shotgun, at close ranges, i never worried so much about the actual shooting as i did getting close to the deer. My father grew up in Northwestern PA, and i will be hunting in the waterford area. Last thursday, i got my first deer rifle, a marlin 336 in 30-30, and need to know what shooting positions most deer hunters (that dont hunt from treestands) find practical and accurate. what, from your experience, is the steadiest position to hit a deer with at say 150 yards (i dont expect to be shooting past this distance)? please help, it is greatly appreciated.

Oh yeah, any tips for hunting this area will be helpful too.

 

[dakotasin]

i shoot most of my game from prone (bipod), second most from seated (bipod), third from a standing rest (branch, fence post), and last, unsupported offhand.

don't know anything about pa. deer hunting.

 

[starsandstriper]

i think i will be walking alot, as this type of hunting seems to suit me well. therefore i want to pack light. since i cannot (and dont want to know how to) put a bipod on my 336, would a pair of shooting sticks be a good investment, or would they be more of a pain to pack than they are worth?

 

[Grumulkin]

The most accurate hunting position would be prone. Second to that would be sitting, then kneeling and least stable is off hand. Add shooting sticks or bipods to the positions and accuracy improves.

I've taken 4 deer in PA. The longest shot was an off hand shot of probably 100 yards. The other 3 deer I could have hit with a rock. Shots in PA woods probably won't be long.

The thought of walking through the woods stalking game is a romantic vision. In the fall, deer match their surrounding incredibly well and the dry leaves make silent walking very difficult. I got the 100 yard deer by walking through the woods and the others by sitting on the ground with my back to a log at a time and place I knew deer to frequent.

 

[Oldnamvet]

A good walking staff is great for use with a rifle as a shooting assist.

 

['Card]

Shooting from the prone position with a bipod is obviously the most accurate, but in the Appalachians it's almost never practical. For one thing, you're normally going to be on a hillside shooting at something higher or lower than you. For another, the underbrush is generally thick and gets heaviest near the ground, so flopping down on your belly will normally net you an effective visual range of about 10 feet.

I'm a stalker when I hunt in the mountains and hills, so I move steadily but slowly, and pause frequently. If I'm going to be in one place for any more than just a minute or two, I'll go down on one knee to rest my legs and reduce my profile a little bit. Because of that, the vast majority of my shots have been either freehand or from a kneeling position. If I'm presented with a rare 'long shot' opportunity (and in the mountains anything over 100 yards is pretty rare) I'll lean the rifle against a tree or on a branch to steady it a little bit, but that's about it as far as rests are concerned.

So my advice would be to practice shooting from standing freehand, kneeling and sitting at 100+ yards. With a little work, consistently drilling a 6-inch target at that distance isn't hard from all three positions, and that's really all you need for deer hunting in the area you're talking about. And to be honest about it, being able to shoot quickly with a reasonable level of accuracy is usually more important than shooting sub-MOA groups.

 

[Afy]

You should practise Standing Offhand the most... since it is the most challenging of the stances.

 

[K.L.O.sako]

when still hunting i have found the trees around me as good rests. as i walk, istop every 10 - 20 feet and survey the area a bit and i usually stop next to a tree to conceal my silloette a little. even a straight up and down tree can take all the shake out of your shot. just hold the forearm against it and viola! instant rest. other than that i use standing and kneeling free hand.
+1 on the practice offhand standing, do it a lot before season opening

 

[koja48]

I always try to use a rest, whenever feasible. Fav position (and rock-steady) is in the sitting position off my crossed shooting sticks with both elbows resting on my knees. DON'T attempt to shoot a hard-recoiling rifle from the prone position . . . this practice has accounted for everything from cuts over the eye (scope contact) to broken collar-bones. My 2 cents-worth . . .

 

[ranger335v]

All the above are good thoughts. Perhaps the best thing for you would be to add a Marlin 39A .22RF to your collection and practice basic shooting skills with that. LOTS of practice, to drill the actions into your mind and body.

After adusting your sights, or scope, leave the shooting bench alone and shoot "like a man", especially off-hand (standing). A thousand or so .22 rounds will likely do it, then take a few shots with the big gun.

Later, in the field, use any tree or rock support (padded, with at least your own hand) available for shots beyond what you feel is easy.

 

[rbernie]

I find that I can drop onto one knee faster than I can any other position. That means that when an offhsnad snap shot isn't needed, I'm probably on my right knee with my offhand arm propped up on my left knee.

 

[Blackfork]

Dry firing from the blind.

I make sure I, or whoever is with me, dry fires a few times from position after we get in the blind. It helps sort out their position and get them set. I coach the heck out of them about cheekweld, natural point of aim, breaking the trigger at the respiratory pause, using proper eye relief, proper trigger technique, et.

I have kids, new folks, (and myself) dry fire at deer we AREN'T going to shoot just to get the groove on. Good mental and physical practice. Plus it's not uncommon that folks will not know how their guns work, so while we are at it we check the safety and trigger function. By the time deer show up that we want to shoot everything is squared away.

I was in on killing 14 deer last year, plus some hogs. I shot the buck I took offhand, but had dry-fired at some other deer in the same field before he walked over the crown. I'm still kicking myself for shooting him. Should have held off a year. My blood was just up, following the does in and watching them and a little buck.

Yesterday at the range I was practicing bullseye pistol with a box, scope, and Les Baer .45 with the correct targets at 25 and 50. A father and son had targets and knockdowns scattered all over the range and were shooting in the pistol pit, the 200 and 500 rifle berm, 100 yard berm plus some spinner .22 targets. They had a Walther 9mm, a 44 revolver, a .22 rifle semi, and some cheaply scoped Savage bolt in 308. They came up to see what I was doing and we chatted for a bit then I walked down to to look at this scope that wouldn't zero. They had it turned up to 48 power, so you couldn't see through it. I backed it down and they let me shoot at 100. The kid was watching as I shot at a DPS blue man target he had up at 100. I sat down and dry fired a little off the bench. They didn't know you could cock the rifle by lifting and dropping the bolt and had NEVER seen anyone check a safety to see if it worked. (God knows what they would think if they ever watched a bolt gun being shot in rapid fire.) I started shooting and was calling my shots in the head. The kid was watching the target with a very bad 128 power spotting scope and was being polite- he thought I was missing- no holes in the head that he could see. I was shooting at the head of the little target schematic up in the corner. The rifle and his handloads shot well but he needed to move his scope forward in the mounts about two inches to give himself a chance at the correct eye relief.

I'm rambling but the thing I see a lot is folks with reasonable equipment, who like shooting a LOT, but don't have access to information to sort out what they are doing. I've had some experienced hunters in the tower that never watched deer or game carefully, never looked at the wind or mirage floating by and don't seem to know much about their rifles or ammo. I wouldn't trust their zeros or their shooting. It's all simple stuff, but maybe everything comes at them a little too fast.

That's why I think most everyone should shoot some kind of formal competition. It sorts out what is really happening, usually in the presence of people who are able to help. I've got my rifles lined up for deer next season, but every one of them will have a couple range sessions with the ammo I am going to hunt with before I take them hunting. And I will have a firm zero at 100 and know how they shoot. I shot eight deer with seven different rifles last year and guided the rest. Just bought a sporterized Krag off Gunbroker that is the current favorite. CMP Garand supposed to be in tomorrow to go with the others. Just about quit on scoped rifles for deer and having more fun than ever.

 

[eliphalet]

always try to use a rest, whenever feasible.

Anything and everything, rocks, tree limb's, trunks, or stumps. a fence post. anything handy. if I can and nothing else sit with your elbows on your knees. Prone is good but usually weeds etc are in the way that low.
Save your empty gallon milk jugs. fill em with water and set then at varying distances. If you can blast the jug and you place your shot where it should be you can kill a deer every time. Jugs of water are nice in that you don't need to go look if you hit or not and you can sit them about anywhere you can safely shoot.

 

[Gun Wielding Maniac]

My thoughts, in no particular order:

Prone is an unlikely position to use in my region... which is either uncut fields with high grass, deep woods, or soybean fields. It doesnt provide enough visibility. If you have an opportunity to use prone though, it is golden. Just remember, align your body with the target, dont try to muscle the gun onto target. Use your feet and elbows to properly align the gun.

Sitting is a position that I like a lot. Frequently, I come to a point on the trail which looks like a particularly good spot to stop and overwatch some area of interest. Sitting crosslegged allows me good visibility, while I can use low hanging branches of trees to rest my rifle upon if a shot needs to be made. If I can't use branches, I can simply place my elbows in front of my knees so that I have no bone on bone contact and shift my butt until the gun is aligned on target. This is nearly as steady as prone.

Kneeling is another possibility and particularly likely if you suddenly come across a game animal that doesn't know you are there. Quickly assuming a kneeling position can give you half the stability of sitting, at the expense of half of the time. Downfalls are, terrain is sometimes not accomidating... it sucks to kneel right into a prickly pear.

Standing is the last option. You use this if the animal is aware you are there and you feel you will not get an opportunity for a better shot. Unless the distances are very short, you need to be quite confident of your skills to attempt this shot.

 

[bowfin]

Prone is great, but more often than not impractical, due to grass, brush, lay of the land being in the way.

I have had excellent success sitting, with elbows on the inside of my knees. Made two long shots on antelope one season with this position.

Study up on using a military rifle sling, (or a Ching sling) to use as an aid. It especially helps with offhand shooting.

Avoid shooting offhand, but make sure you practice it as much as possible. I believe that there are 50 people who can shoot 1/2" groups off the bench for every fellow who can keep three shots in a six inch bull, offhand at 100 yards.

Always look for a steady rest if the time or opportunity presents itself. Fence posts amd tree stumps that were handy probably have helped kill more deer than the .30-30 and .30-06 combined.

I am not a big fan of bipods, but some people swear by them. Just make sure you practice on getting them deployed in a timely manner, before you take it out to fill your permit(s)