doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com OT (maybe) The skills-Where did they go?

On a Wyoming antelope hunt 2 weeks ago, All of the hunters except me, had laser range finders, adjustable (many) shooting sticks and one guy had a laser range setting scope! Went like this. Spot antelope. Range it, fuss with sticks, antelope moves, range antelope, fuss with sticks and on and on. On our elk hunt this week, MY BOY spots big cow lying down at about 80 yards. Feels he has to change the power on his scope (why?) Misses cow. Fortunately it came down to Dad, who has fixed power scope on the old .416 and kills it DEAD. For years,as many of you know, Diane and I ran a B&B for Bird hunters here in NW kansas. Many of our Hunters had (you guessed it) choke tubes in their guns. Scenario: Go to the field, first rooster flushes at 40 yards. Hunter misses, changes to full choke. 2nd rooster flushes at 6 yards, hunter misses, changes to IC...see where I'm going? Whatever happened to thinking, I can make that shot, or best let him get a ways out, or no thats too far let em go...Dad said "take the shot ya got". Many of our hunters today try to overpower the problem with technology, rather than learning the basic skills. NO Im not loaning my .416 to my boy...Nebraska bird season opens Saturday, ours the next .life is good...AND the elk meat is in MY freezer...

Most of 'em figure it out, eventually. Choke tubes, unless you have but ONE, and I mean, ONE gun, are way overrated.
Best,
Ted

If you watch one of those "Hunting/Informercial" programs by the time you get rigged out with the proper* camo,boots,underwear, insulation,GPS, and the list goes on you're either to tired to go hunting or broke!

*Proper being defined as whatever the show sponsors are hyping at that time.
Jim

Excellent thread! Not really OT at all, to me.
Thank you,

I've seen the same thing at the sporting clay shoots, they see how far the tartget is and then take the time to change chokes, then have to change again for the next target. Thing about it is, most miss. In my opinion if you can shoot it doesn't make any difference within 40 yards.

I'm a Certified Shotgun instructor and I teach youngsters who shoot sporting clays with me just to put in and leave in an Improved Cylinder choke in a single barrelled gun, if a o/u then Improved Cylinder in the bottom and top barrels, or maybe a Light Modified choke in the top barrel and leave all the other chokes at home.
FWIW,
Mike

Sorry about the double post, guys...I have seen many a time a shooter fumble with his choke changing, insted of reading the target and planning the shot(s). Misses usually result
Mike

Jeez do I remember my first shotgun - a Ted Williams (Sears) 20 ga pump with a Pollychoke. What an abomination for a 12 year old! I remember one dove hunt where I twisted it so many times that I launched it (fortunately- or not - saw where it went). In a testimony to those unidentified engineers, the bloody thing screwed back on. No real difference with the swells who are constantly changing tubes, stock demensions, etc between misses. At least I was twelve.

Hello Joe,

You brought up memories. My first shotgun -a Mossberg 12 ga pump- also had
a Polychoke. I had no shooting instructions as far as shotguns were concerned
and assigned all my misses to improper choke, so I kept turning the thing.
Never launched it but I was a little older than you though.

JC

Last week my daughter came over for dear old Dad to change the front axle bearing on her car. She brought a nice Colt Python .357 she'd just bought for, I'm not kidding you, $250.00. She brought some shells and suggested we try it. Told me she was shooting recently with a bunch of her friends and that she was the best shot of the group. We'd shot rifles before but she never wanted to shoot handguns.

I set up a target and gave her ear plugs and muffs and told her to go first from about 20 yds. Her "group" was about 12". I said nothing and took the gun and fired 6 rounds. 5 shots went into under an inch and I pulled the last one out an inch to the right. The group was just outside a 4" bull at 5 O'clock. I told her the sights needed adjusted. She walked up to the target and said, "Holy cow Dad, where'd you learn to shoot like that?" I told her that her Grandfather had taught me and that he told me I wasn't allowed to shoot a repeater until I proved I only needed one shot.

I showed her how to adjust the sights and gave her a lesson and her last groups were under 4 inches. Much better but still room for improvement. I told her we'll load up some mild wadcutter loads and the next time she shoots with her friends she can really make an impression. I think most shooters who feel the need for every gizmo and contraption on the market really never learned to shoot.