How good a shot are the stalkers in the UK?

PSE Composites Limited - The next level Rifle Stocks
Taff said:
Paul would it not be better for your mates to waste the ammo and improve there own shooting, surely they have to rezero after you. As to how good a shot am I , if I do my bit my rifle can shoot the wings of a fly at 1000mtrs, trouble is I don,t do my bit, reading some of the posts I think I should give up stalking as I am no where near as good as some of the computer stalkers.
Click to expand...

Taff, I zero then they check a group and £10 of ammo is saved and an hour of fannying about. The guys I give my time to generally can't afford to **** away centrefire ammo on practice.
 
I'll be expecting everyone in this thread to turn up to the Monmouth H4H shoot next year. Standard stalkers test all shot @ 100 yards (off elbows/bench, prone, sitting, kneeling and standing) using standard aids (bipods/sticks as appropriate).

Puts you slightly out of your comfort zone, plus a bit of pressure/banter thrown in for good measure - closer to field conditions in my opinion, evidenced by how tricky it is to get a perfect score that would otherwise be very straight forward for a half decent shot.

See you all there! :D

Alex
 
It's so much easier to shoot a deer than a sub half inch group,if you ask me it's easier to shoot at long range than close because you can't see you shots until you get up to the target!very few people will shoot half inch groups prone without a bipod and a sandbag type rear support.
 
Last edited:
I've shot deer left and right handed from high seats and grouping doesn't count for toffee stretched round an obstacle when you're at the limit of stretch and seconds for one shot is all you got.
So I often end up stalking 10+ km in a day to my melting point doing point to points to glass for deer and stalk where I'd expect to locate them before my chance may come. This after driving hundreds of miles to get there. The difference and point I'm making is that a true stalker is a hunter of endurance, perseverance and patience who commits to more than just an outing here and there. How big a part of all your efforts is the actual shot? Too many times I have stalked alone leaving the have a go’s sleeping in the car and that's a sad thing. Stalking is not about just the shooting but the challenge and physical demands that can be placed on you to beat the deer in conditions and environments that often see the lesser stalkers give up and go somewhere warmer and flatter.
Ask yourself how long you will be able to push yourself but I intend to keep going at it hard while I can knowing that illness or accident could remove the option at any time. The ability to shoot well is important but sub moa groups on a range are meaningless when out on undulating ground and an uncomfortable compromise is needed to get a clear line of sight at the deer which may give you a few short moments of opportunity on an otherwise blank day.
Refining ones stalking craft and working hard in the field instead of aiming to reduce group size I suspect achieves greater success.
 
paul at barony said:
I've shot deer left and right handed from high seats and grouping doesn't count for toffee stretched round an obstacle when you're at the limit of stretch and seconds for one shot is all you got.
So I often end up stalking 10+ km in a day to my melting point doing point to points to glass for deer and stalk where I'd expect to locate them before my chance may come. This after driving hundreds of miles to get there. The difference and point I'm making is that a true stalker is a hunter of endurance, perseverance and patience who commits to more than just an outing here and there. How big a part of all your efforts is the actual shot? Too many times I have stalked alone leaving the have a go’s sleeping in the car and that's a sad thing. Stalking is not about just the shooting but the challenge and physical demands that can be placed on you to beat the deer in conditions and environments that often see the lesser stalkers give up and go somewhere warmer and flatter.
Ask yourself how long you will be able to push yourself but I intend to keep going at it hard while I can knowing that illness or accident could remove the option at any time. The ability to shoot well is important but sub moa groups on a range are meaningless when out on undulating ground and an uncomfortable compromise is needed to get a clear line of sight at the deer which may give you a few short moments of opportunity on an otherwise blank day.
Refining ones stalking craft and working hard in the field instead of aiming to reduce group size I suspect achieves greater success.
Click to expand...


:thumb:
 
paul at barony said:
I've shot deer left and right handed from high seats and grouping doesn't count for toffee stretched round an obstacle when you're at the limit of stretch and seconds for one shot is all you got.
So I often end up stalking 10+ km in a day to my melting point doing point to points to glass for deer and stalk where I'd expect to locate them before my chance may come. This after driving hundreds of miles to get there. The difference and point I'm making is that a true stalker is a hunter of endurance, perseverance and patience who commits to more than just an outing here and there. How big a part of all your efforts is the actual shot? Too many times I have stalked alone leaving the have a go’s sleeping in the car and that's a sad thing. Stalking is not about just the shooting but the challenge and physical demands that can be placed on you to beat the deer in conditions and environments that often see the lesser stalkers give up and go somewhere warmer and flatter.
Ask yourself how long you will be able to push yourself but I intend to keep going at it hard while I can knowing that illness or accident could remove the option at any time. The ability to shoot well is important but sub moa groups on a range are meaningless when out on undulating ground and an uncomfortable compromise is needed to get a clear line of sight at the deer which may give you a few short moments of opportunity on an otherwise blank day.
Refining ones stalking craft and working hard in the field instead of aiming to reduce group size I suspect achieves greater success.
Click to expand...
+1:thumb: to that mate have been there ,got new ground thought i would never get a stag on it ,after about 8 full day stalking final got a couple and they were from dusk till dawn stalks,so it come down to being in right place at right time and hoping that you have the ability to take the shot when it arises. PS have been with you a couple of time when we have traveled hundreds of miles for nothing :evil:
 
Last edited:
i stalk, i'm in the uk, and i'm a record proven world class rifle shot! how does that answer the op's question?:-D
 
paul at barony said:
I've shot deer left and right handed from high seats and grouping doesn't count for toffee stretched round an obstacle when you're at the limit of stretch and seconds for one shot is all you got.
So I often end up stalking 10+ km in a day to my melting point doing point to points to glass for deer and stalk where I'd expect to locate them before my chance may come. This after driving hundreds of miles to get there. The difference and point I'm making is that a true stalker is a hunter of endurance, perseverance and patience who commits to more than just an outing here and there. How big a part of all your efforts is the actual shot? Too many times I have stalked alone leaving the have a go’s sleeping in the car and that's a sad thing. Stalking is not about just the shooting but the challenge and physical demands that can be placed on you to beat the deer in conditions and environments that often see the lesser stalkers give up and go somewhere warmer and flatter.
Ask yourself how long you will be able to push yourself but I intend to keep going at it hard while I can knowing that illness or accident could remove the option at any time. The ability to shoot well is important but sub moa groups on a range are meaningless when out on undulating ground and an uncomfortable compromise is needed to get a clear line of sight at the deer which may give you a few short moments of opportunity on an otherwise blank day.
Refining ones stalking craft and working hard in the field instead of aiming to reduce group size I suspect achieves greater success.
Click to expand...
I can feel myself back out there with you reading this, lying propped up on sore elbows, in a bit of low ground, the burn running in at sleeve or neck, & out through the waistband, nothing left dry for lenses, & then a flat crack, followed by the rolling boom,& you know your mate will be thinking, Yep!, that's one down!:cool:
 
kennyc said:
for the record, my pic was posted in answer to the assertion that,
"On the other hand I doubt many rifles are capable of shooting under an inch at 100yds, a three shot group is one thing, how many posts on here do you see with 10 shot groups inside an inch? Not many". :-P
Click to expand...

My DSC1 shooting assessment, from a Sauer 202, shooting 6.5x55 Federal Poweshok factory 140gr.
My sights were off on zero, but grouped well so left them alone. "In is in" as they say, and this from all 3 positions and distances (100,70 and 40m).
Ok so it's not 10 shots, but demonstrates that if you follow the principles of marksmanship you can achieve consistent results.
image(2).webp
 
my rifle is a 1/2 moa rifle , however , i am a consistant 1moa shooter and i really need to be on my game to consistantly shoot 3/4 moa particularly from field conditions ?

i can however kill deer consistantly !
 
I'm a pretty cack shot in comparrison to my rifle - it will key hiole if i do my bit and has done on a few occasions - but I and the wobble factor in there!

I will add I recently bought a 30-06 and have to say I'm not shooting great groups with it - probably around 2" off the truck bonnet....but need to get the package all settled so I am happy with it and then get on to trying ammo/scope/tecnique changes.

however as mentioned above I seem to kill deer consitantly - If we had a range nearby I would use it more as I quite like paper punching - but its just not feasible to wallop a heap of cf rounds at a target in most places.

Regards,

Gixer
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Shot placement with a difference
2
Replies
27
Views
2K
Donkey Basher
Donkey Basher
All well but a salutary reminder.
2
Replies
34
Views
2K
NoIDeer
NoIDeer
The yips
2
Replies
31
Views
1K
Mungo
Mungo
I may have positioned myself behind a rifle in the wrong way until now
2 3 4
Replies
63
Views
4K
Scarpa
Scarpa
why oh why?
2
Replies
28
Views
2K
timbrayford
timbrayford
Braces Airgun Masters
Back
Top