Shooting a test group/card

Do you make them shoot a test card?


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Offroad Gary

Well-Known Member
How many guides (by that I mean stalkers that take out others, either professionally or recreationally) make their guests shoot a test group before a stalk.?
 
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when i used to stalk on a regular basis and when being a mentor it was part and parcel of the days outing, and i would take the time to check zero too.

bob.
 
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I always want to see any new guest shoot a test group. It gives me a good idea of their ability and ensures the kit is zeroed and working correctly. Once they have shot a suitable group there is no need to repeat each time out but the offer is always there.
 
Yes happy days but how do you do that at 3.30am on a summers morning pre roe buck outing ? Anyone i take for a stalk is expected to bring a zeroed rifle anyone without previous experience would be given tuition and taken for pm stalk ,this is how I was taught on my first guided outings .
norma
 
In the days of hard cases...either full length leather or modern aluminium or plastic...a rifle shouldn't lose zero during a journey. But in a soft case there is always the risk that it might get a knock. I once zeroed a rifle and got home and as I was putting it in my cabinet dropped it on the foresight. The foresight ramp being the screw on Williams type. So it got knocked.

So merely by taking it off and putting it back on straight with a new screw that was the zero all gone west! Even though it was with a telescopic sight. I know because I shot a test group the very first thing when I next took it out to use. It had moved the group a full TWO FEET from the original zero.

So I would always take the chance to fire a test group. This isn't target shooting it is shooting a live animal. And irrespective of any safety concerns of where the bullet goes if it is a clean miss we should at least be certain that we will get a hit at the point where desired. If only for the sake of killing cleanly and quickly and as humanely as possible.
 
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Yes happy days but how do you do that at 3.30am on a summers morning pre roe buck outing ? Anyone i take for a stalk is expected to bring a zeroed rifle anyone without previous experience would be given tuition and taken for pm stalk ,this is how I was taught on my first guided outings .
norma

New guests have to do a p.m. stalk.
They are of course expected to bring a zeroed rifle....
 
The DMG i am part of has a shooting test annually and six monthly for trainees. If you have not done the test or it has lapsed you are prohibited from shooting until you have attended a range test and been signed off again. You can never cover all your bases on a poll like this!
 
Every time clients come with me they go to the range, no exceptions

Al

so you only take them out in the evening.

all our clients are asked to demonstrate their shooting proficiency, with coaching to achieve the standard if required.

so if they need coaching on a target, how do you coach them on a single shot on a deer.
 
Would have thought this poll was irrelevant, with a minimum of DCS 1 they are all experts and crack shots:rofl:
 
Would have thought this poll was irrelevant, with a minimum of DCS 1 they are all experts and crack shots:rofl:[/QUOTE they are all crack shots there shooting is never]in doubt, it is a zeroing target ,rifles never hold there zero ,is a good approche
 
The DMG i am part of has a shooting test annually and six monthly for trainees. If you have not done the test or it has lapsed you are prohibited from shooting until you have attended a range test and been signed off again. You can never cover all your bases on a poll like this!

Plus One
 
so you only take them out in the evening.

all our clients are asked to demonstrate their shooting proficiency, with coaching to achieve the standard if required.

so if they need coaching on a target, how do you coach them on a single shot on a deer.

I'm sure Ranger22 will correct me if wrong but I assume in Campbeltown they are doing mostly red out on the hill during the day and so have time to take a shot at the target in the morning before heading out for the rest of the day and evening if required. Its not the sort of place you pop along for an evening or morning stalk only but likely a couple of days so a test shot can be worked in sensibly. That maybe the difference this thread is illustrating.
 
I certainly agree with some means of confirming someone can shoot a sensible group before heading out on deer. Theres no telling what someones going to do when the get on a deer though! But at least you will know how close you need to get them!
 
Of course some might rather not know, what happens if they shoot a 4" group.... Do you take them out anyway?

all its testing is the rifles zero and possibly accuracy, which is the strongest link in the chain and normally the smallest variable.
 
Thinking about this more, i'd rather just fire a check shot from their rifle myself, to verify zero, and leave the rest to the stalking gods!
 
Never a bad idea really just to dirty the rifle if nothing else! Rifles tend to be zeroed with a dirty barrel. Cleaning and oiling the barrel then effectively un-zero's the rifle for the next shot!:doh: Running a patch with meths or similar degreaser through will help to avoid this, but it isn't the same a fouling the barrel with a shot or two. It is a sad fact that many deer are shot with what is effectively an un-zeroed rifle because of this. Infrequent shooters (such as those that pay for days?) and fastidious bore cleaners that scrub and oil the bore for lengthy storage periods are probably more likely to fall into this bracket I would suggest. Just because a rifle was zeroed the last time you fired it, doesn't necessarily mean it will be on the next occasion you choose to fire it! Always worth a quick check surely, even if it is just one shot?
MS
 
Equally important (IMO) to the persons capability, or the zero of the rifle, would be gaining familiarity with an estate rifle, if that's what they'll be using.
Difficult to do pre-dawn I admit, but just thinking of an occasion when I went out with another SD member, and opted to use his rifle because I hadn't had a chance to check the zero of my own (it being pitch dark). However, my unfamiliarity with his rifle, especially the location and mode of operation of the safety catch, and the lightness of the trigger compared to my own, resulted in an accidental / premature discharge. Luckily no harm done, and my second shot confirmed that both my shooting ability and the zero of the rifle were spot on.

So, where a guest is using an estate rifle, that's 3 things that need checking - zero, shooting ability, handling of rifle.
 
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