There's This Thing Called "Target Practice."

[redsquid2]

A video is worth a thousand words. Somebody posted this on my facebook and the captions was "Some People Should Stick to Fishing."

 

[Dan of Bazz Clazz]

Let's not start slandering fishermen....

Someone needed to tell her, if you're shooting uphill or downhill, your shots are going to be high.
Not that it would have helped all that much since she shot under him too, but at least it would give her another point to aim which clearly needed to be somewhere "not on" the animal.
Too bad she pulled on an empty chamber. I could tell that was gonna be the winner. click.

 

[fishiker]

Where do they have deer like that? I've had whitetail spook when I wasn't careful enough with the safety.

 

[Dan of Bazz Clazz]

Ya, young mule deer can be dumb as a box of hair in open country. If they don't wind you or see you, you don't exist. Later in the season, or a big muley, they are gone as fast as a whitetail.

 

[bigghoss]

Buck fever is a real thing. When people get stressed or excited they make mistakes. You can hear it in her voice, she's way too worked up to make the shot. I just finished reading a book about this as it relates to gun fights but the author referenced "buck fever" a few times.

 

[not2sharp]

Where do they have deer like that? I've had whitetail spook when I wasn't careful enough with the safety.

Same experience here. That deer was as clueless as the shooter.

n2s

 

[Jhansenak47]

I have seen people get buck fever and have had it myself. Target shooting of static targets at known ranges does not prepare the average shooter for dealing with adrenaline, improvised shooting positions, variable range, elevation differences, and rapid snap shooting scenarios.

 

[Mark Knapp]

I am willing to cut the shooter some slack. She sounds like a young gal. I may be assuming something but this sounds like it may have been her first deer hunt. I missed my first deer, did you?

 

[afishhunter]

missed my first deer, did you?

Nope.
She was laying down maybe 7 or 8 feet from me, and facing me.
I guess she figured if she did not move, I would not see her.
The guy I was hunting with walked right by her, and didn't see her.
He jumped about a foot when I fired ... (he was maybe 40 yards in front of me)
"Was that you?"
"Yes."
"What are you shooting at?!?"
"A deer."
"There isn't a deer there!"
(Pointed) "Then what's that?"
He came back to look.
"Huh ... I didn't see her ..."

I used a Marlin .30-30 levergun on that trip.
I ain't proud of that shot, but I did have a doe tag, and she was yummy.

 

[Mark Knapp]

Nope.
She was laying down maybe 7 or 8 feet from me, and facing me.
I guess she figured if she did not move, I would not see her.
The guy I was hunting with walked right by her, and didn't see her.
He jumped about a foot when I fired ... (he was maybe 40 yards in front of me)
"Was that you?"
"Yes."
"What are you shooting at?!?"
"A deer."
"There isn't a deer there!"
(Pointed) "Then what's that?"
He came back to look.
"Huh ... I didn't see her ..."

I used a Marlin .30-30 levergun on that trip.
I ain't proud of that shot, but I did have a doe tag, and she was yummy.

Great story. Mine were running across a field in front of me maybe 150 yards away, haven been driven out of a wood lot where I was on stand. We had just come of a full season of duck hunting where my reflexes had gotten used to leading birds with a shot gun. You can't do that when hunting deer with a rifle. I think that many of us would have to admit they missed the first deer they ever shot at.

 

[Boxer .45]

I am willing to cut the shooter some slack. She sounds like a young gal. I may be assuming something but this sounds like it may have been her first deer hunt. I missed my first deer, did you?

Yep, had my rifle set up for 100 yds. On way to field I saw it pacing parallel to me at 90° about 15 yards away. I shot and missed on the first shot, but not the second.

I'll also say that a lot more people dont make the perfect shot a lot more regularly than they pretend on the internet. Not necessarily like in the video of course. I hear people act like they drop every game animal where it stood with the perfect shot every time for the last thirty some-odd years.

 

[FN in MT]

We do "sight In" days at our Gun Club. We have folks show up with scopes poorly installed, installed 90 degs to 180 degs OFF. Even backwards.
Rifles that are in such poor shape we wont allow them to fire them....All the way to the other side; with guys who have Military Sniper quality rifles. Perfectly maintained and sighted in with meticulously built handloads.

The abilities are the same, ranging from borderline unsafe to Instructor quality shooters.

The AVERAGE guy...A lousy shot. Doesn't want to buy anything but the cheapest ammo. And Will NOT practice.

I have started to feel sorry for the game.