Who's the better shot?

2muchgun

2muchgun

New member
We have guys here who are strictly hunters, guys who are paper punchers, and guys who do both, like myself.

So what's more impressive, the guy who makes crack shots on game, possibly moving game, or the guy who can dial it up long distance and shoot sub moa groups to afar? Quite frankly, I have been known to do both
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, but I know some who are only proficient in 1 of the 2 fields and never have really tried the other. What say you?
 
I'm always the most impressed with the shooter that can take one of older lever actions with the 'buckhorn' iron sights and hit just about anything, whether moving or stationary, from a standing, offhand position...

We can all upgrade our equipment past the point of being sane and using techniques that our grandparents never even considered, hit just about anything with a little practice,,,

But the shooter that shoots the basics, on what appears to be instinct is the one that has my utmost respect..
 
Im with turtle, the guy who shoots that .30-30 lever gun open sights and can hit anything, thats nuts


Yeah I can shoot half inch groups at 100 yards with my .22, and 1.5 with my 270, but no chance i could hit a rope less than half an inch wide open sighted at 35yrds

gotta love the old school
 
Wow, I've typed 2 different answers now and erased them both. I could get into this one pretty deep, but I have 5 days off left.

I used to believe game shots were purely instinctual and long range target shooting more learned. Now that I have become more proficient in both, I am starting to see the gap close up a bit........
 
Both disciplines require real skills. I have noticed that many target shooters look down on hunters and the euipment hunters use. I think I am most impressed with some of the shooting my brother used to do with a Ruger .22 with iron sights. The kid was absolutely amazing.
 
I'm more interested in and more impressed by the feats of Rifleman in the field, on live animals. Paper punching, even at the highest levels, just bores me. I'm just not all that interested in it, beyond the portions that I can apply in the field. That, and I've hunted with some world class paper punchers that were just totally lost in the field without the accoutrements of their particlular competitive discipline (bench rest). Literally Hall of fame level, in their chosen area of competition, but literally incompetent, trying to shoot standing on their hind legs, in the field.

- DAA
 
I know exactly what you are talking about. I know a HOF BR shooter. He sits at a bench and bangs out super tiny groups in the .1s and .2s @ 100 and 200yds. While I could never sit down and beat him in a match, I have shot groups that tight before. This kind of match shooting literally bores the [beeep] out of me though. I have often wondered what kind of field shot the guy would be, or how he would do @ one of the 600yd prone matches I shoot in. I'm betting not too good, but you never know......
 
Ok...I'm killin time waiting for my buddy to come by and we are heading off to shoot pds for a couple of days.

You can probably guess by my response but first I hate shootin paper, next I love to shoot reactive targets. I am far more impressed with field shooting than bench and paper shooting.

I shoot paper as a means to an end. The end is the confidence to take the gun to the field and know its on. Any shooting errors will be my fault.
 
Lucky you. I was gonna shoot today, but the weather man screwed me. Pouring rain was not in the forecast I saw.

I tend to agree with the game shooting thing, however seeing guys hit 1000yd targets in any kind of substantial crosswind is pretty impressive........
 
I am more impressed by hunters. I have seen some miraculous running shots made on some of the videos on predator hunting that I have viewed. I know that there are many more misses doing that than hits. They do however impress me. The skill to know not only on running but walking and standing targets when to shoot is what I respect most. I had a hunting partner who knowing I was very successful in our hunting trips, ask me "When do you shoot" I said "When I know I can kill the animal." Now that is not something I can explain, just clicks in when the time happens.
I also like to punch paper and I like tight groups to find out how the gun preforms and what it is capable of. When I am punching paper I like game targets but even if I am shooting bulls I always say or think "That would have got'em". When practicing from sticks and off hand or across my knees I always count the first shot highest. I know long post. Hope I explained it OK.
 
The crack shots on Game, Paper don't move. Personally I do not like shooting paper and every bullet sent that aint on it's way to possibly kill something is a wasted bullet. Sighting in is my only exception.

t/c223encore.
 
I do one as practice for the other.
Paper is simply a means to judge a load. Then it is off to the stix or bipod to 'practice as I'd fight'...
I like to shoot at reactive targets from field positions, on my belly or off my butt. Or just plain kill stuff when a season will allow!

For the means to that end, I'll readily utilize ballistically superior firepower & gear to my advantage. But I'm no fan of heavy benchrest rifles and Erector set front rests. Not to say I can't admire & respect the abilites of a shooter who incorporates such...

Missing what I'm aiming at just pi$$es me off! So I do my best to prevent that from happening in the field by practicing IN THE field...
 
I'm more impressed with the guy that can make shots on running game while guessing the range and not having time to assume a steady position. Normally, if you take that guy and put him at the bench, shooting targets at known ranges, he'll do pretty well.
Take a good benchrest-only shooter and throw him into a jump-shooting situation and they don't seem to solve the problem as often. Most of them can compensate for wind, but don't have a very good idea of how much lead to add.

But that's a generalization, just based on what I've seen personally.
I'd much rather hunt with an old jack-rabbit killer than a guy that's spent the last 5 years punching paper. If he's really good, he might fill my tag, too.
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Quote:however seeing guys hit 1000yd targets in any kind of substantial crosswind is pretty impressive.

No argument there. Watching somebody bail off a horse and knock an elk down at 450 in about 5 seconds is pretty impressive, too.

Edit: I took too long to type, I sound like a parrot now.
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I'm more impressed by the shooter with pratical skills, who can "make the shot happen" regardless the cirumstances. The target could be paper, steel, a rock, or fur. Shooting from a bench at paper can be boring, but shooting from a bench at long range PDs or rock chucks is loads of fun with targets constantly on the move and each shot is a different challenge. Likewise, shooting silouhet type competitions gets old, but jump shooting jackrabbits is a blast. Again, it's the thrill of a unique challenge on each shot that is fun.

Truly good shooters could be great at both practical shooting and target shooting if they practiced both equally. Everybody doesn't have the time or interest to do both.

For me, shooting paper from various positions gives me feedback on what I need to improve on. Not just "hit" or "miss". Paper (or fresh painted steel) tells me how good my hit was. Not all hits are equal, ESPECIALLY on live game. I drop coyotes DRT more often than most people, and I attribute my accurate shot placement to practice on paper or steel.

Some people claim any shot on paper is a wasted bullet unless you're sighting in. Ok, by that logic, you don't practice at all, and the only shots you fire are at game in the field. So tell me again how many coyotes/deer you killed last year? You aren't getting many shots off durring the year are you? You don't think you'd be a better shot if you practiced?
 
oh yeah and like mbowerma said, it's instict for me, when to shoot, but yeah, i've seen some straight running dead on spot shots on coyotes, thats nuts, i only shoot if there stopped, flying, or walking slow, thats it, i don't enjoy missing so i shoot when i know i can kill them
 
I'm equally impressed by the target shooter that can shoot from positions other than a cushy bench and hit .5 to 1 MOA targets from 50 yds to 1000 yds in tactical style match formats as I am the shooter that can hit 75% or better on doves, 99% big game at unknown distances, and head shoot squirrels on the run standing more times than not. To me a "Hunter" that shoots deer off a feeder at a known distance from a comfortable perch is no different than the guy with a $300 front rest, $10,000 rifle, and thousands of rounds in practice shooting at the same dot at the same distance day in and day out. I guess it's all individual perspective
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This is purely Shooting from a Trap perspective. I have shot in what is called Annie Oakleys or Custers depending were you are from and I think the Bird Hunters are a better off the wall shooters and can very much hold their own.

With as much Trap as I shoot you would think I would be a pretty fair offhand shooter with a Rifle. I can tell you I suck at offhand now. 20 years ago I would bet a Paycheck on shooting off hand now I just go sit with the girls when it comes to offhand.
 
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