Today I missed a relatively easy shot. Whitetail buck, ~ 45-50 yards, broadside, shooting a 7mm G&H with a Lyman 48. Once again I got caught up in the moment, didn't concentrate or focus. As soon as the head settled I pulled the trigger. Have no idea if the head was centered in the Lyman.

I call this target panic: the inability to gather my thoughts and focus on the target. I consider it a lack of discipline. I'm not a great shot but I can shoot pretty well when it comes to punching holes in paper but I miss every other deer I shoot at and for no good reason other than an inability to focus and be in the moment. Any suggestion and coaching would be appreciated.

Thanks,

JDG

Go squirrel hunting. It may seem silly but hunting small game isn't as "intense" as larger stuff and helps to maintain focus and will carry through to the deer hunt.

Please don't take this wrong but I tell my kids and friends if I'm with them for a shot once you have decided to take an animal
1. stop looking at the horns
2. focus only on the spot where you want to send the bullet.

Focus focus focus then get excited later when tracking or walking up to the animal.

Target panic is over-thinking the shot and situation which by the sounds of it you were not thinking at all! LOL

I think "buck fever" is more appropriately what you had. It's a break in thought process and deviation from a routine.

Like Snellstrom said, get back into the shooting routine and focus on one spot and don't look at antlers. In other words, start thinking about what you're doing.

Zeke

Focus is what you asked for help with. You correctly diagnosed the problem already. "Lack of discipline." So some suggested help follows.
Focus, in this case, is the process of thinking, Seeing and doing. Thinking is often enhanced by a process or in this case a mental checklist.
When applied to shooting, in your case Bead and Peep, one has to mentally work the checklist of Target on Deer desired to hit, Cheek weld which will properly center the bead in the peep if you have fitted it properly on the rifle, Front sight on or under your desired Point of impact, depending on 12 or 6'o clock hold , Bring front sight into sharp focus, squeeze, Bang.
To learn to do this on that HUGE buck is to build the checklist and work it on every shot at home, on squirrels until you simply can't NOT work the checklist; it has became automatic. All of this simple checklist can be done very, very quickly after it becomes muscle, and cognitive memory trained. As far as what physically fails people; failing to weld the cheek means the rest of the process is bound to fail. If your head is where it should be, you should be looking right through the Peep at the front sight, at the deer. You can prove this by watching folks shoot shotguns poorly. Vast majority of misses are the head coming out of position in some manner or the swing stopping. All comes down to where the gun and body intersect and if it is in line with the need to see and hit the target with the projectile coming out of the end of the barrel.
I must say it is very refreshing to have an honest story about a guy missing 50 yard broadside shot and genuinely asking for help. And no responses about "get closer" are probably coming either.
Good luck and Good hunting!!

quote:

Originally posted by ElCaballero:
Go squirrel hunting. It may seem silly but hunting small game isn't as "intense" as larger stuff and helps to maintain focus and will carry through to the deer hunt.

I completely agree! Lots of Tree rat hunting is just what the doctor ordered. The small targets "make" you focus, and when you do it enough, it becaomes second nature... and the hind quarters are pretty good battered up and deep fried in butter flavored Crisco!

Scope your rifle.Less to think about.

I use a scoped rifle and focus on a particular patch of hair. I get the shakes after the shot, fortunately.

1. Focus on the front sight, not the target,
2. Think "trigger press", not trigger pull, trigger squeeze, etc.,
3. If time permits, take one big deep breath to gather your wits then make the shot.

Good luck.

Interesting discussion so far which has given me much to think about.

First, Im pretty sure it's not buck fever. It's not the horns or the size of the target: it's the discipline needed to walk through the mental check list and not rush the shot. It's being present in that moment. I have noticed that I struggle with this no matter the method: archery, shotgun pistol or rifle. What I can tell you is I am a well above average marksman when I am punching holes in paper.

Practice: I really like the idea of using small game to practice composure in that moment. When I was a kid I was always hunting something and seldom with a scope. I learned to take my time and aim. I love shooting peep sights and have s couple of 22's with peeps. Perhaps I need to find s block of ammo and go back to plinking just for fun. BTW, glass makes no difference. I have a 700 KS custom shop 3006 that I can shoot ~ .5" at 100-yards with no problems. Three years ago I missed a nice whitetail at 15 (yes fifteen) yards.

Realistically I don't currently spend enough time in that moment to develop the descipline needed. I forth stay I just don't rifle hunt enough. Plinking and small game may just be at least a partial solution.

DG:
Sounds like you need to take a few weeks off, load a bucket full of ammo for your deer rifles and come out to prairie dog country. Nothing is better practice than using your big game rifle on varmints, it will also teach you to range your shots.

Don't know why but, I've never had a problem shooting game. A couple times I dropped bucks and started out to them and got all flustered enough I ended up having to go back where I shot from to reorient myself. Those two times I had to take awhile and work at calming myself down.

I've been told if we don't get excited at shooting game, we shouldn't even go as it's just killing. I'm intense on getting a rest and making the shot right the first time so much that many times game won't wait on me and take off. Only three times I've had to make a finish up shot, all three with a handgun up close. I stay in that mode til the animal is for sure dead and I'm standing next to it.
That's after 13 elk, 50-60 deer, a dozen antelope and thousands of p/dogs. First 20 yrs I didn't have a varmint rifle, so I used the '06, 110gr loads. I feel that's really done me a lot of good.

Practice can't be over stressed.

Good luck in getting over it. It's much like flinching, sometimes we need help to over come it.
George

The head shot is a poor shot and can be a wounder, break the jaw etc...shoot for the center of the shoulder, gives you some room..Maybe a scope would help..Its pretty hard to miss a deer at 45 yards..If you can shoot paper, you can shoot deer...That kind of excitement is worth its weight in gold, and be sure it will come to pass the more game you shoot.

A checklist? I don't know if I should laugh, or if I agree completely with that idea...probably both! I think that sufficient practice shooting, even at targets, will bring you to the point where you will automatically and subconsciously run through the basics of each shot: sight alignment, breath control, trigger control, grip, etc. Then, when the target is a breathing one, all you have to consciously deal with is the added stress and excitement of choosing an aiming point and timing your shot. And as Ray stated, that stress and excitement is the reason I think most of us hunt.

You mentioned centering the head in the peep sight...I assume you mean the bead, rather than the head. If so, you shouldn't be consciously trying to center it. Peep sights are designed to be ignored; you look through the aperture, place the bead/front sight on the target as required, and squeeze the trigger. You aren't supposed to be "trying" to centre it...your eye and brain will do that naturally and subconsciously. It's one of the huge advantages of using this type of sight.

I dont think its been mentioned, but I would practice shooting in the same conditions as you do hunting. I get old citrus fruit from the grocery store fairly cheap. I will have my brother set them out at various distances along the logging trail. Then its just the matter of finding and shooting them. Its great way to practice shooting offhand and with improvised rests.

Speed of the set up and shot has something to do with it too. Or it can.

Not too long ago I had good clean shot on a turkey. But the shot was in the middle of the back and I wanted a head shot. As it was the turkey turned his head away and I ended up with a rushed shot on the body. It reminded me of when I have the good shot to take that one.

That was a good lesson re-learned too as it came back several times to me on safari this year. One in particular was that we really wanted a zebra. Of course when you want one they become even harder to get. For a couple of years I had planned to get him on the sergeant stripes. Of course after a difficult stalk and when he became visible those stripes were covered and he was at an angle too. But this time I just shifted a little bit and saw the crosshairs in a good spot on the high shoulder and fired. Whew - it was good.

The other is to just focus on the target. In duck hunting when they are hurtling by in the wind, if you look at the whole duck or bird, it is a miss. You have to focus on the leading edge or the beak to get ahead of a bird.

Then finally there is the follow through on the shot. Just stay on the target with your scope as you fire. Continue to hold on and through that spot. When you can see the animal or target as the shot goes and after then you are still on target and it is likely that the shot will hit there. . If you look to see the result, then a lot of times the shot will be pulled off target.

I think in its simplified form it is just see the crosshairs and then stay on target and follow through still on the target. If I have a lot to think about then it increases the chances for a miss, at least for me. That is also why I just use a regular duplex reticle for hunting, but it is the VX-6 Firedot. As good as it is I have yet to actually take anything with one with the dots on though. Nothing wrong with it, it just worked out that way.

I save big cardboard boxes and make full sized and half size targets. I do most practice with a 22lr with a stock, sights and weight similar to my center fire hunting rifle. This lets me shoot hundreds of rounds at reasonable cost.
When I see the deer (or whatever) I repeat in my head, "Just like practice."

Mark

All good suggestions for someone having problems. Only exception I have is with Ray's shoulder shots on eating game. Effective sure, but, so is thru the ribs right behind the shoulder and there's little if any meat to ruin there as a shoulder shot does.
For animals you want DRT, or that can bite back, you bet, center the shoulder and be done with it. You won't be eating much if any of them.

George

Georgeld,
My bad post, I agree with you, I just called it a shoulder shot out of habit, it would be behind the shoulder as you so stated, only on DG would I suggest breaking a shoulder or two with the shot.

I think the best training for me and not panic shooting was years of competitive trapshooting. One miss and you can sit down for the day, and even though shotgun and rifle shooting are completely different disciplines, you are using the same motor skills and everything becomes natural. Not that you don't need to also practice rifle marksmanship, and you don't need to shoot 20,000+ clay targets per year like I did, but any trigger time is good practice. A little competition intensifies it, and more closely simulates a hunting shot. I love practicing on ground hogs here, too- but the coyotes have helped clean them up in my usual stomping grounds and it's been tough getting more than a shot or two in the few hours I have after work. YMMV, but there's always more than one way to skin a cat!

My PH in Zim told me that American hunters often have the bad habit of putting the crosshairs just where they need to be, and then waiting for a 1% better shot. You know the feeling, you just want to make the perfect shot.

Just tell yourself how easy the shot is, and remember to breathe...

Since I took up coyote hunting about 25years ago, I have become a much better shot at game, big or small. I'm not bragging, but I don't miss a shot at big game anymore.

I have the same rush of excitement when I see a coyote coming to the call as when I have a deer or elk in front of me.

With big game, the pressure is on because that may be the only chance of the season. With coyotes, if I muff a shot at 8am, I will most likely get 2-4 more chances during the same day. Then, I can go to a new area the next day and get several more chances.

Like with many things that blend manual dexterity with keeping your wits about you, the more often you do it, the better you become.

Thank you Ray. Didn't really believe you shot eating game in the shoulder if you could help it. Though I have seen quite a few guys do just that. AND it irritates the hell out of me seeing scope ads showing the crosshairs on the shoulder of deer and elk etc.

Many of us have been around animals of many kinds and some have had the opportunity to butcher beef, pigs and others. As a 13? or 14y/o kid on a hay crew. We butchered a beef a week for 9 weeks. The rancher fouled up a head shot at just a few feet on about the second steer. Me always having a bad mouth at such times gave him hell for screwing it up. He got mad and handed me the rifle and said: "you show me how to do it if you're so damned good!" No big deal, popsplat and to work we went. That was the first of my 5 summers there. I was the designated shooter from then on and never fouled up a shot. Sometimes they'd get a hog to break the beef only habit. I shot them too. In all, I'd guess around 40-50 beef and 20-30 hogs. Not as many as a full time "hired killer" in a packing plant of course.

In July '11 I flew to Fla. for a wild hog and salt fishing trip. I took my 700 .243. Hearing too many attack stories I wanted to make sure I did things right and not get torn up. Facing a boar in dark woods staring at each other so close the scope wasn't in focus really put the pressure on me. Finally I found an ear, then I estimated where the eyes and brain was and popped two of them a day apart. I wanted to save the skulls too. SO I was real careful in picking the shot so the bullet hit the brain and exited out the throat thru just soft tissue and not blow the head up. Both shots went just perfect. I was lucky as both hogs had their heads down and I was standing leaning against a tree for a solid rest. I let the guy do the mounts and he promised to boil the skulls out for me. Which in the end he didn't do so I didn't get them.

I believe Dad stressing "never shoot game without a rest". And the beef killing, plus many evenings discussing shooting elk "no where unless you can make a double lung shot, don't shoot period!!!" All these plus the thousands of prairie dogs I've shot with the '06 I used to hunt with. Has made me a careful shot at anything.

Much like Rich says: "takes forever to "just shoot!" That's one thing I need to work on, getting the shot off quicker. I've never hunted heavy brush so I've never been a snap shot like some guys. I did real well with a handgun at it as I've practiced a whole lot.

Here's another suggestion. Get the setup to cast your own bullets. Pick pellets from the berms at the range and recycle them. Most are more than hard enough they won't lead a barrel. Just keep the velocities down to 12-1800fps. I've used the 115gr RN from Lee molds with 5gr Red Dot in most any .30 cal rifle. They're very accurate to about 200feet. Cost is cheap. A jug of powder for $110 will last many years. Only the time and primers is your cost once you've got everything to do it all with.
I've found these type loads are great for teaching women and kids how to shoot the big guns. Cost is still less than a nickel each. They're light enough that anyone trying to work out a flinch should be able to in a short time too. I believe this kind of shooting will help you with your problem DG.

Hope these help. I know many others here have killed much more big game than I have, but, a lot of others haven't yet.

Best wishes,
George