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COMPLETELY MISSED THAT DEER!

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Mags
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Re: COMPLETELY MISSED THAT DEER!

Post by Mags » Mon Dec 05, 2022 9:30 pm

Sumaru wrote:
Mon Dec 05, 2022 11:51 am
... A buck happened to come into the field at about 110 yards. A longish shot that I assumed would still be flat with a 50 yard zero, but a clean miss. Was the 50 yards zero a terrible idea on my part?
This from Wide Open Spaces https://www.wideopenspaces.com/bullet-t ... affect-it/
The barrel of a scoped rifle is actually angled up to meet the point of aim in the scope's reticle. When fired, the bullet actually travels in an arc, going up, before coming back down to meet the target.
So your attempted shot out to 110yds likely fell short.
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Hank44
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Re: COMPLETELY MISSED THAT DEER!

Post by Hank44 » Tue Dec 06, 2022 7:18 am

JEBar wrote:
Mon Dec 05, 2022 7:18 pm
Sumaru wrote:
Mon Dec 05, 2022 4:59 pm
I don't know for sure, I have to assume it was below. Yeah, this really has me questioning my zero point. You know, the "haunting missed shot". How are the in between trajectories with a 100 yard zero? What grain ammo do you tend to use?

I load 240gr Nosler JHP bullets pushed by 23.8gr of W296 or H110 which generates a muzzle velocity of 1,720fps

zeroed at 100 yds ..... +1.1" @ 50yds .... -2.2" @ 125yds

pretty much hold the cross hair dead on and you should be good to go out to 125 yds

after 150 it drops like a rock
I sighted in my 44 mag 2" high at 50, verified 100 and I'm good to go. The majority of my deer were taken at less than 50 yards.

When I hunted with a 308, I zeroed 1" high at 100 and I'm good to 200. I've only taken two deer at 100+/- yards in 30 years.
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Conax
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Re: COMPLETELY MISSED THAT DEER!

Post by Conax » Wed Dec 28, 2022 12:01 am

Spend some mornings hunting groundhogs this summer. Once you can hit those low contrast, ground hugging, wary hole diggers a deer will be like a barn door standing out there in the brush. I like the whistle pigs now, in my old age, so I don't shoot them anymore.
Farmers don't mind their being taken out, though.
0 x

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BrokenolMarine
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Re: COMPLETELY MISSED THAT DEER!

Post by BrokenolMarine » Wed Dec 28, 2022 1:11 am

It could have been anything, we all miss shots sometimes. You could have squeezed the forearm with your off hand at the last second. Milked the grip with your shooting hand, or pushed with the trigger finger. A bad thing is looking for the hit, AS you fire the shot. This causes PUSH where you drop the muzzle AS you fire, trying to see the shot. You shoot low. It's why follow thru is so important. All these things are important things we diagnose in Competitive shooting, and they apply in hunting shots as well. The longer the distance the more critical they become. It may not have been the ammo or your zero but a blown shot. We've all done it. My mentor, a Distinguished Expert in most competitive disciplines has a framed target prominently displayed in his den, with a beautiful group in the ten and x ring, except one shot, at the bottom edge of the target. To remind himself what happens when HE loses focus at the match. Cost him ten points and a win at a major event.
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