Shooting the buck of a lifetime is not so easy as shooting accurately at the range.
For this, you may require more practice and training and to figure out the operating procedures of rifles or firearms so that you can be ready to aim and fire smoothly and relatively quickly.
7 Tips to Shoot a Buck Out to 300 Yards in 5 Seconds
Here are some tips for shooting a buck out to 300 yards and it may help you to become more accurate on your next hunt.
1. Practice Your Shot
Long-range shooting is a skill that requires more practice and deep knowledge of your rifle and its capabilities.
Have you seen Bicycle racers? They ride and practice regularly for hours upon hours. Likewise, you have to do the same with your rifle.
Get the gun out of the safe, double-check to ensure it’s safe, and try to start carrying the gun getting it off your shoulder. Then try to raise it to your eye, find the targets in the scope, and practice shooting.
Practicing regularly not only makes you get better shots but also makes you a better and safe hunter.
Training yourself is what you are, building muscle as well as muscle memory, will help you to achieve your targets quickly and more accurately.
2. Eyes on Target
Keeping an eye on your target is an important aspect of hunting. Don’t look at your scope and try to find the target in it.
Remember that it’s not in the scope. Big-game hunters learn to reload a rifle without taking their eyes off from their target.
Likewise, you have to practice it or, you may lose valuable time focusing on the sight rather than focusing on the target.
The key to finding a game in scope is to keep both eyes open and focus on your target while you raise the rifle to your face.
It’s better to start with a scope at its lowest power. It increases the field of view and helps you to see and locate your targets much closer. And the last days of summer is one of the best times of the year to hunt giant bucks.
3. Dry Fire
Dry fire practice is vital for developing your shooting skills. Where Dry firing is a technique that anyone can practice. It’s simply shooting a firearm without ammunition in the chamber.
Dry firing with your rifle saves your time and money, but particularly, it improves your trigger skills and allows you to concentrate on your hold/aim.
Also, it’s a great practice, as it builds the proper trigger control muscle memory. Dry firing a few times before loading your gun will help you to avoid flinching.
Dry firing a few times after making your shots will help you to make them less sensitive from the recoil. Further, it allows you to cool your gun.
Thus, dry firing does not hurt the modern rifle until you do it on your ancestral antique sharps carbine.
4. The Scope
The quality of the scope is very important to achieve the maximum accuracy any given rifle can deliver.
There are a lot of deer hunting rifle scopes but, choose the scope wisely by separating your priorities from your needs, and select the riflescope which suits your style of hunting.
For long-range hunting above 300+ yards, custom or dialable turrets gives you more precision.
A versatile riflescope can be used for hunting or target shooting, and also, it’s a great choice for low-light whitetail hunting.
A type of reticle is another essential consideration. In most of the rifle scopes, the reticle is the aiming point in FOV when you look through the scope. The reticles are also referred to as crosshairs.
Reticles have one aiming point, where the crosshairs intersect, where this cross is used as an aid in aiming your target. Some crosshairs may be thicker, and some crosshairs may be thinner.
The thinner crosshair lines are more suitable for aiming targets accurately, while the thicker crosshair lines are more suitable for difficult backgrounds but the thinner lines lack precision.
To achieve the maximum dead-on aiming range, these reticles work well for the hunters.
Some of the best rifle scopes for deer hunting are Nikon Buckmaster II, Vortex Diamondback, Leupold VX-3i, and Bushnell Banner Dawn & Dusk Rifle Scope.
They have reticles with holdover points on the lower stem of the crosshairs. You can sight up to 100 yards using the holdover reticles. In some of the scopes, the holdover points stop at 250 yards, while some extend up to 600 yards.
5. Assume the Position
“Assuming the position” means knowing which position is safe and the steadiest shooting position for any hunting situation.
There are 4 primary shooting positions that shooters and hunters use to choose, such as kneeling, standing, sitting, and prone.
All these shooting positions are used with or without additional support, such as a sling, bipod, or shooting sticks.
Prone positions are the most steady and stable, so you can make long-range shots in the field. But it rarely works because of rocks, grass, and rising ground.
Standing is the most difficult position for precise shooting, as it has no other support than muscle strength. Moreover, this position is less effective for long-range shooting and only great for using short-range targets.
The sitting shooting position is usually uncomfortable; once you practice this position, it becomes more comfortable.
Both arms are supported in this position. And the most stable of all the seated positions is to sit cross-legged with your legs apart. Also, you can wrap your arm around your knee and rest the forestock on the muscles of your bent arm.
Kneeling is the second-fastest shooting position; it gives you a fairly stable shooting position if it is done properly.
This position also gives the hunter the ability to see over grass, bush and other things better than the standing position.
There are various positions that you can use under your flexibility, equipment, and the situation in which you may find yourself.
6. Practice shots at 300 yards
Practice hitting targets out to 300 yards or whatever distance you are comfortable with shooting at. It looks tougher, but you need to practice.
Because there are no tables in the field, and you may have fewer opportunities to take a prone shot. If you are a starter, then you can practice from a table or the prone position.
Once you are ready to hit the targets from long distances, then you can practice shooting from the kneeling position.
You can utilize the shooting sticks or tree trunks to brace and support your rifle scope. Try to recreate more field shots as far as possible.
7. Other necessities
A Solid rest is an absolute necessity. In addition to that, you will require a pair of binoculars that help you see bucks from a distance and judge their antlers’ size. An 8×42 is a better choice.
Carrying shooting sticks for hunting is more helpful for long-range shots. In addition to that, a bag with small walnut hulls, also having a bag filled-up with lead, will be brilliant, but it weighs too heavy to carry around.
Read also: Best Binoculars
Conclusion
To get started, this is a small nutshell of hunting. As you prepare for your next hunt, reflect on the following 7 tips. Moreover, safety is much important when you go for a hunt, because accidents may happen to you. So always have to be overly cautious and make sure that the safety rules are being followed. Hopefully, the above-mentioned 7 Tips To Shoot a Buck Out to 300 Yards in 5 Seconds will help you. Stay safe and Have fun!
Note: Treat all the land with respect. If we care to take care of our natural resources, the longer it will be there to enjoy.