Field and Stream - Shooting Tips RSS

Olympic Medalist Kim Rhode on Prep for London Games

Online Editors — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:40:43 -0500

Kim Rhode will be competing in the Olympic Skeet event in 2012, where she hopes to break an Olympic record by winning five medals in five different Olympic Games. She talks with Phil Bourjaily about her practice routine and prep work leading up to the London games.

Do-All Outdoors: Have Fun Shooting These Targets

Online Editors — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:30:35 -0500

Bored shooting the same targets over and over? Try blasting an orange prairie dog or any of these reusable targets from Do-All Outdoors.

Pro Ears ReVO: Hearing Protection Designed For Young Shooters

Dave_Maccar — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:11:49 -0500

This set of ears was designed for youth shooters from the ground up, rather than modifying an existing design. The ear pads are specially shaped to eliminate gaps in the seal around the ear near the jawline on smaller heads.

More on Long Range Shooting

Sarah Smith — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 10:30:40 -0500

by David E. Petzal

Back in April, 2011, I became a probationary member of the Scarborough Fish & Game Association in Scarborough, Maine. The name notwithstanding, SF&G is a shooting club, and a very large, very active one at that. They stage just about every kind of rifle, shotgun, handgun and archery event you can think of, and there is a dedicated range for cops to practice shooting people (so if you have any wants and warrants outstanding, stay away).

Among their assets is a beautiful range with shooting points from 100 to 600 yards, but since the Association’s official religion is safety, they do not let anyone use that range until they’re vetted. You qualify there or you stick to the 100-yard ranges; SF&G does not want any bullets sailing over the backstop. If you raise your muzzle above the level of the backstop you get a warning. If you do it again you are requested to leave.

Thoughts on Stock Length

Online Editors — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 16:25:24 -0500

by Phil Bourjaily

How long should your gunstock be and how much does stock length really matter?

The Beretta 391 in the picture came with spacers allowing me to alter the length. I made it 15 inches for shooting in T-shirt weather back in dove season, intending to remove a spacer to accommodate bulky waterfowling clothes. Instead, I left it and never noticed the extra length.

A Project for 2012

Sarah Smith — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 14:59:58 -0500

by David E. Petzal

A little while back I spent an hour at the range helping a friend of mine mount a scope and get a rifle sighted in for his young son. Everything worked, and dad took the boy to Pennsylvania to hunt deer. As it turned out, they didn’t get one, but the father was nice enough to send me a photo of the kid in his stand, and the expression of joy on his face is unmistakable. I e-mailed my friend that whether or not his son goes on to be a serious hunter, that deer hunt will be pure gold for the rest of the boy’s life.

Small contributions like this can make a very big difference. If you are a hunter/shooter with some experience, there is a beginning hunter/shooter out there who can use your help. These are not easy sports to break into; there is an immense amount to learn. Questions lead to other questions, and the number of people who have the answers is shrinking.

Ohio Man Shoots Amish Girl While Cleaning Gun

Sarah Smith — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 11:02:41 -0500

by Phil Bourjaily

Jingle Bells With a 1911

Sarah Smith — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 12:48:01 -0500

Happy Holidays from the Gun Nuts!

When Good Guns Happen to Stupid People

Sarah Smith — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 12:37:46 -0500

by Phil Bourjaily

Spend enough time surfing the internet and you will see horrible sights. This video is one.

During last week’s discussion of the Benelli Montefeltro, the Winchester Model 50’s name came up. Thinking it would be interesting to write about the Model 50*, I went looking on Youtube in search of a video illustrating the gun’s unique action. Unfortunately, the video here is what I found instead. It’s probably better that some readers (Tom from Cody, I’m thinking of you) don’t watch this at all. This is a gun project so horribly wrong-headed I almost didn’t get through to the end of the clip myself.

If Pheasant Hunting Was My Job

Dave_Maccar — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 13:17:29 -0500

by Phil Bourjaily

Fortunately, I hunt pheasants for fun and can shoot them with whatever gun I please. And, just as fortunately, market hunting for pheasants is illegal. However, if hunting pheasants was my job and I was paid by the head of roosters I killed:

a.) I would be going broke this year in Iowa.

b.) I would put aside my double guns and shoot my Benelli Montefeltro.

The Benelli is such a perfect ringneck gun. Sometimes I wish I didn't own it because there is no good reason to take any of my other guns pheasant hunting as long as I have it.*

Finally, The Secret To Reducing Felt Recoil

Dave_Maccar — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 12:32:56 -0500

by Phil Bourjaily

Some of the comments to the “Top Five Softest Kicking Semi-auto Shotguns” post dealt with the concept of “recoil” versus “perceived recoil” or “kick.” Recoil, as I mentioned, is purely a mathematical construct. Kick deals with the interaction of shooter and the recoil of the gun, and how painfully that recoil is delivered.

Shooter’s stance, grip, pain threshold and many other factors determine how much a gun kicks. So do recoil attenuation devices like recoil pads and muzzle brakes. Stock fit also plays a part. As some of you mentioned previously, even a seemingly unrelated factor like muzzle blast can contribute to the feeling that a gun kicks. That’s one of the reasons I always wear ear plugs and ear muffs to the range.

The two videos below illustrate the difference between recoil and perceived recoil graphically. The guns are identical Browning BARs, a gas-operated semiauto said to be fairly soft-shooting. For the purposes of this exercise, we will assume them to be of the same caliber, and assume that the scopes, slings, and other accessories are of identical weight. Therefore, they would each generate exactly the same amount of recoil.

The Top 5 Softest Kicking Semi-Auto Shotguns

Dave_Maccar — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 09:18:03 -0500

by Phil Bourjaily

Whenever I post about semiauto shotguns, the subject of recoil reduction and which gun shoots the softest comes up.

Strictly speaking, semiautos don’t reduce recoil. Recoil is a function of the weight of the ejecta (shot, wad and powder) weight, the velocity of the ejecta and the weight of the gun. You can reduce recoil by shooting a heavier gun, or choosing lighter shot charges and/or lower velocity ammunition.

However, semiautos reduce felt recoil (aka “kick”) by spreading the recoil impulse out over a longer period of time. Generally speaking, gas operated semiautos offer the most recoil reduction although not all reduce felt recoil equally. Here’s my list of the softest shooters. Your shoulder may disagree with mine. For instance, I shoot Beretta 391s a lot and like them, but I don’t think they reduce recoil as much as do other gas guns. I also think Benelli’s inertia guns get a bad rap for recoil and aren’t that painful to shoot unless you insist on firing 3 ½-inch shells out of them at which point they hurt, because they are light guns. Anyway, here are my picks:

Is Improved Cylinder The Do-It-All Choke? Yes and No...

Sarah Smith — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 11:33:56 -0400

by Phil Bourjaily

Years ago at the Remington Shooting School our instructor had us put Improved Cylinder chokes in our guns and shoot springing teal targets. We backed up five steps with every break until the whole class was hitting teal with Improved Cylinder chokes from the Ilion Gun Club parking lot. The point of the lesson was supposed to be that even an open choke like Improved Cylinder can break targets that are very far away, and that therefore, IC is all the choke you ever need.

Yes and no.

The Best of the 2011 Gun Nuts Target Photo Contest

Dave_Maccar — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 12:37:32 -0400

The 50 best shots from our 2011 Gun Nuts Target Photo Contest.

Marking Birds and The Importance of Persistence

Dave_Maccar — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 12:38:16 -0400

by Phil Bourjaily

Marking the exact spot where a bird falls and never taking your eyes off of it until you get there is an important part of hunting without a dog – and I make a point of marking birds even when the dogs are involved.

If you get an imprecise mark on a bird you need to make up for it with persistence, which is how I found this dove last week. I had hit it hard and watched it sail into a grove of evergreens. I went to the last place I saw it, dropped my hat on the ground for a marker and searched in widening circles without finding it. Eventually gave up. I stepped back into the field having almost convinced myself the bird kept flying, then I decided maybe my mark hadn’t been right so turned around, went back in, made an even wider circle, and finally found the dove dead.

Shooting a Side-by-Side Shotgun

Dave_Maccar — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 14:59:35 -0400

by Phil Bourjaily

Today’s Gun Nuts clip attempts to answer a question about why it can be easier for some people to shoot a side by side than a single barrel gun. The Gun Cam we use in the clip does a good job of illustrating one reason: the width of the double gun’s barrels make for a wide point of reference that is easy to see and put on target, especially on going-away birds.

Of course, the barrels should be a blur rather than in sharp focus, but the camera does a nice job of showing the difference between a single and double barrel in terms of sighting plane (I never liked that term, as it implies aiming, but that’s what it is). I always feel like I am looking up a wide road that leads to the target when I shoot a double gun like this Ruger Gold Label.

Guns, Doves and Steel

Dave_Maccar — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 12:21:35 -0400

by Phil Bourjaily

Almost as heated as the debate over legalizing dove hunting in Iowa was the fracas over what type of shot Iowans would shoot at doves. Iowa Governor Terry Branstad originally signed off on the Natural Resources Commission’s decision to mandate non-toxic shot for doves statewide. Hunters, gun owners and the governor’s son threw a fit until he reversed the decision to permit lead shot. Rather than rehash the political and environmental arguments for and against steel, out of curiosity I thought I would shoot it at doves this year to see how it works. Here’s what I found so far:

Cost
Nearly every angry post and letter I read online complained about the high price of non-toxic shot, with many claiming steel costs $20 per box and more. I don’t know where those people are shopping because at local stores lead and steel dove loads cost exactly the same: $5.99 a box.

A Longtime Shooter's Notes on Hearing Loss

Dave_Maccar — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 11:58:11 -0400

by David E. Petzal

Having started shooting in the 1950s when no one wore hearing protection and having persisted for half a century, I now have what the doctor describes as “profound” loss of hearing in both ears. What has happened is that some of the hairlike receptors in the middle ear, called cilia, have dropped dead from all the noise. This has had three effects: First, I have to wear hearing aids, but even with those I still have trouble understanding some people. Second, I have constant ringing in my ears, called tinnitus. Third, I have lost my ability to tolerate high-pitched sound that doesn't bother other people, such as fire sirens or Michelle Bachman speeches. This is called “recruitment.”

Of the three, the least known is recruitment. It occurs because your ears essentially re-program themselves when some of your cilia call it quits, and have other cilia doing double duty to compensate for the loss. The result is, that when certain sounds hit your ear, they get very loud very quickly because the way you process sound is all screwed up and some of your cilia are pulling in that sound much harder than they normally would. This is why, when a fire engine passes you with its siren going, you clap your hands over your ears and fall to the ground foaming at the mouth. And people with normal hearing merely stare at you in curiosity.

About hearing aids. The ones they have now are infinitely better than the ones that existed only a decade ago. But they are not a cure-all. If you’re trying to talk to someone who jabbers like a rhesus monkey, or speaks softly, or both, or has Valley Girl Lockjaw,* you will not understand them.

Shooting Drill: Turkey Gun Pop Cans

Dave_Maccar — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 13:32:10 -0400

by Phil Bourjaily

This week’s “Shoot Better in a Minute” tip on Episode 7 of “The Gun Nuts” TV show deals with turkey hunting target practice. We all pattern our turkey guns to see what load works best, but how many of us practice from field positions? If you have turkey hunted much at all, you've shot birds while you were twisting around a tree, or even from your off-shoulder and it helps a great deal to actually practice some of those shots.

You don’t have to use turkey loads nor turkey targets. Since you don’t actually feel the recoil of a heavy shell in the excitement of shooting at a turkey, a field or target load is just fine. While a pop can is bigger than a turkey’s head, it makes a good cheap target and any shot that ventilates a can would have killed a turkey.

70 Great Hunting, Fishing, and Camping Tips from the Readers of Field & Stream

Dave_Maccar — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 11:07:17 -0400

Here are the best Reader Tips from 2009 to the present.

Trap Shooting: It's All About Concentration

Dave_Maccar — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 13:19:09 -0400

by David E. Petzal

I enjoy trap because it enables you to achieve maximum rage and frustration in a minimum amount of time; much more efficient than skeet or sporting clays, or badminton. So I shoot in a summer trap league, and last Sunday I was sitting on the clubhouse porch with a friend who is a couple of years older than I am and has also been shooting trap for 40 years plus, and we agreed on two things:

First, old age is not the golden years; it’s the s**t years. You watch your friends die one by one and wait for your turn. Second, it’s very hard to bring any real intensity to trap when you’ve been shooting it for four decades plus. Then we went out with our squad and disgraced ourselves because of our lack of intensity.

Ultimate Gun IQ Quiz Answers

Dave_Maccar — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 16:29:03 -0400

The scores have been tallied and the answers are revealed. See what questions stumped you.

Reader Question: What Happens if you Lodge a 20 Gauge Shell in a 12 Gauge Barrel?

Online Editors — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 15:01:37 -0400

by Phil Bourjaily

Earlier this spring I asked for your questions to answer for a new segment filmed for season two of "The Gun Nuts" TV show on the Outdoor Channel. I promised a Gun Nuts hat to readers whose questions I answered on the air. In this one I’m responding to Pbshooter1217, who asked if a gun really does blow up if you lodge a 20 gauge shell in a 12 gauge barrel. Thanks. Good question, and here’s the answer in the video above.

Shotgun Tip: Precise Focus on the Bird Solves Most Shooting Problems

Online Editors — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 11:14:56 -0400

by Phil Bourjaily

Take a look at this picture of Jon Michael McGrath, one of Team USA’s best international skeet shooters. Note the intensity on his face and the eyes wide open behind the lenses of his glasses.

When the target emerges Jon Michael will focus his eyesight not just on the clay, but on the front edge of it. Chances are extremely high his shot will reduce the target to very small pieces. Shooters like McGrath have great eye-hand coordination, but they also develop the mental ability to focus hard on every target.

Precise focus on the bird solves most shotgun shooting problems on the range and in the field.

Announcing the 2011 Gun Nut Target Photo Contest

Dave_Maccar — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 13:22:42 -0400

Enter the 2011 Gun Nut Target Photo Contest for a chance to win a S&W rifle.