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How to tell if they're close enough

PostPosted: Thu Feb 22, 2018 5:42 pm
by aunt betty
Long ago someone I hunted with told me that his dad had told him that "if you can see their eye balls they're close enough to shoot". Wish someone had told me that when I first started.
It's a really good rule of thumb.

Re: How to tell if they're close enough

PostPosted: Thu Feb 22, 2018 8:23 pm
by SpinnerMan
I guess it depends how good your vision is :lol:

Re: How to tell if they're close enough

PostPosted: Thu Feb 22, 2018 9:29 pm
by aunt betty
If you have poor eyesight "wait until you can see their eye balls to shoot".
There are these things called "corrective lenses".

Re: How to tell if they're close enough

PostPosted: Fri Feb 23, 2018 11:34 am
by Rick
See the tongue, shoot the tongue.

Re: How to tell if they're close enough

PostPosted: Fri Feb 23, 2018 11:42 am
by Rick
Might add that not too long after moving down here, I found myself walking off 50lbs (got a little carried away on both ends of the scale), and made a habit of guessing when standard mail boxes were 60 paces away, then counting. Last time I checked, I can still come within a pace or two, but the bottom line is that my paces are 9/10ths of a yard, and specks and blues are smaller around the body than standard mail boxes. So when our geese were the size of 60 pace mail boxes, they were plenty doable, and that was my measure during our big white spread days.

But they'd get a pass from me today.

Re: How to tell if they're close enough

PostPosted: Fri Feb 23, 2018 12:27 pm
by aunt betty
My father told me that his gait was five feet for every two steps.
Works for me too.

When I set decoys I'm counting steps to the decoys. Used to try and set them around 90-120 feet from the blind, no further.
When I started hunting in Arkansas and used blinds pros had set up I changed and ever since my decoys are no further than 25 yards or 75 feet.

If any duck gets in the death circle...dead.
You get good at shooting them in the head too.
Once you've clipped a few heads off you start gaining confidence and then you can stretch your range.

Til then look for the eye balls.

My Beretta likes the full choke so it's not hard to hit a duck's head at close up range.
Learn your gun and use the edge of the pattern. Less gut shot birds that taste funky.

Re: How to tell if they're close enough

PostPosted: Fri Feb 23, 2018 5:06 pm
by aunt betty
A guy named Chris Boley (champion archer) taught me how to head-shoot rabbits. I told him he was full of shit but after I started using the edge of the pattern like he said...I quit having gut-shot rabbits.
Thanks Chris.

I've been really lucky at hooking up with these champion shooters. One day Robert Arbuckle saw me struggling with my 22. He picked it up and started shooting walnuts off a tree by the stems by looking over or under the scope. I'm talking way over there and big tall tree. Shamed into trying harder.
He was using my rifle like a pistol holding it at arms length. Never seen anything like it since.

Re: How to tell if they're close enough

PostPosted: Sat Feb 24, 2018 5:42 am
by Rick
Y'all are better shots than me. Usually shoot IC and still miss in front of too many. And after all these years of seeing it, it still tickles me when they jerk their heads back between their shoulder blades.

Re: How to tell if they're close enough

PostPosted: Sat Feb 24, 2018 2:13 pm
by aunt betty
Look out everyone I just got new glasses. This fall's migration is going to be a bit light on account of that. :clap: