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Dave McC · March 6, 2011, 03:50 PM

When the world and I were young, I believed that one of the worst things someone could be called was "Sky Buster".

Pop and I had to endure some of these people in nearby blinds on occasion. They'd open up on any visible geese, even those that Anti-Aircraft fire wouldn't faze. Some of them would brag about how far they could hit them using 4 buck or even 00. Besides being illegal, it was a bad practice and egregious lack of sportsmanship. For every goose they killed cleanly, Heaven knows how many were wounded and died lingering, agonizing deaths.

On the other hand, Pop and his hunting partners took them close. One old ex market hunter had little Jolly Roger Pirate flags in his decoy spread and we were ordered to take them after they passed the flags. I believe they were no more than 40 yards from the blind and possibly just 35.

With some calling and decoy setup skills, it's not that hard to get shots of less than 40 yards. Heck, my last couple geese were taken at around 25 yards.

Some of those sky busters just didn't know any better. Back when I shot 3-D archery, most of us has trouble telling whether a target was at 33 yards or 40.

And some were just jerks, but we're not jerks here, I hope.

With shotguns, whether or not a clay target is 33 or 40 yards off means Light Mod or Mod choke, 7 1/2s or 8s, more lead or oft a 0 instead of an X.

On a living creature, things get hinky fast when we take high risk,long range shots. Even when we hit, penetration suffers,density suffers and often our targets do also.

A couple tips on how to determine is something's within sensible range.....

On Canadas coming into decoys, if you can see the eye, it's likely in range.

Same for a flushed ringneck, but if you can see the namesake feature clearly it's OK to take the shot if all else is OK.

Mourning dove eyes are a little hard to spot, but if you can see the feet, also OK.

Of course,all that is predicated on using an effective load that your shotgun and choke are putting out there in a dense, 26-28" pattern.

Using a range marker like those flags makes sense. I've paced off 30 yards on a dove shoot and used crow decoys as markers with a couple dove decoys near me. My results are good, great bird harvested to shells expended ratio.

And for years I've used the far edge of a goose decoy spread as a marker. If the geese are past the outliers, they're in range of Hevi2s.

Lots of us would profit from pacing off distances in our hunting environments and learning what say, 35 yards really looks like. That means knowing what out pace is in that kind of ground. Mine, 27 steps equals 20 yards.

Of course, if all you hunt is woodcock and ruffed grouse in thickets where any bird you see is well within range, well, more power to you.

And when in doubt, do not shoot. However, if you look at the target and know it's dead if you wish it to be,proceed as you wish.

Questions,comments?.....

March 6, 2011, 03:50 PM	#1
Dave McC Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 13, 1999 Location: Columbia, Md, USA Posts: 8,811	Getting the Range...... When the world and I were young, I believed that one of the worst things someone could be called was "Sky Buster". Pop and I had to endure some of these people in nearby blinds on occasion. They'd open up on any visible geese, even those that Anti-Aircraft fire wouldn't faze. Some of them would brag about how far they could hit them using 4 buck or even 00. Besides being illegal, it was a bad practice and egregious lack of sportsmanship. For every goose they killed cleanly, Heaven knows how many were wounded and died lingering, agonizing deaths. On the other hand, Pop and his hunting partners took them close. One old ex market hunter had little Jolly Roger Pirate flags in his decoy spread and we were ordered to take them after they passed the flags. I believe they were no more than 40 yards from the blind and possibly just 35. With some calling and decoy setup skills, it's not that hard to get shots of less than 40 yards. Heck, my last couple geese were taken at around 25 yards. Some of those sky busters just didn't know any better. Back when I shot 3-D archery, most of us has trouble telling whether a target was at 33 yards or 40. And some were just jerks, but we're not jerks here, I hope. With shotguns, whether or not a clay target is 33 or 40 yards off means Light Mod or Mod choke, 7 1/2s or 8s, more lead or oft a 0 instead of an X. On a living creature, things get hinky fast when we take high risk,long range shots. Even when we hit, penetration suffers,density suffers and often our targets do also. A couple tips on how to determine is something's within sensible range..... On Canadas coming into decoys, if you can see the eye, it's likely in range. Same for a flushed ringneck, but if you can see the namesake feature clearly it's OK to take the shot if all else is OK. Mourning dove eyes are a little hard to spot, but if you can see the feet, also OK. Of course,all that is predicated on using an effective load that your shotgun and choke are putting out there in a dense, 26-28" pattern. Using a range marker like those flags makes sense. I've paced off 30 yards on a dove shoot and used crow decoys as markers with a couple dove decoys near me. My results are good, great bird harvested to shells expended ratio. And for years I've used the far edge of a goose decoy spread as a marker. If the geese are past the outliers, they're in range of Hevi2s. Lots of us would profit from pacing off distances in our hunting environments and learning what say, 35 yards really looks like. That means knowing what out pace is in that kind of ground. Mine, 27 steps equals 20 yards. Of course, if all you hunt is woodcock and ruffed grouse in thickets where any bird you see is well within range, well, more power to you. And when in doubt, do not shoot. However, if you look at the target and know it's dead if you wish it to be,proceed as you wish. Questions,comments?.....