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Old March 7, 2011, 12:42 PM   #2
BigJimP
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 23, 2005
Posts: 13,195
Taking the time - and doing the prep work - as you suggest to get a good feel for what the solid killing range for your loads is / and what 30 or 35 yards really looks like - makes perfectly good sense to me. If I know my loads will kill at a max of 40 yards .....then I really want to let the birds get inside of that range ( say 75% of the max or about 30 yrds ) at max kill range or around 30 yds ( or I let them go )... I guess I've killed enough birds / and letting one or two go ...isn't that big a deal to me anymore.

When I'm trying to "establish ranges" - I always start with something easy to relate to ( a tree maybe at around 10 yards ) ....something I can easily pace off / or visually see from the blind and I know its 10 yrds ....and then I double it for my 20 yd mark / triple it for my 30 yard mark. I think this is especially important - if I've never hunted in that pond / or from that blind before ... Of course if the guide is setting the decoys - talking to him a little on what range he's setting things at - gives me a quick double check too.

Personally, I agree on your comments on "sky busters" ...but it seems like every high end guided bird hunt I've ever been on ....there are too many "wannabes" around vs "experienced shooters" ...in almost any group. Everybody has to start from zero experience at some point ...but it just seems that fewer and fewer guys are doing the prep work on ranges or even knowing how to operate their guns before they get to the blinds / or out in the field ...

This would be a good conversation to have at the lodge / the night before everyone heads out to the blinds at 4AM the next morning....but on the hunts I've been on lately ....there are fewer and fewer "shooters" vs guys in town to blow off some steam / customers invitged to come along / etc ... and I don't like the trend. Maybe converstations like you suggest will help change it.
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