ouch
 

maybe i should stick to fishing...

this is my first year hunting deer...and this morning i got the perfect oppurtuninty to get my first.

we had sat out in the woods for 3 hours with no luck, once we got home, we could see a large bodied buck in the food plot behind the house, so me and my friend Ben who was filming high tailed it to a stand nearby, hoping to intersect him. We didnt see the buck anymore, but does started jumping out of the thicket left and right, and i got a chace at one. The doe was 150 yds away pretty much broadside and barely moving, i pulled the trigger, but jerked. The deer did a little stumble like it had been hit, but after looking at film and the area, it was just scared by the bullett. This was a perfect oppurtunity for me to have gotten my first kill.

Yall have any suggestions on what i can do to calm myself to make a steady shoot...andything will help

Im hoping to head out this afternoon to redeem myself if i can, but i will admitt, i am fairly discouraged

RE: ouch
 

use a shooting rest if possible, remember to breath in, then out, and then squeeze the trigger. Don't anticepate the shot. It should come as a surprise. Good luck

RE: ouch
 

try and train yourself and think about the shot you are going to take a quick second and then pull the trigger

RE: ouch
 

rest is a great piece of advice at that range from mastevt. if there is no rest use a sapling or branch by wrapping your pinkie and other fingers slightly around it and extend your thumb as far out as possible. i rest the gun right in the crotch. some guns are to thick to do this andsome are perfect size. 150 yards is a doable shot but it is pushing the ballistics i feel of a slug gun. my bullets travel at 1800 fps out the end of the barrel. it's zeroed for 100 yards, at 150 it drops 7". thats quite a bit. who knows were the bullet is at 160 or 175. a deer is what 1 1/2-2 feet deep (bottom stomach to topback). not saying you can't make the shot or shouldn't have taken it but just try to think were that bullet will be at that range. good luck and i hope you kill a slob:)

RE: ouch
 

Practice, practice, practice.

Good luck.

RE: ouch
 

Are you sure it wasn't hit? I've never heard of a deer stumbling from the sound of a shot. I've seen deer go a long way before starting to bleed out. Most of the time this happens if you hit the chest cavity a bit high as the blood has to fight gravity to bleed out.
If you did miss the deer I'd recomend a bit of practice. Mussle memory will help carry you through when your mind goes nuts in excitement. Even shooting a BB gun in the offseason will help give you practice. I do it myself. I print out a 1/10th size deer target that I pin to scrap sheets of drywall. Visually at 10 yards it compares pretty well to a real deer at 100 yards.

RE: ouch
 

Wow,no need to be discouraged. First year out and you not only saw a deer, but you were able to take a shot. That's a good thing! Heck, I haven't had a chance at a deer since the 3rd day of shotgun season last year! :)

Here's one wayI was taught to deal with flinching or jerking. Do a lot of shooting with a low power rifle (.22 cal or so)in the off season. This allows you to "train your brain" to pay attention to the shot placement and trigger pull without wearing out your shoulder. When the time comes to pull the trigger on that deer you're brain will be on autopilot and you'll be able to focus on the shot placement and trigger pull without the kick even crossing your mind..

Little OT, but here's another trick. When you're at the range with your deer gun fire one shot at a timeand hand the gun to a friend to reload it for you between shots. Tell your friend to hand the gun back to you without a live round in the chamber at some point without telling you. If you flinch or jerk the trigger on the shot that doesn't have a live round in it you know you need to work on it. In reality this works best when you have no idea the person is going to do it in the first place so you don't expect a dead round but you get the picture.

Good luck!

RE: ouch
 

well I think the first thing I would do is get rid of the camera man ... that would be enough to make ole Doc nervous ... but I can tell you that the first 50 or 60 deer you shoot at your always going to be nervous ..as for being discourged remember if it was easy EVERONE would be bringing home the bacon ..or in this case deer ... just remember to try and learn from your mistakes ..it will make you a better hunter ...and be thankful you did not miss on a monster buck I have sure missed MY share!

dd

RE: ouch
 

Use anything you can for a rest.

RE: ouch
 

The others have pretty much covered it. Let me echo something, USE A REST! Offhand shots are extremely dificult when you are nervous.