Sighted in my rifle..... got a question for ya.
 

So, I was sighting in my .308 Howa yesterday at 100 yards, and my first shot after last season ended was right on the money....(ok, it was an inch left of the bull....but the next one I sent down range was in the red!)

I took note of how I shot (out of a gun rest at first, then propped on the table with my hands). I started thinking, I wonder how most shots are taken out of stands and on the hunt.

So that leads me to my question...when you hunt what holding methods do you use?

If possible I like to hold against a tree/limb when hunting a ground setup.When still hunting most of the time I have no choice but to shoot offhand.

You practically can't catch me without a rest; usually a bipod, sometimes a monopod. Not many trees to lean on...

Just by Nature of how I hunt I'm not always in position to have a good rest. I like to lean off of a tree, but not always an option. So I practice off hand, resting on my knee, laying prone, sitting. ANyway I might have to shoot while in the field. I shoot of a good rest and bags to get sighted in and when trying to shoot for groups, but in actual practice I'm using hunting positions.
In the field, the shot could come at any time, so I try to be ready.
-Jake

Not sure what style of gun rest that you were using at the range. Some styles of rests that "absorb" essentially all of the recoil, such as a "Lead Sled" or a true gun vice can result in the rifle natural harmonics differing from what they are when shot "on" the shooter's shoulder. The point of impact can change.I have found using bag type rests to best replicates actual hunting shooting conditions. I hunt most often from a tree stand ... no rest other than whatever I can manage ... elbow to knee, side of a tree trunk, etc. Shots are seldom past 75 yards so usually not a big deal. Shooting houses .... a padded window ledge. Out west I was able to use my pack as a rest for one kill and the other, I made the kill from a seated position. I practice a good deal free hand, with the standing position being the one I struggel with the most.

I have used in the past, and suppose in the future will use, all of the first three options when rifle hunting. Generally it is the first option that is most readily available.

I don’t have a tree stand or a blind, so I am either still hunting or sitting against a tree (sometimes in bushy or leafy cover, but you’d be surprised by how many deer I’ve seen just resting against a tree trunk and being very cautious and deliberate with my movements, [or lack thereof!]). I have never had the pleasure of being able to rest my gun against anything that wasn’t more of me. All of my shots have been either offhand, sitting, prone, or some strange, very nonstandard position that I worked myself into in order to get the shot (e.g. on my back once after sliding down a hill to find some space to shoot between). A shooting stick is just something I would drop, lose or make noise with. Not for me.

If I'm walking I use a tree trunk or limb (lot's of them around). If I'm in my box stand I rest my hand on the shelf by the window.

Always try to use a rest. Freehand is not steady enough IMHO.

I'm with Bernie. I walk around a lot when hunting and usually end up shooting off-hand. I would like to use my knee but it always seems the brush is too high. I seem to get caught out of reach of a tree too. I would rather use a rest but seems like it never works out.

Stoney Point bipod shooting sticks.