Offhand

Hey Guys (and Gals)

What sort of range can you reliably place shots on rabbits and hares - standing or offhand without a rest (I got a bit of a hard time from the two young people I took hunting this evening after missing two at around 60M, one was a ranged shot so I'm sure it was a true 60M). Usually I can get them pretty consistently to 40-50M but is that good, bad, average or just indifferent . . . .

I did shoot one at just on 65M offhand today but thats really as far as I'll try and I was as surprised as them to get it!

I think that is very good. I don't even try unless very short range, i.e. <25 metres. For the rest, I use full length shooting sticks, or put my rifle on backpack.

pretty good shooting. what was there shooting like.
when they get to our age. they won't be any better assuming were are still allowed to own guns

I couldn't hit a rabbit at 60m with a rest! To be fair I couldn't hit the side of a barn, from the inside.

Depends on rifle/scope I'm using, 60m is a fair way offhand for bunnies.

Sometimes you cannot miss, other times cannot hit. Personally I think it is more about how often you practice that sort of shot WITH THE SETUP YOU ARE MOST LIKELY TO SHOOT OFFHAND.

P.s not "yelling" just capitalized for effect.

40m on a good day

What was the winning off hand shot at the last Toby shoot 300....something

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Originally Posted by Sideshow

What was the winning off hand shot at the last Toby shoot 300....something

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There is a specific off hand shoot for a trophy at the Toby shoot and the target is set at three hundred. The shoot takes the form of a hit gets you through to the next round and a miss sees you eliminated. Last year, the winner and runner up were neck and neck across the first four rounds and then both missed on the fifth round and then one of them got a fifth hit on the sixth round. It sorts the men out from the boys and last year there were many of us that were barely out of nappies on the first round.

This thread upsets me. Mainly because I would never shoot off hand past 40m. I have had a policy since I was a kid that you lose more game missing than you do sitting down. I can shoot respectably off my knees.

This was till I got an AR15. Suddenly I was a crack shot (relatively speaking) offhand, at least briefly, till the government stole it under false pretenses. I would routinely surprise myself to 75m.

I guess I need to practice.

Consistenly shooting rabbits off hand at 50 metres is very good especially if you can place the shot well each time.
For most shooters, if you want to be a good shot you have to be shooting alot whether its on game or targets.
Also a rifle that fits you well and sits in a well balanced manner with a good trigger means alot to ensure good shooting.

Used to be pretty sharp 50 m 1/2 grown rabbits when doing it a lot.
pub competitions use brno the stock shape is good for offhand.
Practice is still the key.
Still shoot muttons 20-30 meters offhand.

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Year have to agree practise is key. I’m not saying go out and shoot at animals at 300 off hand. 25 meters is my self imposed limit on deer.

larger animals 100yards...not too hard but will take a rest whenever posible
rabbits are hard enough to hit a 40 yards standing using a rest with a .22lr ,funny thing is I can hit 99% of rabbits at this range 99% of the time consistantly even if they are on the move its all about the gun and a .12ga with a load of #3s is prety darn effective at that range (and a fair bit further too) one spot I hunt once the grass starts to grow you get glimpse of arse or ears as they bolt and thats it.......the rifle is practically useless and the shottie really starts to shine.

50-60 metres on rabbits, out to 150 on deer etc. Consistent offhand shooting is a technique that takes time to develop, involving stance, breathing, and trigger control. Ping-pong balls with an air rifle out to about 25 metres is good practice. You are wasting time and ammo to try offhand shooting with a poor trigger. You need a clean break at exactly the right time to get results. Nobody can hold a rifle still offhand, experience, breathing and trigger control is the secret.

Practice is right - I like the air-rifle idea, that combined with a good trigger (I usually shoot with a Winchester M52 with the "micro-motion" trigger, its pretty good) is just what the Dr ordered (pun intended).

Now what is a modestly priced air-rifle with a trigger that can be made really "good"??

The two (modestly priced/really good) don't usually go together. Good luck.

I take a wrap of my sling for longer shots
Or shoot off my knees

id recommend practicing on clay birds as practice targets

Hey Bill - thats a good idea for a target

Must start shooting off my knees again, as soon as I get a new one (soonish I hope.)

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Originally Posted by Tentman

Hey Bill - thats a good idea for a target

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yea a friend and I use a mix of them and cardboard sun shaped price cards that are easy to staple to things

I shoot Hunter Field Target with PCP airrifles. The furthest off hand target has a 40mm kill at 32m and that is pretty hard to hit consistently. It takes practice on technique, a calmness you won't have if you just trotted up an incline and a finely set trigger. So with a powerful hit-anywhere-to-kill-caliber maybe you can stretch it to maybe 60m, but if you shoot a smaller caliber, want a clean kill and maybe preserve the meat, i would stick to maybe 30m. On the UK forums they shoot rabbits with 12 fpe airguns but they hit them between the eye and the ear with a direct brainshot, rested out to something like 40m max.

What gundoc said...

Another couple of points... It is generally harder to shoot offhand with a light rifle, so that counts against most of the plinking type air rifles and 22s. Whatever rifle you use, it needs to be well ballanced. I added weight to the stock of mine and that helped a lot.

In my experience you have 2 broad choices when it comes to position. For snap type shots, I found it better to hold the rifle normally and track up in a short arc from below the target and learn when to pull the trigger as the sights hit a certain point. For controlled string, I ended up talking to a smallbore 3p coach, and used a target stance, with the non trigger arm close to my body in a side on stance. Feet turned slightly in, grip with your toes. It is a very specific skill and requires a lot of practise.

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Originally Posted by gundoc

50-60 metres on rabbits, out to 150 on deer etc. Consistent offhand shooting is a technique that takes time to develop, involving stance, breathing, and trigger control. Ping-pong balls with an air rifle out to about 25 metres is good practice. You are wasting time and ammo to try offhand shooting with a poor trigger. You need a clean break at exactly the right time to get results. Nobody can hold a rifle still offhand, experience, breathing and trigger control is the secret.

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Practice doing it, is the only way! My go to practice was liter water bottles at 100m, and my method was to move onto the bottle and shoot, not spend time trying to be steady on it.Did hundreds of them, would steal bottles out of bins for ongoing supply. Got Chas Forsythe exited down at the Bruce range a lot of years ago (yes i've been there,and not a redneck nutbar in sight) offhand shooting liter coke bottles with a 300 Weatherby at 200m. (Wood blued Vangard with a basic 3-9x40 Dusk and Dawn) Should never have sold that rifle, it hit everything I ever aimed at and it killed every animal ever shot at.

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Originally Posted by Dorkus

I couldn't hit a rabbit at 60m with a rest! To be fair I couldn't hit the side of a barn, from the inside.

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With the door closed ?!

Most sporting rifles' true spread at 50m is about 1 inch or more. I appreciate that many people may report that their rifles have done a 3-short 1/4 inch group.

The chest kill zone on a rabbit is probably 3-4 inches wide. So that gives you about 2 inches or so margin of error. It is not easy to never miss such shots.

Take small bore silhouette shooting, the pig is placed at 60m, its size is 11x7cm. People that compete silhouette seriously use high end rifles that does about 1/2 spread in at 50. See these two links:
1. Shooting Sports USA - October 2018. This is a $2,000 USD high end sporter rifle - Cooper 57M , about the same class as Anschutz 54 sporters. Out of 31 different 22LR ammo only one did better than 1/2 in at 50 m.
2. 55 Rimfire Ammo Types Tested by AccurateReloading.com . This is a $10K USD bench rest grade rifle - Blieker. 55 types ammos tested at 50m, most were target grade ammo and they achieved good accuracy, but some less-than-target-grade ammos did about 1/2 inch or worse.

If you have ever shot silhouette you would know how hard it is. I would say shooting a rabbit at 50m using a mid-low end sporting rifle and hunting ammo, is about the same level of difficulty as shooting the 60m steel pig with a club grade rifle and club grade target ammo. So if you cannot consistently get it, I say it is pretty normal and dont beat yourself up about it, especially if you do not spend a lot of time practising.

When I shoot small game, I always kneel unless it is not possible. You do not loss much height by kneeling about you get way better accuracy from kneeling.

If you really want to get good at offhand shooting the Tokoroa Rifle Silhouette club holds 2 day matches the third weekend in the month they shoot .22RF and Air Rifle 40 shot matches
easy to shoot up a brick in a weekend

I know a rabbit over 30m away is a challenge for me to kill cleanly offhand. I have also found I can miss them a pretty much any distance.:(

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Originally Posted by muzza

its pretty hard to even find a rabbit round here , let alone take a shot at him.

But I favour shooting off the knees if you get the chance , using a fencepost as a rest works well too

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You're not wrong. Lucky to see a rabbit around these parts too.

A goat yesterday freehand at what later ranged at 225 yards had me feeling pretty good. But I then missed a sitter at 250 off a good rest!