Thread: Yeah don’t rest your barrel on a fence wire when shooting a deer

What an egg. I wasn’t even thinking. Nice 10 point stag and 18hinds out just before dawn, we got in shooting range and they all headed towards the boundary so I thought they had winded us so I proceeded to try line up on the stag but the fence wire was in the way, so I put the barrel under the wire and felt the tension but had stag fever and lost my sense. Shot felt good so I let one go… stag stood stock still, I let another one go, stag didn’t flinch. Stag then ran towards us and stopped broad side.. I let another one go, no movement from the stag. Yeah I know all you guys would have figured it out by now or at least stopped shooting thinking the scope had been bumped. But no, not me, with adrenaline now amping and the stag still closing distance I fired 2 more before I ran out of ammo and the stag stood and looked at us before leaping the fence back into the bush. As I walked sadly back to the bike it dawned on me that the harmonics would have been messing with my POI. Anyway when back at camp I grabbed another round from the kit and shot one at the target at 100y. Hit the X almost at the centre… confirmation of my mistake. Honestly I have shot animals at close range 40-50y while resting the barrel on a fence before and had kills. So it didn’t dawn on me till the adrenaline subsided.
Anyway that’s my dumb shooting call for the week. I’ll behave myself now. I hope someone is laughing.. the stag was… so was I when I walked out to the paddock and saw all the prefect divits from my clean misses lol

at least it wasnt a hot wire...which is where I thought you were leading..... I can categorically state that does little for your shooting either...put me right off putting gun through fence before climbing over too.

Well at least it wasn’t an electric fence LOL.

I was also thinking this is going to end with a zap

what was the distance?

I would have rather had a zap and bagged the stag lol. Happy to have found the divits tho, shame to waste a nice animal

Next time put the forhand part of the stock on the fence wire.Bad luck with the stag.

Or hang a go-pro off the end of yer barrel like a young fella I took tahr hunting once, it was pissing down with rain and I was focused on him hitting the tahr we were seeing (and he was missing) so it took a while before I noticed it right at the muzzle!

If I do `t understand the situation, I will ask. You said, you put the barrel under the wire and felt the tension, is that mean the barrel is on the wire, or any situation that your rifle is on an unstable post?

Originally Posted by Black Rabbit

If I do `t understand the situation, I will ask. You said, you put the barrel under the wire and felt the tension, is that mean the barrel is on the wire, or any situation that your rifle is on an unstable post?

Shooting off a bipod on the ground, poked the barrel under the wire but wire had downward tension on the barrel. Last two shots I repositioned to the top of the wire as the animal had moved heaps

Don't worry mate. I 'scoped' myself a beauty (blood everywhere) also shooting at a stag some years back when I didn't realise my rifle was resting on a lower Fence wire and not the Bipod!

You only do it once!

Originally Posted by Scott Cowan

Shooting off a bipod on the ground, poked the barrel under the wire but wire had downward tension on the barrel. Last two shots I repositioned to the top of the wire as the animal had moved heaps

Thank you. Now I understand it.

Crack up, I hit a fence wire with a projectile once, stretched the wire by a few metres and there was a flat bit in the wire beside where it snapped.

Originally Posted by Gibo

Crack up, I hit a fence wire with a projectile once, stretched the wire by a few metres and there was a flat bit in the wire beside where it snapped.

Like to see if you can repeat that again.

Originally Posted by Rusky

Like to see if you can repeat that again.