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Post by piercings4u on Nov 22, 2014 22:03:17 GMT -5
Ok guys and gals..just how easy can a bullet get deflected from shooting through a little bit of briars...im talking not very thick briars at all...the reason i ask is because my marksmanship has always been very good and this morning i had a perfect broadside shot on a doe at no more than 20 yards and when the smoke cleared there she stood with her bottom jaw and part of her muzzle blown completely off...i was horrified and it made me sick..im still feeling bad about it...i reloaded my muzzleloader and waited almost 10 minutes for the poor thing to face away from me and present another shot..i did a follow up shot finally and aimed for the front of her shoulder and it hit her in the neck..i gotta take my gun out and see whats up..its open sights..im wondering if the sights got bumped..but how in the heck could i have hit her in the face when i was aiming behind the shoulder ...she never ran and was recovered but it was a hunt id like to never relive again...
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Post by firstwd on Nov 23, 2014 7:08:15 GMT -5
Did you possibly pull your head?
Btw, if you're getting a ton of smoke you might be loading a little too much powder. Lay a white sheet out in front of you when you hit the range to check your sights. The black spots on the sheet is unburnt powder. You can adjust accordingly.
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Post by dbd870 on Nov 23, 2014 7:32:09 GMT -5
I'd certainly take it back to the range. Are you getting a clear sight picture?
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Post by piercings4u on Nov 23, 2014 10:28:11 GMT -5
Did you possibly pull your head? Btw, if you're getting a ton of smoke you might be loading a little too much powder. Lay a white sheet out in front of you when you hit the range to check your sights. The black spots on the sheet is unburnt powder. You can adjust accordingly. Not sure what you mean by this ...^^ |
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Post by piercings4u on Nov 23, 2014 10:29:46 GMT -5
I'd certainly take it back to the range. Are you getting a clear sight picture? A clear sight picture? Can you explain that for me... |
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Post by nfalls116 on Nov 23, 2014 10:55:32 GMT -5
Scopes can easily be bumped out of alignment happens quite often I doubt your bullet deflected twice. Sounds like the first shot you pulled and the scope is off and your second shot you had settled down a little and your scope is still off. A clear sight picture can mean a few things to me sometimes if you have a branch or other obstruction in your sight path through scope it will often show up as a blur
Or your lenses could be fogged or dirty
Or... if you pull your head off the stock or out of you shooting position that will normally create like a black crescent or show your reticle as blurred when you practice at the range make sure you shoot multiple positions not just on the bench shoot anyway you may encounter in the field. Sorry for the super long reply hope I made sense
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Post by dbd870 on Nov 23, 2014 11:11:30 GMT -5
There is no scope, open sights. Pulling head means raising your head up off the stock at the last second. Are your sights crisp and not blurry? I'll guess your sight got bumped
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Post by ridgerunner on Nov 23, 2014 11:26:39 GMT -5
Your sights are off..no way you could miss that much at 20 yards you were off 3 ft..take it to the range and sight it in.
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Post by nfalls116 on Nov 23, 2014 11:33:18 GMT -5
Well disregard
My response then lol
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Post by stevein on Nov 23, 2014 11:52:16 GMT -5
Any time you shoot through brush it is a crap-shoot at best. The closer the brush is to the target the better though. Impact points cannot be predicted. It sounds like in your case though the sights are not lined up or you are flinching before the shot in anticipation of recoil or fear about your quarry moving. When you have it dialed in at the range take some offhand shots. Have your partner cap or not cap your rifle gun for you. Any flinch will be glaringly apparent. I do this with my flintlock all the time by not maintaining the flint. IMHO just shooting off a bench does little to improve your marksmanship.
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Post by stevein on Nov 23, 2014 12:09:14 GMT -5
I'd certainly take it back to the range. Are you getting a clear sight picture? A clear sight picture? Can you explain that for me... With open sights your focus should be on the front sight. Unless you are a kid ( or have had a recent lasic surgery ) the chances of getting 3 objects that range from 10 inches to 20+ yards to be in focus is impossible. Trying for a perfect view of all three points can cause errant shots and is totally unnecessary to good shooting. I shot muzzle loading rifle and pistol matches for years and hunted with nothing but open sights. My method was to line up the front and rear sights then focus on the front sight only, control the wobble on the fuzzy target and apply pressure to the trigger. I was pretty successful back in the day. Peep sights are a help for aging eyes. The reason handgun sights are somewhat easier to get front and rear in focus is the shorter radius further away from your eye. |
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Post by bcamp06 on Nov 23, 2014 12:23:37 GMT -5
Stevein is correct, keep on your front sight. On the bright side you pulled yourself together and finished the job and the deer is not roaming around mortally wounded waiting to die. It will now feed you and yours. Honor your quarry through practice, patience, and perseverance.
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Post by Genesis 27:3 on Nov 23, 2014 13:49:49 GMT -5
Bum deal for sure. Glad you were able to get her down without too much suffering. Hope you get it all figured out. Good luck!
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Post by piercings4u on Nov 23, 2014 14:24:36 GMT -5
So is pulling your head away basically like not following through...im taking the gun out to check it before muzzleloader starts...right now ive been using my cva optima pistol...im going to definitely repost what the problem was after i check the gun..ill have my buddy do the capping...thanks to all of you...i shall return
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Post by firstwd on Nov 23, 2014 16:25:00 GMT -5
Was this shot pistol or rifle? There are several additional possible issues if it was a pistol, and lots more information needed.
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Post by M4Madness on Nov 23, 2014 18:19:17 GMT -5
How are you sighted? I, myself, use a cleanbore zero. When zeroing, I shoot a single shot, completely clean the bore as though I'm done for the year, adjust my scope, then shoot again. I repeat the process until I am zeroed. My muzzleloader shoots way to the right on a fouled bore, and I definitely don't want to sight in on a fouled bore. Otherwise I'd have to shoot it every single day.
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Post by stevein on Nov 23, 2014 18:24:48 GMT -5
So is pulling your head away basically like not following through...im taking the gun out to check it before muzzleloader starts...right now ive been using my cva optima pistol...im going to definitely repost what the problem was after i check the gun..ill have my buddy do the capping...thanks to all of you...i shall return Any movement before the recoil is felt will have negative results on your shot. Anything that can go wrong with a rifle is magnified with a pistol. The shorter sight radius alone makes a huge difference on the out come. The gloves you wear can affect POI. Here is a link with some tips on handguns. www.handgunsmag.com/handguns/how-to-cure-common-shooting-mistakes/ |
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Post by sakorifle on Nov 23, 2014 18:28:47 GMT -5
greetings
perhaps you pulled off.
could be brash, but i have never had it with the 308, aint got a muzzle loader here.
i never shoot a rifle off hand, i use sticks to take the weight, ten times more accurate.
used them all my shooting life.
regards
billy
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Post by swilk on Nov 23, 2014 19:07:22 GMT -5
Would greatly depend on the brush too.... if the bullet hits and starts to tumble in addition to being deformed it could possibly plane a significant amount in a relatively short distance.
Instead of an aerodynamic, precision projectile you end up with something closer to a boomerang mixed with a curve ball.
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Post by omegahunter on Nov 23, 2014 20:28:39 GMT -5
Do not dry fire a muzzleloader without a cap on the nipple. It will deform the nipple and caps won't fit well until the nipple is replaced.
It is fine to dry fire a muzzleloader that takes a primer in a breechplug however.
Hope you figure out what the problem was.
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