New shooter

[Badflies]

Hey all. I had a post up looking for advice on a first rifle and got a lot of help from the forum. It's pretty overwhelming but the gist of it was there are about a dozen popular rifles in a variety of cartridges that will all put down a deer in the sub $1000 range. I ended up with a savage 16 trophy hunter xp in .308win. For a stainless gun with a Bushnell banner on it with a BDC reticle I thought it would do fine at $700 new. I asked 10 friends and got 10 answers but now I have a starting point.
Obviously I need to do the hunter education course and I have the benefit of access to an excellent local club and range. My first step is probably grab some federal ammo in 150 and put the scope on target. Are there exercises at the range you guys find useful in the field? I don't want to get good on a bench rest and find out I can't put a shot on target in the field.
When it warms up I plan on finding a local farm with a gopher problem and I fish so I'm not shy about knocking on doors and asking. I figure if I can hit a gopher a deer will feel easy. We have a lot of deer south of here too so I might volunteer some time for access if I find the right farm.
What newbie mistakes in the field and on the bench can you guys steer me away from? Also can you guys recommend some cheap binos? I have some old big Bushnell ones that work but they weigh half as much as my rifle!
Thanks!

[Kurt505]

Shoot lots, let the rifle recoil, concentrate on not fighting it or you’ll develope a flinch, that’s bad both on the bench and in the field. Control your breathing and try to pull the trigger about 2/3 of the way through your exhale. Squeeze the trigger rather than pull, and if you can try to rest your thimb on top of your stock, if you grip your rifle while shooting you might end up torquing it when you’re on trigger.

Dollar for dollar, Nikon optics are hard to beat.

[elkhunter11]

First thing to learn, don't post about offering to volunteer labor in exchange for access for hunting.

Practise with a load that has a trajectory similar to your hunting load, but sight in with your hunting load before going hunting.

[6.5 shooter]

Shoot from ever position you can think of standing, kneeling, use a tree, fence post as a rest etc... Your gopher idea is good if you can afford the ammo, stump dirt clump shooting etc. is good as well you can do most of your practice with a .22 Rf then move up to the big rifle a month or two before the season.

Nikon builds good glass but go to your local dealer and try out everything he has and let your eye tell you what you like.

[Dwwc]

It was my first year out last season, and i wish i wouldve tried to get some practice with target shooting downhill beforehand.
Ill definitely also be trying to practice in a variety of different shooting positions over the summer.
Ive got an old bushnell scope on my .270 id like to upgrade.
I bought a pair of vortex diamondback in 10x42, they worked well for me.

[Knotter]

Is buying cheap binos. Cheapos just strain your eyes which makes you not want to use them. The good ones will make the hillsides and distant meadows “pop” and save you from running over there when you don’t need to.

Good luck!

[score]

Binos......IMO Vortex Diamondbacks are hard to beat for the money. $300.00 or so.

[Prairiewolf]

Great first rifle choice IMO, and awesome cartridge.

You'll be able to put good practice time in with the .308 Win as its not a big kicker and will probably take factory ammo just fine. On the shooting range, much like a practice range on a golf course, get into a routine if you can. Initially, focus on repeatability and smoothness, not cranking out alot of shots.

*First confirm your rifle setup is sound and on target - take it slow on the bench
*Move to prone
*Move to standing
*Do a few burpees then try prone again (simulates field a bit)
*Do a few burpees then try standing (similar to above)

Track your groups, they should grow from top to bottom. Work on tightening each of them over time.

Best of luck.

[CptnBlues63]

Originally Posted by Badflies

Hey all. I had a post up looking for advice on a first rifle and got a lot of help from the forum. It's pretty overwhelming but the gist of it was there are about a dozen popular rifles in a variety of cartridges that will all put down a deer in the sub $1000 range. I ended up with a savage 16 trophy hunter xp in .308win. For a stainless gun with a Bushnell banner on it with a BDC reticle I thought it would do fine at $700 new. I asked 10 friends and got 10 answers but now I have a starting point.
Obviously I need to do the hunter education course and I have the benefit of access to an excellent local club and range. My first step is probably grab some federal ammo in 150 and put the scope on target. Are there exercises at the range you guys find useful in the field? I don't want to get good on a bench rest and find out I can't put a shot on target in the field.
When it warms up I plan on finding a local farm with a gopher problem and I fish so I'm not shy about knocking on doors and asking. I figure if I can hit a gopher a deer will feel easy. We have a lot of deer south of here too so I might volunteer some time for access if I find the right farm.
What newbie mistakes in the field and on the bench can you guys steer me away from? Also can you guys recommend some cheap binos? I have some old big Bushnell ones that work but they weigh half as much as my rifle!
Thanks!

Sight in and practice with whatever you're going to hunt with....or something that performs exactly the same.

I shoot Federal Fusion in 165 grain (.308)

After moving here to AB and buying my first Savage 99C lever in .308 I originally bought the Fusions because they were the cheapest in our local sporting goods store. I bought some expensive Federal hunting rounds at the same time. I shot those Fusion's all summer and fall and a week before leaving on my hunting trip, I tried the expensive ones. My zero with the Fusions is 250 yards. That's about 3.5" high at 100 yards. I sighted in with the expensive Federals, dead on at 100 expecting to see a hole 3.5" above the sight point. Nope, dead center where I aimed.

Luckily Federal puts a small ballistic chart on the back of their ammo boxes and I had a look. The Fusion's are 2700 fps at the muzzle. The other ones were around 2600 fps. Ergo the difference in where the bullets actually hit. I'm glad I figured that out at the range before I went hunting. I would have hated to aimed for a 250 zero on a target 400 yards away and missed because the bullet went under the target instead of where I expected it to.

Turns out those darn fusions work real so I got lucky choosing them. I consistently shoot 1" groups at 100 yards with them and can shoot 1/2 MOA at 500 yards with them. They perform beautifully when you hit what you're aiming at and I have recovered several that mushroomed as expected so I have been having a very good experience with them and will stick with them.

I tried a bunch of different factory ammo after that first hunting trip (the next summer) and never found anything that performed any better. Some were worse. You may have to try several different ammo's to find the one that works best with your rifle but when you do, stick with it.

Incidentally, I shoot 165's because I hunt deer, elk and moose and want something with a bit more weight than 150. 165 splits the difference between 150 and 180 and as I stated above, gives me good consistent groupings at ranges out to 500 yards.

[Big Sky]

When you go to the range, bring your rimfire. You can shoot a lot of 22 ammo for the price of a box of centerfire.

For a hunting rifle (IMO), bench shooting is nice to verify that everything is as it should be. Then spend time shooting from positions you could encounter in the field.

[Travco1]

Shoot and then shoot some more . Then go shooting again and again then a bit more. then more, more , little more . By then you will be fully addicted too the sport . Then go rock hunting , and shoot some more .
All kidding aside practice as much as ya can . and shoot off hand or free hand also

[waldedw]

Originally Posted by Big Sky

When you go to the range, bring your rimfire. You can shoot a lot of 22 ammo for the price of a box of centerfire.

For a hunting rifle (IMO), bench shooting is nice to verify that everything is as it should be. Then spend time shooting from positions you could encounter in the field.

Spot on, I probably shoot a couple thousand rounds of rim fire every summer, really develops muscle memory for trigger squeeze vs pull and the farmers and ranchers love the fact that the gopher population takes a beating, also gives you practice at various shooting positions, prone with a bipod, kneeling, standing, leaning on a post etc, range shooting is fine but practical shoot is better IMO and way more fun

[Badone20]

When you find the ammo your guns likes to shoot best, buy multiple boxes that you can afford. Make sure they are from the same lot (manufactured in the same run). you can tell by opening the boxes and comparing the numbers stamped inside the lip. You want the numbers the same. Difference in lot numbers can result in changes to your point of impact from one box to another.

I would also train yourself to shoot with both eyes open. It will help you with your field of view and follow up shot placement and bearings on what is going on.

Do not rest your gun on its barrel or attempt to grasp barrel when shooting. This can affect barrel vibrations which can change your point of impact from shot to shot.

As always check that your action and optics screws are torqued properly. this should be done periodically.

Finally, check your rifle zero every season before you hit the field to hunt an animal. It has happened from time to time that a rifle thought to be on from the year before ended up not being so the following season. You owe it to the animal you pursue to know for sure your gun is on when the time comes to squeeze the trigger.