Wounding losses

Please learn about and practice range (distance) estimation. See earlier post about this, please. Do not shoot at game animals out of range. Simple as that. Wounding losses grow due to poor decisions from out of range shots. The lethality of your shots drops at increasing distance from the muzzle. When you are uncertain, do not shoot. Just that simple. Please learn about internal, external, and terminal ballistics. Read, study, ask questions of knowledgeable persons. Practice on inanimate objects, like clay pigeons, paper targets, and similar items. When practicing in a safe location, this is the time to learn from your mistakes and errors. Do not practice on live game animals, please. I heard yesterday (12/15/2021) a neighbor he had taken a new hunter out, using her father’s hunting rifle. She had never shot that rifle before. Nearing dusk, a small but shootable whitetail buck walked out within a reasonable range, so neighbor promoted her shooting it. Several opportunities to make much better decisions were offered, most of which would have promoted a more pleasant outcome. The deer left, hunters then walked looking for the dead or wounded animal. No credible indication was seen, so it is presumed she missed the animal completely. I do not know details of this series of events, but I am certain a great number of unfortunate choices were made including multiple people. Of course, she may well have completely missed the animal. Sure, that is one of the possibilities. I shutter to think it was simply wounded and will die a slow painful death and feed coyotes and other critters in the woods. I am not an expert shot nor expert professional hunter, however I do spend time at a rifle range practicing with different firearms in preparation for hunting trips. Ammunition and reloading components are both difficult to purchase and quite costly so I fully understand the hesitance to conserve those resources, and minimize the expense of practice. Please understand I fully and passionately support blood sports, and hooks, pellets, and bullets are some of my very favorite things. I do support the ethical and moral taking of game animals, but not the useless wounding losses suffered by oh-so-many afield. I recently watched some YouTube waterfowl videos, and in each and every single one, the people shooting would choose to take unethical shots. In each video, wounded birds flew away, not to be recovered by those slob hunters. It sickens me seeing this behavior demonstrated time and time again, then published on-line for the broad public display of slob and moron. One more painful fact is many uninformed do not know this is horribly wrong, so they go afield with the same actions and results. Be ethical, please choose to do the correct thing when afield. Thanks, I appreciate you reading and considering this.

Christmas 2021

16 December 2021

We hope your 2021 has been kind to you, and Covid-19 with it's numerous variations and changes remains away from you and those of whom you care about.

Kansas rifle deer season was unseasonably warm, reaching over 60 degrees daily.  I prefer more moderate, winter like temperatures when hunting deer here in Kansas, since bacteria and decay are much quicker in elevated temperatures.  I will purchase a very large cooler for the clean up season (antlerless only) so I can quickly electronically check it in with my phone, get the confirmation number, and get her quartered out and on ice within the hour.  Those big coolers allow lots of storage room, so no need to immediately bone it out and package it for cold storage.  Waiting the evening allows more time afield, while safely storing the game.

Heard from an associate a new hunter shot at and "missed" first deer, because point of impact was not verified.  Rifle had never been shot by this person, so first shots were at game animals.  It truly breaks my heart knowing that deer was quite probably wounded, allowed to slowly die or be taken by coyotes.  Practice should be done with paper targets, not living critters.

Watching waterfowl YouTubes last weekend again remind me of the thoughtlessness (sometimes) demonstrated by those persons also.  Multiple birds arrive, shooter knocks one down and wounds more as they are departing.  Those carried pellets in the wounded birds will certainly kill them, but not to be recovered in the game bags of the shooters.  

Please help convince other shooters to practice on targets, not critters.  Do not shoot unless you are 99% certain your quarry will be quickly and mercifully killed with your first, well-placed shot.  Wounding losses are preventable and avoidable, and sportspeople need that moral fiber and ethics to do the right thing.

Please do the right thing, even when nobody is around you to watch.  Animals were not placed upon this earth for indiscriminate target practice.  Learn to shoot well, know and fully understand the ballastics of your chosen firearm and hunting loads.

Thanks, and be safe.  Every single day is Thanksgiving.

Kansashuntered.