How many use rests while hunting?

I wonder what percentage of our shots at deer, elk, squirrel, etc, are taken with a makeshift rest of some sort. Be it a tree trunk, log, rail from a stand, etc, etc, What percentage of your shots at game are taken using a "rest" instead of truly offhand?

I will go first and say that I use a rest of some sort while taking game shots 90%+ of the time.

What say you?

I always try to find some sort of rest. I carry shooting sticks into the woods if I plan to sit in one place for a while. Otherwise I take advantage of natural rests.

HD

Huntin Dawg said:

I always try to find some sort of rest. I carry shooting sticks into the woods if I plan to sit in one place for a while. Otherwise I take advantage of natural rests.

HD

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Same here.

I use a rest if one is available and if there is time. I'd say probably @ 70% of the deer I've killed were shot from a rest of some sort. That includes both ML & CF.

If we're smart we should make it 100% of the time. It's more fair to the animal and you'll take home more meat. I realize there are times when we cannot, but the rest of the time should be 100%. :thumbsup: :wink:

Whenever possible I use a Storey Point Pole Cat. Works every time but bear in mind that most of my deer hunting is out of a treestand .

I almost always shoot from some sort of rest when small game hunting. Usually I put my left palm up against a tree and lay the rifle in the crook between my thumb and forefinger for squirrel shots.

I've taken three shots for deer and they've all been from a kneeling position for a more steady shot.

I almsot never take a rifle shot without some sort of a rest...at a minimun I always have my forearm support elbow resting down against my body and if you haven't tried it, is surprisingly stable...I think the olympic cross country skier / shooters use that technique.

Because occasionally you get a shot at a deer where there is no other rigid rest available...still hunting a bottom one day I came up a slight rise to the edge of a 6' deep drainage ditch and about 75-100 yards away off through the woods I saw an albino doe staring at me...I couldn't step forward or I'd be down in the ditch...couldn't step backwards as it would make me too low to see her...stepping either left or right put trees and brush between us and the clock was running.

I shoot a lot and felt confident about it with my elbow/chest bracing and touched it off right there on my hind legs...she made a mad dash for 25-30 yards and piled up from a good heart / lung shot.

If you haven't already tried and perfected the braced elbow technique, it might be something worth trying this year...you basically have a surprisingly effective rest with you all the time
:wink:

Whenever possible.
Last year I shot a deer offhand but I always try to utilize some sort of rest. A tree to lean against, stump, rock or my body when kneeling or sitting.
I sling most of my rifles and use of a good shooting sling helps offhand shooting.

My dad always said that a good rifleman uses a rest and I'm a dang good rifleman... :grin:

I'll use one any time I can. Offhand shots are fine for matches but they are low percentage shots that should be used as a last resort when hunting.

I always try to shoot from a support of some kind...
The last couple of deer that I have gotten I shot from the kneeling position. Guess all that practice shooting 4 position smallbore came in handy. :hmm:

These responses are what I expected to read. Why, then, is shooting offhand at matches seemingly so paramount to many shooters and organizers? Haven't we all heard that "real men shoot from there own two feet!" and other similar rhetoric? Please don't think I am against such matches...I'm not. I just ponder such questions when left to my own devices for long!

nchawkeye said:

My dad always said that a good rifleman uses a rest and I'm a dang good rifleman... :grin:

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Yes sir, and modest too !!! :rotf:

I either use a convenient tree, or the walking stick I now take with me. Where I hunt, you don't see deer feeding out in open fields during Deer Season. They are in the woods, or the brush at the edges of the fields. Once in awhile you see deer walking a few feet inside a field to circumvent a fence, but if you scout enough, you also find a well used game trail inside the woods about 10-30 feet that parallels the fence line, too. The only off-hand shot at a deer I have taken was at a deer that was about 6 feet from me. He had followed the Doe In Heat scent I had put on the arch of my boots to mask my scent as I walked into my stand on a deer trail.

Skychief said:

"...Why, then, is shooting offhand at matches seemingly so paramount to many shooters and organizers?..."

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Strictly my speculation on the matter:

To make the competition more challenging...its far easier to become a good marksman when shooting from a bench or a good rest than it is to become an accomplished 'offhand shooter'.

Mastering the greater difficulty of consistent accuracy while shooting offhand is a more significant accomplishment.

What say you?

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Whenever possible! If no rest is available and the shot is too far for my offhand ability, well, then it just isn't a shot!

This year I'm going to make a set of crosssticks that I can shoot from standing. That way I'll have a good walking cane and a ready rest! I have used the "moses stick" on occasion but find it just a bit better than offhand. A nearby quakie is much steadier.

I always told my kids, when I'm still hunting, I look for deer with one eye and look for something to lean against with the other. Kneeling is the preferred fall back position. Free standing is the court of last resort, but that is why we practice that form more than all others. :grin:

Skychief said:

I wonder what percentage of our shots at deer, elk, squirrel, etc, are taken with a makeshift rest of some sort. Be it a tree trunk, log, rail from a stand, etc, etc, What percentage of your shots at game are taken using a "rest" instead of truly offhand?

I will go first and say that I use a rest of some sort while taking game shots 90%+ of the time.

What say you?

Click to expand...

I grew up hunting useing a still hunting method; old logging trails in dense timber (Blaktails in South West Oregon). Most of my shots were quick and close. Seldom used a rest. Today I do more stand hunting and almost ALWAYS use a rest.
I guess I would say that IF it were an option it would be foolish to not use a rest but there are times when there jist aint time.

While squirrel hunting, trees are always available and are good rests. My tree stand is just a platform so 90% of the deer have been shot w/o a rest. When I started deer hunting in 1949 w/o elevation, most of the deer were shot w/o a rest. Where I hunt, the deer are "on you" very quickly and to put a rest into play could spoil one's chances. Most have been shot between 10 to 40 yds and of course ...some were standing, but most were walking or running. Presently hunt w/ my son and grandson and they don't use a rest either....Fred