"I'm sure there is enough spotters/shooters in my group of 6-8 that if I decide to take it out someone can help track impact."
Not with a pair of binoculars they won't!
Spotters have to be trained,:
hit has to be explained as xy inches low, xy inches high. If they wind is blowing, dust can obscure the hit. If they are using binoculars, 8x or 10x, it is just about a joke, they need to use their rifle scope. Also, communication on which dog you are shooting at gets annoying. It is really convenient when you can not spot your own hits.
common complaints with spotters:
1. I was not looking at the dog you were shooting at
2. I could not tell where the hit was
3. blowing dust, could not tell
4. I think it was.......
5. shoot again, maybe I will see it
6. I was not ready
On and On.....half the people that are pretty good shooters make lousy spotters...they simply can not put into words what they just saw.
For your spotter, tell him you will say "ready" just as you are about to pull the trigger so that he will focus his attention on the dog. As a shooter, don't say "ready" and take two minutes to take the slack out of the trigger. By the time the "y" in "Ready" is out of your mouth, the spotter needs to see the impact, This makes for great team work. If the spotter is not ready, or is confused about your target, teach him to tell you so.
Carrying a rifle that when fired does not allow you to spot your own hits on a p. dog town is a counterproductive thing to do. You go on a p. dog hunt to enjoy the hits, the marksmanship in making those hits, so carry a rifle you can see your hits with.
Even a 243 Varmint needs weight and a muzzle break to see hits.
It's your party, you can cry if you want to....which is what you will want to do if you can't see a darn thing you are shooting at.
I shot a 308 in metallic silhouette competition, but then I took it on a p. dog hunt...the rifle beat me to death in a hurry, 308 Remington VArmint with a recoil pad on it.
Here is a true story, my P. dog hunting partner of many years has now gone to be with the Lord. ON his first p.dog trip, I took him to S. Dakota in 1985. I had crossed a river with my 4wd pick up and put him in the middle of a p. dog town that was 13 miles long and 1 1/2 miles wide, no one got to shoot the town due to it's location.
We sat up our Armour benches, him on one side of the pick up and me on the other. He had brought 12 rifles and 8000 rounds of ammo. We were looking at wall to wall p. dogs, literally thousands of dogs up all at one time, dumb as dirt. I started shooting with all my rifles having muzzle breaks and weighted stocks, every shot was a loud, "PLOP!" I kept listening to Larry's report, no plop heard with my electronic ear muffs. Larry kept going back and forth to the truck getting another rifle, shooting his brains out, not hitting much. I finally had rotated my 4 rifles and all barrels were screaming hot, I was going to take a break and let the barrels cool off, rubbing them down with alcohol/water mix. I went over to Larry, and he was miserable. Larry was a very accomplished shooter, but simply told me in a whimpering voice, "Keith, I can't see a thing", meaning he could not see his hits. I started spotting for Larry, he started connecting, and he ended up shooting three 17 Remingtons and a 223 Remington Varmint because he could see his hits. He got so pissed off at a 40x Swift, he sold it to me on the spot, said he never wanted to see it again, and that it was worthless because he could not see a single thing he had shot at...."no idea" was his words.
Larry had 4000 rounds for the 4 rifles he could actually see his hits with, then we went home. Two week later, we were back in S. Dakota and every rifle he had had weighted stocks and muzzle breaks on them except the 17 Rem's.
So, from this true life story, maybe you can learn from Larry's mistake. I took other people to S. Dakota over the years, most had to learn Larry's mistake even though I told them what they needed. Some found the experience of not being able to see their hits so frustrating that they never wanted to go back again because they did not like muzzle breaks. I saw two best friends almost get in a fight because neither could spot the other's hits, all the while I am killing a dog on everyshot....PLOP...PLOP....PLOP....PLOP....PLOP...all day long! One of those guys got so frustrated that he started walking the p. dog town killing them with a shotgun! On another hunt, another guy walked the p. dog town shooting them with a 22 RF, at least he could kill something!
Also, carry some serious insect repellant with DEET in it, those biting knats, yellow flies, and deer files bite through thick blue jeans, your spotter may be swatting those.
Most have to learn the hard way.
Not with a pair of binoculars they won't!
Spotters have to be trained,:
hit has to be explained as xy inches low, xy inches high. If they wind is blowing, dust can obscure the hit. If they are using binoculars, 8x or 10x, it is just about a joke, they need to use their rifle scope. Also, communication on which dog you are shooting at gets annoying. It is really convenient when you can not spot your own hits.
common complaints with spotters:
1. I was not looking at the dog you were shooting at
2. I could not tell where the hit was
3. blowing dust, could not tell
4. I think it was.......
5. shoot again, maybe I will see it
6. I was not ready
On and On.....half the people that are pretty good shooters make lousy spotters...they simply can not put into words what they just saw.
For your spotter, tell him you will say "ready" just as you are about to pull the trigger so that he will focus his attention on the dog. As a shooter, don't say "ready" and take two minutes to take the slack out of the trigger. By the time the "y" in "Ready" is out of your mouth, the spotter needs to see the impact, This makes for great team work. If the spotter is not ready, or is confused about your target, teach him to tell you so.
Carrying a rifle that when fired does not allow you to spot your own hits on a p. dog town is a counterproductive thing to do. You go on a p. dog hunt to enjoy the hits, the marksmanship in making those hits, so carry a rifle you can see your hits with.
Even a 243 Varmint needs weight and a muzzle break to see hits.
It's your party, you can cry if you want to....which is what you will want to do if you can't see a darn thing you are shooting at.
I shot a 308 in metallic silhouette competition, but then I took it on a p. dog hunt...the rifle beat me to death in a hurry, 308 Remington VArmint with a recoil pad on it.
Here is a true story, my P. dog hunting partner of many years has now gone to be with the Lord. ON his first p.dog trip, I took him to S. Dakota in 1985. I had crossed a river with my 4wd pick up and put him in the middle of a p. dog town that was 13 miles long and 1 1/2 miles wide, no one got to shoot the town due to it's location.
We sat up our Armour benches, him on one side of the pick up and me on the other. He had brought 12 rifles and 8000 rounds of ammo. We were looking at wall to wall p. dogs, literally thousands of dogs up all at one time, dumb as dirt. I started shooting with all my rifles having muzzle breaks and weighted stocks, every shot was a loud, "PLOP!" I kept listening to Larry's report, no plop heard with my electronic ear muffs. Larry kept going back and forth to the truck getting another rifle, shooting his brains out, not hitting much. I finally had rotated my 4 rifles and all barrels were screaming hot, I was going to take a break and let the barrels cool off, rubbing them down with alcohol/water mix. I went over to Larry, and he was miserable. Larry was a very accomplished shooter, but simply told me in a whimpering voice, "Keith, I can't see a thing", meaning he could not see his hits. I started spotting for Larry, he started connecting, and he ended up shooting three 17 Remingtons and a 223 Remington Varmint because he could see his hits. He got so pissed off at a 40x Swift, he sold it to me on the spot, said he never wanted to see it again, and that it was worthless because he could not see a single thing he had shot at...."no idea" was his words.
Larry had 4000 rounds for the 4 rifles he could actually see his hits with, then we went home. Two week later, we were back in S. Dakota and every rifle he had had weighted stocks and muzzle breaks on them except the 17 Rem's.
So, from this true life story, maybe you can learn from Larry's mistake. I took other people to S. Dakota over the years, most had to learn Larry's mistake even though I told them what they needed. Some found the experience of not being able to see their hits so frustrating that they never wanted to go back again because they did not like muzzle breaks. I saw two best friends almost get in a fight because neither could spot the other's hits, all the while I am killing a dog on everyshot....PLOP...PLOP....PLOP....PLOP....PLOP...all day long! One of those guys got so frustrated that he started walking the p. dog town killing them with a shotgun! On another hunt, another guy walked the p. dog town shooting them with a 22 RF, at least he could kill something!
Also, carry some serious insect repellant with DEET in it, those biting knats, yellow flies, and deer files bite through thick blue jeans, your spotter may be swatting those.
Most have to learn the hard way.
