Hit ratio while in the field.

[spencerhenry]

just wondering what others run for a hit ratio while out in the field.

i have had people ask me how many i get and i tell them that a good day is about 75% to 80%, a bad day down in the 65% area. Everyone of them has responded telling me that they shoot 99% or "never miss". I do not think they even know how to count.

i shoot wyoming ground squirrels, the little guys. a well fed adult might be 2 inches wide when standing erect, and maybe 6 or 7 inches tall. i shoot out in a horse pasture, they are hard to see in the grass and i have to shoot around horses llamas and alpacas. i use a bipod front, no rear rest except my hand, ranges run from 50 yards (rare) to low 300's when using a 17AH. like any western pasture, there are hills, and wind, and grass, and sun, not to mention bugs and ants. i would guess that 5% of my shots are under 100 yards, 25% from 100 to 150, 50% from 150 to 190, and 10% from 190 to 240, and 5% over 240.

i keep a running tally while out shooting, total shots and number of hits. a normal day is anywhere from 20 to 60 kills.

 

[Rtheurer]

What kind of Fish story, Wopper, Big Deer, internet expert story is That.... Truthfulness on the internet.. Pfft!!!

RT

 

[tunered]

Dam if i would have told that, just kidding. Lol

 

[Chappy]

my hit ratio usually runs about 75-80% on varmints ( most shots under 200 yards). On deer and elk, I haven't missed a shot in the 16 deer that I've shot. Now elk, I've missed about 10 shots for 20 elk. ;D

 

[ShootDots]

When I used to go Prairie Dog hunting, it varied from morning til afternoon. In the morning, it was generally calm>>>hit percentages were rather high>>above 75 pct. However, if it was a "normal" day in Dalhart, Texas, the winds would kick up to 25+m.p.h. and hitting percentage went down towards 10 pct! It might even go down further if we were "poking" at them past 500 yards! Even with a "spotter" in the wind, percentages were very low.

 

[Drop Port]

Anywhere from 100% to 0% all depends on the rifle, distance, conditions and how many shots taken. This is on G-Hogs.

This was a good day calm conditions and all under 300 yards. I keep track this way 9 hits and one miss.

 

[dedogs]

I guess I'm one of those guys who can't count 'cause my hit ratio IS 99%. However I have several criteria that I use because where I shoot there are horses worth as much as $30,000.00 and houses worth MILLIONS. And the owners don't like it when you miss. So I have these things I do and I shoot off a swivel by-pod in the sitting position. Rem.700, .17 Fireball, 20g V-max, 6-24x 24mm Weaver with FCH. Nothing special although action has been trued and converted to single shot.

I always find the high ground and try to brush up if I can. If it's flat I throw a plywood deck in the back of the truck.
I wear clothing that breaks up my outline (Kinda like wearing camo for deer but not necessarily camo, dark green plaid actually works well.
I GET AS CLOSE AS I CAN and still fulfill criteria #1 (Most of my shots on rockchucks are 200yds or less--a chipshot for you experienced guys back east.) My gopher shots average 100yds. but I have made a lot of kills at 200yds. and a couple of kills out to 300yds. A gopher at 300yds. as some of you know is a pretty small target.
I don't shoot in the wind 'cause I can't read wind worth spit especially with that little pill. Most of my shooting is done in early morning or evening when the sun angle is lowand there is little or no wind. I find I can see the little boogers easier.
I don't touch the trigger unless I am rock-solid in position. If I'm not, I work around until I am. Many times I have to shoot through wire that has a 4"x 2" opening. Or at a young rockchuck that is showing only the top of his head.
Last year I killed 154 rockchucks with 155 shots. I don't know what happened on the one miss--but I did miss. Fortunately there were no horses or buildings around. On gophers I did easily 99%. but any of you that have a lot of experience know that my method is not that difficult. I use 10 power binoculars a lot to look over my area and pick out the sneaky ones who know something is up and don't want to show themselves. I don't remember how woodchucks back east behave but out here in Montana just about the best time to go after rockchucks is right after a short rain. They get really, really STUPID then. Don't know why but I don't really care either. I get paid to kill as many as I can so that's what I do.
I do remember that woodchucks in the east are pretty spooky just as rockchucks out here are sometimes. I have found though, that if you are patient and have the time, they usually will come back out even if you spook them. I try to get a count in those situations when they are all running for their holes (you never see them all) and then I will wait for that many number to show themselves before I take my first shot. Some days the wait isn't long-- 10 minutes or so--other days it might take 1/2 hour before they get up the nerve to start feeding again but I have taken many multiples this way.YMMV

 

[dedogs]

Ledd Slinger, You are right I am missing out on a lot of "valuable shooting experience", and yes my bullets are very frangible, BUT some of my customers do not know frangible from fudgesicle however they do know when I miss (sound).
I know it's not a crime to miss as long as there's no danger beyond my target, but my customers get nervous where their horses and houses are concerned. I am very fortunate to have the places I shoot because I usually don't have to drive very far and so far they are always glad to see me. I want to keep it that way. I truly admire the guys who can read wind well and make incredibly long shots, and wish I were one of them. But the situations I am faced with do not lend themselves to long shots. It's the reason I get so close--it lowers the odds to nil. The wind here is very fickle and I won't trust my attention span to be able to see every little nuance of variation in direction and speed. Call me chicken if you want to, I don't care but like I said I get PAID not to miss. And I need the income. I've spent a hell of a lot of money since I started hanging out with you guys-- the classifieds are KILLER.

 

[OIF/OEF]

Only Chuck Norris has a 100% kill ratio...

 

[csandfort]

I hit 100% of the ones that I hit. If you add the misses it's about 70-75% and goes up a little, maybe 80% as the season wears on. There are days with too much coffee or wind and I get selective memory loss.

 

[mshelton]

Anywhere from 100% to 0% all depends on the rifle, distance, conditions and how many shots taken. This is on G-Hogs.

This was a good day calm conditions and all under 300 yards. I keep track this way 9 hits and one miss.

Myself and some other groundhog guys do that around here. Makes me grin to see them still over in the ammo box like that when I pull them out to reload at the beginning of a season.

 

[Witchhunter]

That's what I do too. I learned it from another pdog shooter on here that lives about 10 miles from me. Thanks Robert. Upside down means a miss. 5-6 per box is good shootin out here in the wind. Heck, sometimes 10 per box is good shootin in the wind!

 

[daniel brothers]

I hit'em all.... when I don't miss

 

[CSM19Z5M]

Oh man, you want the truth from a bunch of varmint hunters! Actually, I think it is in direct proportion to the conditions. My favorite rifle is a heavy Savage in .17HMR. It's great in the morning out to 140 yards or so if I do my part. But when the wind blows I stay under 100 yards with it. For long shots I like my 6MM BR. But I have to admit that the two variables that are the hardest are the wind and mirage at extended ranges. My 6BR is a single shot so I take my time but the mighty P-dog is a worthy adversary when the conditions are windy, which is just about all the time out west. I find that I just don't take the shot when my confidence in a first round kill is not high. I don't keep score though. It always seemed kind of tacky to me. Besides, it makes me feel better about my marksmanship when I don't keep score But I have to admit that I do store my empty cases either up or down depending on the hit or not. But I rarely count them. Just shoot and have fun. It's suppose to be a fun hobby, remember?

 

[spencerhenry]

kind of like schools these days, everyone gets a trophy.

what is the point of only taking chip shots? challenging oneself is a good way to improve skills. i keep track of kills and shots. if not, why not just go out and shoot a bunch of dirt clods and pretend?

 

[dedogs]

I believe the question was what is your hit ratio in the field-- not what is your longest shot made. I believe I answered your question.

 

[BillPa]

Only Chuck Norris has a 100% kill ratio...

Only 99.9%, I out ran him! ;D

 

[CatShooter]

I guess I'm one of those guys who can't count 'cause my hit ratio IS 99%. However I have several criteria that I use because where I shoot there are horses worth as much as $30,000.00 and houses worth MILLIONS. And the owners don't like it when you miss. So I have these things I do and I shoot off a swivel by-pod in the sitting position. Rem.700, .17 Fireball, 20g V-max, 6-24x 24mm Weaver with FCH. Nothing special although action has been trued and converted to single shot.

I always find the high ground and try to brush up if I can. If it's flat I throw a plywood deck in the back of the truck.
I wear clothing that breaks up my outline (Kinda like wearing camo for deer but not necessarily camo, dark green plaid actually works well.
I GET AS CLOSE AS I CAN and still fulfill criteria #1 (Most of my shots on rockchucks are 200yds or less--a chipshot for you experienced guys back east.) My gopher shots average 100yds. but I have made a lot of kills at 200yds. and a couple of kills out to 300yds. A gopher at 300yds. as some of you know is a pretty small target.
I don't shoot in the wind 'cause I can't read wind worth spit especially with that little pill. Most of my shooting is done in early morning or evening when the sun angle is lowand there is little or no wind. I find I can see the little boogers easier.
I don't touch the trigger unless I am rock-solid in position. If I'm not, I work around until I am. Many times I have to shoot through wire that has a 4"x 2" opening. Or at a young rockchuck that is showing only the top of his head.
Last year I killed 154 rockchucks with 155 shots. I don't know what happened on the one miss--but I did miss. Fortunately there were no horses or buildings around. On gophers I did easily 99%. but any of you that have a lot of experience know that my method is not that difficult. I use 10 power binoculars a lot to look over my area and pick out the sneaky ones who know something is up and don't want to show themselves. I don't remember how woodchucks back east behave but out here in Montana just about the best time to go after rockchucks is right after a short rain. They get really, really STUPID then. Don't know why but I don't really care either. I get paid to kill as many as I can so that's what I do.
I do remember that woodchucks in the east are pretty spooky just as rockchucks out here are sometimes. I have found though, that if you are patient and have the time, they usually will come back out even if you spook them. I try to get a count in those situations when they are all running for their holes (you never see them all) and then I will wait for that many number to show themselves before I take my first shot. Some days the wait isn't long-- 10 minutes or so--other days it might take 1/2 hour before they get up the nerve to start feeding again but I have taken many multiples this way.YMMV

Dogs...

I am with you. While no one is willing to pay me to shoot ground squirrels or gophers, I did spend three years shooting feral dogs and coyotes on a family member's Kobe cattle spread at calving time - and when you are getting paid (I did get a M-700 Sendero-II in 264 and a 6.5x20 Nikon scope out of it), it is no time to "play" or learn the wind - I was mechanical and I didn't give a damn about the targets - but I made sure there were no pass-throughs or ricochets, cuz she had neighbors in all directions who also raised Kobes and a full grown Kobe is worth about the same as a Thoroughbred horse... they dress out to be worth ~$80 a pound.

 

[CatShooter]

I admire that you take high percentage shots when there is no wind, but the beauty of shooting them in the wind is that you learn to read the wind. Nothing teaches you to read wind better than shooting thousands of rounds at small targets in crosswinds and figuring out your holds. In my opinion, you are missing out on a lot of valuable shooting experience by not testing your abilities in the wind.

If using a proper 'varmint' bullet, a miss will not ricochet and endanger targets beyond. It will completely come apart as soon as it hits dirt. And besides that, no shot should ever be taken at any sort of target or animal if risk of damage to property or life resides in the path of the shot. If there's nothing behind your chucks as there shouldn't be, then you should never fear an errant shot

There are places to learn cross-wind shooting, but when people are paying you to clean out pests, in crowded land with expensive livestock around... that is NOT the place to play in the wind and learn. That will get you banned from the property, or worse, facing a litigation issue.

Varmint bullets DO pas through small animals like gophers, and they DO ricochet. Try to explain to the owner why one of his prize thoroughbreds bleed out overnight in a stall... with a little hole in him.

 

[GrocMax]

Sorry, Chuck Norris kills 100 with every bullet. He doesn't even shoot it, just points a bullet at them and they fall down dead.