If House Bill 5334 is passed into law, Michigan hunters and anglers could purchase individual lifetime licenses for hunting and fishing several different types of species. The proposed lifetime licenses include firearm deer, archery deer, small game, restricted fishing, and all-species fishing. Individual lifetime license fees range from $220 to $285. An all-encompassing lifetime license for small game, firearm and archery deer, all-species fishing, bear, waterfowl, and resident fur harvester would sell for $1,025.

The bill was introduced at the beginning of the year by Representative Richard LeBlanc, D-Westland. At the time of introduction, there was no known opposition or support from outdoor groups. LeBlanc said the bill was inspired by the conversations he had with hunters who possessed lifetime licenses purchased in the short time frame that Michigan offered them (in 1989 and 1990).

Many hunters liked the lifetime licenses and would like to purchase one if it was an option, but Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) officials and the Michigan United Conservation Clubs (MUCC) worry they would negatively impact federal conservation funding and also complicate wildlife management efforts.

Legislative Affairs Manager for MUCC Kent Wood said the group hasn’t yet decided on an official position on LeBlanc’s legislation. In theory, MUCC is supportive of multi-year, comprehensive licenses, but federal funding uncertainties hinder their support.

In an interview with Outdoor News, DNR Wildlife Chief Russ Mason said the licenses would increase revenue for the DNR in the short term, but “there are issues with obtaining federal (funding) match in the out years.”

But DNR Chief Budget Officer Sharon Schafer counters that notion, saying that federal funding wouldn’t be affected by the legislation. The 3,135 hunters and anglers who purchased a lifetime license when it was available in 1989 are counted each year toward the total number of Michigan license buyers whose revenue generated is matched by federal funds.

Schafer said the problem lies in insufficient amounts of revenue generated from the sale of these licenses. A child who obtains a lifetime all-encompassing license in his/her youth would contribute a total of $1,025 for decades of hunting and fishing licenses. “You have to spread it out over their lifetime,” Schafer said.

For example, say an 18 year old buys an all encompassing license and he uses it for the next 50 years. He will end up having paid only $20.50 per year to hunt any game he likes with any weapon, fish any species and so on. He comes out on top, while wildlife management funds end up depleted.

“Lifetime licenses sound like a good idea, but they have negative financial consequences and management consequences, especially for highly sought-after species,” Wildlife Chief Mason said.

When new regulations are developed, for example, if bears become listed as threatened or endangered, “a lifetime license holder would come up and say ‘When I bought this, I could hunt bear wherever I wanted, every year,’” Mason said.

Rep. LeBlanc admits lifetime licenses could have funding implications, but that not enough hunters or anglers would buy a lifetime license to negatively impact the DNR’s budget.

Outdoor Hub, The Outdoor Information Engine - Lifetime Hunting and Fishing Licenses Up for Consideration in Michigan

What has worked for you?  Do you need ideas on how to get this started?  Shoot me an email at jason@salesproxie.com.  I would love to hear from you.  For more ideas on social media marketing for the outdoor industry, visit my blog www.mudontheboots.com.

Outdoor Hub, The Outdoor Information Engine - Is Your Bragging Board Brag-Worthy?

Four Vanderbilt, Mich., residents been arrested in connection with the illegal killing of a bull elk in Otsego County on April 20, the Department of Natural Resources announced today.

Joshua Tillman, 19, Alex Webber, 17, Eric Webber, 20, and Joseph Moore, 20, have been arrested and charged with illegally killing an elk and using an artificial light while in possession of a firearm.

Department of Natural Resources conservation officers also seized firearms and recovered the head of a bull elk when they arrested the suspects.

“The Department of Natural Resources’ Law Enforcement Division would like to thank the public for its assistance in providing information that ultimately led to the break in this investigation,” said DNR conservation officer Mark DePew. “Without the public’s help, this case might not have been solved.”

All four suspects face fines of up to $2,500, restitution of up to $1,500, loss of the firearm used in the incident, and loss of hunting privileges for up to three years.

DNR officers continue to investigate the illegal killing of a cow elk that occurred on or around March 14 near M-33, just south of Rouse Road in Montmorency County. Officers believe the March incident is not connected to the April case.

Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to call the DNR’s Law Enforcement Division at the Gaylord Operations Center, 989-732-3541, or the 24-hour Report All Poaching Line at 800-292-7800. Information can be left anonymously, and monetary rewards are often offered for information that leads to the arrest of violators.

Outdoor Hub, The Outdoor Information Engine - Four Northern Michigan Men Arrested in Elk Poaching Incident

Trail camera pictures clutter my computer’s desktop and congest my electronic photo library; thousands of whitetail pictures filed into hundreds of archived folders, which are then saved to several sub-folders. I’ve managed to sort through the good, bad and the ugly to find some of my very favorite images of 2011.

Below you will find some neat snapshots taken from a slew of Moultrie cameras at a good friend of mine’s whitetail outfitting operation. Mark Schuh, owner Schuhter’s Outpost in Buffalo County, Wisconsin – where big buck photos are of plenty has made trail cameras his virtue and prized possession to putting his clients on mature whitetail.

Early seasons bucks are simply incredible. Their sleek muscular body combined with the light summer coat and fuzzy antlers makes for a stellar shot, especially if he has headgear like this buck shown above. This near 200” buck was photographed throughout the entire summer and into hunting season before making a presence on some lucky hunter’s wall last year. This particular photo of him was captured during a morning as he browsed through one of Mark’s hunting plots consisting of Evolved Harvest’s ProVide, a mixture of forage clover and chicory.

The next photo is of a deer I was lucky enough to kill during the Wisconsin archery opener. He was nicknamed “High Tower” and for a good reason. This 4-½ year old production of Buffalo County’s very finest had skyscraping tines that blossomed out of his gnarly main beams. His knack for deception and clever skill set deemed him one of the most sought after trophies on Mark’s deer infested farms.

We were able to capture him on trail camera several times before sneaking into his living room with perfect wind conditions and successfully put an arrow into him at 20 yards. I’m now able to look at the handsome shoulder mount on my wall and share fond memories with friends thanks to analyzing photographic evidence of High Tower’s uncanny travel patterns chronicled from a stealthy trail cam.

My last photo of choice is Mark’s late season muzzleloader kill. This 11-point Boone & Crockett animal loved the camera, but duped every hunter that tried slapping their tag on him. During a fresh snowfall and severe drop in temperature, I was able to film Mark killing this world-class whitetail after pinpointing where he was the night before by checking cameras.

Trail cameras provide an immense amount of data about whitetail’s daily characteristics and lifestyle trends. It’s almost like breaking into the mystical culture of North America’s most popular big game species. I find it even more alluring that photos script into unforgotten memories, which tell stories. I will always find a photograph to be truly spectacular in so many ways. I urge everyone to use these tactical devices to help improve your own hunting insight and increase the storage on your very own memory bank!

Got any good trail cam pics to share? Post them in the comments below!

Outdoor Hub, The Outdoor Information Engine - A Camera’s Killer Sense: Trail Camera Pictures from the Field

The Northwest Michigan Chapter of the Quality Deer Management Association, in partnership with Leelanau Whitetails, has proposed new antler point restrictions (APR) for the following 12 counties: Antrim, Benzie, Charlevoix, Emmet, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Lake, Manistee, Missaukee, Mason, Osceola and Wexford.

This proposal seeks to require that all antlered deer harvested in the area have at least three antler points on one side. The statewide requirement that hunters taking two bucks must ensure at least one of those bucks has four or more antler points on one side would remain in place. The proposed regulations would be consistent with the current restriction in Deer Management Unit (DMU) 045, which is Leelanau County. The restriction will be considered for implementation starting with the 2013 deer season. Antlerless deer regulations within the proposed area would continue to be determined by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

The DNR supports the voluntary implementation of APR on private land. Under guidelines adopted by the Natural Resources Commission (NRC), mandatory regulations proposed by sponsoring organizations will only be implemented where a clear majority of 66 percent support among hunters in the proposed area is documented. Support will be determined by a DNR survey mailed to a sample of hunters who indicated on the 2011 DNR deer harvest survey that they hunted deer in one of the 12 counties. Surveys will be mailed starting in August.

“This proposal is our first since the moratorium has been lifted,” said DNR deer biologist Ashley Hippler. “We are looking forward to seeing how the majority of northwestern Michigan deer hunters feel about antler point restrictions.”

The Northwest Michigan Chapter of the QDMA will host meetings in each county to answer questions and provide explanation. The next meeting is scheduled for May 17 at 7 p.m. in Kalkaska at the Kaliseum, located at 1900 Fairground Road. More than 70 people attended the first meeting, held April 26 at the Benzie Central High School. Additional meetings will be announced as they are scheduled.

Landowners in one of the 12 proposed counties who would like to offer input about the proposal may email their comments to DNR-wildlife@michigan.gov.

Payment by the Northwest Michigan Chapter of the QDMA will offset survey costs incurred by this proposal.

The NRC had placed a moratorium on accepting APR proposals in 2006, to allow the DNR to assess experiences with initial guidelines, which were implemented in 1999. The NRC assembled a stakeholder workgroup late in 2010 to provide recommendations regarding revisions to the process. The DNR is now evaluating proposals based on recommendations from this workgroup and other modifications to increase efficiency and cost-effectiveness. The NRC retains full authority over decisions to implement APR and other harvest regulations, but the proposal review process provides valuable information to inform those decisions.

Outdoor Hub, The Outdoor Information Engine - Michigan Organization to Host Meeting on Proposed Deer Antler Point Restrictions May 17

This article comes courtesy of John M. Buol, Jr. of FirearmUserNetwork.com. Check out his site for more articles like this.

When I was volunteering as a certified hunter education instructor for the Wisconsin DNR, they published a compiled list of statistics for each season’s hunt. Being one of the top ten states for deer hunter participation, this makes an interesting and accurate case study. Let’s go over the lessons learned from the compiled numbers and see what we can discover about trends in field shooting and safety skills of hunters.

First, the good news. Organized events, even those as rudimentary as basic hunter education, are marvelously effective at improving safety skills. In 1907, decades before hunter education was established, there were 97 reported firearm mishaps statewide of which 41 resulted in death. The total deer harvested count was about 6,000.

In 2002, over five decades after the first hunter education program was established, the number of incidents was less than half that (47 total) despite a much larger hunting population taking the field: 618,945 licenses sold with 277,959 deer harvested.

According to the National Safety Council there is currently an average of seven firearm-related incidents for every 100,000 hunters in the United States. Wisconsin’s 2002 rate works out to 7  incidents for every 92,184 licensed hunters; close to the established national average.

This is yet more proof how safe shooting and hunting can be IF participants bother attending even the simplest, organized, skill-building event. Wisconsin’s hunter education course is a scant 10 hours with a large number of topics in the curriculum and there is no shooting proficiency test or standard. Twelve-year olds find the coursework simple. Worst of all, no follow-on events are offered or even suggested. Yet, the difference between the most vestigial training and none is astonishing.

Hunter education instructors and administrators deserve a pat on the back. Not too hard, though, as there are still a number of embarrassing problems to iron out.

In other articles and reports I’ve pointed out that about a third of all hunting “accidents” are self-inflicted and half are perpetrated by a hunting party member (someone the offending hunter knew was there.) That means there is no acceptable excuse for at least 80 percent of the mishaps.

The 2002 statistics prove this yet again. 14 of the 47 incidents (29.78%) were self inflicted and 24 of the incidents (51.06%) involved a hunter shooting a member of his or her own party. These incidents can be traced to abject incompetence due to unfamiliarity.

Actual hunting experience, without continuing range experience and training, is of little help. Tim Lawhern, Wisconsin’s Hunter Education Administrator, has noted in print that hunters with a number of years of hunting experience are often some of the worst offenders, not the new, inexperienced kids.

The numbers bear this observation out. Nearly half of the perpetrators (22 out of 47, 46.8%) were over the age of 35 and had hunted without mishaps for years. How can this be?

A new hunter takes basic hunter education and learns rudimentary skills. The tentative newbie is cautious with the lessons fresh in his mind. Unfortunately, after this one required event most hunters do nothing to further their field shooting and handling skills beyond this kindergarten level. As the years pass with incident-free hunts, and with nothing done to relearn and reinforce lessons learned, complacency sets in.

We see this with alarming frequency when adult hunters attend a field day with their kids – at least when we can get them to actually toe the line and shoot in front of the class. I’ve learned that the “experienced” hunter often has to be watched even closer than the kids at first. The new student’s safety procedures are just beginning to approach the Consciously Competent level. He may have to think about it first, but he knows what to do. The hunter who has neglected to reinforce these lessons too often reverts back to the Unconsciously Incompetent level, and doesn’t realize how much of the little skill obtained years back at the mandatory hunter education class has been forgotten. The most basic safety protocol violations, improper muzzle control and failing to keep fingers clear of the trigger, have to be watched for and corrected for a few rounds before the hunter begins to remember them again. Without a semi-regular refresher, such as a class, match, or other event, too many hunters learn the hard, painful way and end up as statistics in reports like this.

I’m continually amazed and disappointed at the number of really dumb and preventable gun mishaps. Some typical examples:

• “Victim reholstered pistol after a shot with finger on trigger, shot self in thigh.”
• “Victim had safety off and finger on trigger, shot self in foot.”
• “Victim sat down against tree and gun discharged.”

The numbers confirm the need for skill-refreshing events. Nearly two-thirds of the self-inflicted incidents (9 out of 14, 64.2 percent) involved hunter education graduates shooting themselves, and exactly three-quarters of the perpetrators who shot their hunting partner (18 out of 24, 75 percent) were graduates as well.

This is NOT a condemnation of the hunter education curriculum or instructors, rather, it is further evidence of the need to provide and promote adequate follow-on activities and sufficient participation by the majority of hunters and gun owners. As noted above, the most basic training experience makes a huge difference. It’s the follow-up, getting rank-and-file gun owners and hunters to bother to show up to shoots once in a while, where we drop the ball.

In summary:

• Organized, skill building events work! The huge drop in negligence due to hunter education proves it.
• Follow on experience is essential or the lessons will be lost. A mandatory, one time event is not enough.
• Raw number of years spent hunting is a poor indicator of skill. Hunters sometimes wait a year (or more!) between hunts. Refreshing skills in between through organized shooting events is vital.

Outdoor Hub, The Outdoor Information Engine - Lessons Learned from Hunter Education: Keep Learning!

This article comes courtesy of John M. Buol, Jr. of FirearmUserNetwork.com. Check out his site for more articles like this.

When I was volunteering as a certified hunter education instructor for the Wisconsin DNR, they published a compiled list of statistics for each season’s hunt. Being one of the top ten states for deer hunter participation, this makes an interesting and accurate case study. Let’s go over the lessons learned from the compiled numbers and see what we can discover about trends in field shooting and safety skills of hunters.

First, the good news. Organized events, even those as rudimentary as basic hunter education, are marvelously effective at improving safety skills. In 1907, decades before hunter education was established, there were 97 reported firearm mishaps statewide of which 41 resulted in death. The total deer harvested count was about 6,000.

In 2002, over five decades after the first hunter education program was established, the number of incidents was less than half that (47 total) despite a much larger hunting population taking the field: 618,945 licenses sold with 277,959 deer harvested.

According to the National Safety Council there is currently an average of seven firearm-related incidents for every 100,000 hunters in the United States. Wisconsin’s 2002 rate works out to 7  incidents for every 92,184 licensed hunters; close to the established national average.

This is yet more proof how safe shooting and hunting can be IF participants bother attending even the simplest, organized, skill-building event. Wisconsin’s hunter education course is a scant 10 hours with a large number of topics in the curriculum and there is no shooting proficiency test or standard. Twelve-year olds find the coursework simple. Worst of all, no follow-on events are offered or even suggested. Yet, the difference between the most vestigial training and none is astonishing.

Hunter education instructors and administrators deserve a pat on the back. Not too hard, though, as there are still a number of embarrassing problems to iron out.

In other articles and reports I’ve pointed out that about a third of all hunting “accidents” are self-inflicted and half are perpetrated by a hunting party member (someone the offending hunter knew was there.) That means there is no acceptable excuse for at least 80 percent of the mishaps.

The 2002 statistics prove this yet again. 14 of the 47 incidents (29.78%) were self inflicted and 24 of the incidents (51.06%) involved a hunter shooting a member of his or her own party. These incidents can be traced to abject incompetence due to unfamiliarity.

Actual hunting experience, without continuing range experience and training, is of little help. Tim Lawhern, Wisconsin’s Hunter Education Administrator, has noted in print that hunters with a number of years of hunting experience are often some of the worst offenders, not the new, inexperienced kids.

The numbers bear this observation out. Nearly half of the perpetrators (22 out of 47, 46.8%) were over the age of 35 and had hunted without mishaps for years. How can this be?

A new hunter takes basic hunter education and learns rudimentary skills. The tentative newbie is cautious with the lessons fresh in his mind. Unfortunately, after this one required event most hunters do nothing to further their field shooting and handling skills beyond this kindergarten level. As the years pass with incident-free hunts, and with nothing done to relearn and reinforce lessons learned, complacency sets in.

We see this with alarming frequency when adult hunters attend a field day with their kids – at least when we can get them to actually toe the line and shoot in front of the class. I’ve learned that the “experienced” hunter often has to be watched even closer than the kids at first. The new student’s safety procedures are just beginning to approach the Consciously Competent level. He may have to think about it first, but he knows what to do. The hunter who has neglected to reinforce these lessons too often reverts back to the Unconsciously Incompetent level, and doesn’t realize how much of the little skill obtained years back at the mandatory hunter education class has been forgotten. The most basic safety protocol violations, improper muzzle control and failing to keep fingers clear of the trigger, have to be watched for and corrected for a few rounds before the hunter begins to remember them again. Without a semi-regular refresher, such as a class, match, or other event, too many hunters learn the hard, painful way and end up as statistics in reports like this.

I’m continually amazed and disappointed at the number of really dumb and preventable gun mishaps. Some typical examples:

• “Victim reholstered pistol after a shot with finger on trigger, shot self in thigh.”
• “Victim had safety off and finger on trigger, shot self in foot.”
• “Victim sat down against tree and gun discharged.”

The numbers confirm the need for skill-refreshing events. Nearly two-thirds of the self-inflicted incidents (9 out of 14, 64.2 percent) involved hunter education graduates shooting themselves, and exactly three-quarters of the perpetrators who shot their hunting partner (18 out of 24, 75 percent) were graduates as well.

This is NOT a condemnation of the hunter education curriculum or instructors, rather, it is further evidence of the need to provide and promote adequate follow-on activities and sufficient participation by the majority of hunters and gun owners. As noted above, the most basic training experience makes a huge difference. It’s the follow-up, getting rank-and-file gun owners and hunters to bother to show up to shoots once in a while, where we drop the ball.

In summary:

• Organized, skill building events work! The huge drop in negligence due to hunter education proves it.
• Follow on experience is essential or the lessons will be lost. A mandatory, one time event is not enough.
• Raw number of years spent hunting is a poor indicator of skill. Hunters sometimes wait a year (or more!) between hunts. Refreshing skills in between through organized shooting events is vital.

Outdoor Hub, The Outdoor Information Engine - Lessons Learned from Hunter Education: Keep Learning!

The Department of Natural Resources reminds hunters to apply for their Michigan elk and bear hunting licenses now through June 1. Hunters may apply online at www.michigan.gov/huntdrawings or at any retail license agent.

There are 200 elk licenses available for the 2012 hunting season, divided evenly between hunts in August/September and December. The August/September hunt is designed to target elk outside the primary elk range before these elk move for the breeding season. The December hunt will occur in the core elk range and also allows additional harvest outside the core area.

Only Michigan residents are eligible to apply for an elk license. This includes qualified military personnel and full-time students attending a Michigan college or university who reside in the state during the school year.

A total of 7,991 bear licenses are available, about 32 percent fewer than in 2011. License quotas have been reduced in response to new survey data which indicate the state’s bear populations have declined. Lower license quotas should stabilize populations in upcoming years.

If bear licenses remain after the drawing, one leftover license (per person) may be obtained on a first-come, first-served basis in July until the quota is met in each hunt period. There is no guarantee that leftover licenses will be available for any hunt unit or hunt period.

All commercial hunting guides utilizing state-managed lands in 2012 must receive written authorization. Guides are required to meet the conditions of the written authorization. If you are a guide who utilizes state-managed lands, please visit the DNR website at www.michigan.gov/statelandpermission for more information.

Hunters are also encouraged to apply for the 2012 Pure Michigan Hunt to increase their odds of getting a bear and elk license. Three lucky winners will receive a hunt package that includes a bear and elk license. Applying for the Pure Michigan Hunt will not affect the hunter’s preference points or weighted chances. Hunters can apply as many times as they like at www.michigan.gov/puremichiganhunt.

Outdoor Hub, The Outdoor Information Engine - Michigan Elk and Bear License Application Period Now Open

This article comes courtesy of John M. Buol, Jr. of FirearmUserNetwork.com. Check out his site for more articles like this.

The effective range of the .30-30 is about 150-170 yards. Some of the wizzy new Magnums can outperform this by roughly 300 percent, at least on paper. But can the hunter outperform the .30-30? Can you?

The .30-30 WCF (Winchester Center Fire) was a hot little number when first debuted in 1895 but today’s hunters complain about this “obsolete” antique. Standard wisdom states this cartridge is best contained within a range of 100-175 yards. A .30-30 will push a 150-170 grain bullet out at approximately 2200 fps or so. With a 150 yard zero, the bullet will be about two inches above line of sight at 100 yards and around five inches low at 200.

Few hunters possess enough shooting skill that warrants better performance than this. Are you one of them? Find out with the .30-30 Drill.

Begin by getting a good 150 yard zero for that anemic .30-30 (or whatever your favorite hunting rifle is chambered in). Set up a Y-ring steel target at 150 yards. If you don’t have a quality, self-resetting steel target that is about 8-10 inches in diameter, a paper dinner plate at 150 yards makes an ersatz substitute. Get a shooting timer, or a buddy with a whistle and stop watch, to record the time.

Start from standing up. On the start signal adopt a sitting position and fire one aimed shot at the plate. Stand back up and repeat the drill for a total of three shots. After completing this three string/three round sequence from the sitting position, do it again adopting and shooting from prone.

We are shooting at the distance we zeroed giving point-of-impact at point-of-aim on a nice, level playing field with no intervening brush, trees, etc. All the shooting is done from the two most stable positions available in the field. Furthermore, the target is presented whole, as opposed to a large animal with the vital zone hidden somewhere inside, thus eliminating the need to estimate target angle. Just hold center and let ‘er rip!

Regardless of elapsed time, a hunter claiming to need something better than a .30-30 should get at least 5 hits out of 6 shots (83% hits) or better on this six MOA target every time. If so, our hero can actually make use of the ballistic capability provided by a .30-30 or equivalent for field shooting. If not, their maximum effective range in field shooting is shorter than 150 yards and the capability of a .30-30 rifle exceeds their present level of skill.

A more competent hunter-shooter who can get those same hits in ten seconds per shot or less just might benefit from a “better” rifle. They possess sufficient skill to warrant extended range.

Variations:

We can repeat this drill out even further. Use the same target and set at 200, 225, 250, 300, or out as far as you dare. Give the shooter an extra three seconds or so for every 50 yards beyond 150. Sight in appropriately and shoot. For example, .308/.30-06 and cartridges of similar ballistics can set their zero to 200-250 yards.

Outdoor Hub, The Outdoor Information Engine - Shooting Skills for Hunters: The .30-30 Drill

This article comes courtesy of John M. Buol, Jr. of FirearmUserNetwork.com. Check out his site for more articles like this.

The effective range of the .30-30 is about 150-170 yards. Some of the wizzy new Magnums can outperform this by roughly 300 percent, at least on paper. But can the hunter outperform the .30-30? Can you?

The .30-30 WCF (Winchester Center Fire) was a hot little number when first debuted in 1895 but today’s hunters complain about this “obsolete” antique. Standard wisdom states this cartridge is best contained within a range of 100-175 yards. A .30-30 will push a 150-170 grain bullet out at approximately 2200 fps or so. With a 150 yard zero, the bullet will be about two inches above line of sight at 100 yards and around five inches low at 200.

Few hunters possess enough shooting skill that warrants better performance than this. Are you one of them? Find out with the .30-30 Drill.

Begin by getting a good 150 yard zero for that anemic .30-30 (or whatever your favorite hunting rifle is chambered in). Set up a Y-ring steel target at 150 yards. If you don’t have a quality, self-resetting steel target that is about 8-10 inches in diameter, a paper dinner plate at 150 yards makes an ersatz substitute. Get a shooting timer, or a buddy with a whistle and stop watch, to record the time.

Start from standing up. On the start signal adopt a sitting position and fire one aimed shot at the plate. Stand back up and repeat the drill for a total of three shots. After completing this three string/three round sequence from the sitting position, do it again adopting and shooting from prone.

We are shooting at the distance we zeroed giving point-of-impact at point-of-aim on a nice, level playing field with no intervening brush, trees, etc. All the shooting is done from the two most stable positions available in the field. Furthermore, the target is presented whole, as opposed to a large animal with the vital zone hidden somewhere inside, thus eliminating the need to estimate target angle. Just hold center and let ‘er rip!

Regardless of elapsed time, a hunter claiming to need something better than a .30-30 should get at least 5 hits out of 6 shots (83% hits) or better on this six MOA target every time. If so, our hero can actually make use of the ballistic capability provided by a .30-30 or equivalent for field shooting. If not, their maximum effective range in field shooting is shorter than 150 yards and the capability of a .30-30 rifle exceeds their present level of skill.

A more competent hunter-shooter who can get those same hits in ten seconds per shot or less just might benefit from a “better” rifle. They possess sufficient skill to warrant extended range.

Variations:

We can repeat this drill out even further. Use the same target and set at 200, 225, 250, 300, or out as far as you dare. Give the shooter an extra three seconds or so for every 50 yards beyond 150. Sight in appropriately and shoot. For example, .308/.30-06 and cartridges of similar ballistics can set their zero to 200-250 yards.

Outdoor Hub, The Outdoor Information Engine - Shooting Skills for Hunters: The .30-30 Drill