Running shot

[DitchPickle13]

BobT,

You're right about the distance judging. When I started using a rangefinder, I realized how far off I was sometimes...but practice guessing and confirming with the 'finder helped a lot. Good point to mention.

I wasn't saying to swear by the formulas, but saying they don't matter in a real situation is a stretch as well. You're still gonna have some guesswork, but without having a ballpark idea on drop, velocity, et cetera, you're gonna be doing a lot more pure guessing and a lot less educated guessing. That's all I'm saying there...get a starting point; doing so helps you get to know you're firearm a lot better.

[BobT]

I can go along with that.

Bob

[slick814]

Well, just guessing where you're hunting by where your avatar says you're from, but I'm going to assume that you've got a lot of open area where you hunt. That makes a lot of difference to me when you say that you take shots a running deer.

The area I hunt is extremely thick, swampy, and doesn't have a lot of open space, other than the swamps. If I have to take a shot over 50 yds., it's a minor miracle. I shot a doe this year at about 70 yds (used a rangefinder later on just to check), and I think that it's the second longest shot I've ever had to take while hunting in MN. Taking a running shot in such thick stuff would be a wasted effort for me. Too much chance of wounding the deer or just flat out missing.

Your area, on the other hand, all but requires you to take longer shots, and I would assume, some of them will be with the deer moving. I believe that the differences in area are the reasons for some of the different replies you've received. Maybe not, but that's my guess. It's easy to forget that Minnesota has a wide variety of hunting space, and not everyone hunts the same kind of territory.

If I was in your shoes, I'd try to see if I could figure out a place to be that's closer to where they're coming out from/going to, to try to make the shot shorter. That'll also make it a little easier to make as good a shot as possible.

Try doing the "bah" thing... (it really does work as well as it does on TV )...say it a few times if you need to. Maybe they'll stop or hesitate just long enough to give you a better shot. If not, know what you feel comfortable with, and don't take a shot that you aren't as sure as you can be will be fatal.

Muzzleloading is a blast, but we gotta remember that we only get one shot for the most part. Just do whatever you can to make it count!