Old Timer's Shooting Skills

[rumproast]

Watched as my Dad took his walking Lope at 160 with his old .30-30 and didn't mess an ounce of meat 3 weeks ago. Offhand, with a blind spot on the center of his right eye. And He is 76 years old.
Never seen him miss since I was 14 and He never uses a scope for anything.
Took his Cow Elk a couple of years ago at 220 yds., offhand, in the sleet, with his old favorite weapon. One shot, down Cow, in the ribs.
Lotta respect for such things and He ain't lost it with time.
Want to hear of such stuff as you fellow MM'ers have seen from, or are, the Old Guys, if they are still with us or not.
Bless the Old Shots.

Rump

 

[NMPaul]

Love that. Some of those old timers do not waste ammo.

 

[moose]

alot of them old timer's grew up with a single shot .22, ammo was pricey, so they made sure each shot counted...

 

[southslope82]

My Grandpa was the same way before he passed away. It was either a 30-30 lever action or a 300 savage lever action. I have seen him take bucks at probably around the 300 yd mark and never can remember one miss ever. He was always a beleiver in shooting them in the neck. He wanted what ever he shot to go right down and it usually did. He was always did a professional job and was super fast too from field dressing to skinning to wrapping it and in the freezer. I frequently think about that old fart and the ways he did things like that. Makes me laugh

 

[Longun]

A lot of it was the way you were raised shooting..I was taught to point and shoot,not aim and shoot. A lot of old timers shot all sorts of game especially lots of game birds and waterfowl I think that makes a difference on shooting skills..also jump shooting birds made quick reflexes on pointing and shooting offhand.

 

[PleaseDear]

Good thread rump----

My dad-80 years old now....still gets out and drops a muley most every year.

He rides one horse and has the other with the panniers on it so he can help anyone out that has harvested a buck before he does.

The old timers certainly love being outdoors.

Robb

 

[thirtythirty]

My old man was the same way. He had an old lever action, open sighted 25-35 that he used for everything except elk. Everything he pointed at died - deer, antelope, bear, cougar, and yotes. If it was standing still, it was always one shot but his favorite was jump shooting big bucks in thick cover. He could put five shot in one in seconds although the first one or two was usually sufficient. He claimed the easist shot for him was at a trotting animal at about 200 yards (also his max range)because "all I have to do is aim for the eye and it will put the pill in the chest everytime, just like the Dr. ordered". lol - I can still hear him say that with a twinkle in his eye.

 

[littlebighorn]

Hey Robb,
I thought your Dad had the panniers for hauling your tired butt off the mountain!! JK.
That is awesome that he would help haul out someone's animal for them. Back in the day it was quite a social event for sure!
I vividly remember my Dad not being able to hit anything with his old 30-30. But he loved to take us with him and we loved it too despite always caming home empty handed. Maybe he didn't want to have to take care of the deer, but he loved to fry any left over deer liver with onions for the whole camp.
He has been gone for 4 years now and I really miss him. I don't care that he couldn't hit the side of a barn with his gun. He taught me how to love the outdoors and that is all that counts for me!

 

[npaden]

>I vividly remember my Dad not being able to hit anything
>with his old 30-30. But he loved to take
>us with him and we loved it too despite always
>caming home empty handed. Maybe he didn't want to
>have to take care of the deer, but he loved
>to fry any left over deer liver with onions for
>the whole camp. He has been gone for 4
>years now and I really miss him. I don't
>care that he couldn't hit the side of a barn
>with his gun. He taught me how to love
>the outdoors and that is all that counts for me!

Sounds a lot like my dad. Growing up we didn't waste many bullets shooting at paper. If the rifle was shooting good the year before, it was expected to be shooting good the next year as well. Only time we sighted in a rifle was if it was obviously off target.

We brought home the meat though, I grew up on wild game and didn't eat much else. I remember 1 year where we ended up with 15 deer and 1 elk. Dad let me make a few deer into jerky that year!

Now I shoot about 20 or 30 rounds at the range for every round I shoot at an animal. Hopefully it will pay off when the time comes.