Not hitting your target can be tough. An undershot arrow, rifle shot too high, or a shotgun pattern too far can add up to a miss. No one plans to miss but most misses are preventable.

Here are some ways to miss less.

Sight in your weapon.    If you are on the same box of ammunition or arrows from a decade ago, you are not practicing enough.

Aim small, miss small    Your weapon is only as accurate as the scope or sights. If they have been bumped or damaged, you will miss.

Adopt a shooting Mentor   An experienced shooter can train and tweak your shooting skills.

Practice, Practice, Practice.

                Shoot with both eyes open    This will help you see more than the crosshairs. You can also see the reaction of the critter after the shot.

Shoot year around.   Marksmanship is a perishable skill. Shoot a lot, shoot some more.

If you take a weapon afield for hunting that is not familiar to you or not recently sighted in, you deserve to miss. The problem is that you may injure or wound the critter. No animal deserves that kind of disrespect.

In most cases, you know you are going to miss before you pull the trigger. If you are not comfortable or confident with the shot, don’t shoot! You can’t put smoke back into a cigarette and you can’t put the bullet back in your weapon.

Moving targets often result in a miss. Leading distances changes with longer and shorter ranges. Stop the critter before you shoot. Moving targets are a low odd shot.

I carry 3 shafts or shells when I hunt. One is for the critter, the second is if I need to finish the job on a wounded critter, the third is for me If I miss the first 2. My goal is to make one shot for one kill. My accuracy and confidence is the result of many shots from the bench and practicing.

Find the space between your breath and a heartbeat. That’s when you slowly squeeze the trigger. If you pull the trigger hard or flinch, you will miss. Most shotguns have a trigger pull more than 6 lbs. A decent rifle will be around 2 ½ pounds of tripper pull. Know the difference and compensate appropriately.

Accuracy is not just about one thing. You need to consider a rest, stance, fit of the weapon, eyes and shooting glasses, familiarity with your weapons, experience, attitude, anatomy, and…

If you still miss, its time to analyze why. If you don’t figure this out, you will miss again.

Humans do not learn from successes. We learn from a Big Fat Mistake, or MISS!

Montana Grant