Recently I talked with a experienced big game hunter about an incident where he missed a elk at pretty close range. He wanted my opinion so after a few minutes of listening and asking some questions I figured his rifle and optic were functioning fine and he had a zero. There was nothing wrong with his equipment. He had to move quickly through deep snow to a FFP and take the shot kneeling so he was breathing relatively hard.
I asked him what his call was. He didn't know what I was talking about. So I asked him where his cross hair was in relation to the animal when he fired his shot. He said it was center in the kill zone -- a very common response from people who have never heard of the term 'calling the shot'. I asked him the same question a couple of times using different words and every time the answer was the same -- center of the kill zone when the shot was fired.
Finally I said that since his zero was good and he says his cross hair was in the center of the kill zone when the shot was fired -- he should have killed the animal immediately. The guy looked a bit surprised when I said this which is the look I normally get from guys who have shot all their lives and have never learned or practiced shot calls.
I view calling shots to start out as a physical action but it quickly ends up a mental skill as it deals with trust that you did see the right thing and decision making.
Starting out as a physical skill --
How would you guys train someone to call their shots and how would you quantify success in training someone to call their shots?
How many shooters out there actually call their shots and make decisions based on their calls even if they see no splash / impact?
LR1955
I asked him what his call was. He didn't know what I was talking about. So I asked him where his cross hair was in relation to the animal when he fired his shot. He said it was center in the kill zone -- a very common response from people who have never heard of the term 'calling the shot'. I asked him the same question a couple of times using different words and every time the answer was the same -- center of the kill zone when the shot was fired.
Finally I said that since his zero was good and he says his cross hair was in the center of the kill zone when the shot was fired -- he should have killed the animal immediately. The guy looked a bit surprised when I said this which is the look I normally get from guys who have shot all their lives and have never learned or practiced shot calls.
I view calling shots to start out as a physical action but it quickly ends up a mental skill as it deals with trust that you did see the right thing and decision making.
Starting out as a physical skill --
How would you guys train someone to call their shots and how would you quantify success in training someone to call their shots?
How many shooters out there actually call their shots and make decisions based on their calls even if they see no splash / impact?
LR1955
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