friend who cant hit a barn

[kt]

dare i say something? yesterday was opening day of ducks, not to toot my horn but i had my limit of 3 woodies in 3 shots. in 4 of us 3 were done in half an hour. there is one friend in the group who didnt lift a feather who decided he should have a bird before any one else continued shooting, so i let mallard after mallard go by so he could miss. the difference? i shoot 75 clays a week. he just lifted his gun yesterday, for archery he picks up the crossbow the night before and ask where have we been seeing deer? he has always been very good to me almost a father. how do i approach that subject?
or should i just let it alone?
kt

[fabsroman]

The only thing I would take issue with is his selfishness to think that nobody else should shoot until he kills a bird. If you haven't limited out, you should continue to shoot even though he is struggling to hit anything. If he is struggling to shoot accurately, that is his problem. Maybe, just maybe, you could let him call the shot and let him take the first shot, and then the rest of you could shoot after he pulls the trigger. As long as he isn't trying to make really long shots and he isn't crippling a lot of birds, I don't think I would say anything, and trust me, I deal with this situation a lot. Plus, with the rest of you shooting after he starts, you might be able to finish off any cripples.

My dad hasn't been able to hit much this year. In fact, one day while dove hunting he was sitting in the hot spot, and I was only getting a little action. I ended up killing 7 that day while my dad struggled the entire day. He had 4 land on a wire right on top of him, and he knocked the feathers off of all 4, but not a single one dropped. I actually felt bad for him, and I was really getting frustrated because I knew he felt bad. He even called over to me to come and switch spots with him because he couldn't hit anything and I refused to switch, but told him I would sit with him at that spot. I would have paid $100 to have him hit a couple of birds that day.

Also, is your friend always a poor shot? Maybe he is just going through a little slump. I had a slump for a little over an hour on opening day of dove season, but I came out of it pretty quickly. If this was the first time you hunted with him this season, I'd give him a little time to see how things develop.

Remember, hunting isn't all about killing and limiting out every time, but about having a good time regardless of how many birds are killed on any given day.

[buckhunter]

Its a tough spot to be in expecially since the guy is close. Let him take the first shot and if he misses then its open season. With a bunch of ducks it no problem, you all should be shooting. Maybe suggest he it the skeet or trap field with you before the season.

I had a similar situation with a old guy. Couldn't hit anything. Pushed deer after deer buy him without results. Finally he just gave up when he realized he didn't have it anymore. Still hunts but shoots very little. He is a great guy to have at camp and we welcome him with open arms every year.

[fabsroman]

buckhunter,

Great to see you posting. I had almost the same issue as you with an older man that is a friend of my dad and I. This guy is 9 years older than my dad and cannot hit anything flying, and can barely hit anything standing still. However, he still comes out to hunt (i.e., BS and experience the outdoors), he helps with the work, and he still tries to shoot (i.e., even a blind dog finds a bone once in a while).

A lot of the people I hunt with that cannot shoot are guys my age that hunt a couple of times a year and hardly pick up the gun unless it happens to be to go hunting the one or two times during the year. They really frustrate me sometimes, but I just live with it because they are my friends.

[Tater]

I think buckhunter hit the nail on the head. Invite him to the range and let him do some shooting there. It's a little less intense than the duck blind and you can watch him a little closer and see if he's doing something wrong and maybe offer some advice if he's the kind who will take it.

[Mil Dot]

I've run across a few things in this regard both in the field and at the range. One that applies to both occasional hunters and older hunters in bird hunters is chokes and distance. Sometimes the occassional hunter uses a extra full/full choke in his new shotgun and the ducks are coming in right to decoy so the pattern is very tight, hence easy to miss or you're blowing them apart. Older hunters in the same light may be using older gear and again may not be using a gun which opens up the spread to make hits a little more regular. Of course nothing replaces practice and knowing your weapons, but if you see regular misses on reasonably close shots you may be able to ask what choke are you using or be able to suggest a choke size adjustment. Chokes for me are like clubs in a golf bag, proper choke for proper distance or game.

Rifle is a little tougher, an offer to go to the shooting range prior to season is probably the easiest way.

[kt]

thanks guys, i think i may just wait for big fat honkers to get him out again. as far as the skeet range that is the issue, i call him all summer all spring, sorry kyle im busy" thats what i get but he isnt ever busy opening day of ducks. to complicate the issue the place we hunt is primarily woodies and teal screaming by at 20 yds or less. definately not the ideal target for a rusty shooter. with i could find him some fat lazy mallards all cupped up.
kt

[M.T. Pockets]

Keep bringing him with and tell him he hit the first birds and keep shooting.

In Minnesota, party hunting for waterfowl is illegal. Not many know this and it happens all the time, it may even be a Federal Law, I don't know. I do know a person who got ticketed for this. A flock of geese flew over two hunters and one was out of position for a shot so his buddy shot two (the limit in MN was one each). They were met by a warden who was glassing them and he gave the shooter a ticket.

[fabsroman]

I don't think "party" bag limits are allowed anywhere. Otherwise, I would sit next to a couple other people during dove season.

Now, trying to figure out who shot what in a decent sized group when guns are going off left and right and birds are dropping left and right is pretty tough. Plus, somebody always claims the same bird I shot. It even happens while dove hunting. So, I give it to them without the slightest bit of argument. Who knows, maybe they shot it too.

By the way KT, I find canadian geese to be the best thing for bad shots, especially if you can get them in real close with the landing gear down. I would never take a beginner and/or bad shooter out for teal and woodies. Those little birds are tough enough for me to hit, but they are a joy to hunt. The first duck I killed was a teal.

[Mil Dot]

It kind of depends on how many I've cleaned, they may be darned good shots by the end of the season;) !

[kt]

hey fabs, had my first visit to the chesapeake the other day, a little town called oxford ($$$$$ kind of neighborhood) man sure looks like the geese have made it your way pretty good, the place i was testing was right on a bay with 5 pintails only 50yds from me in the water. but man lots of honkers down there.
any how, my buddy can hit honkers, the only problem is he is like an anxious puppy they lock up to come in and at 45 yds he is ready to let rip, so i have to remind him wait till i say, if he couldnt hit birds back pedaling at 20 yds i would take his drivers license.