Practice makes perfect on shooting range

Nevada’s archery hunting seasons for big game are well underway, and that means firearm seasons are just around the corner. Which also means it is time for those who hunt with firearms to invest some of their time at the shooting range.

The legendary Jack O’Connor, respected by many as one of the great gun writers, often wrote about the importance of sighting in one’s hunting rifle in preparation for the hunt. Not only does range time give you the opportunity to make sure your rifle shoots where you want it to, but it also provides you with the confidence you need to make the shot when the time comes.

O’Connor also stressed the importance of double checking the rifle’s zero once a hunter arrives at their final destination. This is especially true if reaching that destination includes air travel, and I can tell you from experience there are hard lessons to be learned when you don’t. If you doubt the advice, just watch the baggage handlers the next time you are waiting to board your plane. Gentle is not part of their operating procedures.

Some people have a meticulous and lengthy approach to verifying their rifle’s zero, but my Uncle Doug has always kept things simple. He says, “If I shoot the can and it jumps, I go hunting.” Obviously, if the can does not jump there is some work to be done.

Normally, spending time at the range is something every hunter looks forward to. It is the chance to spend time with family or friends doing something one enjoys, and it is all part of the larger hunting experience. In addition to punching paper, hunters often take the time to shoot metal silhouettes at a variety of distances to both sharpen and test their skills. An activity from which most of us could benefit.

This year, however, pandemic driven ammunition shortages have some hunters thinking twice about how much time they spend at the range and how many rounds they plan to fire in preparation for their hunt. Anyone who has been looking for hunting ammunition in recent months has mostly found bare or nearly bare shelves. Whether they are shopping in a brick-and-mortar store or online it is the same. If they do happen to find what they are looking for the price is substantially more than they would have paid at the beginning of the year.

The shortage is not the result of cutbacks in production but of a constant run on supply not unlike the run on toilet paper we saw during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fear of shortages led people to hoard toilet paper, which then caused a shortage at the market resulting in more fear and more hoarding, long lines and so on.

During the early stages of the pandemic gun sales skyrocketed and ammunition sales followed suit. As vacancies showed up on store shelves, the toilet paper phenomenon reared its ugly head and with it the fear-hoarding cycle began driving firearm and ammunition sales. Now throw in the presidential election and associated gun-banning rhetoric, and you can be sure that trend will continue. We have seen it before.

According to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, which tracks the background checks associated with firearms purchases, there were 12.1 million background checks completed though the FBI’s National Instant Background Check System from January through July 2020. That reflects a 71.7 percent increase from the same time in 2019. The NSSF attributes a portion of that increase to purchases made by an estimated 5 million first-time gun owners.

Results of an NSSF survey showed that “Women comprised 40 percent of first-time gun purchasers. Retailers noted that they are seeing a 95 percent increase in firearm sales and a 139 percent increase in ammunition sales over the same period in 2019.”

Due to limited availability of the most common hunting rounds, tag holders might be tempted to pass up their traditional range time altogether, but that would be a mistake. We owe it to ourselves and to the animals we hunt to be at the top of our game. One way to save those precious hunting rounds is to practice your shooting technique with a .22 caliber rifle once you verify your rifle’s zero is where it should be.

Shooting the .22 will not be exactly like shooting your hunting rifle, but your technique should be. Some practice is better than no practice.

Freelance writer Doug Nielsen is a conservation educator for the Nevada Department of Wildlife. His “In the Outdoors” column is not affiliated with or endorsed by the NDOW. Any opinions he states in his column are his own. Find him on Facebook at @dougwritesoutdoors. He can be reached at intheoutdoorslv@gmail.com