Screwing up... bad habit that has cost me a couple birds this year...

[OntarioHunter]

Other dumb mistakes this season include borrowing one of your doubles and then hammering on trigger one for the follow up while trigger two went unpulled and the grouse got away . Not that it would have done me any good anyways...

Yep. I think it's easy enough to change rifles in the middle of a big game hunting trip. I've done it successfully many times shooting animals with guns I had never fired before. Wingshooting is much different. The hunter must shoot instinctively and that requires a gun that fits well and he's familiar with. Big game hunting is usually about getting the crosshairs on the animal and squeezing the trigger. Crosshairs and triggers are all essentially the same. Familiarity with the trigger weight is nice but not essential. Concentration should be on the target. I cannot recall what the trigger or scope was like on the .375 I used to kill my buffalo. Or the two 300 Win mags I borrowed from my brother to shoot muley bucks. Of course, I'm talking about big game hunting, not big game shooting at animals in the next zip code. Wingshooting is about you and the target. The shotgun is the tool that connects the two but it should always be an extension of the shooter. Another body part if you will. For example, I can't shoot birds or clays worth a crap if I'm wearing gloves. It messes up the connection that has to be instinctive and instantaneous. On the other hand, I can easily shoot a deer with gloves on ... if it's standing.

 

[JShane]

Putting out decoys

 

[gouch]

I've always gotten a good laugh at the stupid little things I do to prevent me from killing my pray. One cold January day my friend Bill and I were goose hunting. We went out on a south facing bank of a flooded field around noon. We put our decoys out on the ice and the small amount of open water along the bank. We then laid down on the bank and covered ourselves with the dry vegetation. with that cold air and warm sun, we both fell fast asleep. We were woken by the sound of a large flock of Canadas coming in to land in our spread. We sprang up and CLICK... CLICK. We both had forgotten to load our guns. We still laugh about that one.

 

[Trailsend]

I would say it is more the excitement of the moment. I still do stuff like that in the excitement of the moment. When it’s no longer exciting it’s time for me to quit.