Differences between hunting and target shooting?

Yes.

I've seen a lot of guys miss deer by shooting large calibers that they can't handle (they flinch when shooting). A .303 that hits a deer in the vitals will do a lot better job than a .338 Win Mag that sails right over his back.

 

Many differences such as:
- Shot placement for a perfect kill (lung or heart shot).....you just don't want to wound the animal and have it escape.
- Bullet drop compensation in case of unknown shooting distances which you have to predict in case of hunting animals (in most cases there is no time to use a range finder).....it's easy to calculate bullet drop when target shooting (distance known) and adjust the scope accordingly.
- A moving target is more difficult to hit than a stationary target.
- Bullet choice is very important for different types of game.

......, etc.

 

For me, it's the entire outdoor experience that makes hunting enjoyable. I love spending time out in the woods, and all of the work that goes into planning and preparation of a good hunt. And absolutely nothing beats the skip of a hearbeat when a deer walks under your stand on opening morning. You just don't get that at the range.

 

What kind of deer?

 

Yes, I'll get one for you. If you can avoid it, don't shoot a deer in the neck. If you don't hit the spine, a neck shot makes it nearly impossible to track a deer. Neck shots don't bleed much and usually take a while to get the job done. Most of the time, that means that you don't recover the deer, which is always a bad thing.

A deer's vitals are just behind the front shoulder. Picture an 8" pie plate positioned directly behind the shoulder. That's where you want to place your shot. Keep in mind that if you're at an angle to the deer (say up in a stand looking down at the deer), you'll need to alter your point of impact so that the bullet travels through the vitals (in this case, hit the deer high behind the shoulder so that the bullet travels down, through the vitals).
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For deer, you want a bullet that will expand upon impact with the animal, delivering a lot of knock-down power. That way, the bullet will do its job and take out more of the vital areas that you hit. You wouldn't want a jacketed bullet that zipped right through the animal, making small entry and exit wounds. You also want to make sure that you're using a heavy enough bullet, but if you're using a .303 that shouldn't be an issue for you.

 

There's not enough difference between the whitetail and mulie to worry too much about the caliber that you use. There are a few that are adequate for whitetails that are pushing the envelope for mulies, but most are good for either one. With that said, hunting conditions can be quite different between the two. You might encounter longer shots on a more frequent basis hunting out West. Around here, I rarely take a shot longer than 100 yards (although I did take a deer at 200 yards on Saturday). You need to factor in the terrain and conditions that you'll be hunting in when selecting a caliber. For longer distances, you'll want something that is fast and has a relatively flat trajectory. That way you won't have to worry as much about compensating for distance when you're taking a shot.

Let me know the conditions and game that you'll be going after and I'll be happy to offer some suggestions.

 

1. Small piece of advice. Just because someone has been doing something for 30 years doesn't mean the person is any good at it. I'm not saying this is the case with the person you're hunting with, but keep it in mind just the same. Neck shots are bad.

2. Sides won't matter. Your bullet will almost always pass completely through the deer.

3. Vitals are normally the heart and lungs.

 

There are a ton of different bullet options out there for the .303 British. There are different bullet designs and weights. By weight, I mean the actual weight of the bullet (measured in grains). A quick search revealed bullet weights of 150, 174 and 180 grains available in .303. Any of the three would be perfectly fine for deer.

 

I've never hunted in Nova Scotia before. I'd come cheap!

There are plenty of people that use the .303 for hunting, but you bring up a good point. Since there are so many old rifles floating around, factory ammo is loaded relatively light in .303 British so that older guns in poor condition don't blow up or malfunction.

There's nothing wrong with using a scope at all. This is an area where you will get what you pay for. Spend money on a good scope.

Not all people want fast and flat. People that hunt in heavy timber and brush often want slow and fat because those rounds don't deflect as badly if they hit a branch. People that hunt open country want fast and flat. Do you know how long the average shot is in the terrain that you'll be hunting? In my area, I hunt a mix of fairly open woods and fields. I prefer fast and flat. The people that I hunt with use .30-06, .270 and .300 Win Mag. The .300 Win Mag (it's mine) is overkill on whitetails, but I've been very happy with the caliber. It's fast, flat, powerful, accurate and easy to find ammo. I like it because I can use one rifle (that I'm comfortable with) to hunt just about anything in North America.

A sniper rifle is a pretty generic term, but would generally refer to a rifle that has been customized with a very precise trigger pull, action work and a custom barrel to produce outstanding accuracy. Just about any gun that you buy off the shelf today will provide good accuracy. The old standard seems to be MOA, meaning that the rifle is capable of shooting at least 1" groups at 100 yards. Nearly everything out there today will do this. I don't know what your budget is for a new rifle, but if you give me an idea, I'd be happy to suggest a few good rifles to look at.

 

Yes, if you put the bullet behind the shoulder you'll catch the heart and/or lungs. Assume that you've got an 8" pie plate behind the shoulder. Anything in that area will get the job done.

 

You are correct. The 180 gr packs more punch, while the 150 gr has a flatter trajectory. I don't think accuracy would be an issue between the two, but individual guns favor individual types of ammo. When you start shooting, you'll want to buy several different types of ammo (different brands, bullet weights, etc) to see what your gun likes the best. Shoot several 3 or 5-shot groups with each type and you'll be able to tell what gives you the best results.

 

Neil, this is a really cool (and useful) tool that you can play around with on Remington's site. Toward the bottom of the page, you'll see three drop-down boxes that say "Select Caliber" in them. You can pick up to three different calibers and then compare their trajectory, speed, energy, etc. Let me know if you have any questions.

http://www.remington.com/products/ammunition/ballistics/

 

If you're confident in your shooting ability and with your rifle, then a shot in the control locker (head) is the best place to hit any animal. It will stop them dead in their tracks. I've seen animals shot clean through their hearts and still run 1/4 mile or more before collapsing, and in steep rugged terrain that could be a problem.
But it's all about making sure you hit what you're aiming for. Front shoulder shots are a good way to cripple and/or kill one, but you will lose some meat in the process, maybe not a lot, but some good sausage meat.

Best thing is to go to the range and practice practice practice until you're confident with your shooting ability.