How to Make the Perfect Rifle Shot

Before firing, take a couple of deep breaths to calm down. Exhale normally twice, and then on the third half-breath, touch the trigger. Photo by Realtree.

When you take aim at a buck, you should feel the pressure to make a clean, ethical kill shot. You owe that to the animal. When you hunt deer on outdoor television for a living, as I have for the past 20 years, that pressure is magnified tenfold. Tens of thousands of people are watching. Rifle, scope and ammo sponsors expect to see a spot-on bullet in the boiler room. I have come to thrive on that pressure, and it has made me a better shooter. Here’s my five-point plant to kill a buck with one bullet.

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THE GROUNDWORK

Any deer rifle with an accurate barrel and topped with a quality 3-9X scope will do. Select a premium load with a 130- to 150-grain bullet, and sight in so a three-shot group prints 1.5 inches high at 100 yards. That way, you simply aim and hold on a buck’s vitals out to 230 yards or so and press the trigger. There’s no thinking or worrying about trajectory or wind drift. Some of you will tell me to stick it, and that you can kill a deer all day at 300 or 400 yards or farther. But we are talking about making perfect one-shot kills here, and keeping shots inside 200 yards is the way to do it. Most shot opportunities at whitetails — especially in the timber — are 100 yards or closer, so the distance thing becomes moot.

BEFORE YOU SEE A BUCK

Whenever I hunt a spot for the first time, I go in for an afternoon hunt. I need to see the lay of the terrain and foliage so I can plan and anticipate a shot. I make a mental note of open and semi-open shooting lanes in all directions. I range spots where I know I can kill a buck. I check the wind and pick lanes where I need to shoot before a deer gets dead downwind and spooks. Any time I still-hunt out a ridge or along a field edge, I think, “What if a buck jumps out of that draw or brush? Which way will he run? Making a good shot begins before you see a buck.

USE A REST — ALWAYS

One afternoon, I snuck toward a heavy 8-pointer in a beanfield and ranged him at 142 yards. I flipped down the legs of my rifle’s bipod, went prone and pressed the 6.5 PRC’s trigger. The buck dropped as if hit on the head with a sledgehammer. Any time you hunt open plains or big fields where going prone is an option, outfit your rifle with a bipod. There is no better rest.

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In a box blind or on the ground in the timber, use the next best thing: an adjustable tripod with a tilting/rotating head. Clamp your rifle in the head, and adjust the legs for a solid sitting shot. Your hands are free to glass or grunt. When you see a buck, simply turn the rifle onto the buck, take a breath and fire. It’s like shooting a deer from the bench. This type of tripod is heavy and a hassle to carry, but don’t leave home without it. In a treestand, use a fold-down shooting bar.

3 SHOTS TO TAKE

If you can, stay calm and wait for a buck to turn broadside. Tuck the scope’s cross-hair in the crease behind the shoulder and press the trigger. Center-punch or hit a tad high, and it’s a lethal lung shot. If the bullet hits a bit low, it’s a perfect low lung/heart shot. A premium bullet through the shoulders will break bones and short-circuit a buck’s nervous system.

When you shoot at a buck walking toward you and quartering on, place the cross-hair onto the center point of the front shoulder you can see. A well-placed bullet on the front shoulder will drive back through the vitals, and the animal almost always thumps straight down.

When a buck turns and begins to walk off, quartering away from you, don’t panic but remember this. Hold the cross-hair behind the shoulder you can see and back on the ribs in the middle of the deer. The harder the quartering-away angle, the farther back you hold on the ribs. Drive the bullet through the ribs and forward through the lungs, up into the off-side shoulder.

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FINISH THE SHOT

It’s the moment of truth. Dig your cheek into the rifle stock and aim at the vitals. Take a couple of deep breaths to calm down. Exhale normally, once, twice, and then on the third half-breath, touch the trigger. Remember this final point, because raising your head, dropping the rifle and scope too quickly, and pulling the shot a few inches is one of the biggest mistakes shooters make. You want to lift your head and watch a buck go down, but fight the urge. After pulling the trigger, stay head down on stock and eye in scope for a couple of seconds. Good follow-through and finishing are important to a one-shot kill.