Target panic.

Originally Posted By: spotstalkshootBest you can do, is concentrate on taking a breath and exhaling controlled. You may have to repeat, just need to slow the adrenaline rush and restore some clarity. The rush while calling is another level above spot/stalk or sitting on bait.

I agree. I find myself holding my breath when things get tense. That doesn't help with the shakiness. I know I'm depleting my oxygen and I get shakier and shakier by the second when that happens. If I'm gonna shoot I've learned it better be early on because if I have too much time to think about it I get in my own head and I start doubting myself. That's the first step to failure.
 
Now, I want to break down the stand and figure out why that happened the way it did. The coyote was coming in on a string and I know would have came in and got shot feet from the call had I done something different. It gave no indication of being afraid or cautious or anything of the sort until I did one thing. Or at least in my opinion this is what changed the outcome of what would have been a successful stand.

The coyote was coming in stopping only momentarily a few times to figure out where the "rabbit" was. It stopped at around 150 yards. I had my kill light on "flood" so I could cover more area with the beam. When I could see it was a coyote with my naked eye I adjusted my kill light to "spotlight". Meaning I turned the bell on the end to narrow the beam down to get a clearer image through my scope. I think that was the wrong move. I should have waited until it closed the distance to under 100 before doing so. I think the change in intensity of the light changed its perception of a seemingly non-threatening situation.

That's all it could have been I think. The only thing I can think other than that was I had my call hanging on a wooden post about 6 feet tall. But I don't think it saw that because I had the light in its eyes the whole time. And the reason I did that with the call was to get it off the ground to get my sound out further since the wind was less than ideal.
 
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OKrattler, we sound a lot alike. I think I know what you are feeling. It is a general fear of failure that probably encompasses many areas of your life, not just hunting. You are probably very successful in life in general. The downside is that this success is a large part of your identity. Failing is not an option.

You want it / need it too much. And, this mindset actually works against you.

The best thing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu did for me was to teach me how to lose. I have had my [beeep] handed to me more times than I can count. In the process, I learned it is not the end of the world to fail. If you aren’t failing, you aren’t learning because you aren’t taking chances. To grow means you have to fail. I had to set aside my ego. Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose. This might sound like a bunch of crap. But, this attitude is necessary to get better and survive mentally. For what it is worth, it produces results. I have a black belt in BJJ as a result. It is not an easy thing to get.

I write all these things hopefully to help. Sometimes the harder you try, the worse you do.
 
Originally Posted By: BJJ223OKrattler, we sound a lot alike. I think I know what you are feeling. It is a general fear of failure that probably encompasses many areas of your life, not just hunting. You are probably very successful in life in general. The downside is that this success is a large part of your identity. Failing is not an option.

You want it / need it too much. And, this mindset actually works against you.

The best thing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu did for me was to teach me how to lose. I have had my [beeep] handed to me more times than I can count. In the process, I learned it is not the end of the world to fail. If you aren’t failing, you aren’t learning because you aren’t taking chances. To grow means you have to fail. I had to set aside my ego. Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose. This might sound like a bunch of crap. But, this attitude is necessary to get better and survive mentally. For what it is worth, it produces results. I have a black belt in BJJ as a result. It is not an easy thing to get.

I write all these things hopefully to help. Sometimes the harder you try, the worse you do.



I believe you're correct. But again the downside as you know is what I look at as success whether it's hunting or life in general. I'll never be where I want to be. But that's fuel to be better. And you and I share the same attitude on failure. After missing that coyote I had a long enough walk back to the vehicle to think about it. At that point I had been hunting almost 12 hours straight. I had hunted all through the night. As mentioned I was tired mentally and physically. Hungry and cold and quite honestly I felt defeated. But on my way back as I was huffing and puffing and kicking a rock down the trail road I was on I told myself "This is only going to make you better. If you give up now and go home you won't be any better tomorrow than you are right now." I made myself keep huntin and made one last stand as the sun came up. To some that does sound like a crock of crap. But to me it's not. Nobody but me was making me be out there in the cold. Hot food and a warm bed was 30 minutes away. But what do I learn from that? I'd learn to give up. Not knocking anyone that would have chose to go home. They're probably smarter for it. But I won't allow it for myself. Not because I'm better than anyone. But because I'm not as good as I want to be.

I want that exact situation in front of me as much as possible. If it's there time and time again I'll have to learn to overcome it. I can kill the easy ones. The ones that make me work for it are going to make me better. As much as I hate to say that. I can kill the easy ones. I don't want none of 'em getting away.

A man once told me "An opportunity doesn't present itself every day. When it's in front of you, you better make it happen." That's one thing I've incorporated into my life and try my best to live by. In many aspects, not just hunting. But it definitely applies to calling and killing coyotes.
 
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Wouldn't call it target panic, but I think all of us experience some degree of the same malady when that coyote is looking back at you through your scope.

It all comes down to trigger control. Add in the fact that your target can disappear quicker than a cat can lick its rear end with it's tail up and it's tongue out and it can suddenly deteriorate into full blown panic mode quickly.

I shot HP rifle competition over a period of 35-40 years, offhand position being my nemesis. Never could master David Tubb's detailed method of offhand trigger control (break the shot as your POA approaches the desired POI). Shooting predators is close akin to offhand shooting in that, while your rifle (hopefully) is on a somewhat steady rest, the target is not stationary as is a paper target on the range.

One of Tubb's tips for improving this skill is to visualize what it takes to make the perfect shot while going through the steps of breaking the shot at appropriate time in your mind. I had my doubts, but with some imagination, believe it or not, it does help and can be applied to predator hunting....only the shape of the target changes.

I tend to want to admire my sight picture a bit too long, on the range and in the field, and have to fight that impulse constantly. The trick is to break the shot as soon as it presents itself without getting on the trigger and disturbing your sight picture, and that is a very fine line.

Give the visualization a try and dry firing also helps a lot.

Regards,
hm

 
Originally Posted By: hm1996Wouldn't call it target panic, but I think all of us experience some degree of the same malady when that coyote is looking back at you through your scope.

It all comes down to trigger control. Add in the fact that your target can disappear quicker than a cat can lick its rear end with it's tail up and it's tongue out and it can suddenly deteriorate into full blown panic mode quickly.

I shot HP rifle competition over a period of 35-40 years, offhand position being my nemesis. Never could master David Tubb's detailed method of offhand trigger control (break the shot as your POA approaches the desired POI). Shooting predators is close akin to offhand shooting in that, while your rifle (hopefully) is on a somewhat steady rest, the target is not stationary as is a paper target on the range.

One of Tubb's tips for improving this skill is to visualize what it takes to make the perfect shot while going through the steps of breaking the shot at appropriate time in your mind. I had my doubts, but with some imagination, believe it or not, it does help and can be applied to predator hunting....only the shape of the target changes.

I tend to want to admire my sight picture a bit too long, on the range and in the field, and have to fight that impulse constantly. The trick is to break the shot as soon as it presents itself without getting on the trigger and disturbing your sight picture, and that is a very fine line.

Give the visualization a try and dry firing also helps a lot.

Regards,
hm



I agree. I have actually shot coyotes offhand several times over the years. Most of the time they were leaving and it was done in the heat of the moment, last resort type deal. Looking back on those times I didn't have time to think about it. It was done off of pure reaction. Instinctual shooting I guess you could say. It wasn't one of those scenarios where I had to sit and think about the shot. It's a "shoot now or don't shoot at all" type of events. I do way better in those scenarios.

But to add to that I was shooting from a bipod from a standing position. And as we know, the closer to the ground you are the steadier you'll be. Admittedly I need practice shooting from a standing position shooting off bipods. Which I plan on doing a fair amount of in the off season. That's the only way I'll get better at it. If I'm confident shooting that way I'll have less of these kind of mishaps.
 
Originally Posted By: hm1996
One of Tubb's tips for improving this skill is to visualize what it takes to make the perfect shot while going through the steps of breaking the shot at appropriate time in your mind. I had my doubts, but with some imagination, believe it or not, it does help and can be applied to predator hunting....only the shape of the target changes.

...
Give the visualization a try and dry firing also helps a lot.

Regards,
hm



Clarence, something I have made a habit for decades. At the end of the stand, I empty my chamber and do a disciplined, but "hurried" dry fire off my sticks. This isn't offhand, but the concept is the same and it has helped me quite a bit I think.

For running coyotes, I do better by jumping to my feet for a true offhand shot. This, I know, comes from many, many, many thousands of rounds fired at running jackrabbits offhand. Only problem, now, is jumping to my feet quickly ain't all that easy anymore! I usually, don't, anymore, in fact. My bones don't cooperate quite that well anymore. But I know, because I still do a fair bit of jumpshooting jacks, that I do still shoot better on running targets off my hind legs than I do off sticks.

- DAA
 
Quote:Looking back on those times I didn't have time to think about it. It was done off of pure reaction. Instinctual shooting I guess you could say. It wasn't one of those scenarios where I had to sit and think about the shot. It's a "shoot now or don't shoot at all" type of events. I do way better in those scenarios.

Most of my memorable shots were the result of "pure reaction" which I define as those times where the trigger automatically breaks at the right time, as opposed to the result of a conscious thought to "pull the trigger now", if that makes any sense. Visualization helps to hone that function, as does dry firing.

Quote:Clarence, something I have made a habit for decades. At the end of the stand, I empty my chamber and do a disciplined, but "hurried" dry fire off my sticks. This isn't offhand, but the concept is the same and it has helped me quite a bit I think.

I thought I was the only one to do that, Dave.
lol.gif
I do so while setting up my stands by acquiring several most likely spots where I suspect a coyote might appear and dry firing by placing finger on back of trigger guard.

Quote:Only problem, now, is jumping to my feet quickly ain't all that easy anymore! I usually, don't, anymore, in fact. My bones don't cooperate quite that well anymore.
Funny how that works, isn't it? Just wait, it gets "better" with time!

Quote:But I know, because I still do a fair bit of jumpshooting jacks, that I do still shoot better on running targets off my hind legs than I do off sticks.
I never could get on a running target from sticks. Always did better dumping the sticks.

Regards,
hm
 
I'd have to say some of my most memorable shots were instinctual as well. I'm with y'all on ditching the sticks. It really just depends on the situation but a lot of times I jump to my feet too. If there's a fence post nearby I'll rest on it and there's been times when I've stayed sitting because the coyote was booking it and I knew I was pressed for time.
 
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Originally Posted By: OKRattlerNow, I want to break down the stand and figure out why that happened the way it did. The coyote was coming in on a string and I know would have came in and got shot feet from the call had I done something different. It gave no indication of being afraid or cautious or anything of the sort until I did one thing. Or at least in my opinion this is what changed the outcome of what would have been a successful stand.

The coyote was coming in stopping only momentarily a few times to figure out where the "rabbit" was. It stopped at around 150 yards. I had my kill light on "flood" so I could cover more area with the beam. When I could see it was a coyote with my naked eye I adjusted my kill light to "spotlight". Meaning I turned the bell on the end to narrow the beam down to get a clearer image through my scope. I think that was the wrong move. I should have waited until it closed the distance to under 100 before doing so. I think the change in intensity of the light changed its perception of a seemingly non-threatening situation.

That's all it could have been I think. The only thing I can think other than that was I had my call hanging on a wooden post about 6 feet tall. But I don't think it saw that because I had the light in its eyes the whole time. And the reason I did that with the call was to get it off the ground to get my sound out further since the wind was less than ideal.

I still would like some feedback on what others may think changed the course of this stand. If I mess up I want to try to figure it out.
 
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