Sighting in in the forest and scaring off game

[whert]

Hi guys,

In the past I've had to sight-in before a camping trip but we stopped at a different state forest on the way up so we didn't run off anything in our spot with the wasted noise. On a recent trip though one of the guys found a scope ring had some loose once we got out there and had no choice but to fire off half a dozen shots to confirm his zero when we were at our spot for the weekend.

Just wondering how much that might have cost us?

Getting the obvious info out of the way... Obviously blasting away at your camp site to sight-in or do an test, adjustment etc. is going to scare off any critters/game nearby.

Question is, in your guys experience, how close to you have to be to the local animals for them to leg it from the sound? How far will they run?

Do you reckon doing it costs you a 100m radius of hunting space? or 200m? or more?

Curious what you're guys experience...

[Aster]

Depends on the quarry.

Rabbits are stupid! You shoot one at a burrow, they all duck into the tunnels, 3-4 minutes later they're all back in the same place

Foxes are happy to slink around at 100m or so. They'll scatter at a shot, but if there is something keeping them nearby (like the previously mentioned bunnies) they'll usually come back.

Pigs leg it as soon as there is a shot.

In my experience if a deer is 150-200m away they won't bolt from the sound, but they'll change direction in their wanderings. Problem is you might send one away without ever knowing it was there. If you got out stalking without those warning shots it might still have been walking towards you, instead of away from you

[Tinked]

Forest terrain and density are also both going to play a huge part in this.

Throw in a few hills, dense bush and sound won't go far... Open terrain and it'll go for miles.

[Ariat]

On a recent trip though one of the guys found a scope ring had some loose once we got out there and had no choice but to fire off half a dozen shots to confirm his zero when we were at our spot for the weekend.

There is always one who needs to sight in for some reason and mucks it up for everyone else

[VICHunter]

Obviously it's far from ideal.

Foxes, rabbits and all the little stuff will always come back.

Deers, pigs, the things you actually want... They'll go further for less noise... Definitely something to be avoided wherever possible.

[whert]

Cheers.

Good feedback, thanks Aster.

[Press]

I shoot on a property to clear out foxes and rabbits, and roos are often nearby.

Shoot a rabbit, and any nearby roos run over the hill... And stop...

We make our way over in a bit to check out the next spot, next shot, they run over the next hill... And stop...

As soon as the threat's on the other side of a hill they stop

They're lucky we're not after them, because they sure as hell wouldn't get away.

[ebr love]

I'm amazed how close you can get to pigs and goats sometimes before they'll head off.

20-30m away and they still don't seem to mind until you fire the first shot.

[whert]

Throw in a few hills, dense bush and sound won't go far...

The Victorian forests certainly have heaps of that.

[Seconds]

No substitute for first hand experience...

Next time you're shooting with your mates walk sort out walking 100m away from them into the forest.

Fire a shot into a bank or wherever safe so they can hear it from that distance. Then they can fire a shot so you can do the same.

[AusC]

It's not as bad as you might think if there is a little terrain in the way, especially hills.

You'll still hear the shot obviously, but all the *bang* that would startle you if you weren't expecting it is gone.

[SendIt]

Rabbits are stupid! You shoot one at a burrow, they all duck into the tunnels, 3-4 minutes later they're all back in the same place

Nice of them to be so helpful in culling themselves

[Bark]

It's a distraction while they breed even faster.

Sacrificing a few in the battle to win the war

[Swarm]

It's a distraction while they breed even faster.

Yup.

More shooters and less hunting restrictions needed to solve the rabbit problem IMO.

[keg]

I shoot in my backyard constantly during the summer. I am always practicing, sighting in, testing. I have come to the conclusion that loud bangs do not disturb the deer for long.

The only thing I will not do is putter around on my hunting property during the deer hunting season or several weeks before it starts. We open in October for whitetail and I try to keep my 80 acres undisturbed from human presence for all of September 1 until I kill.

I have no qualms about sighting in a rifle during hunting season in my backyard. I do have a real problem when neighbours want to stroll around my property during the hunting season.

Deer hear shots, smell fires, hear automobiles and dogs all the time. The one thing they don't like is humans poking around their territory. It makes them skittish and nocturnal and here in Indiana we don't hunt after dark so if they don't come out it's hard to kill them.

[Gregg]

I do have a real problem when neighbours want to stroll around my property during the hunting season.

Yeah no kidding.

If they're without permission call the cops... Trespassing or whatever...

[keg]

I'll ask them to stay out but I won't call they law.

They are my neighbours and most of them forget it's hunting season and take a walk on a nice day.

I did call the DNR on a guy that I caught back there hunting after I'd already run him off once. I didn't press charges but he got the point.

[Gregg]

Ah ok.

I assume you meant they were hunting on your property without permission.

If it's an honest mistake and just going for a walk then yeah, maybe just a stern word instead of calling the cops.