Pennsylvania Game News - July 2019 - 63

Trying to pull a heavy trigger moves
your point of aim, which could cause you
to miss or wound the animal.
Also, heavy triggers that don't fire
when expected also can cause shooters
to lower their rifle, believing their safety
still is on SAFE.
Then, after checking it visually, they
might find it's too late to begin the
shooting sequence again because the
deer is gone.
It's possible to learn to use a lousy
trigger, but your world will change
when you first fire the new trigger you
installed, or the properly adjusted original trigger.
Mechanical trigger work is best left
to a gunsmith.

SCOPE & MOUNTS
Aside from hunting farm fields or
rights of way, or studying the rings of
Saturn, I can't fathom installing a huge
4-16x scope with 50mm objective on an
ordinary, deep-woods deer rig.
I like variable scopes with duplex
crosshairs and generous eye relief, my
favorites being a 1.5-5x, a trim 2.5-8x,
or 2-7x, mounted in low or, if possible,
extra-low rings.
A lot of hunters today are returning
to fixed 4x and 6x scopes, having had
their fill of the "tail-wagging-the-dog"
marketing pitch that bigger is better.
Unless you know your scope very
well, don't fuss with the power ring on
your variable when deer are within 75
yards of your position. Keep it at 3 or 4x
and forget it. You'll kill that deer.
If you must fiddle with the power
ring, make sure it turns easily.
If not, a little lube will help, and if
it doesn't, send the scope back to the
manufacturer.
JULY 2019

Scopes aside, those see-through ring
mounts invite disaster because your
head must periscope up off the stock to
see through the scope, which is against
every principle of good marksmanship.
In a half-century of using hundreds
of optical sights I've never had a scope
fail. Ever.
If you fear your scope may fog, test
it before hunting season or mount it
in quick-detachable mounts. Just be
sure to sight your rifle in with the iron
sights, too.
Low rings keep your cheek welded to
the stock in proper position. Once again,
to achieve proper eye relief, wear your
hunting clothes so that you can slide
your scope forward as far as possible
when mounting it.
Don't mess with the focus when deer
are coming through. Do that when you
first get on stand.
Time compresses at the moment of
truth. An entire year of waiting boils
down to a few seconds, and if we get
rid of things that eat up time during the
shot sequence, it will pay off.
Right now is the time to get that deer
rifle into shape.
Get it to the gunsmith for essential
work, or do some of the work yourself
if it's within your skill set.
Shoot a lot. Get off the bench and
shoot offhand until you can put three
shots into a 6-inch circle at 100 yards.
I keep a rifle or two during the day
in my studio, and when I take a break,
I pick one up and aim at various points
in the landscape. My hands and muscles
remember. I practice dry-firing, absorbing every subtle nuance, and characteristic of the gun.
Meld your gun to your very being as
it is the final physical extension of your
predatory self.
63

Pennsylvania Game News - July 2019

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