By: Rod Pinkston
I retired from the Army after 24-years of military service.
My primary mission from 1999 through 2008 was to recruit and train the best
Olympic shotgun shooters in the world for the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit at
Fort Benning, Georgia. In August of 2008, my Soldiers gave me the best
retirement “gift” possible by setting four Olympic records and winning two
Olympic gold medals in Beijing, China. This article is dedicated to teaching
effective shooting methods on moving targets. We will also demonstrate proper
leads using thermal video viewed from the shooter’s perspective. All shooting
professionals (law enforcement, military and hunters) can benefit from this
knowledge and training.
There is a great deal of wisdom and muscle memory gained
from shooting 150,000 clay targets during the past decade. The same skills
needed to shoot moving targets with a shotgun can be applied to running targets
(inside 150 yards) with a rifle. If a shooter can learn to point a shotgun,
they can be taught to point a rifle as well. My company was founded on this
philosophy. We switched from a two-legged enemy to a four-legged invasive
species upon military retirement. Our JAGER PRO guides and guest hunters
harvest 1,000 feral hogs annually applying these skills with a rifle using infrared
optics at night.
I need to emphasize two important points. First, hunters
cannot confuse the methods used to control a feral hog or coyote (invasive
species) with the "ethical" or “sporting” methods used to control
game species. There is no closed season or bag limit on removing hogs or
coyotes in most states. Farmers and landowners are NOT looking for sport
hunters. They want competent individuals who are committed to investing the
time and resources needed to legally solve their invasive species problem. The
Department of Natural Resources considers these animals a nuisance for valid
reasons.
Second, the most important reason to shoot a moving target
is to become more efficient at hog and coyote control. Hunters are not
harvesting enough hogs or coyotes to properly reduce populations in many
states. We need to become more efficient management tools by harvesting higher
numbers. Our challenge as hunters is to effectively control hogs and coyotes to
the point where agricultural and predator damage is minimal. Another reason to
shoot a moving target is to follow-up with a lethal shot after an unsuccessful
first attempt at a standing animal. These animals are tough and it may be
necessary to anchor them with a second bullet. We do not want a wounded animal
to escape and suffer.
Shooters must understand lead in order to become proficient
at movers. Lead can be defined as shooting ahead of a moving target so that the
bullet and target intercept. In other words, you must shoot where the target
will be when the bullet arrives. Leads are only necessary if targets move
enough distance to change their position while the shot is in the air. It is
not important for short range but crucial for distance and wide angles.
For example, a 60 yard shot will require half as much lead
as a 125 yard shot and a 90 degree, broadside, right angle will require more
lead than a 15 degree, quartering angle. This is the same reason it takes one
foot of lead to break a high house target on station two and four feet of lead
to break the same target at the same distance on station four of a skeet field.
Speed must also be considered as coyotes running at 25 MPH will require more
lead than a hog trotting 5 MPH at the same distance.
I could list the proper miles per hour (MPH) and feet per
second (FPS) conversion formulas and confuse you with bullet flight times in
milliseconds. Taking pencil to paper at known distances, speeds, angles, bullet
drop, time of flight and wind direction to mathematically calculate proper
leads is a “conscious” brain task. This information would be very necessary if
you were engaging stationary targets at 300+ yards. But the variables to these
equations do not matter at all when shooting a rifle at moving targets inside
150 yards. Close range hog and coyote control must become a “subconscious” task
because the animals are quickly changing speed and direction.
For example, when a dove or duck rockets past you 39 yards
away at 44 MPH, do you consciously calculate how many feet of lead it will take
if you are shooting a 1290 FPS shotgun shell? No, your eyes quickly transfer
the distance, speed and angle information to the subconscious part of your
brain which sends a signal to your forward hand moving the shotgun in front of
the bird. When your eyes recognize the proper lead, the subconscious brain
sends another signal to your trigger finger. Shooting a rifle is no different.
There are four common methods for shooting moving targets:
- Sustained lead: The gun is started in front of the target by
what the shooter perceives as the correct lead and keeps this distance constant
while squeezing the trigger. This method is preferred on closer shots with
little or no lead.
- Pull-away: The gun is started on the target and accelerates
in front by what the shooter perceives as the correct lead. The trigger is
squeezed as the gun pulls away from the target. This method is preferred on
longer shots to ensure the barrel continues moving forward on bigger leads.
- Swing-through: The gun starts from behind the target and
accelerates through it on the same line. Lead is generated by gun speed and the
trigger is squeezed as the gun passes the animal’s head. It is difficult to
move the gun at a constant speed using this method and the sight picture will
vary as gun speed changes.
- Trapping method: The gun is held stationary and the trigger
is squeezed as the target approaches the barrel.
Skeet or sporting clays repetition with a shotgun will help
improve your sustained lead, swing-through and pull-away techniques. Just
remember, shotgun leads at moving targets will be different than rifle leads at
the same distance. Shotgun shells are travelling at 1200-1300 FPS while rifle
bullets are travelling at 2500-2900 FPS. We prepared the chart below to help
you determine proper lead for rifle practice:
Broadside Hog at 5 MPH, .308 Win. Bullet Velocity at 2600
FPS
| Distance |
Lead |
| 50 yards |
5 inches |
| 100 yards |
10 inches |
| 150 yards |
1 foot, 3 inches |
Broadside Hog at 10 MPH, .308 Win. Bullet Velocity at 2600
FPS
| Distance |
Lead |
| 50 yards |
10 inches |
| 100 yards |
1 foot, 8 inches |
| 150 yards |
2 feet, 6 inches |
Broadside Hog at 20 MPH, .308 Win. Bullet Velocity at 2600
FPS
| Distance |
Lead |
| 50 yards |
1 foot, 8 inches |
| 100 yards |
3 feet, 4 inches |
| 150 yards |
5 feet, 1 inch |
The most important factor in becoming proficient at moving
targets is PRACTICE. Your subconscious brain is like a six-inch computer
between your ears. You must give your computer ample information with
repetitive distance, speed and angle input for positive and negative feedback.
Your brain will learn to make last second corrections with enough repetition
and experience. Nothing beats a rifle range with variable speed moving targets
to learn various distances and angles.
Gun fit is also very important. Mount scope to rifle with
the proper eye relief. When the rifle hits your shoulder, your master eye
should be directly behind the scope with a full field of view to acquire the
proper sight picture immediately. If you don't shoot with both eyes open, start
now. Shoot a rifle at moving targets just like a shotgun. Your master eye
cannot focus on both target and reticle at the same time. Your vision must be
locked on the target downrange with only your peripheral vision seeing the
reticle.
Always practice mounting with an unloaded rifle. Set your
scope to the lowest magnification and mount to a stationary object. Learn to
look at an object with both eyes, mount the rifle, and see the object
immediately centered in the scope with one natural motion. Moving targets
require a smooth swing before the shot and a natural follow-through afterward.
Practice your mount, swing and follow-through by tracking the horizontal line
where a wall and ceiling meet. Repeat this task 50 times daily for proper muscle
memory.
Never take a running shot unless shooting conditions dictate
the proper background to stop a bullet without any buildings, livestock or
other hunters down range. Always take your lead from the vertical center of the
animal’s head or shoulder maintaining a smooth swing and follow-through.
Squeeze the trigger gradually as you are aligning the sight picture without
slowing or stopping your swing. Consciously follow-through after the shot and
observe the bullet hitting the target. It is always better to err on too much
lead than not enough.
Understanding leads combined with practice and experience
will produce results beyond what you thought were possible. You will harvest
more hogs and coyotes when you are consistent at running shots. Our goal as
hunters is to become more effective management tools by reducing hog and coyote
populations and limiting crop and predator damage across the United States.
Bottom line—moving targets can be harvested cleanly if hunters possess the
proper shooting skills.
Watch Video Demonstration:
(Rod Pinkston is the founder and owner of JAGER
PRO™ Hog Control Systems based in Columbus, Georgia. It is the first company to
successfully apply thermal imaging equipment, along with night vision and
military technology to effective feral hog control in the United States. Rod is
a published author and expert of the latest technology, tactics and research in
the industry. He can be contacted through his website at: www.jagerpro.com, by
phone at 706-718-9789 or via email at Rod@jagerpro.com.)
Night vision has changed the way operations are planned out
and have made great improvements to their tactics and ability to make highly
successful evidence gathering. Night vision also allows for successful high
profile arrests all the while keeping the SWAT officers safer and out of harm’s
way. Officer Harris stated that using the PVS-14 and the PVS-27 allows him and
his team to “get inside the suspect’s OODA loop quickly to increase the officers’
chances of surprise and success without expensive mistakes, time consuming
observations, and the dangers of daylight.”
