Ding, ding, ding

^^Makes compete sense.

lets talk about running offhand shots now.....that separates the men from the boys

He would have to be really close to me.
My buck this year I had a terrible rest but it was at least something and it was super windy crosswind hitting the side of me but I pulled it off at 152 yards. Freehand no way I could have hit that deer unless Luck.
Facing me direct at the edge of Timber. When he took two steps to his right to leave I pulled the trigger. Two more steps and he would be gone from sight except hind quarters.

Like I said slow morning,
Would that be the hunter running or the game running?

I have let deer walk because no shot. Ill take a questionable shot on hogs. Ive shot a few things off hand and running... none of them were deer thank the Lord and a VERY SMALL number of them were cleanly shot.

hunter running left, game running right.

Up hill or down hill?
Sun to your back or in your eyes?
North of equator or south?

I don't know what you guys are whining about.....if Robert De niro can kill a red stag with a off hand shot with a crappy 700 BDL, then you can too

Down hill because the sun is in my eyes while hunting north of the equator. Reverse if you are south of the equator.

My wife and my sister in law struggle with shooting. They can hit a target and have shot deer, but it takes the both of them an eternity to shoot a deer. I think its because they don't know how to stabilize themselves they didn't grow up running around shooting stuff like we did off hand, resting off a tree or limb or fence post or elbow or knee. I have tried and tried but they don't have much interest in practice and show little sign of improvement.

"lets talk about running offhand shots now.....that separates the men from the boys"

Like I said slow morning,
Would that be the hunter running or the game running? [/quote]

hunter running left, game running right. [/quote]

Up hill or down hill?
Sun to your back or in your eyes?
North of equator or south? [/quote]

Down hill because the sun is in my eyes while hunting north of the equator. Reverse if you are south of the equator.
[/quote]

Last and most important question
Hunting with a Savage, Remington, custom or Tikka's?
Makes a difference because,
Savage's don't eject
Remington's shoots by itself
Customs, because of the wad of money you paid for them, you have to get a kill
Tikka's, just to rattle JG's can.

A good High Power or Silhueta shooter can make that shot reliably.

A friend who is a top tier High Power competitor said a person will learn to shoot offhand when they are standing in brass up to their a**.

[/quote]

Last and most important question
Hunting with a Savage, Remington, custom or Tikka's?
Makes a difference because,
Savage's don't eject
Remington's shoots by itself
Customs, because of the wad of money you paid for them, you have to get a kill
Tikka's, just to rattle JG's can.
[/quote]

Easy: Custom with a Remington action keeping the stock trigger!

I shoot off hand all the time. Many times when stalking hogs I don't have time to grab or setup a tripod so I just free hand it.

Well done, Gary!

I guess im in the minority here. Most of my deer and pig kills have been off hand. In fact the last nine pigs were all shot standing unsupported. Until this thread, i had never really thought about it. I have a 10" plate at 200 yards i shoot unsupported. I never worried about being perfectly steady until i started shooting longer ranges. I guess I assumed wrong that most people could do this.

What is it considered when you lean out the driver's window to shoot a pig in front of you?

When I think of "off" hand, I think of opposite handed. Shooting left handed if normally right. Hunting in TN and in the woods walking or up in a tree, cuz there is no baiting, we have to find the deer, every shot taken if "free" handed to me. Just different way to say it. I have only shot 1 deer what I call "off" handed, wouldn't hesitate at all "free" handed. Sometimes it actually feels weird having a rest when hunting here in TX in a stand.

Road hunting.
Just kidding, I think

It was in a pasture, just too cood to get out that day.

It's not a matter of could it's a matter of should. I was dropping 32 inch Ram Silhouettes at 500 yards offhand with a rifle back in the 70's and early 80's but I'm still not going to take a shot at an animal without some kind of support unless I have absolutely no choice. Hell I've even shot those same rams at 500 with an open sight pistol. On the rams my targets 32 inches tall, on an animal my targets less than 3 inches.

A normal day on the ranch.

I guess I don't understand. I don't see a problem with it as long as its within reason. If a person is confident in their ability and knows he can make the shot, I have no problem with it. Just know your limits.

Basic shooting skills are a lost art. Take away the bipods and shooting sticks, throw in old fashion range estimation and Kentucky Windage, and the average shooter today is lost. Not enough grew up shooting .22's like they were going out of style today. I remember skipping lunch in Junior High everyday so that I could spend the money on .22 shells.