Policy on practice shooting at deer camp

Does your camp have a policy, written or not, on practice shooting? Our unwritten policy only allows a minimal number shots to verify zero. But I'm sure many of you know of nearby leases that seem to be places where guys go to shoot a lot of lead, based on the number of shots you can hear being fired.

I have a no shooting policy...if it isn't at a deer/hog/yote, no need in pulling the trigger.

Shoot whenever...i didnt buy bullets for nothing

Designated area to check zero if they have not done it. Other than that if they want to shoot a lot they need to go some where that allows it.

We have a pit by camp. Shoot as much as you want.

Zero rifles before your come, but we mainly bow hunt so we do that around camp a lot.

Shoot em if you got em

We have a place to zero in, but I like having it donn before I show up at the lease. Now if I shoot and miss at something, I might go out and fire 2/3 rounds to make sure it was my mistake and not the scope being off.

Have a gunrange between the lease and town. We go to the range if we want to shoot just to be shooting.

I do guided hunts, so having a range to check a hunters zero (and find out if he can shoot) is a must. But other than checking zero.. we don't allow practice shooting.

I personally never try to use the camp as a gun range. However I have had to do it once.......BUT it was while no other members were in camp that weekend. I still kept my shooting to an absolute minimum. I dont want a lot of shooting when my family is there, so I kinda would expect the other members to feel the same way.

^^^this, only exception is ratlers

I have a 1000yrd range w/ paper and steel targets every 100yrds. I shoot constantly, weekly, daily yearly....... I allow my lease hunter to use the range and each camp has a designated shooting area (each camp sets thier own policy, I just provided the area. There is so much shooting all year it really makes no difference. On many occations have had deer at the 300yrd line stand there while bullets fly over on the way to the 7,8,..... targets.

Shooting is less disruptive, IMHO, than the multitude of leaser's driving around on ATV's all day......

KT

I check my zero at the range, but I'm the only one that hunts at my lease, so if my kids want to run through a box of shells for fun I don't stop em.

No written policy but it's generally understood that you minimize the shooting during the season. We're a pretty small lease.

I was on a lease for a while that had a pretty nice covered range out to 200 yards complete with benches, etc. There was no policy one way or the other about using it. Like anything else, there were some that abused it and others that didn't. The lease manager was of the view that the lease was big enough (around 9,000 acres) that it wouldn't affect the hunting. As far as I could tell, it didn't.

Now there's a good question to throw around the fire. Do deer pay any attention to the sound of distant shots? IMO, they sure seem to know once the weekend rolls around. My deer sightings always go up when I hunt in the middle of the week.

I think they care, some just don't care as much.

Is it the shots that get them paying attention or the scent and noise that has all of a sudden increased? Sightings should go up with less traffic and hunters.

No shooting allowed at my place unless it's killing something. From opening of rifle season through Thanksgiving that means deer.

We are all bowhunting in October so not an issue then.

I think some deer really pay attention to it. I have even strongly considered a walking only policy except to recover game as I think the big bucks peg ATV traffic too. Probably won't go that far but I always walk everywhere when I'm hunting alone at the place.

I our blinds and feeder setups ranche from about 75 to 110 yards. If you make a body shot and the deer runs 20 or so yards and dies most of the time the other deer will never run off. If the deer you shot dies where it stands they run like hell. So I dont know how much it really bothers them. We just try to keep things as quiet as possible when we are hunting.

I can understand keeping the shooting to a minimum but even if you sighted your gun in before gettin there how you know if somehow it didnt get bumped off

Shoot leupold...

IMO I do not think the shooting of a deer at a blind bothers deer. It is the hunter getting out of the blind ASAP and the deer associating noise with dead deer with hunter over time that gets them spooky. I like to drop off hunters in stands and tell them if they shoot to wait quietly in the blind and not get out or allow deer to see them. One vehicle driving up to run them off is better than a hunter spooking them by walking around. If that vehicle is the same one doing daily work on the ranch then it is normal traffic at that point. To many deer are shot from vehicles which make deer spooky as heck to vehicles.

I make those guys shoot for sure

My thoughts exactly.

We have a dug out gravel pit type area that we use for a range. Its not a range where you go and blow through as many rounds as you feel like though. Its just there in case you need to check zero in case you miss a deer or bump your scope or something like that.

I am confused...shooting them from a vehicle will make them spooky as heck to vehicles, but shooting from a blind doesn't bother them...

They just avoid blinds then

Warne scope mounts/rings with Leupold scopes coupled with quality hard case and never an issue even with airline travel. Proven on many guided hunts where they make you shoot your rifle so not worried about a little pickup travel.

As for the other guys, that's up to them.

Shooting from a vehicle will not bother them if you sit and wait for all the deer to leave. Most folks have to drive up and look at what they killed. Deer only know something is bad if you keep doing the same thing over and over around them. They do not know a blind or vehicle is danger till you show them it is. A blind is habitat till you walk out of it and spook the deer. Deer then associate you with the blind.

A truck pulls up...loud bang...one deer falls...three others run off

Pretty sure they will learn the truck is dangerous.

Deer at the feeder...loud bang...one deer falls...three other run from the noise...how do they know if you got out? They are running like their tail is on fire

The difference to me is the blind is there all the time, not just when the shooting happens.

Where I hunt the deer just stand and look around after you shoot. All except the one that falls over dead at least.

Most of the time they run like their tail is on fire for 10 yards then stop turn around and look, if you dont come flying out of the blind 5 minutes later they will usualy come back and eat.

I always try to sit tight and let the remaining deer leave on their own if it is cool enough, and it seems to keep them very calm around the blinds for us, even after you have shot one.

Not so if you pull up shoot a deer and others have never heard or seen it before they go back to eating. You sit till they all leave on their own they do not associate you with anything out of the normal. Deer sometimes can not tell were a shot comes from. I know guys who kill deer from highracks and topdrives that corn and area and sit. They shoot a deer and wait for all the deer to leave on their own. Then drive up and get the deer. They have done it for years. Is it the truck that is dangerous or the hunter or the shot fired? They do not know it is dangerous till it repeats itself over again. Some King Ranch deer are shot by archers stalking on foot? Why? They do not see humans as predators...yet.

That is not the answer

It was to Navs question

All I have ever shot on my deer rifles are leupold scopes... and as much as I would love to blame my equipment every time I have missed or made a less than desirable shot, it has 100% of the time come back to operator error.

I am very careful with a gun once I have it sighted in and going hunting. No carying it by the scope, gently lean in corner, if you drop it/atempt to stick the barel through the roof of the blind/slam it in truck door etc then shoot it again to check. I have don all of the above and never had it be off, but still makes me nervous.

matt

If you have to baby it to keep it shooting correctly that would tell me something about the scope manufacterer's quality.

Me too Matt that's why I take two rifles to my place.

How many times a year you have to verify your zero? Honestly I know I'm out in the country and for city folk they get that itch it seems and have to let some lead fly I guess. Heck I may verify a zero once a year on some of my rifles. I typically have the same one all the time and its in a good rifle case and I take care of it. It still may bounce a little in the truck and riding on the ranch. But I haven't had a rifle lose its zero either. I guess I take care of my stuff and I'm always shooting some kind of varmint or something every month so I know its on. Hey if you have to let the lead fly and get stress out I'm all for that and understand 100%. I always think its funny that I'm out here all the time and occasionally you here a bang of a rifle and think nothing of it. But whenever its a series of shots I can just about dang guarantee you its a city hunter out for the weekend blasting a few rounds off. Everyone needs to get out and blast a few and its good stress relief to do it.

Yuuuup!

The last optics I received back from factory after getting fixed had been babied like
crazy... and it weren't leupold

Did you read it all?

I dont drag it to the blind on a rope, but I have full confidence in it.

"but still makes me nervous"
I read it all but if it still makes you nervous then it is a problem everytime you shoot. I have abused my scopes in every way you have listed and more and never worry about them. I own a Leupy also along with several other brands.

Not in my opinion. I used to be a Leupold fan. After having 3 give up the ability to hold zero I will pass on their products.
The mountians of Montana are not the place to learn you scope did not survive the drive up in a hardside case. The Nikon on the spare rifle in the same case was spot on. Sure Leupold replaced it when sent to them but that does litte good in the field. Best warrantee is one you never have to test

On that trip mentioned it was in the 60s in Texas when we packed and left, it was -15 the first night in Montana. Checking guns the next day there were 2 Leupolds that had crapped out.

I haven't had that issue and everything on rifles that head to the mountains are leupolds....the Swarovski spotter had some issues after the last trip though.

It would make me nervouse with any scope, im gonna put a zeiss on my next rifle, and it will make me nervouse then too.

Everything can break or fail in some way. Perhaps I have just had bad luck with their products but it is enough so that I will never trust them again.

On more than one occasion I've been at a tank blasting away at doves and had deer walk up and get a drink. So I'll have to say that for at least some of the deer, it probably doesn't matter. Of course where I hunt, the deer don't get shot at very much, so they haven't been conditioned to run every time they hear a shot.

I see more deer spooking from ATVs than anything else. They seem to absolutely hate those things for some reason.

As long as your not being stupid shouldn't matter. Animals aren't going to care. Unless you plan on hunting right off your camp ground.

We don't allow it, but I only hunt with a rocket launcher.

or hand grenades

I think there is something to the ATV thing, but I also believe that is because the deer just aren't used to them. Most folks aren't on a place regularly when they are leasing. The deer may only hear ATV's during hunting season, maybe a little during other times of the year.

I am on my place working all the time....weekdays, weekends, morning, night. Because of some of the terrain I don't/can't always use my truck. Quite often I use my Teryx. Sometimes with a trailer. The thing has been an absolute workhorse and very reliable. The net is, deer on my place are used to me running around year around on the thing. They are accustomed to the sound. These days they don't pay me much mind. Same with my son on his 4 wheeler...

Average deer might not be troubled by shooting. But mature deer, if you have any on your lease, are not average. If you are out there blastin away target shooting, you can bet they are taking notice. Maybe not the stupid young ones, but the old ones are. JMHO.

I had a guest shoot a 5.5yr old buck one morning and as soon as he hit the dirt a 4.5yr old that was watching walked over to him and started whoopin his arse

Just depends on where you are and what happens on the ranch...we were doing 5stand and quail hunts and also sighting in guns during the off time...right next to a good bit of stands. also had to do all ranch work inbetween...buggies/trucks/tractors didnt scare the deer at all but as soon as they saw someone walking they bolted

Small lease: No unnecessary shooting

Big lease: Shoot all you want at the designated rifle range. We had one by camp. Our nearest stand to camp was a mile or so away. Shooting at the camp range had no effect on deer movement.

I have been hunting plenty of times and dropped a deer out of a bunch that are standing near the feeder.

If I kept still after they all initally ran off, many of them, doe more than bucks will come back and investigate a little

that is how me my my son have both got deer the same day before

This exactly, no one hunts within a mile as the crow flies from camp anyway

I don't like people to shoot unless its a questionable rifle 0 or the person missed or thinks they missed. I think it depends ont the land size to.

I do

About 600 yards and it is a pretty dang good stand....and I get to listen to the kids play back at camp

I should have said no one rifle hunts that close to camp, I did just put a new set up at our bass pond about 1/2 mile from camp because I am grillmaster on saturday ribeye night so I want to stay a little closer. and I will usually kill a doe from camp every year for someone on the lease the last weekend of deer season when we are down there duck hunting

We do practice shooting at the range at camp all year except for October through December. Practice shooting consists of everything from zero in rifles, to skeet, to pistol practice. During deer season we limit only to rifle zero if necessary. Heck this past weekend my son and I probably threw 500 rounds of 22, 380, 40 and 45 down range. 30 minutes later we had 4 deer walking down the dirt road in front of camp. Just sat on the cabin porch and watched them. Now one thing we don't allow is shooting off the range. Keep the fire in one spot. By camp.

No policy.. just dont shoot the cows! Lol

Yup after a while you will have deer bedding down on your shooting range

We have a designated shooting range at the lease and the rule is during the season to shoot around noon and not during peak hunting hours!!! People are generally pretty good about not shooting during season though!!!

I dont really think there are any be all end all rules with deer, they are all different. One will run at a shot, the next will stare at you and even walk closer trying to figure out what you are.

We have a feeder 50 yards from our camp building that breaks all the rules, we wiz all over around camp, we have an open outhouse, we have watched deer eat at the feeder calm as can be while grilling a steak or draging one of their dead bretheren out of the bed of the pickup and gutting an skining it. I think how comfortable/presured the deer are has alot to do with it and they like a routine. On our last lease the land lady had a 1971 green chevy pickup, deer would hardly get out of the road when she drove it past, drive any other pickup in and all you see is tails going over the hill.

matt

We do not allow shooting directly in camp. There is a dump area about 1/2 mile from camp for garbage, guts and whatever else where guys will set up targets and shoot. Gotta be away from camp and the trailers.

our lease, you can shoot as much as you want. I wouldnt spend my money on a place that didnt let you shoot. Only stipulation is absolutely no ATV's..... which is why i love the place. I hate those things.

I've watched the deer when distant and mid-distant gunfire occurs and they barely react (if at all). There is always distant gun fire going off around us, so i think the deer are used to it. I don't think restricting target practice would affect the deer hunting one bit.

JR

Our rule of thumb is for the guys who go out to the lease multiple times during the season, site in your rifle at the lease prior to deer season. For guests, they can site in the Friday when they get to the lease, but not near a blind or feeder. No non-hunting shooting during hunt days.

No question the biggest reason to limit shooting is respect for landowners who live on their property. After all, wouldn't you be a little concerned if people were doing a lot of shooting in the area around your home?

Well I hope my plan doesn't sound too retard to you veterans here. I had planned on taking my rifle to my stand and practicing some shots out of it. I didn't even realize this might bother people, but it wouldn't be in any open season.

I just wanted to get a feel for shooting out of the blind rather than at the range.

Of course, I'm talking maybe a box of ammo at most, and putting out some steel targets.

I did this two years ago cause after i shot a cull an 8 layed down in the field about 100 yards away I called my friend said you gotta come get me I saw that buck a lot that season still. to me they're not as scared of that vehicle. Now a firm believer

Wow I never really noticed but then again it was night time and we hardly ever went back to the same place.

ATV's scare more deer than gunshots! Just what I've found over the years.

Having seen many hunters wound/miss animals because they do not
shoot their weapons regularly, or at all...I'd think that a concerned lease would at least setup a range in camp or nearby to
use to check your weapons ect..I'd also suggest that those who hunt from the same blind/stand would consider setting up targets
at areas where they usually shoot at animals and maybe where they
see them and don't shoot..prior to season..Deer adjust to most
anything from talking, cars, shooting, ect..It's when one starts
killing them that they really pay attention..Try just killing doe
for the first mo. of season on a lease and see how they act..DD

Regarding Deer & Shooting...Yrs. ago when A Place to Shoot was on
Potranco Rd in San Antonio...we had a 300 yd range and target shooters there in deer season...I saw a guy who was shooting a nickle group at 300...and Ralph gave him a doe tag..because a doe
walked in front of his target...and bagged up w/a really high dollar rifle..he missed the entire deer...So, it's not just practice that counts..plus deer don't really care about shooting,
ect..just being shot or shot at...that get's their attention..DD

That has been my experience as well.

It should be noted that when it comes to ANY noise that spooks deer, mature bucks are in a separate group from doe and lesser bucks. Anyone who has ever heard a fellow hunter piss and moan after watching a nice buck bolt to the sound of a safety being clicked off knows this all too well. But then, this was more the case before everyone started hunting from box stands.

My place is bow only during deer season, so we are able to shoot them as much as possible. I allow rifles for hogs from Feb to June, but no other shooting.

We have a range on the lease close to the front gate, lots of space between it and the first stand locations. No restrictions. A good thing imo. I'd rather someone take the time to ensure their gun is zeroed than make a bad shot. Lease size and surrounding area permitting of course.

range on the lease

We shoot but always at least 1/2 mile from hunt areas. Animals are more adaptive than most realize. However, I wouldnt want to bet that some of the old and wisw wouldnt move out... And.....never in camp area