Good Marksmanship and Accuracy

A fair amount of knowledge, skill, and experience is required to become a successful hunter. One of the essential skills is good marksmanship, which is accurately and consistently hitting the target where planned. When hunting, accuracy is critical for a clean kill.

Good marksmanship is built on three fundamentals:

Proper sight adjustment or patterning
Proper shooting technique
Practice

Hunter practicing his shooting in the standing position

Know Your Accuracy

Ethical hunters know their personal accuracy and limit their shots accordingly.

An 8-inch paper plate is the standard target for establishing deer hunting shooting accuracy. An 8-inch target is about the same size as the vital area of a deer. You need to be able to hit the paper plate consistently at the same distance and from the same shooting position you will be using when hunting. The fact that you can hit an 8-inch target at 100 yards from a bench rest does not mean you will be able to do the same from a standing or kneeling position.
Before hunting, practice until you are confident you can hit the required target at the distances and from the shooting positions you expect to use in the field. When hunting, limit your shots to your most accurate range.

When practicing shooting rifles, muzzleloaders, or handguns, an earthen (dirt) bank that is free of rocks makes the best backstop behind targets.

Alaska Department
of Fish & Game

Course Overview

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Wildlife Guide

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Alaska Hunting
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Official hunting safety course for Alaska hunters last modified: January 9, 2009
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