A mild recoiling rifle is your friend too.

My biggest problem is I talk myself out of killing a lot of deer that I should have killed. There 2 or 3 that I have regrets on now, but debated and debated on pulling the trigger until it was to late. Part of hunting thick mountains I guess, wanna be 100 sure it’s a deer I want to kill.

I have that issue too. I only want to kill deer that are made of meat,

I had a friend ask me in Texas this year - "do you really want to shoot that doe? You just shot a trophy buck this morning!" My answer - BANG! "Yup, she's made out of meat!"

And she was DELICIOUS!! Already had a backstrap chunk on the grill and a pot of chili!

I shoot my bow about 12 arrows a year n kill deer, only lost 2 in 21 years...I shoot rifles all year long and still miss good deer

Jbatey - I hav missed out on 4-5 really good deer over the years from studying in low light conditions and you don’t hav lot of time

Each time I figured it out - it was too late - I wish I would hav been more aggressive in those instances - but I was just wanting to be sure

Jbatey - I also got a better scope to help me see better so I could determine quicker in low lite conditions And time is usually critical w a mature buck cause they generally don’t stick around long a lot of times - use to hav a sucky scope which was not any better than my eye which sucks at last lite

All good points , pretty sure I rushed the shot / jerked the trigger . Had the thought that dry fire practice might even help . As far as scope the vx3 I have is not the best but I feel like it’s plenty good for me .

Take someone with you to the range. Let them load your gun and get them to leave it empty sometimes without telling you. See if you jerk when you pull the trigger on an empty chamber. It will be obvious.

What doe killer is saying is good stuff

After shooting great for long time - I got into a case of the jerks that lasted years - missed deer broad side at 30 yards

Had no clue I was jerking trigger - and would hav told you I was not at the time - you may not b jerking - but doekiller giving some good advice

I have been a firearms instructor for 20 years and have seen just about everything you can see folks do with a gun in their hand. Most issues are relatively simple to correct but a few are more complicated, like recoil anticipation as doekiller was referring to. Dummy rounds are a great way to practice trigger control and malfunction drills with a handgun. The real key to accurate shooting boils down to sight alignment and trigger control. Sight alignment sounds simple but most people don’t focus on the sight like they should. Your eyes can only focus clearly on one thing at a time and therefore you have to focus on the front sight or in the case of a rifle the crosshairs. I tell people all the time to stop looking down range and they think I’m crazy because they feel like they have to be looking at the target. If you are focusing on the front sight the rear sight (on a handgun) and the target should be a little blurry and the front sight should be clear and in focus. With a rifle the crosshairs should be clear and in focus. With a bow the pin should be clearly focused and the peep and target should be a little blurry. I can teach most people to shoot a steel torso at 100 yards with a .40 once they start focusing on the front sight. Trigger control is something you can practice with an empty weapon and takes practice. Anticipating the recoil is the number one thing I see people struggling with and the only cure is practice and dummy rounds as doekiller said. A good trigger pull is like a train on a train track, it goes forward and backward without jerking or ratcheting. I see ratcheting a lot with people who are trying to time their shot when the front sight gets where they want it in the wobble area. You can’t worry about wobble just press all the way thru it until the shot breaks. Wobble shouldn’t be as much of an issue with a rifle but it’s still there. Having said all of that, you can be an expert shot but shooting at a live animal is exciting and nerve racking all at the same time and that why practice is important.

I can’t for the life of me shoot with both eyes open.. which is the correct option both or one? May be some of my problems but i don’t think so

Thank you all so much , tdog , doekiller and general super good advice , I have had several rounds of what I feel is quality firearms instruction from Tiger at Shootrite , I have dummy rounds , As stated when I checked my gun I put 3 inside 1.5 in at 125 yds or so . This is a mental problem , I get an anxiety that is 2 fold 1: I’m exited about the deer ( any deer I plan to shoot most times ) I have taken some nice ones as stated in my OP that I don’t get shook up ) 2; I have become anxious I’m going to screw it up . Think QB who just threw a pick 6 going back out on the field . I have the skill to do it just fine , I believe it’s the anxiety of failure / messing up again .

Thanks for the info General and I will let him answer you Ridge - I close my left eye though

I practice 3-5 different times shooting at targets several weeks r so befor season - I had to focus on trigger pull big time and practice to get out of my massive jerking

And tdog I’m sure I jerked the trigger yesterday. Rushed the shot

I think focusing on the front sight will force you to stop thinking about what you are doing and alleviate some of the anxiety. Most people who miss a deer are in a hurry to get it over with and get the deer dead NOW.

I know your correct , thinking back I was still looking at the whole deer , I need to crosshair on the crease and squeeze

Tupi - keep practicing and try to get your self where you psych your self out on hitting instead of missing - I still get shook up

Heck - when I play golf - if all I see is the trouble - guess where I am going to hit it - right at the dang trouble

Heck - the first deer I ever mounted I did not even think I was gone be able to shoot it - My cross hairs were all over the place - I felt like a freakin spas- I was in a shooting house and shaking like crazy - I was like - screw this and just moved the gun over to side of window and pinched it so hard it would not move - dead deer

The general can prob help u lot more than me - but keep practicing And try to get where u believe u can do it

I purchased a bog tog death grip gun rest which helps lot - my son struggles so massively with shooting I thought it would help him - it has helped me b more steady to

Pay attention to the general a lot more than me

I keep both eyes open with a handgun or my M4 but thats relatively close shooting with fast target acquisition. The main benefit is situational awareness in a tactical CQB situation. It is not natural for most people and takes practice. I close my right eye when I’m behind a scope.

I need to go back to shooting my deer rifle all the time like I used to for muscle memory and confidence - used to shoot year round and didn’t have this problem - I’ll check out the rest .