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  1. #1
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    Default Shooting through grass and the result.

    Just got back from a little trip to get a youngster his Kudu bull, I is am and are dead tired.

    I have been training, teaching a young hunter for 4 years now, he only started shooting properly this year, until now its been conscientiously difficult. The boy has until recently been a 3 to 4 inch group at 100 m kinda shooter on a very good day. I have been able until recently to save each situation with a follow up shot or find animal even if it fell in a different time zone. This year he shot a bush pig that was not found and a water buck ram.
    With each shot I do the following:
    Are you stable?
    Boytjie, remember do not hold your breath.
    Are you comfortable, if not move a bit.
    No sticks, bushs?
    You stable? - not tense? not forcing the cross, relaxed, cross on animal.
    Keep brain in scope on cross, do not worry about the trigger - it will happen, just stay in the scope.

    Ok boytjie, when you ready, if your body is loose shoot.

    Today he lined up on a old bull that he has been seeing and bouncing off the walls about and missed it completely.

    We had done prelude and pre flight, all was good, the shot went off and i saw about 120 m away a white streak form and disappear, like a vapor line just above the grass, the bull just did that disappear thing - grey ghost and all. No jerk, hunch or jump - no thud or slap, just a miss.

    The weapon is a 7mm-08, animal 234 m, the bullet a 120 gr TSSX barley patch was 120/130 m away.

    Question posed, how much can the tips of some grass affect a monolithic bullets path of flight, how can one miss a target as big as a door because of GRASS, not twigs?
    Whats the story behind this occurrence.

  2. #2

    Default Re: Shooting through grass and the result.

    How thick was the grass? Could be you were seeing spray from the grass tops, as he had shot low. Then bullet slowed and went under?


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  3. #3

    Default Re: Shooting through grass and the result.

    Grass will certainly make a difference, the deflection is obviously greater the further away from the target it takes place. Mono or lead core I doubt it makes a difference.


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  4. #4
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    Default Re: Shooting through grass and the result.

    I have shot through grass with various calibers and bullets, when I had no other option, and while it worked well in the vast majority of the cases there have been a few cases where bullets deflected quite radically from the flight path.
    It is really not a good idea to shoot through any obstruction unless you have no choice.

  5. #5
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    Default Re: Shooting through grass and the result.

    I have also shot through grass and sometimes even brush, but only when the target is like a meter or two - much less usually behind obstruction.
    I believe hitting grass 10 m from barrel may have a a big impact on accuracy 100 m further down line, but other way around not at all.

    A bullet deflected .01 of a mm at barrel may be ??, 10 cm off at 100 m - same bullet deflected even 1.0 cm 1 m from target will only be perhaps 2 cm off at target.

  6. #6

    Default Re: Shooting through grass and the result.

    I think hitting many damp Barley seed heads halfway to the target would retard velocity enough to steepen trajectory. If he was aiming behind front leg may have nicked animal or gone straight under


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  7. #7
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    Default Re: Shooting through grass and the result.

    Quote Originally Posted by tcbc View Post
    I think hitting many damp Barley seed heads halfway to the target would retard velocity enough to steepen trajectory. If he was aiming behind front leg may have nicked animal or gone straight under


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    ***********************************
    Just woke up now, second sleep today , catch is a bitch. I awoke thinking exact thing, we were sitting on our water bottles because the ground was so wet, perhaps the question should be " what would a lot of wet grass leaves do" - a lot I think.

  8. #8
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    Default Re: Shooting through grass and the result.

    I looked up Barley Seeds, no, its not that - close but not. It is a seed grass which I see across the road and we pick it for our birds fowls as a treat.
    These are lands that have been planted then left, some times maize, luzern, pumpkins,cabbage. There are patch's on the farm (which is a diary and beef meat farm) which have been used at times for other crops, by need market demand or the kids great new money making idea that his parents allow.
    This is the farm i spoke of in a earlier post where we drive blind some places because the grass stalks are higher than the bonnet of the bakkie - much. Shoulder height for Cody in places.

  9. #9
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    Default Re: Shooting through grass and the result.


  10. #10
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    Default Re: Shooting through grass and the result.

    Quote Originally Posted by treeman View Post
    The boy has until recently been a 3 to 4 inch group at 100 m kinda shooter on a very good day.
    My personal opinion is that you shouldn't even let him take shots at game if he can't even do a 2" group at 100m on an average day, if the rifle is up to the task, specially not shots at 234m. 4" at 100m translates to 9" at that distance and 9" is a huge chance on a badly wounded animal.

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