The Well Aimed Shot

I think an often overlooked aspect of small game hunting is the well aimed shot.  It sounds obvious but in my experience good hunters often rush their shot due to adrenaline and the excitement of the hunt when a bird or rabbit is flushed.  I remember when I was a teenager I went on a rabbit hunt with my father and a few of his friends.  My father had taught me at a very young age to aim well.  To get my site aimed up as close as perfect as I could before I took the shot, but not to take so long that the game got away.  We were out with this group of men that were experienced hunters.  They had private land to hunt on and plenty of it.  They had the nicest dogs and very nice guns and dressed well but out of the first 5 rabbits I got three.  Finally after I had bagged my 4th rabbit my father came over and whispered for me to lay off as I was being given new nicknames like "dead eye" and "Davey Crockett."  I noticed, and my father did too, that most of these guys shot quickly...very quickly.  They didn't take the time to line their site up properly and no doubt felt overly confident because they were using shotguns but the principal of a well aimed shot and a steady trigger squeeze applies to both rifles and shot guns.  Too many hunters jerk the trigger on their  shotgun and pull the gun out of alignment with their target.  Take the time that it takes to place a well aimed shot and to squeeze the trigger without jerking the gun and you will see your first shot kills increase.  It sounds simple but it's a concept that is often overlooked, even by the experienced hunter.