SHOOTING FROM THE OFF HAND SIDE

[ripper7]

I WAS SITTING IN MY TREE STAND THE OTHER DAY WHEN A DEER CAME IN WITH LITTLE ADVANCED WARNING . I SHOOT RIGHT HANDED BUT IN WOULD HAVE BEEN A DIFFICULT TWISTING OF THE TORSO TO MAKE THE SHOT. I SHOULDERED THE RIFLE TO THE LEFT AND WAS ABLE TO MAKE A FINE KILL SHOT. I HAVE READ MANY ARTICLES AND FORUMS BUT HAVE NOT SEEN ANY COMMENTS ABOUT SHOOTING FROM THE OFF HAND SIDE. HAS THIS HAPPENED TO ANYONE? IS IT A COMMON OCCURRENCE? THIS IS THE SECOND TIME IT HAS H APPENDED TO ME IN TWO YEARS

[fave]

Ripper7, I had that happen to many and several years ago. The first incident, when I was 18, arose when I sat on an old logging road on an active scrape. I positioned myself for the chip shot at the scrape, when all of a sudden the buck shows up on the other side of me on the logging road. There was no repositioning. It seemed like instinct to just switch hands and eyes, settle in and pull the trigger. Textbook. The other time, more recent, was in South Dakota. I was glassing a 140 class 8 pointer for a couple of hours working a draw. I was 400 yards away. I was comfortable with the shot at 400 but the wind was blowing 40-50+. I backed out, then came back in the evening. I eased my way to some buck thorn about 80 yards from where I was seeing the deer. To my surprise, a 15 pointer somehow made its way to my right from behind me 60 yards away. The sun had me lit up like a christmas tree and I could barely move. My gun was butt down on the ground. I was able to slip it up just as if the deer was on my left or my typical shooting side. The wind was down to 30-40 but at 60 yards, the shot had a predictable outcome. Another textbook occurance. I would say that when you are out sighting in your rifle, it wouldn't hurt the average guy to try an of hand shot just so when the time comes, the confidence level will be higher and any necessary adjustments can learned at practice instead of being in the field scratching your head over a missed deer. Congrats on your shot.

[scottflesher]

I once shot a small buck left handed with a crossbow, before I converted to compound. While I'm sure it's not the same for everyone, if you can remember to close the correct eye, it's not difficult, or at least it wasn't for me.

[clendenin11]

Ripper7: I'm not sure what it is about my setup, but I've had probably just as many, if not more, animals approach from a direction I wasn't expecting (based on sign, trailcam's, etc). I feel like I've been just as successful with those opportunities, but it takes some getting used to...