Dennis Anderson: For hunters, lessons in confidence

On Saturday, 200,000 or more Minnesotans will carry high-caliber rifles into the woods or onto fields somewhere in the state. A like number, or thereabouts, will tote shotguns. Except to sight-in their firearms a time or two in the run-up to the state's 2010 whitetail season that begins then, few of these hunters will have spent much time with their "deer guns" in the past year.

Or the year before.

Which is why some hunters this fall will wound deer, rather than kill them cleanly.

Betty Gaston likely won't be among them. She takes her rifle shooting seriously, and because she does, she's a crack shot -- in some instances, out to 700 yards and more.

Betty is married to Marv Gaston, owner of Taxidermy Unlimited in Burnsville, and a lifelong hunter.

"A few years ago, Marv and I booked a hunt in Texas, and while down there I had a shot presented to me that was only about 100 yards, but I found I wasn't comfortable shooting at that distance," Betty said. "Later that year, we were mule deer hunting in South Dakota and I said, 'I'm nervous because some of these shots might be long.'

"Marv said, 'Don't worry, if it's a long shot, I'll tell you where to hold.' When I asked what I would do if he wasn't with me when I shot, he said, 'Well, good luck.' "

"Now I go on hunts alone or with other women, and when I leave I say, 'Goodbye, honey. See you in a week,' " Betty said.

• • •

Some wives can learn certain skills from their husbands. Some husbands can learn certain skills from their wives.

They might be the minority.

Oftentimes, teachers other than spouses produce the best results -- and the happiest students.

What she learned there -- she spent three separate four-day sessions at the school -- would help any Minnesota rifle hunter who will be afield for whitetails this season.

"Before I took the class, when I was presented with a shot at an animal, I would shake like a leaf," Betty said. "Now I'm calm. If it's a longer shot, I have a range finder in my binoculars and I figure the distance. I also look around for a rest to steady my rifle.

"Throughout the process, I'm totally calm, because I know what to do."

A former hunting-trip booking agent, and an outfitter, SAAM owner Tim Fallon knows first-hand that some rifle hunters can't shoot very well.

Which is why he recruited former U.S. Special Forces snipers to teach at his school.

What's possible with a rifle -- with the proper training and equipment -- was demonstrated remarkably in April 2009 when three Navy SEAL snipers killed three Somali pirates with simultaneous headshots. The shots were taken while all parties, shooters and pirates alike, were in boats, on the open sea, and while the snipers wore night-vision optics.

Betty doesn't claim those skills -- though she has killed an animal cleanly at 360 yards. What's more, SAAM, she says, isn't so much about long-range shooting as it is about learning to hunt using a rifle.

"The first day is entirely in the classroom," she said. There, students in the basic class, SAAM-1, learn about rifles and rifle parts, firearms safety, "zeroing" scopes, and the definitions of terms such as "minutes of angle."

"We didn't think in terms of 'clicks' up and down when adjusting a shot for distance or the wind, but in minutes of angle," Betty said.

On the school's target range, various shooting positions and their advantages were explained and demonstrated. Prone is generally the most stable, if conditions allow. Sitting also can be stable, and can be made more so if a shooter uses his or her pack, either between the stomach and legs, or under the shooting arm.

Absent these, shooters can steady their rifles by leaning against trees or similar objects.

"To really become capable with a rifle, you need to practice all of the shooting positions," Betty said. "To help us do that, we walked through a 20-station course at the school, where shots were presented under various conditions.

"You get two minutes at each to figure out how best to take the shot. What the distance is, what position will work best, how the wind might affect the shot, and so forth."

Knowing wind speed, especially if it's a crosswind, is important for long and even moderately long shots, Betty said. SAAM students are taught that wind less than 5 miles per hour makes a light impression on the face, while a 5-8-mph wind will move tree leaves, an 8-12-mph wind can put dust in the air, and a of 12-15 mph will bend small trees.

How much of this is important for Minnesota deer hunters?

But hunters in the northwest often are presented with long shots, and those who take them with specific understandings of their rifles, cartridges and scopes have better chances to connect than those who don't.

Regardless, learning in detail about a firearm and its capabilities, and how to shoot it accurately, can be fun no matter where hunters look for deer.

"Long-range target shooting gives you a lot of confidence," Betty said. "When I shoot at 800 yards, and I hear the metal target go 'ping,' I get a lot of satisfaction.

"But in the end, for hunters, shooting at long ranges isn't what's important. What's important is being confident at ranges you're comfortable with, knowing your capabilities. It's the only ethical way to approach hunting. You owe it to the animal to make a clean shot."

Dennis Anderson • danderson@startribune.com

DOUG SMITH