Backstops, distance and the habits that prevent accidents and wounding.
Safe shots
- Never shoot towards the horizon or at animals in silhouette — you do not know what is behind.
- Always a safe backstop: ground or terrain behind the animal. Know the background BEFORE you shoot.
- When aiming at moving animals, lift your eye from the scope now and then: animals move, and something may have entered the background.
- Never shoot into a group. Pick one animal standing clear, and wait until it stands right.
- Know where other hunters and drivers are before you shoot.
Source: villrein.no/jakt and the video “Tips til reinsjegeren”, both from the Norwegian Wild Reindeer Centre, rewritten in our own words.
Judging distance
Judging distance is what many hunters struggle with most, and it leads to wounding. Clear air and few known references make animals look closer than they are. Use a rangefinder, or measure against something you know — and practise all day, not only when the animal is there.
Do not shoot at distances you have not trained at. A distance you are unsure of is too far.
Source: The video “Tips til reinsjegeren” from the Norwegian Wild Reindeer Centre, rewritten in our own words.
Safe gun handling
- Carry the gun unloaded when moving, and load only when you are in position.
- Muzzle always in a safe direction — also when the gun is “empty”.
- Remove the bolt when the gun is in the car, the cabin or the tent.
- Check gun and scope after a fall and after transport. Zero with your hunting ammunition before the hunt.
- Never put down a loaded gun.
- When you meet other hunters: unload and make it visible, so the other person sees it and does the same.
Source: The video “Tips til reinsjegeren” from the Norwegian Wild Reindeer Centre, rewritten in our own words.
Do not judge situations you are not part of
From a distance a shot often looks different from what it was: you do not see the distance, the backstop or what the hunter saw. Be careful about judging other people's shots. If you are worried about wounding, offer to help with the search instead.
Source: The video “Tips til reinsjegeren” from the Norwegian Wild Reindeer Centre, rewritten in our own words.
In Veida
The ballistics calculator shows drop, wind drift and energy per distance for your ammunition, and the range rings on the map draw 100–400 m around you — so you see how far it really is.
Next: The dog in the forest
Sources
Some sections build on material from the Norwegian Wild Reindeer Centre — villrein.no/jakt and the video “Tips til reinsjegeren” — rewritten in our own words and adapted to all big-game hunting. Each section that builds on it names its source.