The moment of truth is seconds away, will you be ready? Before you pull the trigger on that big buck this season, be sure you know how your gun performs.

“A gun is only as good as the shooter behind it,” is one of the truest lines ever for marksmen. I have heard more times than I can count how someone’s gun caused them to miss a deer. Although it happens, I bet it’s the gun’s fault less than one third of the time. Most people don’t shoot enough, or have such poor shooting skills, that they couldn’t tell whether a gun was on or not.

Flinching or target panic is the most common problem encountered by shooters that tends to rob them of accuracy. Not having good sights on the weapon also hinders the shooter dramatically, yet happens to be one of the easiest fixes. I recommend before you shoot at a deer, you make sure all of these steps have been taken.

As hunters, we must strive to make the most clean, fast and humane kill shot possible. The only way to make this happen is to make a perfect or nearly perfect shot on the animal. This requires two forms of knowledge, the first being the anatomy of the species hunted and the second being marksmanship. You can’t expect to make a clean, quick kill if you don’t know exactly where an animal’s vitals are located in the body. You then must be able to pass a bullet or arrow through that spot from every ethical angle. This may take some research on your part, but I promise it will pay off in the long run. What is a clean shot with a gun may not be a good shot at all with a bow. Underlying bone structure can stop an arrow before it reaches the vitals, wounding the animal, or possibly killing but never finding it. All of this can be prevented if you make it a point to master deer anatomy.

It takes little or no skill at all to fire a weapon, but to master their use and function requires many years of shooting experience. The level of teaching you receive the first time you shoot can also determine your end product as a marksmen, so shoot wisely.