{"id":13238,"date":"2016-04-19T16:52:44","date_gmt":"2016-04-19T16:52:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/?p=13238"},"modified":"2016-04-19T16:52:44","modified_gmt":"2016-04-19T16:52:44","slug":"i-killed-a-bear-with-a-knife","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/i-killed-a-bear-with-a-knife\/","title":{"rendered":"I killed a bear with a knife!"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_13240\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13240\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/southerngrind.com\/our-blades\/\" target=\"_blank\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13240 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/SGG-1.jpg?resize=800%2C408\" alt=\"SGG-1\" width=\"800\" height=\"408\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/SGG-1.jpg?w=800&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/SGG-1.jpg?resize=300%2C153&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13240\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\">I killed a bear with a Bad Monkey!<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Shooting at steep angles is challenging for three reasons. The first reason is the ballistics can be hard to comprehend. The second is finding a place to practice steep angle shooting. And, the third reason is getting into a stable position to shoot at a steep angle \u2013 particular up \u2013 can be very difficult.<\/p>\n<h4>The Ballistics<\/h4>\n<p>Gravity controls trajectory and gravity only works over the horizontal line of a bullet\u2019s flight. Therefore, when shooting at a steep angle your bullet\u2019s path is the hypotenuse of a right triangle but gravity is only working on the triangle\u2019s base. So, the trick is figuring out how all this impacts your point of impact.<\/p>\n<p>When shooting at big game animals at distances inside 300 yards with high velocity rifle cartridges, you don\u2019t have to worry about the angles too much; it\u2019s hard to find an angle to shoot at, steep enough to cause a miss. You can use many smart phone based calculators to solve the problem or you can use a range finder that delivers the true range. You can also use the chart below.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Angle-2.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-13239\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Angle-2.jpg?resize=1000%2C571\" alt=\"Angle 2\" width=\"1000\" height=\"571\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Angle-2.jpg?w=1000&amp;ssl=1 1000w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Angle-2.jpg?resize=300%2C171&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h4>Practicing<\/h4>\n<p>Few of us live where we can practice our math when it comes to steep angle shooting. You can however, work hypotheticals in your head or on your ballistic device. More importantly, you can work with varied positions. This is critical because even if you get the math right, you\u2019ll miss without a solid shooting platform.<\/p>\n<h4>Shooting Positions<\/h4>\n<p>If you\u2019re shooting downhill finding a solid shooting position is relatively easy; there should be plenty of ground level supports or a bipod to use. It\u2019s much harder to find a solid position to shoot from if the angle is up. This is even truer if you\u2019re on a downhill slope like you might be when shooting across a canyon.<\/p>\n<p>My solution came to me in a dire moment of need while trying to shoot a bear, high on a mountainside, across a steep canyon. The distance was almost 400 yards at about a 40\u00b0 angle. I did the math the best I could in my head but could not find a rest suitable for a shot.<\/p>\n<p>Then, it hit me! I pulled my <a href=\"https:\/\/www.southerngroundstore.com\/southern-grind-store\/bad-monkey.html\" target=\"_blank\">Southern Grind Bad Monkey<\/a> from my pocket, drove the blade into a burnt tree with a rock, looped up in my <a href=\"https:\/\/www.galcogunleather.com\/riflemann-sling_8_361_1388.html\" target=\"_blank\">Galco RifleMann Sling<\/a>, rested the rifle on the knife handle, and killed the bear!<\/p>\n<!--YouTube Error: bad URL entered-->\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Shooting at steep angles is challenging for three reasons. The first reason is the ballistics can be hard to comprehend. The second is finding a place to practice steep angle shooting. And, the third reason is getting into a stable position to shoot at a steep angle \u2013 particular up \u2013 can be very difficult. The Ballistics Gravity controls trajectory and gravity &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2522,2500],"tags":[2631,2609,2634],"class_list":["post-13238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hunt","category-shooting","tag-bear-hunting","tag-southern-grind-bad-monkey","tag-steep-angle-shooting"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5hujZ-3rw","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":11137,"url":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/dummys-guide-to-ballistics\/","url_meta":{"origin":13238,"position":0},"title":"The Empty-Cases&#8217; Dummy&#8217;s Guide to Ballistics","author":"gunwriter","date":"January 14, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Ballistics \u2013 internal, external, and terminal \u2013 is a very misunderstood subject. I\u2019ve been studying ballistics since before I killed my first deer. I understand the subject much better than I did then, but I\u2019m still no ballistician.\u00a0But I am an hillbilly, and hillbillies like to keep things simple. In\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;DEFENSE&quot;","block_context":{"text":"DEFENSE","link":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/category\/defense\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/BAL-7.jpg?fit=999%2C388&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/BAL-7.jpg?fit=999%2C388&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/BAL-7.jpg?fit=999%2C388&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/BAL-7.jpg?fit=999%2C388&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13808,"url":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/four-degrees-of-freedom-from-hornady\/","url_meta":{"origin":13238,"position":1},"title":"Four Degrees of Freedom from Hornady","author":"gunwriter","date":"August 20, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"For years shooters have relied on ballistic coefficient (BC) to help them hit at long-range. The thing is, BC is nothing more than an educated guess. It\u2019s a good guess; its just not a perfect guess. By using Doppler radar and actually shooting bullets at long-range, Hornady has essentially taken\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;DEFENSE&quot;","block_context":{"text":"DEFENSE","link":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/category\/defense\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"HH-1","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/HH-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/HH-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/HH-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/HH-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10771,"url":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/one-third-second-rule-rifle-zero\/","url_meta":{"origin":13238,"position":2},"title":"One-Third Second Rule &#8211; Rifle Zero","author":"gunwriter","date":"December 16, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Is there one method that will work for sighting in all big game rifles? In his book, Modern Hunting Optics John Barsness discusses how the 25-yard zero method used to apply and might still in some cases. But he also explains how it can get you in trouble. I\u2019m sure\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;DEFENSE&quot;","block_context":{"text":"DEFENSE","link":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/category\/defense\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/13.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/13.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/13.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/13.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/13.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14744,"url":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/a-little-bit-of-ballistics\/","url_meta":{"origin":13238,"position":3},"title":"A Little Bit of Ballistics","author":"gunwriter","date":"January 5, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"It\u2019s cold here in the hills. Temperatures have been in the single digits and the wind has been blowing hard. I have a variety of projects I need to be working on but they all involve shooting, and, well, I\u2019m holding out for better days. This has provided me with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;EDITORIAL&quot;","block_context":{"text":"EDITORIAL","link":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/category\/editorial\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/gel2.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/gel2.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/gel2.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/gel2.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8447,"url":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/tactical-practical-penetration\/","url_meta":{"origin":13238,"position":4},"title":"Tactical \/ Practical Penetration","author":"gunwriter","date":"March 3, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"HERE is an interesting essay on defensive handgun ammo penetration over at Common Sense Tactical and Practical. I don't want to start a debate but I would like to add a comment from a man, Finn Aagaard, who probably knew more about terminal bullet performance than any one currently writing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;DEFENSE&quot;","block_context":{"text":"DEFENSE","link":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/category\/defense\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"BB","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/BB-1024x302.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/BB-1024x302.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/BB-1024x302.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13587,"url":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/varmint-blackout\/","url_meta":{"origin":13238,"position":5},"title":"Varmint Blackout","author":"gunwriter","date":"June 29, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"I've been working on a neat project for the .300 Blackout. Varmint loads.\u00a0This gave me an opportunity to put my new Hornady Iron Press to work too. Using a New Ultra Light Arms Model 20 Short, topped off with Leupold's new VX-3i as a test platform, I dropped 19.30 grains\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;HUNTING&quot;","block_context":{"text":"HUNTING","link":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/category\/hunt\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"H-3","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/H-3.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/H-3.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/H-3.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/H-3.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13238"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13238\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13243,"href":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13238\/revisions\/13243"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}