Desert Island quandry

[Dougan]

"The hoary old question of where to aim when shooting up or down hill regularly rears its head. It seems that many hunters understand that shooting at a steep angle changes the point of impact, but can't remember why or in which direction.

The correct answer is to hold lower than normal when shooting steeply up or down hill at long range. (At gentle angles you can ignore the problem altogether over the maximum point blank ranges of hunting rifle cartridges.)"

http://www.chuckhawks.com/shooting_uphill.htm

Thanks for that Rob,

That makes sense - it the 'constant gravity' thing again...like the question - 'if you fire a bullet perfectly horizontaly to the ground, and drop one from your hand, which one hit the gound first....." :geek:

I also thank you for the link...as after the whole 'goat on a cliff' thing :shock: ...I was reluctant to put 'shooting uphill' into Google :lol:

[Porcupine]

I would find some bean plants, dig them up and leave them to compost (potassium nitrate), chop down some trees and burn the wood at low temperature (charcoal) and then extract some sugar from the sugar cane that doubtless grows on this island (substitute for sulfur). Grinding these ingredients together in a mixture of 2:1:1 wet and then drying them will provide me with black powder.

I would then weave buckets out of banana leaves, bark, reeds etc and fill them with water. A wooden frame would be erected with a large leaf stretched across it and a bullseye marked with charcoal. Behind this I would place one of the buckets of water. Pacing back 100 yards and benchresting the rifle as best I could (make sandbags out of my clothes?) I'd look through the barrel and get it lined up on target. This should get me on target so I'd take a shot. Hopefully, the bullet will pass through the leaf and into the bucket where the water will stop it without deformation. I would then retrieve the bullet, and replace the now-ruptured bucket with a fresh one.

The case would be refilled with black powder, and the primer cleaned out, the dimple stamped smooth, and refilled with the chlorinated compound from the head of the matches I have been thoughtful enough to keep about my person on this unfortunate ocean voyage. Loading it all together (with some kind of neolithic reloading press!), I would take a second shot (the first can be ignored most likely as the different powder will change the point of impact). Again, the bullet is retrieved, the bucket replaced, and the cartridge reloaded. This time I move the crosshairs onto the point of impact of the second round and now the rifle should be zeroed for 100 yards. I can then move the makeshift target back in stages so long as my materials last. When I get to the last of my materials, that will have to do and I can attempt the shot on the deer.

[ovenpaa]

I would find some bean plants, dig them up and leave them to compost (potassium nitrate), chop down some trees and burn the wood at low temperature (charcoal) and ...............................


..................this time I move the crosshairs onto the point of impact of the second round and now the rifle should be zeroed for 100 yards. I can then move the makeshift target back in stages so long as my materials last. When I get to the last of my materials, that will have to do and I can attempt the shot on the deer.

Outstanding reply! It makes me want try this myself.