Top 6 Shooting Myths And Half-Truths

What’s fact — and what’s fiction — when it comes to some commonly held shooting and hunting beliefs? You might be surprised.

Straight shooting on these common shooting misconceptions:

• Long barrels are more accurate than short barrels
• A bullet rises as it leaves the muzzle
• ‘Enough gun’ means dropping animals immediately
• Mystical ballistics really do exist
• Handloads are more accurate than factory loads
• There are magnums … and there are magnums

As in any pastime, there are myths and half-truths that seem to have a life of their own, and the world of hunting and shooting probably has more than its share. Because internal and external ballistics can be so … well, intimidating to those who are simply hunters and not technically oriented, it’s understandable. Then there are terminal ballistics and cartridge/rifle performance, which can be quite subjective.

As a boy hanging around the little sporting goods store my buddy’s dad owned on 131st Street in Cleveland, we overheard all kinds of stories that, as impressionable pre-teens, we took as gospel. After all, some of the men who hung around the store had big game experience in Pennsylvania, West Virginia — even exotic places like Wyoming and Colorado, so they had to know what they were talking about!

Click here to read the entire article at GunDigest.com.