Using dynamite. I stumbled on this technique almost by accident when I was a teenager. You see, I was hunting deer near an old mining camp when my buddy and I stumbled onto a cache of old dynamite sticks carefully stored under a big, old tree. We didn't know how long it had been there, but it looked really old. I had heard that dynamite can become unstable after it gets really old and, being the selfless individual that I am, I wanted to clear the area of this potentially dangerous site. Plus, my hunting buddy offered me $50 if I could hit the pile of dynamite from 500 yards away. As you know, I routinely spend 4-6 hours each day on the range and am extremely confident in my shooting abilities, so the shot and $50 prize were a slam dunk. The surprising thing was not that I made the shot, but just how unstable old dynamite can be. Boulders and trees went flying in every direction, many landing not far from where we were standing. (Yes, standing. You don't think I needed to lay down or find a rest for such a simple shot, do you? Heck, I didn't even crank my scope up past 4.) The other surprising thing was to see how effective this technique proved at rousting out the wildlife. The hillside literally erupted with deer and elk running for their lives in every direction as if somebody was attacking them with dynamite, huge boulders and full-grown trees. I quickly picked out a nice 200? class typical buck and made a nice 600 yard running shot on him. He tumbled to the ground and I filed this experience away for future reference. I find that the most effective way to use dynamite is to stand at the top of a steep ravine or canyon that looks like it might hold some animals, throw an unlit dynamite stick as far out as you can and then shoot it like a clay pigeon. The noise is really the trick to busting out the big boys; not the raining boulders and trees.
