Nikon 300mm f/4, part 2

I've been out the last couple days with the Nikon 300mm f/4 I wrote about before practicing on some small creatures such as birds, butterflies, dragonflies and such.  Gotta say, it's been a challenge - between the wind blowing, fast moving subjects, the lens seeking focus and no VR my hit ratio is somewhere between one half and one third keepers to shots taken.  And by keepers I mean the subject is in sharp focus.

It's incredibly disappointing to have to delete so many images.  On the flip side, I find myself shooting a subject many more times than I would if using a lens with VR hoping for one good image out of the many taken.  Mostly that has worked, but not always because while trying to nail the shot the subject may take off and I'll have lost my chance.  And if it's a rare subject or even a common one doing something interesting - that just hurts.  So, I need to continue to practice so the misses are less and less - or hope Nikon comes out with a VR version of the 300mm f/4.  : )
All images in this post were taken with this lens and when the shot is nailed, the outcome is magic.  Just wish I'd have nailed more of them.