Different activities to improve your general skills

[sally-bee]

G'day,

Rather than focus for hours on one specific thing like trigger pull and perfect finger placement or something for I hoped we could do a topic on more varied things to improve and maintain your shooting skills over all and see what tips people have. (Mostly for me but hopefully others benefit as much as well )

Like do you regularly practice shooting standing, sitting and prone so you're comfortable doing all?

I've seen the flipping targets which flip away from you with each hit getting more difficult.

More things like that?

I hope it's clear what I mean.

[Warrigul]

I am working on my gut at the moment, I use it to brace my left arm in field rifle, works a treat. About five more kilos should do it.

[Noisydad]

Gym membership. Now there's both ends of the scale for you to think about!

[Noisydad]

I think most folks would be a bit inclined to be overly focused on bench rest shooting and cant shoot off hand to save themselves. Practice all positions for a broader skill base. Reactive targets are more fun I think.

[Warrigul]

I think most folks would be a bit inclined to be overly focused on bench rest shooting and cant shoot off hand to save themselves. Practice all positions for a broader skill base. Reactive targets are more fun I think.

The biggest problem is getting people to try something that isn't instantly gratifying. Almost anyone can get reasonable results off the bench or on a rest and a bag on the mound. I don't consider pure benchrest shooters to be overly skillful, it is more about the equipment.

It takes a lot of persistance for someone to shoot well off their elbows or in a positional situation but the benefits are there, especially if they start hunting.

Still, I don't care what discipline they shoot as long as they start shooting and are enjoying themselves. The more the merrier.

[Chronos]

Horses for courses. You give the example of working for hours in details like trigger pull, the fact is thats the best way to get it right.

Most shooters, especially new shooters can't concentrate of good trigger technique standing in a paddock wobbling around in the wind trying to get the crosshairs on target. What tends to happen is they end up with a developing great big snatchy trigger finger rather than a more correct squeeze.

When I was shooting lots of service rifle and field rifle (high power) my positional shooting was ok but when I added small bore shooting to the mix all my shooting improved. My breathing, trigger control and focus all improved out of sight and I went from shooting mid 70's service rifle scores to shooting scores over 90 and setting highest scores on the day against high master grade service shooters.

As for Benchrest shooting being about equipment not skill, that load of crap probably comes someone who's never shot one of those guns. If they had they'd probably realise the equipment only does half the job. I've seen people who think they're great shooters sit at a bench with $12,000 Worth of gear on it and shoot a group 2-3 times the size of the owner of the rifle. Maybe the rifle doesn't do all the work.

Chronos

[Grrzrr]

I don't consider pure benchrest shooters to be overly skillful, it is more about the equipment.

Ooooooooowww that's going to sting a few!

[Mich]

Reactive targets are more fun I think.

Reactive targets. Gang some bottles to swing in the wind too.

Progressive dots are a good build up on difficulty for BR and prone shooting.

Freehand shooting get a 'vitals' size target and set it at whatever distance you're comfortable with to start. 100 yards say.

Once you're hitting it 7 or 8 out of 10 shots move it to 150 yards.

Repeat out to 200, 250 etc. as far as you can go.

[Warrigul]

As for Benchrest shooting being about equipment not skill, that load of crap probably comes someone who's never shot one of those guns. If they had they'd probably realise the equipment only does half the job. I've seen people who think they're great shooters sit at a bench with $12,000 Worth of gear on it and shoot a group 2-3 times the size of the owner of the rifle. Maybe the rifle doesn't do all the work.

Chronos

Nope, I've got a very good idea what I am talking about having competed and done okay(given it away as I just simply don't have enough time to do everything). As I said it is easy to shoot a gratifying score straight up using good gear off a bench, or with a joystick rest and bag on the mound.

It is more about the quality of the equipment, the skillset to use it is acquired rather quickly by most from what I have seen. My niece shot a silver medal score off the bench after just three sessions using my gear, having never shot before.

You can have all the skill in the world but that gold medal in field rifle winning brno, 3-16 nikko and a home made jackstand rest just isn't going to cut it.

I suspect your retort is more a case of ruffled feathers than an objective comment, now take your hand off it and if you can't say something nice then please don't bother replying at all.

[Warrigul]

Ooooooooowww that's going to sting a few!

One of the reasons I gave it away was the lack of a level playing field (don't get me wrong I had the good gear, there was no angst there I ended up realising some of the middle group were capable of beating me if they had access to the same gear), were it identical rifles, loads, rests etc. then it truly would be skill that was being tested otherwise it is more an equipment test.

Just my humble opinions, I am always open to correction.

[handofcod]

Not for lack of searching, but I'm yet to find a bench with a rifle set up ready to go pointing exactly at a deer's vitals in the middle of the bush.

This is why I make a fool of myself at the range by standing up and shooting terribly all afternoon.

[bigfellascott]

I just practice on rabbits these days, I've been given some small gongs so I will be using those when the rabbits run out.

[Chronos]

Ooooooooowww that's going to sting a few!

Not sure there's even any benchrest shooters here but it doesn't stop worrygurl from trolling.

LOL silver medal, what's that 5 shots in 1" at 100m? All of my hunting rifles have done that, I'm talking about 5 shots under 1/4" at 200y.

I liked you better when you were gone

Chronos

[Jack V]

It's a big mistake to put any kind of shooter in certain category. I have seen quite a few bench rest shooters that were great shots in the field one is Brendan Atkinson for starters . Individuals have all sorts of overlapping skills you can't generalise . Good shooting is just like good swimming , you get much better at it when your are experienced enough to be fully relaxed with it all. Nerves is a real killer of accuracy . The very best thing any new shooter can do is find a good coach / mentor that can give you the good oil right from the get go and prevent you from developing bad habits that may stay with you for ever .

[Warrigul]

I liked you better when you were gone

Never left as far as I knew?

Making you like me is on the lower end of my priority list. As far as trolling goes I thought I was on your ignore list(evidently not, despite you making much noise about putting me on it- alas I thought I was going to have peace).

However if you don't want me to correct you then don't reply to any of my posts in the first place(this is my preferred option). It should be noted that unless it is to correct a patently wrong post of yours(your inexperience and internet or third party based shooting knowledge causes a lot of this) I don't actually address you at all.

As far as the silver medal goes it was SSAA rimfire BR30 and not a bad effort for anyone who has only ever shot a rifle three times in their life, the point was made to illustrate that with the correct high end gear it doesn't take much to achieve a worthwhile score and I stand by that statement which seems to have pissed you off so much.

Sandy vagina today Steve, you seem to be the only one getting upset?

[bigfellascott]

Horses for courses. You give the example of working for hours in details like trigger pull, the fact is thats the best way to get it right.

Most shooters, especially new shooters can't concentrate of good trigger technique standing in a paddock wobbling around in the wind trying to get the crosshairs on target. What tends to happen is they end up with a developing great big snatchy trigger finger rather than a more correct squeeze.

When I was shooting lots of service rifle and field rifle (high power) my positional shooting was ok but when I added small bore shooting to the mix all my shooting improved. My breathing, trigger control and focus all improved out of sight and I went from shooting mid 70's service rifle scores to shooting scores over 90 and setting highest scores on the day against high master grade service shooters.

As for Benchrest shooting being about equipment not skill, that load of crap probably comes someone who's never shot one of those guns. If they had they'd probably realise the equipment only does half the job. I've seen people who think they're great shooters sit at a bench with $12,000 Worth of gear on it and shoot a group 2-3 times the size of the owner of the rifle. Maybe the rifle doesn't do all the work.

Chronos

A little birdy tells me your wife out shot you with your rifle a while back

[tom604]

Ooooooooowww that's going to sting a few!

Not sure there's even any benchrest shooters here but it doesn't stop worrygurl from trolling.

LOL silver medal, what's that 5 shots in 1" at 100m? All of my hunting rifles have done that, I'm talking about 5 shots under 1/4" at 200y.

I liked you better when you were gone

and it did sting i shoot out my car window or off hand or off my knee, if i had to choose i would take the knee,more support my head shot rate falls away offhand i practice off hand at the range but i seem to do better when im hunting . one thing ive found is that if your shooting offhand you can "drop" onto the target and when you get on target , hold and pull the trigger in the one motion, it stops the wobbles that you get when you try and hold it steady. aim a bit higher and lower it onto target, hope that explains it a bit better

why cant everyone be

[Chronos]

A little birdy tells me your wife out shot you with your rifle a while back

Makes out scored me twice from memory the most recent time she was shooting her rifle, CZ 527 in .204r. I was shooting a tikka .243, she was shooting her way through 5 batches of 5 load tests leading into a friendly competition Shot just over 1 1/4" at 200m with the second highest powder charge. I shot 4 into 1/2" and the last about 1" away as you do. I decided to try and better my group by shooting get .204 with the lowest powder charge rounds, couldn't do it.

That was hunting rifles, not Benchrest shooting.

Chronos

[bigfellascott]

Bloody women hey, they reckon they are better shooters on average, I gotta say my wife shoots well too, hasn't missed any foxes or bunnies yet

[Jack V]

Woman have physical and mental reasons why they are good shooters, Lower respiration rate , softer heart beat , more gentle touch , more patience , less muscle tremor , better concentration on small objects in a narrow field of view , better eye sight most of the time. As the recoil gets higher woman loose their edge and the stronger heavier man takes over .

[Chronos]

Woman have physical and mental reasons why they are good shooters, Lower respiration rate , softer heart beat , more gentle touch , more patience , less muscle tremor , better concentration on small objects in a narrow field of view , better eye sight most of the time. As the recoil gets higher woman loose their edge and the stronger heavier man takes over .

Taking notes, ordering 300WM

It's true in part. You ifmten see it with new shooters. The woman listens to the instructor, the man doesn't, 'cause he already knows it all

Chronos

[Jack V]

Most woman will never be as technically knowledgeable as most men in this sport . However they still make very good shots with the lower recoil rifles with the right coaching . You don't need to be a gunsmith to be a good shot if you have the money for the right gear but it does help if you can build your own equipment cheap .
If you watch the Kurdish woman fighters shooting as compared to the Kurdish men you will see they are far more focused on a precision shot rather than blasting away on auto .

[VICHunter]

Not for lack of searching, but I'm yet to find a bench with a rifle set up ready to go pointing exactly at a deer's vitals in the middle of the bush.

My spots are lousy with them. I'll send you some GPS co-ordinates

[chacho]

why cant everyone be

dickwad-theory.jpg (23.53 KiB) Viewed 5874 times

[crush]

You ifmten see it with new shooters.

I ifmten do

[bigfellascott]

Another thing that is cheap and fun to practice on is empty 22 cases - put em at 20 or 30m or further out and try shooting em in the sitting position (or any other that suits for that matter) I'll often set up a few eggs or leftover spuds/fruit etc that are ready for the bin.

Balloons filled with flour or water are also good fun (tie a bit of string and hang them from branches at different ranges to suit your needs). Clay targets can be great fun, especially little fragments, they can be a real good challenge with a 22 at 80 or 100m or so.

[Korkt]

Chase a golf ball around with your .22LR.

[on_one_wheel]

After some paper targets @ 50 m I like to practice standing unsupported with my .22 @ 100 m at a small gong. I would normally have about 25 shots like that and find it good for improving stability, improving finger / eye coordination and timing. It's just quick and easy, and I generally let the shots go reasonably fast which adds to the fun.

I generally mix up my practice sessions with prone, sitting and standing.

.

[bigfellascott]

After some paper targets @ 50 m I like to practice standing unsupported with my .22 @ 100 m at a small gong. I would normally have about 25 shots like that and find it good for improving stability, improving finger / eye coordination and timing. It's just quick and easy, and I generally let the shots go reasonably fast which adds to the fun.

I generally mix up my practice sessions with prone, sitting and standing.

.

I'd love to do all 3 positions again, unfortunately I'm too busted up these days and the pain of getting down and up off the ground isn't worth it. I will generally shoot off the bonnet (using homemade sand bags) or out the window of the BT or I sometimes take a table and chair and set that up to bust gongs and rabbits with.

[Jack V]

I'd love to do all 3 positions again, unfortunately I'm too busted up these days and the pain of getting down and up off the ground isn't worth it. I will generally shoot off the bonnet (using homemade sand bags) or out the window of the BT or I sometimes take a table and chair and set that up to bust gongs and rabbits with.

I know the feeling . It's standing , prone , over the bonnet or out the window for me also . The back don't bend anymore like it once did . Carrying heavy packs for long distances in the Army and repairing and moving snooker tables took it's toll.