by Stix » 27 May 2018, 1:03 am
My version...for general off hand field shooting.
Get to know, feel & recognise your first instinct.
Your first instinct with the sight picture is most often your best shot...
If you hesitate to release the shot beyond your first instinct, your chances of a worse shot are significantly increased.
Whilst there is a time & place for using a sling, i wouldnt bother doing too much practice with it....i say this because if you & i are walking through lightly wooded scrub & come face to face with a fox at 25 yds, ive already fired my first shot & ejected the case, & the fox is either dead or on the run, all while you are tensioning your arm in the sling & your mind is in a twist somewhere inbetween your sling & instinct ....sling shooting is a skill to have, but leave it alone untill you've nailed general off hand shooting.
If you want to be ready to shoot in the field, there is not much time for setting your elbow on your hip & imagining you are one with the force luke ying yang shooting sharkra hoo haa, or worrying about hold above then slowly lowering the cross hairs over the target & executing a gentle trigger release...again its all nice skills to have, but the reality is neither me nor that fox will wait for you to get comfy.
If you have a high recoiling rifle, using the 'lower the reticle over the target & release at the right time' technique can cause missed high shots due to high recoil off of stiff tension in your shoulder & a forearm hold that could choke a gorilla, especially if a target presents itself when you least expect it & you're suffering a bad dose of buck fever.
Know your trigger intimately & practice having tension on it as soon as you've shouldered the gun.
Despite popular belief, a jerk of the trigger is a technique--you want to know & dictate the moment the shot goes, & you cant do that with a gentle squeeze.
Practice releasing the shot as soon as you can--bugger all this hovering rubbish--shoot within 3 seconds max or put the rifle down & walk away.
What ever you do, dont get sucked into all this 'you need to use this technique' stuff.
Shooting is a skill best served by relying on your senses--dont over think it--if you're thinking of whether your feet are a comfortable distance apart you'll miss the fox, & you're in the wrong class--tango dance classes are back in town down the hall.on the left...
Learn to recognise your first instinct in your sight picture & feel that trigger like a part of your nervous system.
The man who knows everything, doesnt really know everything...he's just stopped learning...