bigfellascott wrote:Is this info applicable to hunting situations or just target shooting? Can't say I've bothered with it hunting, infact I don't pay too much attention to the breathing side of it at all to be honest, just a quick breath in, exhale whilst the xhairs are on the target then send it on it's way. I can see where it's needed for target shooting but completely unnecessary for hunting situations where quick shots can often be the norm where it's a matter of getting the Xhairs on the target and send it asap before they bugger off.
I've often been out with people hunting and I wonder what they are doing when it comes to shooting the animal, I see them fluffing about for what feels like an eternity trying to get the breathing/shot placement right, meanwhile I could have shot the thing several times over. I blame the high mag scopes that some use to hunt with, those things show every heart beat etc which can cause one to 2nd guess themselves to some degree - my mate love his "Hubbles" as I call em, I reckon most of his rifles are way overscoped for the distances he shoots ferals at.
Actually I find it very unnatural to
not follow this routine, in fact so much so I find myself doing it even when I'm watching movies that have scenes where the point-of-view is through a rifle scope
I guess It's just ingrained into my psyche now. This technique is particularly applicable to smallbore and fullbore target shooting using open sights and a sling in the prone position. Consistent accuracy boils down to employing the
exact same motions and muscle movements
every shot. Here is another great article
http://www.tsw.net.nz/files/Beginners%2 ... 0prone.pdf summarizing the primary aspects to target rifle - exactly how I was trained. There's a lot to be learned from that pdf about rifle shooting in general.
Do you need to follow this when hunting? Well considering pinpoint accuracy is not the
most important aspect (rather fast target acquisition),
probably not; but you can always cull the three breaths down to two or one if you need to speed things up (which it sounds like you more or less already do this anyway BF). I guess that's what I do in the field when things happen quickly (which is fairly rare for me considering I don't hunt that often).
I guess it really boils down to what your long term shooting goals are; either way, having that really solid foundation means you can sculpt the house the sits on top any way you want. And getting back to OP, that's why I feel starting with a 22lr is such a good idea - cheap and pleasant enough to make many, many mistakes without breaking the bank (or your shoulder). The bigger boys can come later