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[dave imas]

seems to be a big challenge for a lot of people.  more folks than i ever would have imagined go up to the line with not much chance of success because their settings are off or they have made things too complicated.

soooo...  how do you do it?  (smallbore)

dave

[yankee]

Good morning Dave
With a change of rifle, scope or ammo I put it on the bench for all distances and get my settings.  Then stand up and start shooting and see if the settings are the same as the bench settings.  In most cases with rimfire the bench and standing settings stay pretty close within a click or two.  Years ago I asked one of the better shooters, a tall gentleman from Washington, if his bench and standing settings were the same and he said "If they aren't, you are doing something wrong".  We shoot this game standing so we should practice that way. If I am having a problem I may go back to the bench to see if it is me or the rifle.

[Arizona Jake]

Hello, Dave:

I will sight my rifle in on the chickens to establish a zero before any match, then pigs, turkeys and rams, recording the settings. I will then confirm my settings on the distance I will start shooting the match.

I have found that in Arizona, where the temperature rises fron the mid to high 80's in the morning to 105+ by 1:00 PM, one usually has to come down 1/2 to 2 minutes at the rams, if you are shooting at them in your last relay. I also found out at the Nationals this last July that, when shooting in drizzle, you might have to move UP a couple of minutes at the rams.

When sighting-in, I always place the rifle on the bench rest so that the area of the stock in contact with the rest is at the action/barrel joint, or just ahead of that. I always avoid resting the rifle near the forend, especially with rimfire rifles, since stocks do flex a little bit and any contact of the stock with the barrel will change point of aim.

[dave imas]

Thanks guys.  i am thinking that, for the absolute beginners, we might want to break things down even further.  i sight in off hand but the process is the same.    If you are lucky enough to have a sight-in paper at the target distances, pick a spot on the paper and shoot at it.  simple enough...  start on chickens.  ALWAYS start on chickens.  continually adjust your turrets until you are hitting the spot.  now break out your handy dandy little allen wrench, or whatever your scope requires, loosen your elevation turret, and rotate it so that your chicken setting is zero.  0.
write it down.

after i have found my windage zero i don't bother changing my windage turret to zero because i don't adjust my scope for windage during a match.  

if you have done a good job of finding your chicken zero the rest comes easy.  move to the pig distance and do the same thing.  write it down.

turkeys, find your zero and write it down.

same for rams, write it down.

when you go to your next match you should find that, with the same lot of ammunition, the delta between the targets should typically stay the same or be very close.  if it doesn't it usually means you screwed up when finding your chicken zero.  go back and check your chicken zero.

for standard velocity .22 ammunition, you will usually be close if you double your setting as you go out.   0 for chickens, 2 for pigs, 4 for turkeys and 8 for rams.  those settings are a good guess that should place you in the ball park if you show up at the match 2 minutes before they say go.

for those that are brand new, keep your barrel off the rest or sand bags.  you will change the harmonics of your barrel and see a different zero when you stand up.  if your bench allows it, always use a rear bag.  it is extremely difficult to find a good zero without one.  don't sight in with one ammunition and then shoot the match with another.  the zero for the different brands or lots could be very different.  i know it sounds intuitive but i have seen folks do that.

can any of you experienced shooters out there think of any other things that we might take for granted that a new shooter might not be aware of?

dave

[TX Charlie]

Dave,
Other thoughts...
1.  Verify the lot of ammo you are shooting will shoot in your rifle.  I have some Eley that shoots OK in the Walther, yet it shoots about 4 inch groups @ 40 meters in my Kimber.
2.  Keep a logbook of the matches and practice you shoot. Important things are a. wind and direction, b. temp, c. light, d. ammo and lot number, e. results, f. sight settings, g. personal notes ie, feeling good/bad/allergies/etc.... Is your spotter related to Ray Charles?  This will allow you to review information you learn about a specific shooting range's idiosyncrasies and be better prepared for the next time at that range.
3.  Dave, you advocate not adjusting the windage knob on the scope. Having shot most matches in 10 to 30 knot winds, I do strongly disagree with your recommendation.  This is one of the difficulties at the ranges with predominantly windy conditions, the spotter must learn how to accurately “read” the conditions and then have the shooter adjust.  Many matches will have 5 to 7 minutes of wind “dialed in”.

[dave imas]

Hi Charlie,

i typically adjust for predominant wind before the match starts then leave it.  i try not to chase the wind zero during the match.   things can become real difficult if the wind strength is up and down.  i don't want to play with the knob for every shot.  i've shot matches with strong winds as well, which is one of the reasons i moved to washington.  winds over 5mph are not allowed by edict of the govenor.  pretty cool state!

dave

[Sixgun]

Well Dave,

The Governer needs to make that law work in the eastern part of the state.  I used to live in Pasco and I got so used to leaning into the wind when I walked, it took me 3 years to walk standing streight up when I moved to Idaho.  Of course, the governer was a liberal back then.

Sixgun

[Charlie Mc]

Dave,
Yes, the wind gods were great the year I was able to shoot the "Cup". Wonderful conditions and better people...
Great place to shoot.