Author Topic: how do you aproach the shot (Read 953 times)

lucho · « **on:** March 03, 2004, 05:05:41 PM »

How do you approach the shot?

Do you put the dot on the animal and let it wobble around a while then pull the trigger?

Do you always move the dot from right to left then pull the trigger when the dot gets on the animal?

Should I try to always try to approach the shot in the same manner?

Lately I have been trying to let the dot settle just above the spot I want to hit, but off the animal, then lower the dot onto the spot and break the shot.

I havent figured out what is best. Any comments?

Lucho

davei · « **Reply #1 on:** March 03, 2004, 06:14:02 PM »

hey good looking,

i do the same thing. just from the bottom. coming up from the bottom allows me to make sure i am truly relaxed. if you start on top of the animal do you have to hold it there with muscle and then relax to allow your dot to drop into the animal? is so, perhaps something to reconsider?
dave

ajj · « **Reply #2 on:** March 04, 2004, 03:09:18 AM »

Dave shoots at a considerably higher level than I but that won't keep me from chiming in. I am making some progress by focusing more on sight picture and trigger control than on approach. I think I'm just not good enough yet to benefit from a "same approach every time" program. Instead, I focus on putting the dot on the animal immediately (I used to wait for it to drift on or wasted time getting set up to approach from the same direction) and then try to be attentive to my spot on the target while being READY to break the shot. Really being READY to shoot is the more basic skill most of us need to learn. "Trigger control must be a REACTION to what you see. If it's a conscious decision, you'll be too late." What I'm looking for is the dot settling for an instant, or moving relatively slowly toward the center or even just quivering around in a small area. If you shoot enough airgun you start being able to predict where some (emphasis on some) of those little dot movements will STOP. No less a shooter than David Tubb recommends learning the approach method but my attempts have convinced me that there are other things I need to learn first. Hold, sight picture, trigger control.

shootingpaul · « **Reply #3 on:** March 04, 2004, 12:47:36 PM »

first - who am I to tell you how to shoot?
Dave and ajj are better shooters then I will ever will be, but if you want my 2 cents - so here it comes:
I used to shoot same way as Dave - bringing it from bottom up, but after some time I realized that I wasted an opportunity to hit the target while going down ... just to a second later go up again for the same picture.
so I try to shoot comming down - and it saves me some energy so I dont to have go back again. I think a man named Tubb was shooting approaching from the sides (either left or right) .
So ... Dave goes from bottom, I go from top, and Tubb is going from the sides......
I think the point is as long you are getting them and you are comfortable with your approach - that is your shooting style!
man... I start to blush already... :oops:

davei · « **Reply #4 on:** March 04, 2004, 04:55:16 PM »

I'm with Pavel. It isn't necessarily the plan that is important but the execution of the plan. Okay... wait... some plans do suck. So... assuming your plan makes sense, top, bottom, sides... the guy that wins is the guy, (gal) sorry Cathy.... that executes the best. Keep in mind that your plan has to allow you to execute for 120 shots. 160 for the Conard Cup. A plan that is good for some portion of that ain't no plan, it is a disaster waiting to happen. Keep in mind that there should be a plan for match preparation, equipment, mental preparation... blah blah blah... a lot should go on long before you pick up the rifle at the match.

Ahhh... another topic!!!

I have watched plans that have pre-determined points of self-inflicted sabotage. Some folks have a hard time with the mental stress and strain of being competitive in a big match so they unconsciously sabotage themselves to relieve the pressure. I've seen folks drive up to a national championship with their sabotage all prepared and ready to go. Kind of like hardwiring your excuses. a fascinating aspect of human nature. ain't it a wonderous game! How do you plan for a match, for a series of matches, for a shooting season?

dave

ajj · « **Reply #5 on:** March 05, 2004, 03:49:30 AM »

I'm a better shooter than Pawel in a pleasant dream I have occasionally. Swapping opinions is not just fun, it's really helpful to my shooting. Thinking and talking about shooting is a major part of the learning process. I've learned a lot from the more accomplished folks and sometimes when I say something stupid they'll straighten me out.
I'd love to know how to plan for a match or a season. My attitude has been to just try to convince myself that I'm getting better so that I EXPECT to shoot PR's. I've often heard it said that we should set both long and short term goals but I'm leery of using a particular score as a goal. I just want to feel that I'm keeping my concentration up and executing shots well and doing both a little better than I did last time.
Match nerves? I got em! I've given up trying to "forget the score." I've started doing airgun practice after running up and down the stairs and then pumping the rifle over my head six or eight times between shots to keep my heart rate up. It's helping me learn to be decisive on the trigger and take the first decent shot.
Any comments or suggestions would be much appreciated.

LouisV · « **Reply #6 on:** March 05, 2004, 08:28:54 PM »

FWIW, I've discovered lately in my dire fire practice that if I start at 5 o'clock and come up and across I seem to have more control. I can stop the crosshairs were I want easier for a short time also. Something about moveing the gun at a 45 degree angle is easier for me than trying to go straight up, down or across. Thinking back to my shooting last year, if the cross hair was just below or at the foot I could not bring myself to raise the gun straight up. I think most of the chickens I managed to hit were hit in the foot. I've never heard anyone mention this method so maybe it's not a good idea. I've often thought that methods are just a focal point for our mind to get it out of the way of the part of us that really does the best shooting. LouisV

eroyd · « **Reply #7 on:** March 06, 2004, 05:02:09 AM »

I haven't yet entered the ranks of Masterdom but FWIW, I to have found coming down at an angle much easier than trying to track straight vertical or horizontally. It definately has improved my score on Turkey's I think because there bodies are at an angle. My Rams seem to improve if I let the swing go a bit more horizontal. Pigs are easy and chickens give me a hell of a bad time. I've given up on trying to hold, I find if I pull the trigger at what appears perfect, I miss, however if I pull just entering the target it's a hit. Then again thinking about it to much screws me up as well. Seems that every match I've been to the animals have always pointed left. With my technique I have no doubt that I will be messed up if the targets ever face right.

hh4064 · « **Reply #8 on:** November 24, 2004, 12:59:30 PM »

I always move up. I don't know why. It works for me to start with the feet of the target. When I settle down a bit and slowly nudge it up the gun goes off. I truly don't think that there is a right or wrong. Adapt to your style of shooting. Comfort is everything. The more comfortable you are the better you will shoot. The key is consistency consistency consistency. The more consistent you are the more accurate you are.
Consistency=accuracy. The more variations you can eliminate the more accurate you will be. Just do the same thing over and over again and the steel will fall
good luck
mbj
lapeer mi

RobbW · « **Reply #9 on:** November 24, 2004, 02:18:54 PM »

2 things really helped me:

1: Put the weight on your skeleton. Don't use any muscles not absolutely required to shoulder the rifle and release the shot.

In my own case I'm lucky enough to be able to lock my left elbow onto my left hip and this removes several vertebrae and ribs and their supporting muscles from the equation.

When shooting on level ground I also place most of my weight on my left (forward) leg--like a 10m shooter. If the ground is uneven I use my legs 50-50 with the toes turned slightly in to gently "lock in" the knees.

2: Find your Natural Point of Aim (NPA). When you shoulder the rifle, close your eyes and relax every non-critical muscle. When you open your eyes the crosshair should be centered on the dot. If not, toe in or out, close eyes and start the process over.

When you find your NPA you'll find your wobble zone diminished significantly, and you won't get those erratic fliers when the shots break cleanly. Trying to "muscle" the gun into position increases tension in your upper body that causes larger wobbles and causes weird fliers on shots that seemed to break cleanly.

This is just what helped me.