Author Topic: Is rock solid possible? (Read 1295 times)

longwinters · « **on:** April 17, 2004, 08:52:30 AM »

The dilemma is that when I have the crosshairs on the target my pulse is pushing them an inch to the left every time my heart beats. Of course in between beats the crosshairs are back on center. I do the couple of deep breaths thing. . . then slowly let the air out and . . . blip . . . blip. . . blip there goes the pulsing thing :x :x . I tried shooting off of sandbags, the Uncle Bud bags, and now the Hart pedistal and butt bag. It does not make any difference I keep getting the BLIP . . . BLIP . . . BLIP. I have tried just having the rifle butt barely touching my shoulder and just loosely touching the grip but still that dang BLIP . . . BLIP . . .BLIP. Any Ideas, magic remedies etc . . . ?

long

Thomas Krupinski · « **Reply #1 on:** April 17, 2004, 09:28:28 AM »

Are you taking anything to control your blood pressure? Noticed something similar before and while I was getting mine under control.

longwinters · « **Reply #2 on:** April 17, 2004, 01:43:14 PM »

Had to go to the Doc. awhile back. Blood pressure was ok. I was not even drinking Mt Dew at the time I was shooting. :lol:

long

Thomas Krupinski · « **Reply #3 on:** April 17, 2004, 01:58:41 PM »

Mine started out as intermitent hypertension. Sometimes it was up and other times it was fine. Depended upon what was going on. When it was really up I could feel the pulse throughout my body.

Maybe it's time for another more comprehensive evaluation? Could be rising when stressed, but I am no expert, just someone who had it before.

Physicians like to take it over a period of time during repeated office visits. Just to be ornary I bought one of those electronic blood pressure monitiors and kept it with me for at work and took reading every few hours while awake. Put those into a spread sheet and kept of record of what was going on when the reading was taken. My physician said I was too compulsive, but the data was telling a very different tale.

It would go up and down, at times of stress it sometimes would go into dangerous levels and other times not, and I really could feel the diference.

The point I am trying to make is that it could be changing when you are shooting depending upon the emphasis that you are placing on that activity. Or it could be that you just have your shooting jacket on too tight.

Jose Grande · « **Reply #4 on:** April 17, 2004, 06:49:44 PM »

Hi-Power target X's are 1 MOA so, if you aim at the right edge of the X , the worst you can do is hit the left edge of the X. Not bad IMHO. :-)

Rick H. · « **Reply #5 on:** April 19, 2004, 07:10:32 AM »

Some Benchrest guys shoot what they call "free recoil" where they don't touch the rifle at all, and just pinch the rifle trigger and triggerguard between their finger and thumb to send one downrange. I don't think you'd want to do this with a rifle having any real recoil, but for a .22 RF or a very light recoiling CF, it might work.

Try altering your position so that you are most comfortable, and none of your joints is using a muscle to hold it in position. That should minimize the pulse beat, but it most likely will never go away, you just have to learn to trust your hold.

Jose Grande · « **Reply #6 on:** April 19, 2004, 10:20:14 AM »

Let the rifle touch your shoulder & no other part of you. Keep good pressure on it. Rest the rifle on bags. Gently hold the rifle with trigger hand. Let the front bag do the holding.

m14dan · « **Reply #7 on:** April 24, 2004, 05:04:13 PM »

I shoot an M-14 the most so I don't know if this will help you but I sling up real tight.
I mean TIGHT!
I mostly shoot prone too but even on the bench with a tight sling and the rifle solidly in my shoulder I can pretty much eliminate pulse bounce.
It's easier prone. It is all in the way you use the sling. You can't just wrap your arm around it and shoot. I use a turner NM sling and the way it is set up I can slide one of the keepers forward then put my arm through the loop and tighten the keeper back against my forearm. When I get my hand and elbow in position it gets really tight and is rock solid.
I can find you pictures somewhere for a better explanation if you want

longwinters · « **Reply #8 on:** April 25, 2004, 07:46:32 AM »

M1, if you could post some pics it would be great. I have never used a sling for anything more than carrying my rifle on my shoulder. Makes a lot of sense to learn to use one for hunting etc... Thanks.

long

m14dan · « **Reply #9 on:** April 25, 2004, 10:09:16 AM »

http://www.turnersling.com/slinguse.htm
Here's a link to how to use and attach the turner or 1907 military sling.

Green3845 · « **Reply #10 on:** September 07, 2004, 03:18:15 PM »

Long---

I just read this thread, and it's kind of old, but here's my 2 cents worth!

Shooting from a bench, most of the top benchrest competitors shoot the "free recoil" described above. If you can't get used to that technique, then you need to determine where the pulse beat is coming from.

Stimulants, such as caffeine and nicotine, can really give me a ferocious pulse at times, as can really hot weather. Sometimes, putting my sling on slightly wrong, (I'm an NRA HighPower shooter), can contribute to a pulse beat from the brachial artery in my arms. When you analyze the pulse beat, it's usually because a major artery is somehow constrained. For instance, when you are sitting at the bench, maybe changing the position of your rear end and legs could help. Your femoral artery runs down the inside of your legs, and I have personally found that it can give a pretty bad pulse bounce if my legs are positioned wrong. Maybe trying to sit differently on the bench would relieve some of this. Likewise, when I shoot sitting, I unbutton the top button of my pants. This helps quite a bit in reducing the pulse beat. If your neck is bent as you lean over the stock on the bench, you might be "kinking" the carotid artery in your neck. If your arms are really bent, you might be "kinking" the brachial artery.

Try different positions at the bench, with the emphasis being on not bending the major joints of the arms and legs so that your blood flow is not constricted.

BTW, I have heard that Mountain Dew has twice the caffeine of strong coffee!

longwinters · « **Reply #11 on:** September 07, 2004, 04:55:49 PM »

Wow Green, you resurrected this post from the dead

Since the time of this post I quit drinking real soda and went to the diet stuff . . . eowww. The pulse thing is mostly gone now. I did not quit the soda for shooting purposes but for getting rid of 20 extra pounds. Anyway, it seems to have helped. But as long as you have been so helpful, let me ask you another question. When shooting at the bench, you mention bent neck etc... how high do you have your rifle above the bench top? I am thinking that the less I have to bend over the bench (in other words the straighter I sit) the better it would be, but am not sure what the most stable position is. Any recommendations?

Thanks,
Long

Green3845 · « **Reply #12 on:** September 08, 2004, 12:55:08 AM »

Long-

I have a standard benchrest setup, front rest and bags for the rear. I would guess it puts the rifle 10 inches or so above the bench surface.

A lot of benchresters have adjustable stools or seats that they bring with them to matches to fine tune how high or low their position is. They don't like to rely on the usually homemade benches at most ranges that force them to contort themselves.

Geez, I went through all of that for pulse beat, and in a few sentences, you cut to the heart of the matter "...lost 20 lbs.". That's advice all of us could probably benefit from!