Author Topic: How to get better? (Read 1049 times)

Tony n AR · « **on:** February 23, 2005, 08:17:19 AM »

What is the best way to get better. I know practice, but what type works best? What is the most crucial part of this game to master? At first I could only get say one or two per bank of chickens. Now I average probably half for 10 shots. Sometimes I will get 4 out of one bank thinking I'll get a least 6, and only end up with 5 which mean I just got one from the last bank which is below my average. At first knew when a shot was good. Now many times I'm left wondering why it didn't fall.

ajj · « **Reply #1 on:** February 23, 2005, 09:49:55 AM »

What reading have you done? Had any instruction? It is important to know EXACTLY what you are trying to do with position, hold, trigger control and mental management. Otherwise you're just sending rounds downrange re-enforcing bad habits and making it difficult to improve later. You should not gauge progress by score. Progress is executing the shot better and letting score take care of itself.
It's a long road. It requires regular and frequent practice of specific techniques over a period of years. Just shooting a lot absolutely will not help you except by accident. Please don't be offended if I say that it sounds like you're doing what a lot of us, including me, did starting out: banging away because it's fun and wondering why we don't keep getting better. You need to get scientific about every aspect of the position and the mental game before you do anything else. Books: The Ways of the Rifle, The New Postion Rifle Shooting, With Winning in Mind. There are others. These are some good ones. If you don't have a good shooting coach at your side you need to start reading. Yesterday.
It's ALWAYS a game of plateaus. We get a little better,slip back, seem to stay in one range forever, finally creep forward a little. That's just the way it is. There ain't no "breakthrough" where you finally figure it out.
Get to a match. Why haven't we seen you at Benton yet? Highpower match Sunday afternoon. Lemme know soon and I'll load some ammo for you and tell you all my secrets while you're here. It won't take long.

lucho · « **Reply #2 on:** February 23, 2005, 09:55:45 AM »

Tony:

I found that shooting on paper targets help a lot. Get some reduces 50 yard targets. These are all the animals reduced in size so they can be shot at 50 yards. You can download them off the internet. Just do a search you'll find them. Or you can also just shoot at dots drawn on a piece of paper.

When you shot these targets your goal should be to have the bullet hit at the same place where the cross hairs were when you broke the shot. If it hits on or near where the cross hairs were when you broke the shot then your follow through was good.

Mix up you practice with some dry firing. Dry fire three time shoot then shoot one live round. When you dry fire watch the cross hairs for big movement (a jerk or flinch) when you break the shot. Try to break the shot without a flinch.

For fun, shoot pigs to build your confidence.

Remember, one shot at a time. Don't worry about how many you got or how many you might get.

This is a tough game it takes time to get really good. But you will see improvement as you practice.

Lucho

eeleater · « **Reply #3 on:** February 23, 2005, 02:01:02 PM »

I agree with the above, but would add a bit more.

The below is my opinion and others will differ

If you are shooting highpower you are starting at a disadvantage.
Ranges are much harder to find, and the cost is much greater than most can afford. It is also critical to learn how to shoot in the wind- which takes time and even more practice.

I suspect most shoot smallbore- which is what I do.
I can afford it, and my local range accommodates the distances.
You do need to find which ammunition your gun likes- but even the top match ammos costs less than highpower.

Shooting paper has great advantages- but I would suggest doing this FROM THE BENCH. You want to have a mental picture of the "perfect shot". You can see this and imprint it on your mind from the bench and practice the shot and see where the shots go as the wind varies. It took me years to see the advantage of this- but it does help. The next step is to try it offhand. Suddenly that perfect sight picture is flashing by and the timing is critical. OK- get a tripod and use it to brace the gun and slow things down a bit. Get comfortable with that- then go back to offhand.

Practice when you are not at the range by dryfiring. Practice holding the gun, breathing, letting the sights settle, find the natural point of aim- and how to adjust your feet if it is not right.

Get an air rifle and use it to practice in the basement or backyard. Air rifles tend to be sensitive to hold and followthrough. Get good with them and you will be better with the others also.

AMB · « **Reply #4 on:** February 23, 2005, 05:01:57 PM »

Buy good equipment and ammo.

Work on skills, so you can shoot to your physical potential. The above posters gave great advice. If you have good hand eye coordination, and you put in the time it may not take that long to get the ability to hit targets 90 -95 % of the time. That's the easy part and takes care of about 10% of the game.

Next work on concentration and confidence, the hard part. That's 90% of the game.

Tony n AR · « **Reply #5 on:** February 24, 2005, 03:42:03 AM »

I'm shooting smallbore! I usually just shoot real targets because it simulates some what match conditions. I do dry fire practice occasionally along with paper. Time of course is an issue. I have to drive about 50 miles round trip to a decent range. AJJ and John I promise to hit one match in March. Not sure which one yet. I'm looking at a 2 hour drive to Benton, or a 4 hour drive to Fort Smith, but Sat. is much better for me than Sun. I have done no reading on the subject so far other than some internet stuff. I have a huge problem with form. Two back surgeries have left my lower back weak and not very stable. No way I can possibly get elbow on hip bone either. I guess watching and getting pointers from you guys would be a huge help. Theres just no way right now to hit more than one match a month.

ajj · « **Reply #6 on:** February 24, 2005, 05:55:25 AM »

Tony: Several of us go to Ft. Smith whenever we can. If you like we can arrange to travel together on the Little Rock to Ft. Smith loop and you can get to know some people in both clubs.
I wish I had been thoughtful enough to mention some of the things you see here. For instance, the misses on shots that broke well are usually going low because of failure to follow through and paper shows you exactly what's happening. Watch the dot rise in recoil and then settle back on the target. You'll eventually be able to see the metal targets leave the stand.
I'm old and fat so I don't have much back flexibility, either. And there's no way my elbow is going to reach my hip. Finding a relaxed and comfortable position is possible for people like us even though it may not look classic. Keep looking for a position that lets you relax, especially the support arm under the rifle, and stay balanced. You'll evolve the position that's right for you.

jneihouse · « **Reply #7 on:** February 24, 2005, 07:15:44 AM »

ajj is right, traveling with the Benton Boys to Ft Smith would a good experience. Chicken George and Krazy Karl give you a whole new perspective on the shooting sports. All kidding aside, the silhouette shooting community is some of the best folks you can ever be around. There's not a lot of "look at me" chest pounding and everyone is helpful. Come to Ft Smith or Benton and we'll hook you up with a spotter that'll help you call your shots. Watch some of the guys and try everything you see until you find something that works for you. The important thing is to get really comfortable behind the gun and concentrate. One book that has belped me a lot is David Tubb' book on Hi power shooting. I think the name is "Hi Power" or something like that. My copy is at home and I'm at the office but someone else can jump in here and correct me. His thoughts on natural point of aim and wobble area are very good. Most of all, put in quality practice and always have fun. Getting better will come in time, don't put pressure on yourself. I'm looking forward to shooting with you this year.
John Neihouse

Jerry G · « **Reply #8 on:** February 24, 2005, 10:22:05 AM »

I think it is all luck. The more I practice on paper targets, so I can see where my shots are giong, the luckier I get. My big problem is I never seem to be able to make time for that darn practice. I can always come up with a good excuse not to.

Most of the shooters I know are always glad to help out a new guy. That would be a good place to start. Dry firing in the house is a great training aid. Don't even think about getting into an equipment race until you are a top AA or good AAA shooter. You can shoot your way into AAA with a 10-22 and $2.00 per box ammo.

Remember it's luck.

eeleater · « **Reply #9 on:** February 24, 2005, 01:32:09 PM »

I do not want to be repeating myself, but I would suggest practice with an air-rifle. This can be a great help with form, and is affordable.

You want one designed to shoot lead pellets, not steel BB's. You can probably set up a range in the house. 10 meters (33 feet) is a standard distance. You can find instructions on the internet for making a pellet trap using duct seal- which is a type of putty sold to seal electical ducts. It is quiet when shot into, unlike a metal pellet trap.

There are a variety of scopes sold for air-rifle use. If the air rifle has a spring to power it you need to make sure the scope is "rated" for air-rifles, as the spring vibrations can shake a scope apart that is not designed for it. Scopes sold for use with air-rifles will also usually allow you to adjust focus and eliminate parallax at the closer distances used.

Because the pellets have a slower velocity if you "break" your form as the trigger is pulled it will sho on the target. We tend to anticipate the trigger release and start to drop the gun to see the impact. This will happen before the bullet has left the barrel- and then we wonder what happened....

Tony n AR · « **Reply #10 on:** February 24, 2005, 02:08:26 PM »

Thanks to all that responded. I shot again today and thought about form and found that one thing I was not doing was keeping my right arm tucked in. I found with it tucked fairly tight my hold seemed a little steadier. Next time I shoot I plan on leaving the targets at home and just shoot paper. I am looking forward to being at either Ft. Smith or Benton in March.

Thanks

jneihouse · « **Reply #11 on:** February 25, 2005, 09:26:19 AM »

One other thing that I forgot to mention that one of our older shooters at the club suggests to newer shooters is to put actual sized paper targets at the proper distances and shoot a 40 round "match" off of the bench. The size of the groups you get from the bench on the actual animals will give you an idea of where your bullet is going when you break the shot.