someone please splain this

[ken s]

If i rest my handi right in front of the reciver to shoot groups an sight in. then where in the heck will it shoot when iam hunting an holding the darn thing by the forarm.huh huh. sure as heck not where it shoots when i sighted it in .[not] thanks
                            ken s :?




 going to be two difrent points of aim .not
   


  never corner anything meaner than you

[quickdtoo]

For a quick offhand shot, precise accuracy isn't all that important in a hunting situation, all of mine shoot plenty well for that. If I want a well placed offhand shot, I use a body rest supporting the rifle in the same exact spot as it would be from a bench with my left hand under the hinge just ahead of the trigger guard.  If I have time, I'll use a limb, rock or whatever for a rest in the same under hinge position. All you need to do is practice that so you know what to do when the time comes... :wink:

[Longcruise]

If i rest my handi right in front of the reciver to shoot groups an sight in. then where in the heck will it shoot when iam hunting an holding the darn thing by the forarm.huh huh. sure as heck not where it shoots when i sighted it in .[not] thanks

There you go, thinking!! :shock:

Well, I'm guilty of the same thoughts and here's what I decided;  All the fancy rest systems used at the range to achieve the smallest group possible are useless and should be discarded for sighting in for a "field trip".

When sighting in for actual field shooting, I do use the bench and bags but only to support my arms and elbows.  The rifle rests at the forearm just as one would hold it in the field and the butt is placed in the shoulder likewise.  The groups are not as tight but that's not what one is after at this point.  the goal is to sight in as you will shoot under field conditions.  I've tried both systems with the same rifle on the same day and there can be a significant difference in poi with a Handi. but the effect is not confined to the Handi.

I like shooting sticks (simple and homemade) and find that when the hand is placed in the fork of the sticks and the forearm is rested in the hand the sight in works.  I learned this long ago when using cross sticks with a hand gun.  Rest the barrel on the cross sticks and poi changes.  rest your shooting hand in the fork of the cross sticks and poi remains the same.  I know that BPCR shooters rest the barrel on the sticks but they shoot all their cross stick shots from the same position.  It's all about consistency.

I don't shoot with bipods but wonder what the effect is going from rested on the bi pod to rested in the hand?

[Mac11700]

Shooting from a good bench rest will tell you what the rifle is capable of...not how well you will shoot it in the field...if your rifle is capable of shooting 1/2" groups from a sturdy rest...then this is what you aspire to shooting in the field.. only thru practice shooting from field positions will make you a better marksman....without knowing how well your rifle will really shoot...you'll only be guessing when in the field...and not have all the facts when trying to adjust your shooting habits...to match what it is capable of from the bench...

Mac

[myarmor]

I personally have long arms, so if I take a offhand shot I place my hand closer than the forearm is anyway. I try to support all the weight possible through my elbow that will be more in front of my body, against my chest. That's the best balance point for me to use, and these Handi's have a nice feel holding off hand under the reciever.
It's interesting to watch Olimpic shooters, you can pick up a ton of great tips watching there form. :wink:

[quickdtoo]

Shooting offhand and placing the elbow against the body is referred to as a body rest, usually not allowed in competition, but very steady compared to an unsupported forearm hold and the reason it's not allowed. But a hunter needs all the help he can get to make a good shot and using a rest when available is prudent, even if it's yourself!!

[handirifle]

I rest mine exactly where I will hold it to shoot when hunting.  If it doesn't shoot well like that I'll get rid of it.  I won't change my style of shooting/hunting to accomodate a rifles peculiarities.

[tcman]

Couldn't agree more.

[ken s]

Im with you handirifle. besides it looks goofy holding it under the reciver in the field . all my buds would say look at the lady shooting her handi. my my who taught her to shoot. lol.
                    ken s.  









never corner anything meaner than you.

[Badnews Bob]

It may look goofy but it works, If anybody ask who you learned to shoot from tell them the US Marines cuz thats how they do it.

I never expect a rifle to shoot as well offhand in the field as well as it dose from a bench, There is nothing wrong with the rifle in this case but the shooter, Very few people can actually shoot as well offhand as from a bench. If you can..... your good.

[quickdtoo]

Ken S, maybe a hasty sling will help you shoot better, but lookin like a girl ain't necessarily a bad thing, there are some pretty dang good female shooters around the world and I sure as heck wouldn't want to go up against em without knowing all the secrets of accurate offhand shooting in my bag of tricks, using a body rest or a sling would be among them...And as BNB said, if it's good enough for the US Marines, it's certainly good enough for me!!!

http://www.rifleshootermag.com/shooting_tips/sling_0612/

http://www.huntingmag.com/big_game/dirty_dozen/

[JPH45]

I've been shooting my Handi's a lot offhand recently, and I honestly can't tell any difference. My rifles are shooting nicely into 1.5" at 50 with girly loads off the bench. Standing on my hindfeet and NOT resting my arm in my ribs; me, the rifle and loads shoot 3.5". Yep, restin' on your ribs is an accepted practice, but in the feild, on a snap shot, who has the time to rest up and get really sighted in? No, you've got about 3-5 seconds to raise the rifle, sight and shoot. Perfect practice would involve a two stage timer, one buzz to raise/aim/shoot/; 5 seconds later a buzz to rest the rifle. The target can be paper or a steel plate, but no defined aim spot. I use a 5x7 1/2" oval for paper, steel plates are animal shapes with about this size area to hit. I've yet to add the timer, am working on 100% hits first. As important is 100% 1st shot hits. Oh, and as you can reduce the 5 second time.....do so.

If you ain't praticing real life shooting, you ain't practicing. Long cruise is dead on with this. As to being called "girly" ..... I wonder what they'll have to say when you have meat in your freezer and all they have to offer is a bunch of excuses about how "the deer moved before I could get a shot" "I missed" "I forgot to take the safety off" "I was sure I hit it" What excuse are you gonna offer???

[Longcruise]

I've been shooting my Handi's a lot offhand recently

That's something I rarely see at my club and something that more hunters should be doing.

Here's another eye opener and it goes right along with your practice at the oval shape;  calculate a PBR under field conditions for all the different shooting positions and situations that might be encountered.  Each situation will have a different PBR.

Most of my hunting any more is with muzzle loaders and given that 100 yards is about max I don't worry too much about PBR as far as sight in goes but even at that short range some field condition shooting is invaluable.  Something that is really fun and that I do occasionaly is to head for the back country and do the equivelant of the archers "roving" where you simply wander about and pick a target at an unknown range such as a small stump or pine cone, etc., and shoot at it from a typical field position.  Way more fun than a day at the range, at least for me :grin:

My grand son is going to be doing his first big game hunt next January and that's part of the practice plan.  I'm also thinking of setting up a course like an archery sillouette course with cardboard targets for him to practice on.

Course the limitation is that you have to have some space where you can do this and luckily I do have that available.

Regarding the hasty sling, I've never tried it with a Handi cause I always suspected that the pressure applied to the lock up would effect the poi.  I need to try that out.

Interesting thread you got started here Ken s :-)   As usual we go off on tangents.  Hope your original question got the attention it deserves :shock: