Newbie Questions

The Bishop Basher

Hi all,

I've recently got into target shooting. Specifically benchrest with a .22. I've joined a club and have been shooting regularly, trying to get plenty of practice and will be trying out in my first novice competition later this month.

I'm generally shooting between 200 and 225 which i'm happy with for now. I've been doing this with standard rounds but a very accurate club rifle

Anyway, has anyone any tips on how to improve my shot. I feel like i'm getting a feel for it but then sometimes it just doesn't seem to hit the ten and ends up in the 6 and I don't understand what i've done differently.

Is it just a question of trying out different grips, positions to see which works best or is there a "proper way" to do it. Is there a mental approach that i'm missing or what ?

I suppose i'm just looking for some pointers from those of you who've been at it for years, made the mistakes, learned the hard way etc.

I know nothing can take the place of regular practice but I want to be sure the time i'm investing in practice is as beneficial as possible !!

Cheers,

Swanner

Tackleberrywho

Swanner wrote: »

Hi all,

I've recently got into target shooting. Specifically benchrest with a .22. I've joined a club and have been shooting regularly, trying to get plenty of practice and will be trying out in my first novice competition later this month.

I'm generally shooting between 200 and 225 which i'm happy with for now. I've been doing this with standard rounds but a very accurate club rifle

Anyway, has anyone any tips on how to improve my shot. I feel like i'm getting a feel for it but then sometimes it just doesn't seem to hit the ten and ends up in the 6 and I don't understand what i've done differently.

Is it just a question of trying out different grips, positions to see which works best or is there a "proper way" to do it. Is there a mental approach that i'm missing or what ?

I suppose i'm just looking for some pointers from those of you who've been at it for years, made the mistakes, learned the hard way etc.

I know nothing can take the place of regular practice but I want to be sure the time i'm investing in practice is as beneficial as possible !!

Cheers,

Swanner

Sounds like either wind drift, or you pulled the shot (ie shot 1/2 a second or so before you intended)

Shot anticipation and follow through
Wind estimation and reading
and breathing techniques are some of the main things to work on.

There are special rigs that can test are you holding the rifle correctly, if you are firing there still should be a firm grip on the rifle for a second or so after each shot.

Reading of the wind is an Art, Best Wind reader I know of is Liam Fenlon.
Most ranges have flags, you may notice some are blowing more vigorous than others at given ranges. a .22lr will move with wind quite noticeably on paper, your job is to allow for drift, or click it in if the wind is consistent

And breathing, get relaxed your pulse and breathing mean you never will be perfectly still, however if you try and take slow steady breaths and get a rhythm of breathing; then your shake will be become consistent and you will fire the second you are on the ten X

kkelly77

Swanner wrote: »

Hi all,

I've recently got into target shooting. Specifically benchrest with a .22. I've joined a club and have been shooting regularly, trying to get plenty of practice and will be trying out in my first novice competition later this month.

I'm generally shooting between 200 and 225 which i'm happy with for now. I've been doing this with standard rounds but a very accurate club rifle

Anyway, has anyone any tips on how to improve my shot. I feel like i'm getting a feel for it but then sometimes it just doesn't seem to hit the ten and ends up in the 6 and I don't understand what i've done differently.

Is it just a question of trying out different grips, positions to see which works best or is there a "proper way" to do it. Is there a mental approach that i'm missing or what ?

I suppose i'm just looking for some pointers from those of you who've been at it for years, made the mistakes, learned the hard way etc.

I know nothing can take the place of regular practice but I want to be sure the time i'm investing in practice is as beneficial as possible !!

Cheers,

Swanner

Trigger pull for me is the most important aspect. If you're anticipating the 'BANG' of the shot it can cause you to pull the trigger harshly rather than pulling it smoothly. This can shift the barrel of the gun by a small amount but the consequence of which is a bigger difference when the round hits the target i.e. a 6 rather than an X

Here's a video discussing trigger pull technique - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUxFHq6BsG8

Loads more vids on YouTube. Just search for 'benchrest'. Oh and practice, practice, practice.

HTH,
K.

Bananaman

Ammo can do it too.

I have seen shots where the rifle did not move whatsoever and the shot was WAY off when there is no way it should have been.

I used to only shoot CCIs,

I tried some ELEY Red and ELEY Black and it made a big difference because you did not get any 'flyers' but they are expensive in comparison to your standard Lapua or CCIs.

I went from shooting mediocre scores to shooting 493/500 in a national (50m HV).

Lately I have seen a lot of people shoot R50s, Eley Black and Lapua Standard with good results.

B'Man

Sparks

Moving from CCIs to good Eley, Lapua or RWS ammo would have a pretty large effect allright. Thing is, which one of the nine or ten easily-available brands is best for your rifle is going to be different for everyone's rifle. It's not even down to what kind of rifle you have, but actually what specific barrel and action you have. Best idea is to get a box of each of the most readily available ammos to you, clean the rifle, run half the box through into the berm, then sight in and shoot two ten-shot groups with the rest of the box. Do that for each type and you'll find different results for each in terms of group size and consistency. Pick the smallest, most regular-looking group, and stick with that ammo.

Don't waste too much time on it though, you can do all that in a day at the range and from then on until you're getting way up there in scores, just buy that kind of ammo and then forget about the whole ammo testing side of things and spend your time training.

The Bishop Basher

I never thought wind would figure :eek: I'll be taking that into account from now on for sure.

I noticed my breathing while shooting last night for the first time and that's definately something I can really work on. Practice, practice, practice

As for trigger pull, again that's something I can see is just practice. I hate that feeling when I pull a fraction of a second too early. I don't know why I do it. Maybe i just need to breathe and relax more to fix that one.

And i'll definately try the better ammo this weekend. Those flyers are a killer, especially when you get half way down the sheet and a flyer just throws it completley. I kind of lose heart then till the next clean sheet which means 6's and 7's all the way to the bottom.

I'll be spending tommorrow morning figuring out the best ammo for the rifle.

Great advice all round lads with plenty to work on..much appreciated

Swanner.

rrpc

For shooting in the wind, you need to remember that the spin of the bullet has a marked effect on where it impacts relative to the wind direction. A wind from left to right will cause the bullet to impact somewhere around four o'clock on the target, a wind from the right will cause the bullet to impact at around ten o'clock.

When sighting before a match, you should 'choose' the wind strength and direction you intend to shoot on. This is generally the most prevailing wind condition on the range at the time. Sometimes this means waiting out the wind until the condition you've sighted on comes along and then trying to ensure you don't continue to shoot when that wind condition changes.

Sparks

Yup. Especially at the start, don't try to adjust as the wind changes; just watch the wind for a while before your detail, pick a wind condition that is either the dominant wind condition, or which recurrs (for whatever reason, on some ranges you tend to notice cycles in how the wind blows), and which is easily identifiable. No point picking a wind condition that you can easily spot with binoculars when standing up, but can't see when in the firing position. Look for telltales on the range, and not just the wind flags. Watch dust down by the firing point if it's dry and dusty, watch the grass on the range and on the berm, watch flags and feel the wind in your hair if the firing point is sufficiently exposed, in general pick out any physical indicator you can easily see which reflects the wind conditions. Sight in under that wind condition, adjust your sights so you're on target in that wind condition, and then shoot the match, firing only during that wind condition.

(BTW, no wind is also a wind condition )

There's a good book on this called The Wind Book (imaginatively titled) and it's worth the read. It used to be "The Wind Book for target shooters" and was a spiral-bound book of notes, it seems to have been professionally printed now and the title's changes slightly, but if the content is the same (and it looks like it is), it's well worth the few quid. There's also "Winning in the Wind", but I've not read it - but if Lones Wigger and Lanny Bassham write a book on wind, it's probably worth the price of admission to read it!

Bananaman

Sparks wrote: »

........and feel the wind in your hair if the firing point is sufficiently exposed ........

What if you're bald?

B'Man

Half-cocked

Bananaman wrote: »

What if you're bald?

B'Man

Wet your scalp, feel which side gets coldest.....

IRLConor

Bananaman wrote: »

What if you're bald?

Grow a beard.

rrpc

Bananaman wrote: »

What if you're bald?

B'Man

Wear shorts

Sparks

kkelly77

Are there many competitors in the Sporter Class for Benchrest? Just asking as Swanner referred to taking part in a 'novice' coompetition. Apologies if this is a thread hijack.

Bananaman

There is a sporter class in virtually all Benchrest Competitions.

Have a look at the NASRPC calendar to see when NASRPC have one that suits you (Lough Bo, Sligo, End September is next BR comp I believe) - also have a look at past results to see what the numbers/scores were like.

You will also find loads of club comps - e.g. Hilltop have a competition on Aug 21st which will include 50M Rimfire Benchrest.
Rathdrum have one on September 5th which includes 25M Rimfire Benchrest

Hope it helps,

B'Man

The Bishop Basher

Well...

Tried R50's instead of standard and shot 234 which is a personal best

Definately a huge difference in the ammo.

Had some fun with the wind on Saturday morning but just need to practice with that.

Cheers,

Swanner.

FISMA

Swanner,
Have you considered video taping yourself and watching it later?

Also, studies have shown that amateurs who watch professionals (golf, basketball, whatever) perform better afterward. So go and watch the pro's shoot. Especially true for us visual learners.

I think Malcom Gladwell covered this in Tipping Point, Blink, or one of his books.

Tackleberrywho

Swanner wrote: »

Well...

Tried R50's instead of standard and shot 234 which is a personal best

Definately a huge difference in the ammo.

Had some fun with the wind on Saturday morning but just need to practice with that.

Cheers,

Swanner.

Ammo has a huge impact on your rifle, I know of several lads firing wolf ammo out of expensive Styer rifles, go figure..

I'd rather have no ammo than put rubbish down my barrel.
Well done on your personal best, and keep up the good work;)

The Bishop Basher

Hadn't planned on taping myself but i'll definately be watching the pro's and taking tips wherever I can.

On a side note, put a deposit on an Anschutz 1903. I'm meeting the FO on Wednesday so hopefully I won't have any grief getting the cert.

Managed a 237 with it. It's good to know when I miss the 10 it's definately me and not the gun. At least I can work on that