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Hello lads ,
I need to work on my aim when sighting up a target in my scope.
What do you lads do to keep your target steady in your scope. Im keen to hear about your breathing techniques and how you keep everything steady till you squeeze the trigger.
Any exercises you do to help with this or is it all practice practice practice.
I have been shooting for awhile and its hasn't improved much, so any help is welcomed.
Thanks.
What position or positions are you shooting from?
Thanks @Phil_H . any advice is good advice as far as I can tell , I actually am shooting with a heavy air rifle already. A .22 cometa fusion which I carry on a sling. it has a awesome trigger . I also need to work on not jerking the trigger but practice makes perfect.
I am hunting rabbits fairly close range bout 30m , in standing postion. I am a o.k shot prone and kneeling.
A little bout me , I have been shooting with this gun for a while now and normally can nail rabbits fairly well , but I wanted to soak up some knowledge of the real hunters on here to see if I could add it too my experience and up my numbers of rabbits I get on the family farm.
So like I said any Advice/knowledge/tips are welocome !
Any rest is better than no rest so always get a rest if at all possible, otherwise if shooting off hand is the only option wraping the sling around your left arm(if shooting right handed) to tighten up and brace your hold can really help and taking a quick shot rather than takeing ages and getting more and more wobbly.
as above.....also vary elbow width...eg from tucked in to out like a seagull...somewhere in there you will find a happy medium.... a long stick helps no end,hold it in left hand along with forestock.that will steady you up more than any other single thing...also use scope on lowest power setting.lots easier to shoot offhand on 3x than on 6x. wobbles look less.
yeah Im trying not to get to the stage where I need to lean on every fence post to take a shot . Although I do sometimes do this if its a long shot.
I used to have my elbow out like a wing and I have changed it to quite tightly tucked in. I will try not having it tucked in so tight if that makes sense. I was finding I was hold the air rifle too loosely and it was sending my grouping all over the place so I tightened it up ( my elbow) . The Artillery hold is hard to conquer.!
You must always remember to hold your tongue just right too!
Make yourself a pair of quad sticks. Will make standing shots a lot steadier. I made mine from 2.5m(?) bamboo from mitre 10.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8L2Kgmvs_PY
solid rests (front and rear)
dry fire (get some snap caps if you are concerned about the firing pin)
for off-hand try the following:
either use an "olympic" style position. and this is going to sound weird, but turn your feet in slightly and "grip" with your toes :D
or start below the target, move the rifle up smoothly, and as soon as the crosshair is on the bottom of the target, pull the trigger smoothly. keep moving the rifle in a follow-thru, don't stop as soon as you pull the trigger. similar to what you do for shotgun / clays
Old but still valid
Jusepy, for standing shots 'snap shooting' out to 30 odd meters try lining the target up at the very top of vertical post of the reticle, above the crosshair.
Gently raise the point of aim and touch off the trigger as the crosshair rises through the target, a slight pause once on target even.
As said any rest is better thank no rest, but the above technique can be surprisingly repeatable off hand with a bit of practice.
Attachment 135527
Try this as suggested above.
Put your arm through the sling and push your elbow out to pull tension on it.
Keep in mind that the standing position is the shakiest and will take lots of time and practice to become proficient in. This practice is well worth it.
If you have a tennis ball lying around, try practicing on that, at about 10m. Once you can hit it consistently, move it out to 15m and so on.
A wee trick taught to me was, when you are aiming and get the wobbles, turn the wobbles into a circle then at the bottom of the wee circle of aim come up onto centre of the target gently and shoot.
+1Quote:
Originally Posted by stug
Where I shoot rabbits, I don't always want to get down on the ground, plus the grass is often too long. I can hit pine cones at 100m off the sticks (22LR). Happy with that!
Visualise a dot or aim point where you want to hit and consentrate on that as you sight up. To have a smaller aim point should be more accurate than just aiming at a shoulder area for instance.
Thanks for everyones advice, tonight I went and hid in the bull paddock ( no bulls currently in it) , I exercised some breathing practices and I was pretty successful.
In about 2hrs I managed to smoke 5 rabbits. Pretty damn pleased as it was effecting my confidence a bit , the wobbles .All the shots were 30+ meters.
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Attachment 135629
Nice shooting.at least you can get out and shoot.
If you're experiencing the wobblies, then know that we've all had to put up with them as well.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jusepy
No-one is exempt, unless they're the terminator.
Yes , I am super lucky. I apricate most people are unable to shoot at moment. :(Quote:
Originally Posted by Mooseman
haha @Phil_H , I just had a good evening. It made up for the nights previously where I went out and came back empty handed and pissed off about the wobbles. I think sorting my breathing had a major impact thou.Quote:
Originally Posted by Phil_H
IMO it's all about the front sight and the target.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jusepy
Saw a YouTube video of a guy competition air rifle shooting, he said to get the best groups, fire a shot at a blank piece of paper. On subsequent shots, aim for the hole the first shot made. He was right, it works. Aim small, miss small or something like that! With rabbits, I usually aim for the eye.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mooseman
An update ,
I found some spinning targets in the shed the other day when I was going to get a trusty can of Do Bro to quench my thirst .
So I plinked away at it for a couple of hours standing.
Then again the next night I did the same.
Tonight I went out and smoked a rabbit at 30m and was a whole lot more steadier , when shooting from the standing position.
so it looks like the old saying is true , practice does make perfect ( well not perfect ) . I still missed a couple of standing shots so I need to continue the practice.
anyways cheers lads
The way I was taught, was to always breathe gently out before pulling the trigger.
I was going to suggest a shooting stick set up as well but Stug has nailed it with that YouTube suggestion. I’m going to make some of those myself.Quote:
Originally Posted by stug
I copied my sticks from that video a few years ago. They work well. I've covered mine in cheap cloth tape and put a piece of bicycle inner tube over the sections where the bolts pass through. It makes them nicer to hold on cold nights and quieter.
