Admin,

This would be a good post to move to a permanent spot on Steelchickens. Much info, very well condensed here....Just my 2 cents worth.

Kitty

Dawg, looks like you have a handle on things, I see that you are on your way to the top and I commend you for helping others do the same.

When I go to a rifle range to train live firing I usually take as many as four rifles to the range with me especially if I am shooting HP so as not to let the barrels get too hot to the touch and ruin their accuracy.

I may try different holding techniques to see what gives me better results, I do not take too many brakes in between and do not try to overanalyze my performance. I basically like to pull the trigger a lot to work on my muscle memory, stamina and endurance for when going to large matches. It is not uncommon for me to fire 200 or more of HP and SB rounds combined because that lets me see if I am flinching or jerking the trigger when I switch from HP to SB. When I shoot HP only I dry fire one or two rounds for every live round I fire and when I shoot SB and HP on the same day I may fire five to ten .22 rounds for every HP round I fire. The rifle ranges that are available to me are not that close from home and they charge $5 to $15 per day so I limit my range training to only once a week and try to find a match somewhere on the weekend.

I do not make a habit of writing about my live fire training sessions like Dawg does and if I did it would probably help me remember a lot of things that I tend to forget so for this year I will make that one of my New Year

First of all, I'd like to thank lone ringer for all of his comments, insights and training methods that he has most graciously chosen to share with us. It is truly a wonderful thing that, for the most part, the people in the shooting community are so open and willing to help other shooters.

With that being said, I would like to ask lone ringer to address some of the physical aspects of our sport that relate to grip and/or stance when shooting. I understand that there is no one answer for all shooters and that we must all find what works best for us individually. I suppose my question really concerns the grip on the rifle and the degree of firmness or looseness with which one holds the rifle. I have heard and read more than once that a very firm grip, ie, hold it like someone was trying to steal it from you, is the way to go. Others avdocate a much lighter grip. It is my opinion that it is very important to maintain, as much as possible, an overall relaxed posture. But the best method with regard to firmness of grip still eludes me.

I would be most appreciative if you would share your thoughts on this topic with us when time allows.

Thanks again for the great info,

GTS

I'd just like too say that this is an excellent topic. I got into shooting sb a couple of months ago and to read all these great tips helps like you would not believe. I think this topics helps us beginers to not give up to keep practicing. I know I became discoureged when I shot for the first time and could barley hit anything, the other shooters let me know that this is not a easy sport and it may take awhile to get the scores that they were getting, but all of then asked if I had fun. The answer is a huge YES. I'm hooked, I now want to go to range as much as possible to practice and get better. I found some scale animals on paper so I made some copies and set them out at the proper distances and shoot standing from behind the bench. At home I put a chicken at the end of the hall(about 30 meters) just to pratice my stance and hold. I hope that there are more posts like this to encourage new shooters not to give up just because the guy/girl standing next to you can knock down 30 to 40 animals, more often than not they have been shooting for 20 or so years. So to all the new shooters out there, HAVE FUN because in reallity your just shooting against yourself. Thanks to all the "OLD BOYS" out there for the encouragement to not give up.

From a new shooter with 2HP and 2SB matches under his belt I must express a great thanks for all of you that have been doing this awhile for taking the time to share your tips.

My first goal is to make my next match (SB this sunday) 40 one shot matches!

Long term goal for this year is B to AA in both disciplines.

Plan-
A)train more than I am, and watch and ask of more experienced shooters.
B)concentrate more on my shooting and less on equipment (the rifles I have are more accurate than my hold is, when that changes I'll upgrade).

Thanks again for your input!!

Thank you guys for your kind words.

GTS,
My advice to you is to continue to relax whenever possible and do not be afraid to experiment with different ways of griping the rifle and also with the use of different shooting stances, the idea is to become a better platform or bench rest for the rifle, keep track of what feels better and gives you best results.

For me is hard to relax and grip the rifle hard at the same time but for some great shooters like David Tubb is not and that technique works well for him because he is mainly a HP shooter that shoots in places where windy conditions are prevalent on the other hand Agustin Sanchez who has shot a lot more SB than HP does not grip the rifle very hard even when shooting HP, the reason being that when he trains he does it only with air rifles and a .22

This subject is great and very helpful. I have shot about 7 matches then changed jobs and did not shoot for a while. I am excited about the upcoming season. One of the things that I have noticed is that when I do dry fire practice, I seem to have to change my hold several times to find one that works. In other words everytime I pick up my rifle a different hold seems to work better. Feels like I am constantly searching for a better hold. Any Ideas?? Should I practice one hold for a period of time before switching??

Dawg I like your ideas of noting specifics about a practice session. I used to do that trapshooting and forgot all about it.

Kevin, keeping a journal and making notes of what works for you is something that can

Pictures would be great, for me. The ones that I've seen are rear and side, but I wonder if a frontal shot might not be helpful as well.

I'm at the point of trying to figure out so much at one time. I would like to focus on one thing, but as something completely new, this is overwhelming. When hunting, there's no time to really think before the shot and if offered the opportunity, I will almost always drop to sitting for a more stable platform on shots over 200 yds. Of course it's not always an option.

So, I'm trying to think about what I've read and heard from Jim Owens and Jim Hill and thinking about things I overheard more than a decade ago from Carlos Hathcock. I guess that I'm really overthinking and that's what has me concerned.

Everything that I've read, heard or saw talks about being in the moment. However, I think that's much more difficult than it sounds for the beginner.


Mike


Mike

Mike, I only have a few pictures like the ones that you have already seen and mostly from the side because I have not taken the time to take pictures of shooters from all angles as you know is not possible to do in front of the firing line without having expensive equipment to do from a safe distance. I will make a point next time I go to a big match to take pictures of some of the more accomplished shooters from all angles while they hold an unloaded rifle and when I have them I will offer to share them with you and others.

In the mean time I will suggest to buy or borrow a couple of books that have pictures of International type shooters shooting off-hand taken from the front,

[quote="lone ringer"]
In the mean time I will suggest to buy or borrow a couple of books that have pictures of International type shooters shooting off-hand taken from the front,

Lone ringer,

Thanks for your input on my last question concerning ways to grip the rifle.

My next question is a little off topic, but it's an area that I feel is extremely important. Would you please share with us your thoughts on the role of the spotter. I see a lot of new shooters try and emulate the various styles of spotting that you see and hear at any match without ever consulting the shooter as to what sort of information he wants to hear. I know that a team of two shooters will develop their own style and know what the other one wants without asking. My question is for those shooters that are squadded with someone they seldom shoot with. Seems to me that a spotter should always consult with the shooter to see what he wants, and then give him what he asked for and only what he asked for. While this may be a little off topic, if your spotter is getting on your nerves it will most certainly erode your mental game a little at a time.

Again, thanks for all of your time in answering these inquiries.

GTS

GTS wrote: -Seems to me that a spotter should always consult with the shooter to see what he wants, and then give him what he asked for and only what he asked for. While this may be a little off topic, if your spotter is getting on your nerves it will most certainly erode your mental game a little at a time.-

GTS

That's the way I feel as well. I've had spotters drive me nuts (and I've only shot three SB matches). I appreciate their intent, but especially with smallbore I can usually see where the shot went.

I think next match I'll let them know what I want up front, which is to watch so they know where it went if I ask, and to let me know if they see a mirage shift in the spotting that I may not catch through my 16X. After the firing starts it can almost be a coin toss, which would be more distracting, tuning them out, or confronting them. Unfortunately I'm the kind that keeps my mouth shut until I'm too mad to speak calmly......

I cut my competitive teeth shooting NRA Highpower and was taught out or respect for the shooter to ask what they want. The SB Sil matches I've shot are a pretty good crowd of folks who are a bit more lively than the NAtional Match types out here. Especially when I spot for an obvoiusly experienced shooter, I ask what they want me to call.......

GTS,
Having a good coach/spotter is something that can

I think You're right lone ringer. I'll give it some thought and try and frame the questions I'd like to start the discussion around.

Thanks,
GTS