Vertical NPA problem

[Diamond Paul]

I was wondering how high in relation to shooting positions the silhouette animals usually are? My problem is that I tend to have a problem getting my vertical npa right: I tend to fall out the bottom of the target as I pull the trigger. My practice spinners are at about shoulder height, and I was wondering if this is about the height for the animals, or do they set them up lower?

[Jason]

Different ranges have targets at different heights off the ground, and the ground height out at the targets can also very greatly relative to the ground height at the firing line. To make matters even harder to practice for, some firing lines are also not perfectly level. Down at the range in Tacoma, WA, that we shoot at, the firing line slopes downward a bit toward the targets. It's especially noticeable at the ram firing positions, and I always have to take a few extra seconds to adjust my positioning to get high enough to be on target.

[ajj]

What Jason said. Part of the challenge of the sport is that every row of five targets is at a different height. Contrast with international smallbore and air rifle shooters who take great pains to be sure that their practice targets are exactly the regulation height so that they don't groove in the wrong npa in practice. They think a millimeter of elevation is a lot. (They also have 90 minutes to fire 40 shots.) Silhouette requires versatility including the ability to adjust npa quickly and constantly. At our club this weekend, and at Winnsboro, you'll shoot a bottom row and then a top row, difference about 36 inches, and that's at each of four distances, of course. The bottom row is just a few inches off the ground.
Subject to correction by more experienced shooters I believe that elevation should be adjusted by the position of the hips, never by the shoulders or arms.
Your shots fall out the bottom because you fail to follow through. Stroke the trigger to the rear and hold it there while you KEEP YOUR HEAD ON THE STOCK and watch the dot rise in recoil. Then, as the dot settles, bring it back to the target (or hopefully where the target WAS.) Then, and only then, is the shot complete. When your finger pops back off the trigger or your head comes up off of the stock while you look to see whether the target fell (we all do it) the shot goes low. Every time.
Nice drill: Adjust the scope short of the berm (shoot at the ram berm with the objective set on chickens or pigs), don't aim at anything except the berm, use some cheap ammunition and just practice watching the dot rise and fall while you follow through. Take the same care to get in position, mind your breathing, get relaxed and ready for a smooth, decisive trigger break...everything the same as competition except you're not aiming at a target. If the dot doesn't track straight up and down, and it won't, experiment with the supporting hand position. This is an excellent 10 or 20 shot warmup before a match. No pressure to hit anything...just observing the dot and getting the feel of follow through.

[dwl]

AJJ

I've pledgerized you! I've added you suggestion to the series of training article that I've been collecting.

I've used an additional follow through exersize, dry firing with the intent to watch the follow response. This works for me is because after lots of live firing the body begins to anticipate recoil. Dry firing eliminates the recoil and the body's habituated response become apparent. Then I try to modify my shooting behavior to eliminate that response.

A combination of these two techniques ought to provide me with better training.

Thanks for the follow through practice idea.

[iceman]

Something I learned talking to an older more experienced shooter: You can't do this with high powered rifles due to recoil, but it works great in smallbore.
Mount the rifle with a higher position at the butt on the lower rail of targets, and mount the butt lower in the shoulder for the upper rail of targets. the idea is that the forearm is doing nothing but resting the rifle. Do not use the forearm to push up or lower into npa shooting. This prevents fatigue and positions the targets near center when in shooting position. Then all you have to do is control horizontal movement. It works because it has improved my scoring average by 8 points.

[Diamond Paul]

ajj, I guess I should say that as I break the trigger, the most common movement is a fade out the bottom. I do follow through, watch the site rise, then return to position on target, which it often does almost perfectly in the middle. It's the act of executing the shot that causes the fade. It's almost as if my target is set so high that even with considerable back bend, I can't get my vertical NPA high enough. I feel as though I'm having to add tension to my hold to get the rifle up, rather than just relaxing into proper NPA. I see it happen when I dry fire on the same targets, too. Just as it breaks, the dot falls just low of the animal. I think that the act of breaking the shot releases some tension from the hold, which reveals the fact that I am "muscleling" the rifle into vertical positioning. Today, I tried inhaling a bit more air, and my vertical position improved dramatically; the sight wasn't fading at the break. I'm just hoping the high targets aren't quite so high up there. Thanks, Paul.

[ajj]

I didn't mean to be so dogmatic. We may be talking about the same thing, though. "Steering" the rifle with muscle tension makes good follow through almost impossible. Your position will improve with experience (and work) and it'll come around. Our shooting positions are slightly elevated at Benton so you'll probably be fine.

[GTS]

Paul,

With regard to the original question, and how it relates to the Benton Gun Club, the following are the angles of fire from an average height at eye level of 5'0":

Dist. Btm. Rail Top Rail

40M 5

[eeleater]

Great info on the angle variation! Now I can get out the calculator and figure out how much duct tape to put on the sole of my right foot Or maybe that person with the socks which do not match is not careless after all...

On a more serious note:

If you have the parallax adjusted for the distance having you head on the stock is not mandatory. I have found at times I am not touching the stock with a stock 1712 and shot Master class scores. I would prefer to have my cheek help steady the gun- but will do what works!. This may have been due to its being winter and having on more clothes.

I have found varying the vertical placement of the butt on the shoulder is helpful.

The other thing to try is varying the width you have your feet placed. Do not make assumptions about what the effect will be or being less steady. Try it and see what happens for YOU.