I Admit It

[jsimmons]

Well, I've had my CZ-452 Silhouette for two months now, and I'm having a great time shooting it. When I got started, some of you might remember that I announced that I'd be trying for a 25-30/40 my first time out. I am now bowing before you, humbled by my inability.

Offhand shooting is harder than it looks, and I'm glad I didn't shoot in that match at the beginning of October (it was canceled anyway).

I've been practicing for the last four weekends (80 rounds per offhand practice session), and I'm finally shooting 6-inch groups consistently at 50 yards. Of the 80 rounds, only 4 were outside the 6-inch circle. The weekend before, more than 20 were outside the 6-inch circle.

I've decided that Wolf M/T, SK Std+, or RWS Target are my ammo of choice, and my Mueller APV is adequate for now, but because of its 3-inch eye relief, I think I need to get some BKL offset rings that allow me to move the scope further back.

I recognize that I need a better scope, ut that's not an admission that the scope is my problem. Getting a better scope is simply not in the cards this close to Christmas unless I sell my archery gear and/or some computer stuff that I've got laying around.

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On a side note, I saw a Henry Golden Boy at the range this weekend, and I think I want one (it sure is purty). The guy bought matching rifles for himself and his daughter, and was complaining about how poorly they were shooting (he was shooting Federal bulk ammo), seeing most shots go WAY high. He said he was considering taking the rifles back and exchanging them, so I asked if I could shoot it. I made a sight adjustment (his open sight was set for 75 yards on both rifles), loaded the magazine with some wolf m/t, and lobbed 5 shots down-range (offhand).

One was on the edge of the center dot, one more in the 3-inch circle, two were near the inner edge, and one was near the outer edge of the six-inch circle. I told him it didn't appear to be the rifle, and showed him the sight adjustment I made. Finally, I gave him the rest of the box of Wolf M/T I had, and told him to buy as much of it as he could find, and to generally search for ammo the gun likes.

Side side note - I find it curious that I was so accurate with the iron sights. I guess it's because the magnified sight picture from a scope plays with your brain.

[BlauBear]

Practice, practice, practice. It sounds like your practice sessions are very disciplined, and clearly a lot of that transferred to the Henry. Thanks for helping a couple of new shooters have a good range experience!

[Innocent]

jsimmons,
Welcome to the world of frustration!! Those targets should be easy to hit with a scope, right??
I shot iron sights until my eyes started getting older than the rest of my body...about 1998. Then I went to a scope, yes the mind does accept the view in a scope as being close enough. Iron sights force you to look as a smaller FOV.

As for the Henry Golden Boy, great hairy tailed rat gun, fun to shoot and typical to almost all 22's much more accurate than the shooter. But then shooting is kind of like taming exotic birds, most of the time it is the bird owner that needs training, not the bird.

Keep working on the CZ, it is a great gun and you will have not problem making the 25 to 30 with it.

Mary

[Dee]

I was wondering when we would get your first match report. I take it you still haven't shot a match but based on your paper groups @ 50 yards your thinking 25-30 the 1st time out might have been a bit ambitious to say the least.

Sounds like your learning a lot from paper shooting and getting better groups rather quickly. When will you get to shoot your first match do you know?

Looking forward to hearing about it when you do. Keep practicing, I know I am

Dee

[sobrbiker883]

Offhand shooting is harder than it looks, and I'm glad I didn't shoot in that match at the beginning of October (it was canceled anyway).

Sure is! I'm no good shot, I usually am bouncing around the bottom of A class, but for me that's progress........

Don't worry about your score, just hit a match and shoot! I've seen folks do what you are doing (practice, practice, think, think, shoot match) shoot 10% their first time out, and I've seen folks just show up to give it a whirl and shoot 50-60% (before they know its supposed to be hard) only to get classified above their "normal" shooting.

I looked back through my scores, as I've been doing this just under a year, and I average a measly 28% for both SB and HP. Funny thing is, I know I can shoot better and the longer I do it my expectations change. Beginning of the summer I'd be happy to shoot 19/60 in SB, and now I know something's wrong if I'm not breaking 24ish/60.

The scariest part is that I looked at my first two match scores (ill fitting 10/22T with a non-AO scope) and I shot a 5 and an 8!!! But I came back, and came back.

Good equipment isn't everything, but it is important. the 28% average I stated was all scores combines, but the last 5 matches I've shot since getting a 64MSR have gone up to 38%.......could be the rifle, could be my confidence, but it's a 10% jump nonetheless.

Get out there and hit some steel critters!!!

(BTW-I commend and envy the practice, here I have the good fortune of shooting 4 or 5 matches a month-2HP and 2/3 SB, depending on the number of Sundays in the month. The bad part is, the only range time I get goes in my scorebook!!)

[jsimmons]

I was wondering when we would get your first match report. I take it you still haven't shot a match but based on your paper groups @ 50 yards your thinking 25-30 the 1st time out might have been a bit ambitious to say the least.

Sounds like your learning a lot from paper shooting and getting better groups rather quickly. When will you get to shoot your first match do you know?

Looking forward to hearing about it when you do. Keep practicing, I know I am

Dee

The local Silhouette group (CTSA) starts shooting monthly matches in February, and goes through September. I've yet to see any other silhouette shooters at the range I've been going to, but this last weekend, I saw half a dozen other 22's besides mine. Seems more people here (San Antonio) prefer big-bore stuff. I'm also the only one that's been shooting offhand. Event the guy that brought the henrys was shooting from a rest.

[atomicbrh]

jsimmons, It sounds like you are having fun practicing. You will also have fun shooting the matchs. Shoot a match as soon as you can. You will wish you had started this sport sooner.

The same is true about the 900+ members at our club in Central Mississippi shooting off their rests. Out of all our members only a few highpower across the course shooters, my son and I shoot in any position but off a rest. Most of them cannot shoot as accurately off their rest as the average Smallbore Silhouette competitor can shoot in the standing position. I am trying to change this mentality by holding matchs at our club. One problem that first time shooters at our club have is showing up with a rifle that will not function consistently. As match director, I only give one alibi per match day per person because we would never get a match completed otherwise. Meanwhile, those Anschutzs, CZ's and Sakos just keep running like sewing machines.

One question: You stated that you are practicing at 50 yards, working on your hold size. We practice our hold at the Chicken Rail distance(40 meters) on paper targets so that we will have our target at a consistent distance each time we practice and because we have our known 40 meter chicken zeroes already figured out. Do your range safety rules limit you to a certain distance shooting paper targets?

Have fun.
Bobby R. Huddleston