Thread: How to not suck?

Originally Posted by Angus_A

Are 22lr snap caps a thing? Could get my hands on a couple if that'll make it easier on the gun. I'll look into making some kind of a better shooting rest for next time also, i think that had a ton to do with my problems. Investigate that scissor lift idea Russian 22 suggested.

whilst shooting off a rest is great to improve your paper accuracy and good practice, don't get to caught up in it if you intend to shoot game animals, not often will an animal present itself and wait whilst you set your rest up, I mostly practice sitting with my knees supporting my elbows or prone resting on my bag.
get a sling and get someone to show you how you can wrap it round your left elbow to support whilst taking standing shots too (takes a bit of practice and steady hands.
the other thing is to learn how to shoot off a stick I have a lance wood and a manuka stick I use for most of my walks and with one hand holding the stick rest the rifle on that hand to provide a stable rest no matter where you are.

Originally Posted by Angus_A

Are 22lr snap caps a thing? Could get my hands on a couple if that'll make it easier on the gun. I'll look into making some kind of a better shooting rest for next time also, i think that had a ton to do with my problems. Investigate that scissor lift idea Russian 22 suggested.

Rests are ok for the range but remember your not going to lug a shooting rest around paddocks or through the bush when your hunting. Never pull the trigger while your inhaling, don't piss around holding on target for ages before you shoot, once you see your barrel doing figure 8's it's not going to end well and practice, practice , practice.
If you've got access to a farm shoot a golf ball around, its about the same size as a rabbits kill zone and a lot of fun. Just take the remnants of the golf ball with you.
Another good way is to put clay targets on a bank, shoot it then shoot the pieces, see how small you can get them.

Yeah some good advice, In my opinion being a good confident shooter takes three things - good technic, not thinking to much / being natural & practice - practice - practice !

Yup just go shoot an air rifle or a 22, a couple of pointers / coaching from someone that knows their stuff about body position & set up will help, then just practice - practice - practice !

Come shoot Wednesday nights at howick 22 club practice practic practice

Originally Posted by dannyb

whilst shooting off a rest is great to improve your paper accuracy and good practice, don't get to caught up in it if you intend to shoot game animals, not often will an animal present itself and wait whilst you set your rest up, I mostly practice sitting with my knees supporting my elbows or prone resting on my bag.
get a sling and get someone to show you how you can wrap it round your left elbow to support whilst taking standing shots too (takes a bit of practice and steady hands.
the other thing is to learn how to shoot off a stick I have a lance wood and a manuka stick I use for most of my walks and with one hand holding the stick rest the rifle on that hand to provide a stable rest no matter where you are.

I have a sling and have been taught how to shoot with it, it's probably the one shooting position i'm confident from. I mostly just want a rest of some sort to get this rifle sighted in, i'm not at all confident i got it where it needs to be.

One technique I get people to try that has helped a lot is look for your shot in the scope BEFORE you lift up to reload. Fire your shot and watch to see where it goes. Look for the hole in the paper. Part of some flinches is not a reaction to the shot itself but is actually the body getting ready (anticipating) the motions for reload. Head up, let go with the trigger hand etc. This anticipation can leand to letting go too soon, or even just the muscles tensed ready to move. By looking for the shot you are "following through" with the actions that make the shot. It is not a be all and end all fix, but it can help improve groups if the flinch is not completely tied to recoil. On guy I was shooting with dropped from a 5 inch group at 100m to a 1.5-2 inch. He still hasa a way to go but that simple change to habit made a significant improvement nonetheless.

And practise is where its at. With more practise come skill, and with skil comes confidence. And also a familiarity with the rifle. I am well practised with a 22 and can hit rabbits on the run frequently but I am not familiar with a shotgun and hit less, even though it should be easier.....I am simply more familiar and well practised with the 22 (nearly too many bricks over far too many years....)

Originally Posted by Steve123

Rests are ok for the range but remember your not going to lug a shooting rest around paddocks or through the bush when your hunting. Never pull the trigger while your inhaling, don't piss around holding on target for ages before you shoot, once you see your barrel doing figure 8's it's not going to end well and practice, practice , practice.
If you've got access to a farm shoot a golf ball around, its about the same size as a rabbits kill zone and a lot of fun. Just take the remnants of the golf ball with you.
Another good way is to put clay targets on a bank, shoot it then shoot the pieces, see how small you can get them.

i used to shoot at empty shot shells, end on

I haven't read all the replies but there is no shortage of both experienced shooters here and information.
I think everyone approaches the subject from both a theory side and just a pick up a rifle and shoot side and develop your technique style from there.
First thing to understand is there is no right or wrong , there is a solid platform of shooting technique formed of 100s of years and numerous conflict's not to mention snipers, bench rest shooters, varmint hunters and other precision shooting disciplines.
The foundations are mostly the same but I don't think there is a single one that doesn't say practice . practice . practice.
Small calibers are the best to develop good technique, not dozens but 100's of rounds down range, your shooting will go from good to shit house to great if you focus on the basic's.
You are only as good as your last shot, a miss needs to be thought about, trigger technique , distance judgement, focus , wind, shooting position , comfort , grip, follow through , excitement and a whole lot more .
I don't have the answers and it's a huge subject but how each individual shoots is particular to him /her .
Frustration is a big part, it takes control but shrug off the miss, reflect and analyze it, not to the point of OCD but run through your drill .....something won't be right.
Most of all enjoy it, that's why you do it, your onl as good as your last shot but you are as good as the next on also..............................technique, practice ,practice , practice...............oh and when you have had enough............. practice

sorry for the spelling mistakes........to many wild turkeys but you get mt]y drift

Angus - I've had my rimfire for 2.5 years now. I like the rifle, a CZ452 but have never managed to get the groups on paper that some folk seem to manage. I was getting paranoid, was the rifle a bad one, was the scope not level, maybe the ammo was no good etc. Anyway, I put some time in on the range recently and learnt a few things. The main one being that the biggest variable was me. By really working on technique, I managed to get 5 shots touching at 50 metres, more or less in a repeatable way. The main things were getting in a completely relaxed position, taking my hand off the forend altogether and letting the bench rest do the job, and follow through. If the target is waggling around all over the place in the scope, it's not going to end well. Even with a bench rest, it's amazing how much the rifle can move. What relevance is all this to the real world? For starters, I now have confidence in the equipment I'm using which is a big thing. Secondly, you need to be really stable. I don't think it matters how you achieve this, but it needs to happen. I envy those guys that shoot accurately freehand to 50 metres and beyond. Maybe one day I'll get there. In the meantime, I am using full length shooting sticks and getting pretty good results, but they could be better. One last thing, it is easy to get obsessed with groupings, but rabbit/possum shooting with a 22LR requires that you can hit a 2 - 3 inch target at 50 metres. You don't need to be any more accurate and longer shots can wait. I've found that practice on a gong (i.e. a jam jar lid) boosts confidence and tells you that you are getting minute of rabbit.

Thanks for all your help and support guys it's bloody awesome and i'm taking all of it in.

Originally Posted by MightyBoosh

. If the target is waggling around all over the place in the scope, it's not going to end well.

Happy to be corrected but ideally you the holding the rifle still enough to see to the target jumping to your heartbeat and breathing, deep breathe in, breath out slowly, pause, squeeze trigger..

Originally Posted by Angus_A

Thanks for all your help and support guys it's bloody awesome and i'm taking all of it in.

Think these threads give us all things to learn

Originally Posted by 223nut

Think these threads give us all things to learn

Oath! I'm reading everyone else's posts so I can improve. I'm still relatively 'new on the block'.

Originally Posted by 223nut

Happy to be corrected but ideally you the holding the rifle still enough to see to the target jumping to your heartbeat and breathing, deep breathe in, breath out slowly, pause, squeeze trigger..

That's the next level! I'm talking about the real basics of stable positioning. Stuff I should have known, but didn't until very recently. Well, maybe I did know, but didn't put in to practice.