Shooting 1" high

[Innocent]

Hey guys,
Has it ever occurred to any of you that when you shoot from the bench that your placement of the stock in your shoulder is different from when you are standing? Also there is some difference in the face/cheekplate placement with some shooters.

Try adjusting the stock placement higher or lower in the shoulder when standing. depending on where whether your shots are going higher or lower from your bench position.

Mary

[Bob259]

Guys, thanks for all the help.

I will go to the range and work on offhand zero's on paper, hand and arm tension, trigger control, and on follow through. Sounds like there are a number of things I need to work on.

I think you'll be surprised how quickly you'll see what you doing on paper. I copied the actual animals on to a 8.5x11 piece of white paper and set them up and shoot at each. In some cases you may see your bench setting is fine, from a positioning point of view, and it's only your hold on that animal. That's why I mentioned I use my bench settings and adjust from there as that is a confirmed/verified starting point.

But like Blaubear said... don't let us stop you from burning up some ammo, practicing and having some good fun at the range

[carl425]

Let me prefix this with the fact that I'm not disputing any of the advice that's been put forth here. I really don't know the answer, but I just don't get it. Everything I've been taught over the years about what creates precision in a rifle just doesn't allow for the zero changing when moving from bench to offhand. I can't get past the assumption that the POI of the rifle either matches the POA of the scope or not.

Can someone explain the mechanics behind this? Is there some degree of parallax in the scope that moves the POA based on relative eye position? Are there pressures applied to the barrel that change? Isn't that the whole reason behind floating the barrel? My guess is that there is movement in the hold that is not there when the rifle is on the bench. Is it correct to adjust your rifle to fit your technique, or should you adjust your technique to fit the rifle? There are many examples of this type of thing - like using a weird stance in golf to correct a slice that is the result of some other defect in your swing.

BTW, many years ago I was taking some handgun instruction. I had been shooting 2" to the left of my bullseye, so I moved the rear sight over to where I was hitting the center of the target. My instructor immediately noticed the change to the gun and chewed me out big time. He told me that the defect was not in the alignment of the sight, but in my technique. His argument centered around the possibility that I may need to be able to shoot accurately with a gun that I didn't have the opportunity to adjust. I eventually learned to hit the bull with the sights lined up "properly".

[slowstdy]

Simple: for every action there's a reaction. Shoot a string over the chronograph from the bench not holding the gun, shoot the next string holding the gun firmly, shoot the third string offhand. Is there a difference?

[Jason]

The difference in point of impact is from the difference in movement of the gun as a whole on the bench versus offhand. Even if you can get your front rest on the bench at about the same place your forward hand is offhand and have your trigger hand, shoulder, and cheek in the same positions with the same pressure, your body will still be in a different position and be moved slightly differently with the gun before the bullet leaves the barrel. The most common difference of POI between bench and offhand is vertical because the muzzle is allowed to rise slightly more in one position than the other. This is most commonly from either the gun being pulled into the shoulder harder in one position (allowed to recoil slightly less so muzzle rose slightly less) or the forward hand slightly gripping the sides of the rifle where a typical front rest doesn't so the muzzle doesn't rise as much offhand as off the bench.

You are correct that the many ways of improving accuracy with a rifle are done purely to keep the POI from changing relative to where the rifle was pointed when the bullet leaves the muzzle. What we're talking about here with offhand versus bench shooting is the difference in where the rifle is actually pointed at the moment the bullet leaves the muzzle versus where it was pointed when the trigger broke. The differences in pressure at the various gripping points on the rifle and the position of the body holding the rifle will induce differences in where the bullet impacts because it induces differences in where the rifle is actually pointed when the bullet leaves the muzzle. Even a standard velocity 22lr round being fired produces enough recoil to slightly change POI, as evidenced by your dot slightly bobbing on the target as the shot fires.

[BlauBear]

The real question is, how many chickens can you pop off-hand??? If you're getting five or more, keep doing what your doing!

[Jerry G]

It may be what you are looking at when you break the shot. When shooting offhand, you need to concentrate on a mark on the animal. When I shoot my air rifle at paper, my second shot at the animal usualy goes to where the first shot hit. I can get good groups but not good scores. If that is on the animal, fine but if it is over the back, it sucks.

If you are setting your scope correctly you shouldn't have a parelex problem. If you set the front ring to the correct distance, your dot and animal will be on the same plane. If you don't you will have a parelex problem and it could be an inch off.

[Travelor]

Thanks guys and girls,

Went to the Range yesterday armed with your helpful comments. I worked on position, trigger control, and breathing. Your comments really helped, as my % of hits has back gone up.

From what I can tell, the largest problem I am having is"snatching" the trigger and flinching. Why in the world I would flinch when shooting a 22 rifle, I just do not know. But, when I would do my part with your helpful suggestions, and the trigger would break on the target, the animal would fall.

I will be working on this a lot more before the next Match.

Now if I can just get the animals to stop jumping up, down, and sideways on the rails.............................

[Bob259]

..........Now if I can just get the animals to stop jumping up, down, and sideways on the rails.............................

Sorry Tavelor that can't be helped....... the animals are made of 'Duck'tile metal (not to be confused with Ducky) and it's a common problem most of us have seen. They can 'duck' pretty darn quick. (Sorry Ducky no offense intended, but just couldn't help myself )

[coppertop]

I think that the next time your out here on the prairie with that .50 you try shooting it offhand. That should prepare you for any type of silhouette game. Good luck, I cant hit the damn things that well either. LOL