Target Score.......

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Tlee
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Re: Target Score.......

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Jason wrote:Your target score should be 1, the one that you're currently picking a spot on while shooting it. If there's anything else in your head, you're lowering your chance of hitting that spot. Nothing else should exist in your mind than that.
Amen! Once the mechanics of stance, breathing, trigger control, sight alignment, etc, etc, etc, are mastered and are burned into you subconscious... the only conscious thought should be that singular target.

Simple right? ~x(

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Re: Target Score.......

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Tlee wrote:
Jason wrote:Your target score should be 1, the one that you're currently picking a spot on while shooting it. If there's anything else in your head, you're lowering your chance of hitting that spot. Nothing else should exist in your mind than that.
Amen! Once the mechanics of stance, breathing, trigger control, sight alignment, etc, etc, etc, are mastered and are burned into you subconscious... the only conscious thought should be that singular target.

Simple right? ~x(

:ymcowboy:


- Tim
The trick for me is mastering the mechanics! Mastering them along while trying to prevent any bad habits can be a monumental task in and of itself.
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Re: Target Score.......

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DavidABQ wrote:(snip)...

The trick for me is mastering the mechanics! Mastering them along while trying to prevent any bad habits can be a monumental task in and of itself.
That's why, IMHO, dryfiring is so important, especially when starting out. Mechanics such as stance, alignment (assuming open sights), trigger control, breathing, etc can all be worked on and committed to the subconscious mind with dryfiring... I know its boring, but a heck of a lot cheaper and much less frustrating/stressful having to calm or reassure the ego when you miss a target with live fire.

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Re: Target Score.......

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Tlee wrote:
DavidABQ wrote:(snip)...

The trick for me is mastering the mechanics! Mastering them along while trying to prevent any bad habits can be a monumental task in and of itself.
That's why, IMHO, dryfiring is so important, especially when starting out. Mechanics such as stance, alignment (assuming open sights), trigger control, breathing, etc can all be worked on and committed to the subconscious mind with dryfiring... I know its boring, but a heck of a lot cheaper and much less frustrating/stressful having to calm or reassure the ego when you miss a target with live fire.

-Tim
My point is how do I practice the correct items? I can dry fire 8 hours a day and just reinforce bad habits!
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Re: Target Score.......

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DavidABQ wrote:.....(snip)
My point is how do I practice the correct items? I can dry fire 8 hours a day and just reinforce bad habits!
You are correct... if the individual skills/elements are lacking, then neither live-fire or dry-fire will do any good (and may even reinforce bad habits). So learning/applying the individual skillsets helps. If you have someone that you trust that can coach you in them, that is of the greatest value. If not, thanks to smart phone/pad or laptop technology, you can video yourself shooting and self-analyze things such as stance, follow through, etc. I've even brought a video clip of me shooting along to a doctor and physical therapist so they could tell me what (if anything) I could do to not aggravate a back condition. If you're using a scope, there are even apps that let you view the sight picture before, during, and after the trigger break.

YMMV, but for me; When I dryfire, anything that disturbs the sight picture when the trigger breaks is an indication that one of my elements needs attention. I will then shift my focus to slightly changing something with each of those to see if addressing them improves (or aggravates) the follow through upon trigger break.

A bit more than .02,

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Re: Target Score.......

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"My point is how do I practice the correct items? I can dry fire 8 hours a day and just reinforce bad habits!"

I totally disagree that dry firing would just reinforce bad habits.

In fact, dry firing will REVEAL your bad habits. If you cannot point to the exact spot on the target where you broke the trigger, you jerked it. I do not care how good or bad your hold is, if you cannot call the shot, you are lost. Your spotter depends upon that accurate call so he can help you.

Your hold is directly related to your stance and that you can improve also. IMO, very few people, if any, can hold on one spot and squeeze the trigger, maybe that French kid in Australia but I doubt it. What you desire for accurate shooting is "slower" movement. I almost always squeezed the trigger when my sights were moving from left to right. My hold was always better vertical than horizontal. Once you bring the rifle up for a shot, you need to fire within a few oscillations or come back down for a quick rest. Extended holds just will not work and movement increases. Once I came down on target, I would hold my breath to decrease the vertical movement. You just cannot do that very long. I could get my stance very stable for the vertical but horizontal was a problem and a tremendous problem in any kind of significant wind. If anyone has tips for holding on a windy day, chime in. That advice would be too late for me but others may benefit.

In HP for the first 3, I always went for center animal or where ever my spotter called for the shot but for rams, I always attempted to break in the butt half. Unless you're shooting a cannon, no breaking low or on the chest side.

Absolutely nothing will improve your shooting more that dry firing and calling every shot. Dry fire just like you are shooting a match. Dry fire no longer that 10 minutes at a time in 5 shot segments, that's 10 animals, and take a longer break between sessions. It was especially important for me to have dry fire sessions the day prior to a match. If you are confident of your rifle and sight settings, firing bullets is just a waste of time with added costs and cleaning time. The morning of a match, fire a few rounds to verify settings and foul the clean barrel. The rest of the time is all spent dry firing.

The above is what worked best for me. I would like to hear what worked best for others.
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