Heart Beat Pulse Getting in the way??

[Geezerhood]

I had no clue that my pulse through my cheek and onto the cheek rest was introducing a fairly large amount of movement until I started using higher power scopes. My groups shrank a fair amount when I eliminated the pulse movement.The easiest way to avoid pulse caused movement is to not touch your gun, other than light pressure on the trigger. For me the worst offender is having my cheek in contact with the stock You need a light trigger or an electronic one that sits in the bench. With some guns you can pinch the trigger and the trigger guard between your thumb and trigger finger and release the sear without moving the gun. Of course that doesn't work if you are required to touch the gun for whatever reason.

 

[DNF]

I believe slender shooters experience the problem less than those of us with "a little extra" around the middle.

I had convinced myself of the opposite…I am pretty slight, sub 140lb, 5’10” with fairly low normal BP.
I have a considerable heartbeat sway and have always thought “if I could only pack on some padding it might deaden the effect”. Maybe not?

 

[survivor45]

From my archery competition years .... just to give you a picture ... imagine holding the bow with Left hand .... with a high power lens that bounces the pin the entire circle OD at 80 yards or 70-90 meters...
And then I learned mediation ... not 100% but just good enough that I can release the shot in between two beats...
Also I learned to slow down the hearth beats... to low 50 ... and some years later ... to skip 1 or 2 beats , which gave me a gap to aim.
This not come with only several weeks of training, you need to be into that mediation game I don't know 5-6-7 months or longer before you discover you can control "things" in your body.
and the fun part of it ???
Several times happened at my family doctors visit or in the Hospital for periodic checkup (I had 2 cancer surgeries so far and now looks good) ...
I made a PANIC with nurses
when the machine detected low hearth beats and some skipping

ps: talk to some asian friends about mediation technics ... they know several ways doing it.

I’ve recently looked into meditation. Lots $h!t going on in my life. Add that I’m an introvert with a bit of ADD. There is always a tone of stuff running through my mind.
It’s cool that you have learned how to control those things.

 

[r1lover]

I had convinced myself of the opposite…I am pretty slight, sub 140lb, 5’10” with fairly low normal BP.
I have a considerable heartbeat sway and have always thought “if I could only pack on some padding it might deaden the effect”. Maybe not?

Hmmmm.........5'11", 210ish, normal BP, heart rate around 65 BPM. Looks like I need to find some new excuses. Thanks! lol!

Some good things to learn in this thread though.

 

[iAMzehTOASTY1]

Figure out the rhythm your mostly shooting at; use that rhythm like a see saw. When the crosshairs are about to intersect with the bullseye(the see saw is level), pull the trigger

 

[Chuck-in-Ohio]

Nearly every shooting competition has a prep period for each relay.
It is at this time that you start to oxygenate your system and slow down your pulse.
In through your nose for a 4 count, exhale through your mouth for a 4 count, rinse and repeat until you reach a calm plateau.

Think SLOW, and then act slower, and your body will slow down accordingly. The time limits in matches are usually pretty generous so avoid the need to rush or pick up the pace unless time constraints or external conditions come into play.

 

[Chuck-in-Ohio]

Figure out the rhythm your mostly shooting at; use that rhythm like a see saw. When the crosshairs are about to intersect with the bullseye(the see saw is level), pull the trigger

ALWAYS remember to trip the sear going into the target, NEVER on the exit or going away.

 

[Firewalker]

There are SO many ways to get to your 'zen' when lrs. I take a deep breath, let it out then take another, let it just drift out of me and squeeze between heartbeats.

I also will back off the entire gun and pinch the trigger against the guard when I think I may have a poi issue.

 

[bigHUN]

Relieve the stress - untie your shoes ... think about planting tomatoes ... it takes only 8 seconds to reset the brain.

 

[Bulletbob]

Years ago I drove two hours to take in a work shop wit a olimpic shooting coach. He spent a good deal of time talking about Heartbeat. He taught a counting method. After I caught on it was like shooting in between counts. It was like the sight did this on the bear and something else in between.
I can't explain it very well but it helped me a lot with my off hand shootimg.

 

[Telephonepete]

The greater the magnification the more noticable the pulse affect. I normally bench rest on 9 or 10 mag. I arrived at that mag because that was when the pulse affect was hardly apparent. I came down from 16 mag because seing my pulse put me off. Dont forget its is still going on even though we cant see it on the crosshairs.

 

[Chukar60]

So basically I'm normal and this is normal behavior for long range shooting. I thought I had a shaky bench or my bi-pod sucks so bad that it was vibrating all over the place. It's basically comes back to breathing technique and timing. Getting in that rhythm. Get in sync with the inner self!

This is an easy subject to get into the weeds on. So many theories and opinions. No one strategy works for everyone.
Like bigHUN, i have shot archery for decades. The basic form there is to concentrate on the target not the pin or sight.
Best advice I ever got when shooting a bow was “don’t fight the float”. Basically all you can do is reduce the float, accept there will always be some degree of the sight moving. It is easier to focus on the target.
With air guns, a lot of us use scopes with very high magnification for the distances we shoot, which magnifies the crosshair‘s movement.
When I am shooting I use the don’t fight the float, focus on the trigger pull and target. You can add breathing control to it or whatever you think will help. Just remember the less you have to remember the better you will shoot. 4, 5 & 6 steps is enough to impart stress on the shot sequence.
If you are using your highest magnification, try dropping a level or two down until you get the hang of your own shot sequence.
Best of luck in your endeavors.
And, yes your situation is very normal.

 

[Arkansas_Airgunner]

I had the same issue when shooting LR on the BR. I just learned how to time my shots between heart beats. If all of your other shooting dicipline is spot on, then just relax and it will eventually come natural to you. Takes practice and TONS of patience to figure it out and get it down. Good luck and happy shooting!

 

[Firewalker]

Yesterday was the first time I was really able to settle down and do some serious 10m shooting (I know, I should be outside shooting 50y but there's still 3 feet of snow on the ground) with the FX Maverick and I noticed that this gun really amplifies my heartbeat and affects my timing and POI.

I have all sorts of holds for different guns but this one I had to go the opposite direction to get a still shot between shots. I pull the butt in HARD and then back off just a touch, take a deep breath and let it out then watch the crosshairs do their dance until they settle for 1/2 a beat then squeeze on the next still moment.

If I did this with any of my PB's or the other air guns, I would have fliers but the Mav sure like me to hold it close.

 

[Telephonepete]

Has anybody tried shooting and ignoring the beat. Even if you shoot on 9x the pulse effect is still going on even I you cant see it.

 

[Sicumj]

I don't notice the heart beat unless I have been moving to a position. Breathing for me is the fastest way to calm down. As others have said few deep breaths then a few not so deep. I don't hold my breath I shoot at the end of an exhale. If your moving you need to time the sway.

 

[Bobbybeef]

2 Bayer aspirin before shooting will stop you from seeing your pulse while looking at the reticle.

 

[AlanMcD]

All good advice on technique and with calming your heart rate down to get the shot off, but I want to add the value of working out to get your base resting heart rate down further separate from what you do during the shooting session itself.

Remember that each actual "beat" of our heart takes almost the exact same amount of time - the difference is in the resting time between beats. So when you get your heart rate lower (primarily through excercise but also diet) you are increasing the resting portion directly, and proportionately it is huge. If you drop your heart rate from the 70's to the 50's you basically double the amount of time that you will have with no movement of the reticle. I work out a lot, every day and have for years. My resting heart rate runs in the high 40's, and it feels like I have forever to let the shot go even with a 30x scope on the bench - I do see the bounce, but it is movement that is occuring a small percentage of the time, not most of the time. I'm not the best shot, but my heartrate does help me here.

Of course, having that lower heart rate (assuming you get it from exercise) is great for your health, vitality, and general well being too!

 

[FIDI_G]

2 Bayer aspirin before shooting will stop you from seeing your pulse while looking at the reticle.

How long does this take to take effect? Is this safe to do if you shoot everyday? I take one everyday for my heart I wonder if I can just take an extra one

 

[qball]

Yes.
Your entire body affects your aim.