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Offhand practice

In preparation for the AZ State match this weekend I forced myself to start a little abbreviated offhand practice regimen not quite two weeks ago.

Typical for most of us, I don't love offhand shots, and don't often practice them. So I went into this somewhat curious if semi-regular offhand practice would improve my shooting, or if ability/inability to shoot offhand is just inherent to muscle tone/skeletal structure/etc. I tend to believe that we get better at any thing we do repetitively (practice).

Used the pistol and the rifle that I'm planning on shooting this weekend.
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Any pistol offhand is tough. But the porky little Veteran is an offhand challenge. Was joking with a buddy during this experiment/practice that the Vet in the chassis stock is like trying to shoot a cinder block offhand.

Each day I took 15 shots from each gun at a one inch orange sticker placed at 25yards.

No additional offhand practice on all but one of these days. Sometimes I was putting lights out and doing it at 10pm after work. Had a few days in there were I was sore from processing a couple pallets of firewood. That was interesting, to see the effect of sore muscles on trying to be stable from the offhand position.


Shared in the order they were shot.
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So what'd I learn? First, there's just as much swinging around in the sight picture now as there was 11 days ago before doing this. However, it was very apparent during the shooting that concentration CAN be improved. And I mean con concentrating on timing the trigger pull with the reticle being in the correct place, "drive-bys" if you will.

It's also a delicate balance between being quick on the trigger when the crosshairs are in the right place, versus being TOO quick and pulling the shot. You'll notice some of the pistol groups have a rightward migration/tendency....yep, I'm right handed.

As for the pistol...I don't feel like I got anywhere with the offhand pistol shots, but certainly feel more confident with the rifle now.

And perhaps 10 days/sessions simply isn't enough to make huge leaps and bounds. Realistically, I used up what little dedication I had to practicing offhand in one fell swoop, and I don't plan on practicing even this earnestly anytime soon.

Since forced position shots, specifically offhand, seem to be every ft competitors bugaboo, thought it'd be interesting to share here.
 
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I primarily practice offhand. Been training pretty much daily for like 3 months now.

Best thing to do is quit before you get fatigued, especially with a heavy rifle.


You sure must enjoy offhand more than I do Daily for three months is dedication. Is field target your reason for practicing or are you a 10m (or some other discipline) shooter?

Everything going off the rails at the point of fatigue was why I decided on 15 shots per gun.
 
You sure must enjoy offhand more than I do Daily for three months is dedication. Is field target your reason for practicing or are you a 10m (or some other discipline) shooter?

Everything going off the rails at the point of fatigue was why I decided on 15 shots per gun.

I don’t shoot any particular discipline. I moved to Finland from the USA for a relationship. In the US I hunted a lot, shot benchrest .22 and 2-gun action matches, but here in Finland it’s not so straightforward for me to get firearms.

I got into airguns to maintain my marksmanship. I shoot 20 meters in the backyard. The competition in Finland is all 10m, and those suits just don’t do anything for me.

When I practice offhand, I like to take my first cold shot really seriously. Like a hunting scenario playing in my head. Then I’ll give myself 4 more to warm up. Then 10-20 serious practice. Slow pace. Less than 1 shot a minute is best for minimizing fatigue.

Then you’ll need a 10-15 min break and you can go again for another 10 or so. Breaks help.
 
I tell people that off-hand shots are the hardest to make and the easiest to improve on because most people, myself included, don't practice them.

The other day I tried practicing in the house by taping a target to the wall and trying keep the cross hair in the rather large bull's eye for a ten-count with slow ten-count rests in between. Did this for 20 minutes a night a few nights in a row and actually saw some improvement.......and then quit. I know I need to strengthen those back and side muscles but I hate (read "refuse") to practice anything, lol.
 
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In preparation for the AZ State match this weekend I forced myself to start a little abbreviated offhand practice regimen not quite two weeks ago.

Typical for most of us, I don't love offhand shots, and don't often practice them. So I went into this somewhat curious if semi-regular offhand practice would improve my shooting, or if ability/inability to shoot offhand is just inherent to muscle tone/skeletal structure/etc. I tend to believe that we get better at any thing we do repetitively (practice).

Used the pistol and the rifle that I'm planning on shooting this weekend.
View attachment 497503

Any pistol offhand is tough. But the porky little Veteran is an offhand challenge. Was joking with a buddy during this experiment/practice that the Vet in the chassis stock is like trying to shoot a cinder block offhand.

Each day I took 15 shots from each gun at a one inch orange sticker placed at 25yards.

No additional offhand practice on all but one of these days. Sometimes I was putting lights out and doing it at 10pm after work. Had a few days in there were I was sore from processing a couple pallets of firewood. That was interesting, to see the effect of sore muscles on trying to be stable from the offhand position.


Shared in the order they were shot.
View attachment 497504
View attachment 497505
View attachment 497506
View attachment 497507
View attachment 497509
View attachment 497510
View attachment 497511
View attachment 497513
View attachment 497514
View attachment 497515

So what'd I learn? First, there's just as much swinging around in the sight picture now as there was 11 days ago before doing this. However, it was very apparent during the shooting that concentration CAN be improved. And I mean con concentrating on timing the trigger pull with the reticle being in the correct place, "drive-bys" if you will.

It's also a delicate balance between being quick on the trigger when the crosshairs are in the right place, versus being TOO quick and pulling the shot. You'll notice some of the pistol groups have a rightward migration/tendency....yep, I'm right handed.

As for the pistol...I don't feel like I got anywhere with the offhand pistol shots, but certainly feel more confident with the rifle now.

And perhaps 10 days/sessions simply isn't enough to make huge leaps and bounds. Realistically, I used up what little dedication I had to practicing offhand in one fell swoop, and I don't plan on practicing even this earnestly anytime soon.

Since forced position shots, specifically offhand, seem to be every ft competitors bugaboo, thought it'd be interesting to share here.
Point of interest @Franklink - humans are flexion dominant creatures so this means a right handed shooter will normally pull a shot down and to the left as those muscles contract…. Only training corrects this but it’s unusual for a right handed shooter to pull shots to the right 🦍
 
Point of interest @Franklink - humans are flexion dominant creatures so this means a right handed shooter will normally pull a shot down and to the left as those muscles contract…. Only training corrects this but it’s unusual for a right handed shooter to pull shots to the right 🦍

I guess I'm unusual.
And shooting a field target pistol sure feels unusual. Lol

The flexion dominant thing is interesting though. I'm working through that mentally and seems to me the trigger finger muscles contracting in the right hand (flexion) would pull right, as I'm seeing. A continuation of movement sorta thing.

Wasn't in the pistol match but one of my 2 misses on the rifle match today was pulled right too, hit the edge of the kill zone @ about 4 o clock. Right at trigger break I knew what I'd done, before the pellet even got there.

Interesting.
 
Anyone out there shooting hunter division using a sling for standing or kneeling? Seems slings are allowed, but I haven't seen any hunter shooters using them.

I guess I'm unusual.
And shooting a field target pistol sure feels unusual. Lol

The flexion dominant thing is interesting though. I'm working through that mentally and seems to me the trigger finger muscles contracting in the right hand (flexion) would pull right, as I'm seeing. A continuation of movement sorta thing.

Wasn't in the pistol match but one of my 2 misses on the rifle match today was pulled right too, hit the edge of the kill zone @ about 4 o clock. Right at trigger break I knew what I'd done, before the pellet even got there.

Interesting.
If you hold your right hand outward from your body and point your index/trigger finger away from you as if preparing to grab a pistol and point - begin to close your finger and grip - you will naturally and somewhat concentrically pull medial or towards your chest, or right to left, as that’s the normal way we contract our grip/ forearms. Lefties are the opposite.
It would be fascinating to see a video of your pistol shooting.
What you’re describing is a person who is using muscles on the back of his forearm, extensors, to pull into the shot in anticipation of the trigger break.
21 years of specwar burns this into a persons brain
 
If you hold your right hand outward from your body and point your index/trigger finger away from you as if preparing to grab a pistol and point - begin to close your finger and grip - you will naturally and somewhat concentrically pull medial or towards your chest, or right to left, as that’s the normal way we contract our grip/ forearms. Lefties are the opposite.
It would be fascinating to see a video of your pistol shooting.
What you’re describing is a person who is using muscles on the back of his forearm, extensors, to pull into the shot in anticipation of the trigger break.
21 years of specwar burns this into a persons brain
I believe everything you are saying, but...
If you are balancing your rifle on your off hand near the trigger guard to keep your off forearm as vertical as possible, wouldn't contracting your shooting hand right to left cause the butt to move right to left, making the shot go right and possibly high? This would a lot of my off hand misses.

And "Offhand Misses" is the name of the country/jazz/trip-hop band that I'm going to start with Ron Robinson and Derrick Wall.
 
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I believe everything you are saying, but...
If you are balancing your rifle on your off hand near the trigger guard to keep your off forearm as vertical as possible, wouldn't contracting your shooting hand right to left cause the butt to move right to left, making the shot go right and possibly high? This would a lot of my off hand misses.

And "Offhand Misses" is the name of the country/jazz/trip-hop band that I'm going to start with Ron Robinson and Derrick Wall.
Best thing i can add... set up a video session (however you can) and record yourself over several shot strings. try to view yourself from an angle which permits you to see barrel deviation at time of shot / trigger break.
the more effort required to break the sear will translate into more deviation toward the flexion side. People who anticipate the shot sometimes push their shoulder forward but this is a carry over from recoil powder burners.
lets see who can upload a video first?
 
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For me, the standing position as as much, if not more, mental than anything else. I practice the standing position quite a bit at home. I shoot at targets that are between 38 and 42 troyer. I have around an 85% knockdown rate. At GP's I have about a 50% knockdown rate... One thing that I'm trying to work on is to not take the shot when I'm not as steady as I know I can be. Put the rifle back on the rest and reset. Also, for the first shot of the standing lane, to bring the rifle on target and see how settled I can be, and don't take the shot. No matter what. Reset and then come on target with the intention to take a shot.. Do I do both of those things all the time... no.
 
Years ago I made a feeble attempt at service rifle competition. I practiced offhand shooting a fair amount indoors, dry firing. I placed a small piece of tape on the wall as an aiming point. Obviously, I don't know where the shot would have gone, but it did help in trigger and breathing control. If your POA noticeably moves during release follow through, you can be sure that you had a big miss. If the sight picture remains solid, then there is at least a chance of a good hit. It improved my standing scores from embarrassingly awful, to merely bad.
 
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