Probably a non-wanted question, but...
- Thread starter MikeVV
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It's clear (to me anyway) that the tone of the original post was not inquisitive but demeaning, degrading & patronizing. He MUST be very special (in HIS mind) compared to most of whom responded.
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your not going to be off'ing many small fuzzy creatures at 75 offhand lol ... also, at that 'micro-scale' its not easy to plug them even with a rest unless its totally locked down and a pre-sighted spot .. i dont go that far, put a pile of bait there, get the camera on it, etc, thats pretty unethical if you ask me lol ..
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I haven't really been shooting all that long -- not something I grew up with. Shooting good groups from my bench setup is both relaxing and a challenge. I enjoy trying different ammo and rotating which guns I shoot, and stretching the distance to keep it interesting.
I have been trying to shoot off hand more lately though. I'm pretty bad at it, but I think it's important to develop that skill as well. Most of my air rifles are big & heavy though. Like my AEA Terminator 30 has much of the capability of a 22LR, but I'd guess it's about twice the weight. So part of it also comes down to arm strength. I need to figure out my sling game better. Only gun I have a sling on now is my Gauntlet 2 in .25 ... a sling is pretty essential to shoulder these heavier guns and keep them steady.
I have been trying to shoot off hand more lately though. I'm pretty bad at it, but I think it's important to develop that skill as well. Most of my air rifles are big & heavy though. Like my AEA Terminator 30 has much of the capability of a 22LR, but I'd guess it's about twice the weight. So part of it also comes down to arm strength. I need to figure out my sling game better. Only gun I have a sling on now is my Gauntlet 2 in .25 ... a sling is pretty essential to shoulder these heavier guns and keep them steady.
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I don't post shot yardage for praise, I post it for information. I don't care if a robot held the gun for me, as long as what I'm shooting at is dead, then I'm happy.
I used to think that using sticks were akin to cheating. Well, in that case, so is a rangefinder, or Strelok Pro, or a bucket to sit on. At the end of the day, the goal is to hit what you're aiming at, and truly, nothing else matters.
I used to think that using sticks were akin to cheating. Well, in that case, so is a rangefinder, or Strelok Pro, or a bucket to sit on. At the end of the day, the goal is to hit what you're aiming at, and truly, nothing else matters.
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I know personally two hunters that shoot from a tripod during deer season. They use that tripod with their rifles as well as their crossbow. I think this is an issue from a purest point of view. I never had even sand bags to shoot from and sure weren’t going to carry em around the woods with me. Times have changed. Materials have gotten so much lighter and easier to pack. I had plenty of trees to rest/support against and now it’s a tripod or bipod. I’m sure there a plenty of free hand shooters out there, they’re just not making as many YouTube videos as the bipod/tripod shooters. I do feel as though we owe it to the game we’re shooting to be able to be as ethical as possible. If that means someone shoots from a support of carbon fiber or aluminum, sandbag or fense post then we’ll, so be it.
A friend of mine does pest control at night and shoots from a tripod. He sets up and waits for those rats to appear. Myself, I’ve done pigeon pest control with my air rifle at a farm and I rest on the tractors, trucks, fense posts, what ever. I enjoy the stalk hunt. You can bet your bottom dollar though if I’m shooting at night, it’ll be on no less than a sand bag, but I think I’d prefer a tripod.
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If you really want to understand, go to the 30 yard challenge thread, print out the target and score a 200, 20X (shooting at the required 30 yards). I am quite confident you cannot do it. People who mouth off like this cannot do it. People who can do it don't mouth off like this.
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Words only have as much weight as the listener assigns them. I think it's much better to know other people's opinion rather than pressuring them into silence. You can't always change other people's opinion but if you know you can plan accordingly. Discussion is always a good thing when it leads to understanding.
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I love it!!
@estarkey7 Absolutely! For hunters and pesters the goal is to put fur down. But to a certain degree I share the @MikeVV passion for offhand shooting. It’s how I started and I still do it. It feels really good to nail a great headshot off hand. I can still do it and I love it. I don’t like bench shooting and rarely do it. Sometimes I don’t even sight in an airgun from a table and still nail a lot of my shots afterwards.
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I used to drop the left leg of my Atlas bipod and hold it in my left hand when shooting the Impact offhand. That was the most comfortable hold for me.
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No one wants to watch scope cam footage of a guy shooting freehand. A solid rest makes for good, viewable video.
Your field rests sound a lot like my style of hunting. Using what's around you as a quick rest has always been effective. If nothing else, plop your but on the ground and your elbows into your knees makes a fast and steady field position.
If I'm shooting from a fixed position, I regularly make use of a tripod.
If I had a crutch handy, I would use it as a rest.
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I've used that position for most every one of my public lands hunting ventures. But when I started hunting with the Benjamin Bulldog .357 with Emperor moderator, it was simply too long and bulky to manage without a tripod. Now that I have the FX Maverick VP with the smaller Ronin moderator, I should be able to skip the tripod this year.
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Let me ask you something, if someone were to ask you to take a tire off a truck and gave you two scenarios to do it in and they were....
Scenario A) In a heated/air conditioned garage with a lift, air compressor/cordless tools , and everything else that would be helpful
Scenario B) In a dirt drive way on a 89 degree day with 80% humidity with hand tools and a bottle jack
Which are you going to choose each and every time?
What makes it amazing is that these rifles are growing significantly more powerful and still lack recoil/noise etc while if you were to do the same thing with a .308 or .270 off a bipod youd still have recoil/noise to deal with regardless of rest.
We are at the top of the food chain not because we have the largest teeth or sharpest claws but because we have the ability to work smarter not harder, put the viagra down whenever you see someone shooting how THEY want to shoot, you and dizzums have the weirdest complaints and gripes on here as if it actually affects your lives.
Here this should really help, look at me shooting my under 27 inch bullpup from a bipod while prone!
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Shooting tiny groups off of a bench is relaxing and rewarding in the sense that I can examine the groups and say 'Yep, still got it'
Primarily I use it as a tool to remove any variables and biological error from the equation so that I know exactly what the rifle is capable of. I then use that information, coupled with my knowledge of what my physical abilities are to determine if I can make a clean shot on game.
In the advent of an errant shot, I can more easily analyze the situation to determine what I did wrong, vs wondering if the rifle is off.
Unsupported, outside of 25 yards, I usually seek a 'crutch'. If the game or pest is small and inside of that 25 yard radius I will often use a 'crutch' then to ensure a clean kill shot. Chipmunks especially.
Primarily I use it as a tool to remove any variables and biological error from the equation so that I know exactly what the rifle is capable of. I then use that information, coupled with my knowledge of what my physical abilities are to determine if I can make a clean shot on game.
In the advent of an errant shot, I can more easily analyze the situation to determine what I did wrong, vs wondering if the rifle is off.
Unsupported, outside of 25 yards, I usually seek a 'crutch'. If the game or pest is small and inside of that 25 yard radius I will often use a 'crutch' then to ensure a clean kill shot. Chipmunks especially.
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Buy a new Feinwerkbau, Anschutz, Walther etc. and you get a target shot from a machine rest to demonstrate what the platform is capable of.
I do similar to reassure myself that my gear is up to snuff.
I do similar to reassure myself that my gear is up to snuff.
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@CTairgunner1288 You and the others may be right. I was trying to give the guy the benefit of the doubt. I don’t know him. I do believe that some people ask questions with no intention of trying to understand a concept because they only wish to gripe. I didn’t take his question that way. I thought that maybe he seriously failed to understand the skill involved in bench rest shooting since he was easily able to get a good group once.
I recall thinking a similar thing when I saw a competitive airgun marksman win a competition with gun that was pretty much bolted to a rest that was situated on (or secured to) a table with an electronic trigger activated by a button. Other than reading the wind, I guess the skill comes into play by modifying the gun and replacing parts to get it to perform consistently with optimal precision. That type of shooting looked boring to me and it still doesn’t excite me, but I learned a few things from that competitor’s experience. This may be what @Chuck-in-Ohio was talking about in the post above. I thought Mike’s question may have been one of those moments. Also it’s easy to miss using certain types of rests like bioids and tripods. I can qualify that statement with photos of targets. Anyhow, y’all may be correct. I’d like to hear from @MikeVV on this
I recall thinking a similar thing when I saw a competitive airgun marksman win a competition with gun that was pretty much bolted to a rest that was situated on (or secured to) a table with an electronic trigger activated by a button. Other than reading the wind, I guess the skill comes into play by modifying the gun and replacing parts to get it to perform consistently with optimal precision. That type of shooting looked boring to me and it still doesn’t excite me, but I learned a few things from that competitor’s experience. This may be what @Chuck-in-Ohio was talking about in the post above. I thought Mike’s question may have been one of those moments. Also it’s easy to miss using certain types of rests like bioids and tripods. I can qualify that statement with photos of targets. Anyhow, y’all may be correct. I’d like to hear from @MikeVV on this
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So he has a made a thread very similar to this before, all these threads were just a quick scan through. He voices the same sentiment each and every time and has gotten responses to his expressed opinion each time. This was just a post to bash and thats it. Personally I think its great all he does is off hand shoot, if thats what he enjoys thats even better! However don't impede on my good time with your negativity, that I don't think is so great.
It must be really eating him up, post below is from 2019 and extremely similar
www.airgunnation.com
Here are all the other threads (that I could find quickly) hes commented on where bipods, sticks, tripods, and crutches all mean you can't shoot. The below threads all bring you directly to HIS posts/comments within the threads so you don't have to search , if you care that much. I have a bit of idle time right now and I love putting down a negative nancy.
www.airgunnation.com www.airgunnation.com www.airgunnation.com www.airgunnation.com www.airgunnation.com www.airgunnation.com
It must be really eating him up, post below is from 2019 and extremely similar
Question from one of the new guys
Being new to this hobby, I read a fair amount of posts that really aren't of "direct" interest to me or pertain to the shooting I'm doing with my new (and only so far Lelya). Why...to learn. Being a new guy, I understand that things, not directly related to what I'm doing, can still teach me...
www.airgunnation.com Here are all the other threads (that I could find quickly) hes commented on where bipods, sticks, tripods, and crutches all mean you can't shoot. The below threads all bring you directly to HIS posts/comments within the threads so you don't have to search , if you care that much. I have a bit of idle time right now and I love putting down a negative nancy.
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Friend sent me a photo of a gun like this with a bipod (but I cannot post his photo). It was pretty funny. Sorry.
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www.airgunnation.com Last edited:
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