Suggestions for becomming a better shooter.

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Well, the first thing is to slow down and not jab that trigger. Remember, just about every body motion, no matter how slight, will inevitably be transferred to the rifle and barrel and probably affect the poi of the pellet. I have worked over many years to condition my body to slow down, my heart rate to be even and slight and I do hand and arm exercises to strengthen my arms and reduce the trembling. Practice, practice, practice. And lastly Aim Small — Miss Small. Use enough magnification that you can easily see shot placement.
 
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If shooting outdoors, do not discount the effect of wind on the trajectory. The wind is not a solid block of influence - small pushes at the barrel far outweigh the effect of wind near the target. The wind is constantly changing and swirling over and around everything in its path. put out some soap bubbles and watch how they move.

Don't hold your breath - read about the respriatory pause.

Read about the natural point of aim (using your skeleton to align the gun, not using muscles)

As mentioned above - volume volume volume - shoot all you can. Stop shooting while it is still fun - you are more likely to want to come back to it if the last bit was fun. Once you get discouraged, it's hard to build excitement again.

Do not expect perfection - strive for improvement.
 
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FIDI_G said:
Any sharp shooters out there want to chime in on any tips at becomming a better shooter?

Feel free to share any thoughts but for me Im really just interested at bench rest and precision shooting up to 60 yards. Field targets, spinners, and paper targets.
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Not a sharp shooter, just a student of the game.

As mentioned above, body, breath, hand and finger control (try to maintain a "balanced/neutral" gun position). You have to train your body and hand to stay still and focus on that trigger finger movement (slow, even pressure).

Shoot paper. A lot of paper. reactive targets are fun but may not give you exact POI information.

Try to shoot in a controlled environment. Indoors with no wind would be my first choice (good lighting, controlled temp etc). If not, outdoors at a distance that minimize wind effect (shooting under 12 FPE), I try to shoot between 10-14 yards. Unless you wanna learn to shoot in the wind ..then set out wind flags...anemometer reading etc.

Document your sessions. set goals. (1/2" group at 30 yards), focus on your miss (was it your hold, trigger control, wind? where was your POA? ) etc. (those are areas to work on for future sessions). If you want more documentation, start taking pictures of your paper target after each sessions. This will give you a record of POI, group size, and trend. Trouble shoot POI shifts by Changing one thing at a time.

Document maintenance done on your equipment, when did you last checked the stock screws? when did you last changed the breech seals? what was your last chrono reading? when did you clean your barrel?

“In God we trust, all others bring data.” — W. Edwards Deming
 
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Hello @FIDI_G

I am not a sharp shooter but I do shoot a lot of Benchrest Paper Targets and over the years have tried to establish my best shooting techniques. To start with, you need a good solid Bench and good shooting conditions. If you are shooting a rifle you must have two secure mounts ( sand bags, bipod, etc.) in the front and bags or equivalent for the rear.
1) Learn to relax as much as possible.
2) Your shooting position must be as comfortable as possible.
3) Do not rush your shots. When I find myself rushing shots, I will get up and walk around some.
4) Each pistol and rifle try to duplicate the same exact hold and position that best fits the gun.
5) I like to shoot several “practice” targets before I start shooting targets that I plan to score.
6) I am right eye dominate and most of the time shoot with both eyes open, but I will use a left eye patch when needed.
7) When shooting a target that has a “10-Ring” for the bullseye, I will use the number 10 as my target. Example; if my gun is shooting slightly to the left then I will aim at the left side of the “0", and if needed aim for the center of the “0". If the gun is shooting slightly to the right, I will aim at the “1". You can adjust for elevation in this same manner.
8) Finally, practice, practice, practice ...............

Hope this will be helpful and good shooting,
ThomasT
 
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To FIDI_G

Caffeine is not your friend
Aerobic exercise frequently (elevated heart rate)
Utilize the tip of your index finger Not the pad
Both eyes open works for me - your mileage may vary
Sandbag over bipod
Consistent cheek weld
No shooting with breath held
Squeeze trigger and hold it back until you see the round impact its intended target (follow through)
Sharp shooters/ Crack shots shoot in a variety of weather conditions
Practice with a clear mind, focus, find the zone, relax & enjoy.

Note: Quality equipment yields superlative results. For example - ammo, barrel, trigger, optics, fitment to your own physical body structure.

These are just some of the elements involved that have worked very well for me as well as my comrades.

All the best & God Bless

Radio

P.S. The wind is your friend - you may not think so at first; however it will become blatantly apparent as your skills develop & become honed like a razor. The winds of change can indeed work in your favor if you endeavor to read them.
 
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If fortunate in having an AG club near you ... VISIT THEM on a day where something is happening. :p

While one can read, hear and get suggestions, until such time as one can sit back with a person more skilled simply watching and giving pointers will a large part of it not be acknowledged or realized for many who could really be great shooters.
Really a tough verbiage to convey that hanging with folks who are great shooters can and does help if willing to ask the tough questions, listen & apply what said.
 
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SLOW DOWN it is not a race , do everything with thought first. think about every movement , really ! "is my butt relaxed and in a comfortable position "
I was always taught to breath consistently , something like 1,2,3,4,5,4,3,2,1 slowly , I take up first stage of the trigger starting to think 5 and release the shot after 5 but before taking air in on 4 . lungs are exhausted when you release the shot but KEEP you breathing the same timing always during the shot .
This is the advise i got and immediately my "scores" went up . it takes consistent practice every shot .

EDIT #1 your lungs are full ,#5 your lungs are empty ,you shoot on empty ,but do not hold or stop your breathing at any time ,IF you miss the release just breath and wait for the next breath cycle #5
 
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There is a youtube channel, I think the name is "air ability" that is by a wheelchair bound man who is a pretty good benchrest shooter. It is entertaining and he has some good tips. He mentioned he always tries to think about squeezing the trigger and following through for each shot. The latter is something I need to work on more. Keep the crosshairs on the POA until you hear the pellet impact. He uses some equipment I will probably never own but he still has tips I can use.

I've checked myself and I am about equally accurate off a bipod with either my monopod in the back or a bag and if I am shooting off a conventional front rest with a bag at the back. I am pretty sure I could also shoot about the same on nothing but bags. I used to but not with air rifles. My favorite way to shoot is off a bipod with a monopod in the back because it is the most stable. But any way that allows you to keep your aim directly on your target as you squeeze and follow through will work equivalently well.

You have probably figured this out but if you want the best accuracy you need to use the pellets your gun likes best. I cringe when I read somebody say they won't own a gun that doesn't like Crosmans. They shoot OK in some of my guns and I had one tin that shot really well in my P35-177 but the next two tins were far less accurate. I measured the head size and there was a big difference between the "good" and "bad" tins. My guns do their best with pellets from either H&N or made by JSB (some made by JSB are sold by others like FX). I recently noticed that the pellets that are the most accurate also have noticably lower extreme spread. I will probably be measuring velocity when trying out different pellets from now on. If the ES is not under 10 on a 10 shot string, I will probably reject the pellet from now on. I have one I'm using up at the moment in my 177 despite it's relatively high ES but I definitely would not trust it at longer range. If you gun likes H&N, the "match" pellets I've measured in 177 had a lower spread of head size than the others I've tried.
 
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I ran across this while reading BB's blog this morning. I've only read the first and last posts so far, but it's well worth the time spent from what I just learned. I really like his teaching style.

www.pyramydair.com

Teach me to shoot: Part 1 | Blog | Pyramyd AIR

by Tom Gaylord Writing as B.B. Pelletier This series will be different than any I've written. It's a fictional guest report about a man teaching a woman how to shoot a gun. That's everything you need to know. I intend for this series to be highly instructional. Today's report is written by one...
www.pyramydair.com

Luck,

J~
 
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I know this sounds dumb.
But I'm gunna say it🤷‍♂️
No matter what I do it boils down to when I very first started shooting. My dad said: BE THE ARROW(we were bow shooting). I was so confused until it hit me: pretend YOU are the projectile, now think. If you were the projectile in these conditions...
I KNNNOOOWWWW it sounds dumb. But in my nrain; it triggers my body into shooting mode(calms me down i guess). Sort of like a mantra for me now. I calmly tell myself: be the pellet(what ever projectile i am using; arrow, bullet, pellet, etc.)
It's just something I didn't see mentioned. Idk if it will help you but maybe you can make a use of it too🎩🤙
 
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For me, the biggest thing is not anticipating the recoil. I know it's slight with an airgun but still there. Sometimes you're just anticipating the sound and clinching as the trigger breaks.

This takes a helper but you balance a dime flat on the end of your barrel and dry fire it 10 times in a row without letting the dime fall. Not including cocking of course and you have to put a piece of cardboard around the barrel so you can't see the dime. I did this in the prone position but bench works too. The helper places the dime for you between cocking and dropping the dime. It's harder than it sounds to do it 10 times in a row. Every time I squeeze the trigger I try to imagine I'm dry firing and just listening for the hammer strike.
 
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Treefrog said:
I ran across this while reading BB's blog this morning. I've only read the first and last posts so far, but it's well worth the time spent from what I just learned. I really like his teaching style.

www.pyramydair.com

Teach me to shoot: Part 1 | Blog | Pyramyd AIR

by Tom Gaylord Writing as B.B. Pelletier This series will be different than any I've written. It's a fictional guest report about a man teaching a woman how to shoot a gun. That's everything you need to know. I intend for this series to be highly instructional. Today's report is written by one...
www.pyramydair.com

Luck,
J~
Click to expand...
Thanks for sharing this post, definitely getting the daisy 499b for teaching the grandkids
 
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