Long range words of wisdom

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viper7

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How about a thread to share the lessons you have learned over the years with newer shooters, that they may avoid making the same mistakes you made?

Here's mine:

Even though the capabilities of your rifle and your skills at reloading and reading the wind are important, the most important thing; the most often passed over, and simplest thing you can do to improve your performance is to first learn the fundamentals of breaking the perfect shot and then never ever think you have them mastered.

Hooah.

V7
 
1. Body alignment, body alignment, body alignment. oh and did I mention body alignment? If you are forcing the rifle in anyway towards the target your body alignment is wrong and you need to adjust your body.

2. Be honest with yourself on your shot call. You know when you have fired a perfect shot. If you fire a shot that isn't just perfect you know it, so don't be shocked when it come up a non-bull.

3. Stop cleaning your fcking rifle, you are scrubbing all the bulls out of the barrel. Only clean when the groups start to open up.

4. If you have a string of 9 straight bulls and V's going, don't smile, it will change you cheek pressure and cause you to shoot a 4 for your 10th and final shot.

5. Work on performance not results. Results will take care of itself if you concentrate on performance.

6. No one ever remembers who placed second.
 
Range flags lie.

Really, they can be very misleading in switching conditions.

The mirage is your friend. Learn what it is trying to say. Unfortunately, it changes it's mind sometimes too.

Never shoot in a boil, unless you have practised this before and know what it means to your shot.

Tune your load for min vertical dispersion. L-R you can deal with. UP- Dn just drives you insane.

Practise as you compete. Count all misses - your score card will too.

High BC bullet trumps muzzle velocity - within reason.

BC does not care how heavy or cal the bullet is. Higher better.

Get the best optics you can afford. A reasonably accurate rifle is fine to start with. Spending the other way ensures poor results. You can't hit what you can't see. Or if what you see keeps wandering around the target.

If shooting F class, work from the 'bottom' up just like you build a house. Top rifle on crappy rests means crappy score.

Stock fit, optics, barrels and triggers are more important then actions (within reason).

Make the best ammo you know how. Then learn how to make it better.

Practise, practise, practise. Then go practise some more. Expect to fire at least 200rds in practise for every rd you fire in a match. Yes, that is expensive and burns out pipes. That is why 22LR is your friend.

And sooooooooo much more...

Jerry
 
1) Don't waste money of cheap optics - it takes a rich man to buy cheap scopes.
2) Take the plunge and try competition with whatever you happen to own and shoot. You will meet many exceptional shooters that will demonstrate what it takes to become a better shooter...
3) factory rifles that cost $300 and and the ones that cost $3000 shoot exactly the same. A good match quality barrel makes all the difference.
 
Trigger control is the bottom line once you have your kit in order. This is a part of Max Owners advice. Practice and trigger control is the key. Mystic also said be honest, the score is the score and call all your shots.


Ivo
 
I'll disagree with a couple of the guys above, and say, "Keep that bore spotless!" If you have a good barrel, it can't shoot better fouled, fouling is soft and sticky and takes up space where there should be none to give up. Modern cleaning products like foaming bore cleaners and copper solvents do not result in bore damage like multiple passes with a brush. Use a bore guide. My target rifle has never seen a bore brush, and mostly I clean it with Sweets, but if cleaning outdoors, I plug the muzzle and the rod guide with a wet patch to prevent air movement inside the barrel.

Learn how to check your natural point of aim. This is the key to good shooting, and without it you will never shoot to your potential. Dry fire to work on your trigger control, and this can be done at home with a coin balanced on the barrel near the muzzle. On the range, shoot as quickly as possible before conditions change. When shooting in the wind; don't shoot in a lull or a gust, shoot when the wind is at a constant. Learn to read mirage, once you catch on to this (I don't know if it's ever mastered but some folks are very good at it) wind becomes your friend because with the aid of the mirage you can judge the wind when others are beaten by it. Breath for each shot, relax, don't tense up at the shot, don't aim for long periods of time, or you won't be able to see small misalignments. At the range, coach other shooters, this is a great learning dynamic, for them and you. Keep good records. If a bullet comes out of that barrel, you should record it, what it did, what you thought it should do, and what the conditions were.
 
Reset your windage to zero after finishing shooting at one distance before moving to the next...seems simple, but cost me a few points when I moved from 900 to 500 in Ottawa without doing that.

Shoot competitions - you'll learn a lot - compete against yourself and your last score.

Better equipment can help - but if you don't know how to use it, or don't practice with it, the nut behind the butt will make all the difference. Practice and shoot with the best you can afford.....you can still hit V's with a Savage or Remington as you can with a TRG.

Relax and enjoy it - it's not life and death for most of us, so if you are not enjoying it, you are not going to do well.
 
maynard said:
1. Body alignment, body alignment, body alignment. oh and did I mention body alignment? If you are forcing the rifle in anyway towards the target your body alignment is wrong and you need to adjust your body.

2. Be honest with yourself on your shot call. You know when you have fired a perfect shot. If you fire a shot that isn't just perfect you know it, so don't be shocked when it come up a non-bull.

3. Stop cleaning your fcking rifle, you are scrubbing all the bulls out of the barrel. Only clean when the groups start to open up.

4. If you have a string of 9 straight bulls and V's going, don't smile, it will change you cheek pressure and cause you to shoot a 4 for your 10th and final shot.

5. Work on performance not results. Results will take care of itself if you concentrate on performance.

6. No one ever remembers who placed second.
Click to expand...

Somebody has been training with Keith and Linda! ;)
 
Longshot said:
Somebody has been training with Keith and Linda! ;)
Click to expand...

No but I coached a cadet team for a few years. We advanced to the Provincial level 6 years running and I sent 3 shooters to the Cadet Nationals (one of them twice) Shooting at a 12 bull (2 are sighters) target at 10m with a Daisy air rifle isn't that easy. You have to change your position each time. If you force the positon it will show everytime.

I also push the whole mental management thing and hand every shooter on the team a copy of, "With Winning in Mind", by Lanny Bassham.
 
if ypou are talking to fellas with opposite views on your question, listen to the one who has the experience winning in competition, not the guy with all the technology and no experience.....
Cat
 
Have a good wind zero. Know your come-ups for each target distance. Know your wind drift for a 10mph x-cross wind at each distance so that you can estimate drift from flags. Learn how to hold-off (scope) and click your windage (scope and irons).
NormB
 
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