Why am I such a terrible shot?

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Cant-hit-sh!t

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So I just got into shooting...bought a sks and m305 and some cheap ammo and go out to the range. I sight them in at 25m the best I can then head over to 100m and can't hit the broad side of a barn!!
I've seen guys talking of 4" or 3" or whatever groups at 100m with iron sights, Im lucky if i hit 12" X 12" target much less groups of anything!!!
What should my expectations be sitting using a bag rest??
Let me have it........:sniper:
 
If you just got into shooting an SKS and m305 are not the best choices for confidence building.

Get yourself a decent bolt action .22 LR and put in lots of time at short ranges, 25 meters and therabouts.

I would recomend getting a decent scope then you will learn the effect of trigger control, cheek weld, controlling your breathing, etc. Some might recomend you stick with irons, but I like the magnification to help build confidence.
 
Could be equipment, ammunition or you..or some combination of all 3.
Ask an experienced shooter at your range to look at your technique and maybe try shooting the rifle to see if it works for him.
Stick with it.
 
You don't have the easiest two rifles to shoot with iron sights... my chinese sks and m305 both have poor iron sights, and the sks by design has a short sight radius making it more difficult to be accurate..

Try a scope on one or both and see how you improve.. Trigger jobs are usually the easiest way to the start of better accuracy as well, and you can go crazy with bedding, crowning, and a whole lot more.. especially on the m305 (lots of info out there, and people who can tell you about that).

Start with the fundamentals of rifle shooting like breathing, trigger control, seating position, rifle rests, decent ammo, etc.. and go from there.

good luck and welcome to CGN

EDIT: By the time I typed this, several others had said the same thing... but faster :) Lots of good advice here
 
Well, it sounds like you're compounding errors, or inaccuracies to start off. Cheap surplus ammo isn't accurate, any off the shelf SKS or M305 MAY be decently accurate, but may not be, it's a gamble.

Are you using a scope? The front sight post on an sks will sometime cover up your target completely, which makes it tought to aim.

How much practise do you have with what you are shooting? With a scoped bolt action rifle and a bipodor front rest i can consistently keep my shots inside a 6" circle at 200m. For me that's good enough for hunting accuracy for where i hunt.

With open sights such as on an sks, forget a 6" circle, i'm more like you, if i keep them all inside 12"x12" att 100m it's a good day. I don't shoot much with open sights, so i'm not that great with them.

How used to shooting are you? You may be flinching and throwing things off as well. If i go 6 or 8 months without shooting i catch myself flinching the first few shots, and i have been shooting for quite a few years now, so it can happen.

How do you pull the trigger? A nice smooth pull, a jerky quick pull, etc. Lots of things can be throwing you off.

How quick do you shoot? If i have a bolt action i take more time and am more careful with my shots, with a semi i tend to rush it more and throw more shots downrange.

A cheaper way to really practise and get your trigger pull, breathing, etc really down is to get a .22 and really make sure you do things consistently and thenmove up to the bigger guns.
 
surfclod said:
If you just got into shooting an SKS and m305 are not the best choices for confidence building.

Get yourself a decent bolt action .22 LR and put in lots of time at short ranges, 25 meters and therabouts.

I would recomend getting a decent scope then you will learn the effect of trigger control, cheek weld, controlling your breathing, etc. Some might recomend you stick with irons, but I like the magnification to help build confidence.
Click to expand...

That pretty much sums it up.......new shooters should always start with a 22 cal. to avoid flinching . I have seen many new people to the shooting sports over the years start with bigger cal. guns , and they start to develope a flinch due to the recoil . Get a 22 , they have no recoil to speak of , and ammo is cheap , so you can get lots of practise while spending very little money . If you are looking to get into long range shooting , mount a scope on your rifle as there is only so much you can do with iron sights in long distance shooting......and enjoy the sport....
 
If I were you, I'd head back out to the store and get a bolt action .22. 100 yards IMO is far to start. Max out at 50 yards, and go nuts for a few hundred rounds.

I did the same thing that you did. I started with a 303 British and a shotgun with slugs. I wasted a lot of ammo, but had targets that I could use in two trips to the range.

Have fun and welcome to the site.
 
Part of it is that accuracy opens up exponentially as you go further out. What is a 3" group at 25m might open up to a 12" group at 100m.

Sitting, using a bag rest like you are is a pretty stable shooting platform so there's no real problems there.

Ammunition used is a huge consideration, especially if you are shooting surplus ammo. There can be massive discrepancies between cartridges. If you have some reloading gear, one thing you can do is make some "Mexican Match" ammo by pulling out bullets and powder, measuring each one until you figure out what the "load" is supposed to be and then separating them by bullet weight and re-measuring a precise powder charge in them. If one cartridge has a 145gr bullet and 41 grains of powder, and the other has a 149gr bullet and 38.5 grains of powder they're not really going to give you the most reliable results.

Another important factor is shooting technique, I'm no expert, but I can say that slow is smooth and smooth is fast. Don't rush it.
 
new and novice said:
If I were you, I'd head back out to the store and get a bolt action .22. 100 yards IMO is far to start. Max out at 50 yards, and go nuts for a few hundred rounds.

I did the same thing that you did. I started with a 303 British and a shotgun with slugs. I wasted a lot of ammo, but had targets that I could use in two trips to the range.

Have fun and welcome to the site.
Click to expand...

^ this

And you will also end up with a 22 in your gun cabinet. Everyone should have at least one 22.
 
It's almost impossible to say what's happening without seeing how you shoot. The cheap ammo(don't expect great accuracy out of an SKS. They weren't made for it.) can be one, but trigger control, sight picture and breathing are far more important. The other thing is how you're using your bag rest and where you put the rifle on it. The rifle should sit on the bag on the stock at its balance point.
There are some books that will tell you how that is done. Check your public library first then ask in your local gun shop.
Using a .22 to learn on(techniques are the same) will cost you considerably less than either 7.62 x 39 or .308. Doesn't have to be a bolt action or a single shot though. Then you'll have to try a box of as many brands as you can to find the ammo your .22 shoots best.
A scope won't help much. They just let you see the target better and they do not make a rifle shoot better.
 
Thanks for the advice. I used to go out with my Dad shooting pop cans and stuff....he passed away and left me some lever action, a bolt action .303 and shotguns so I thought I'd join range.
Things have definitely changed since my days of shooting cans.... bipods, monopods, bench rests etc. seem to be the norm. I think I'm pretty smooth, I take my time and don't just blast away, but the sights on the chinese guns do suck and will probably get a scope. The big bore area of my range has a 25m then goes to 100m, so shooting at 50 or 75 is out. I was thinking about getting a Ruger 10/22, what are the opinions of a good bolt action .22?
Thanks again
 
work on your 25m game get best groups you can with repeatability @25 if you cant group at 25 there is no way 100 or more is going to work , have a mosin in 54r that will 8"gong at 300m w/ irons and my fancy .338 big scope cant hit it... still working on shooter for that..
 
I have CZ 455 full stock. It's a great rifle and very accurate with irons.

Cant-hit-sh!t said:
Thanks for the advice. I used to go out with my Dad shooting pop cans and stuff....he passed away and left me some lever action, a bolt action .303 and shotguns so I thought I'd join range.
Things have definitely changed since my days of shooting cans.... bipods, monopods, bench rests etc. seem to be the norm. I think I'm pretty smooth, I take my time and don't just blast away, but the sights on the chinese guns do suck and will probably get a scope. The big bore area of my range has a 25m then goes to 100m, so shooting at 50 or 75 is out. I was thinking about getting a Ruger 10/22, what are the opinions of a good bolt action .22?
Thanks again
Click to expand...
 
Cant-hit-sh!t said:
Thanks for the advice. I used to go out with my Dad shooting pop cans and stuff....he passed away and left me some lever action, a bolt action .303 and shotguns so I thought I'd join range.
Things have definitely changed since my days of shooting cans.... bipods, monopods, bench rests etc. seem to be the norm. I think I'm pretty smooth, I take my time and don't just blast away, but the sights on the chinese guns do suck and will probably get a scope. The big bore area of my range has a 25m then goes to 100m, so shooting at 50 or 75 is out. I was thinking about getting a Ruger 10/22, what are the opinions of a good bolt action .22?Thanks again
Click to expand...

The savage markII .22's are hard to beat for price/accuracy. lots of people like the CZ's as well.
 
Savage mk II. Relatively inexpensive and pretty darned accurate right out of the box.
I ordered a MK II BV with the heavy target barrel direct from Savage. Put a Nikon BDC 150 on it.
Shot really well with the cheap bulk ammo.
Switched to CCI Stingers and zeroed the scope.
Holy crap on a cracker can this thing shoot. Last time I was out we were punching the primers out of used 12ga hulls at 100 meters.
:cheers:
 
What this guy said. Also you can look on the internet for a US Army or Marine Corps marksmanship manual.

surfclod said:
If you just got into shooting an SKS and m305 are not the best choices for confidence building.

Get yourself a decent bolt action .22 LR and put in lots of time at short ranges, 25 meters and therabouts.

I would recomend getting a decent scope then you will learn the effect of trigger control, cheek weld, controlling your breathing, etc. Some might recomend you stick with irons, but I like the magnification to help build confidence.
Click to expand...
 
Another vote for the Savage MkII - excellent accuracy, great price. A bolt action is the best way to learn good habits for shooting, topped only by a single-shot, where you have to make sure every shot counts.

Semi autos are fun, but starting with them can influence your accuracy subconsciously- when you can just keep pulling the trigger to hit your target instead of trying to make your bullets count, you could develop a lack of patience- not beneficial if you are striving for accuracy.

And because I can't avoid any chance to get the boot in- if you want to shoot accurate, avoid the 10/22 unless you have the money to upgrade it. Marlin 795 or 60 will outshoot a 10/22 right out of the box, and cost $150 or so less, which you can put towards a good scope or even more ammo To get a 10/22 to match a stock Marlin, you need to spend even more money on a new barrel and trigger assembly...

You could just get a CZ, too- pricey, but excellent all-around.
 
HI a quick bit of advice from a new to SKS shooter also, at 100 yards it will be higher than you think. The round "lobs" a bit and is still coming down at that point. My advice is try shooting about 3 inches below your target. Maintain your point of aim once you fix it for follow up shots, do not adjust after each trigger pull. Also, invest in some large targets for at first so you can find your shots easily. Make 4 or 5 large red or orange circles that make it easy to see the holes for where you want to hit (white and black do not cut it IMO) - simple highlighters/markers will do. Then make black "points of aim" 3 inches below them.

Last question, are you using a 6 o clock hold? Most military firearms are designed to use this hold where you maintain full sight of your target. It is not where you cover your target with your sights. This has worked for me and I consistently can get 3 inch groups with my SKS now.

Hope this helps and all the best!

Zen
 
Cant-hit-sh!t said:
Thanks for the advice. I used to go out with my Dad shooting pop cans and stuff....he passed away and left me some lever action, a bolt action .303 and shotguns so I thought I'd join range.
Things have definitely changed since my days of shooting cans.... bipods, monopods, bench rests etc. seem to be the norm. I think I'm pretty smooth, I take my time and don't just blast away, but the sights on the chinese guns do suck and will probably get a scope. The big bore area of my range has a 25m then goes to 100m, so shooting at 50 or 75 is out. I was thinking about getting a Ruger 10/22, what are the opinions of a good bolt action .22?
Thanks again
Click to expand...

I think you are on the right track.....go with the Ruger 10-22 as they are a great little rifle . I have several different firearms in both restricted and non-restricted , but my 10-22 rifle and Ruger Mark 2 target pistol get more usuage than all the others combined....dependable , no recoil , cheap ammo and the ability to fire and reload rapidly......you cannot go wrong with a 10-22....
 
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