Offhand Accuracy

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Some interesting reading from Harry Pope about offhand muzzleloaders.
I just read Popes directions. He was way before my time but it proves that form follows function. He mentioned Trigger pull and not to use a fine pulling trigger! If you do you run the risk of a premature shot, been there done that. He mentioned scopes as well I was a bit confused with what he said but he did have some good points. I would recommend reading his work. The information is true today as it was in his time. I did get the feeling he was sitting an shooting a lot? I may be wrong but he mentioned his elbow on his hip?
 
You are doing it the same as I do! As to moving targets come from behind the target catch it and the keep the rifle moving ahead until you reach your desired lead. It will amaze you how accurate it will become. You are not driving nails but you can keep a group that is in the kill zone easy! If you are going to use a scope use low power! Nothing will screw up a shot more than magnification! The hardest part is the part of staying calm and I don't know how evreybody does it but it is a must!

I used to do this 'induced sway' hunting groundhogs with a .22 when I was a kid. I'd stalk/crawl to about 25 or so yards and then pop up on my knee if necessary to see over the grass. I would gently sway left/right and squeeze the trigger as I crossed the ear. Worked out really well at eliminating wobble in multiple directions.

For flintlocks, I hate to shoot off-hand and need a lot of practice. Weapon of choice and length and weight impacts my accuracy a lot but I have found that I am not good at it and almost always pull low and right. I avoid the temptation unless it's with my small bore .32 and a squirrel. No way I'm off-handing at a deer unless it is a percussion or center-fire. I have taken numerous deer off-hand with both a Remington 760 carbine and a military spec 8mm Mauser.... which weighed the better part of 11+ pounds scoped.
 
Outside or in your garage (inside with windows open) - pick a small target level with yourself. Plug the flash hole. Put a little bit of powder in the pan and close it. "Shoot" at the target. You will learn to allow the flash to occur without disturbing your sight picture.
I still do that after 50 years of shooting.
 
I think the problem a lot of people have shooting without a rest is it It is hard to hold the rifle still. With that said one needs to come up with a way to compensate and there lies the problem a lot of people have. I hunted deer for several years and the club used dogs. If you got a shot at a deer it was getting gone fast! What I did was to lead the deer what I thought was needed and then pull the trigger. I took a lot of deer with my 30 06 Winchester. The rifle was moving as was the deer in order to take the deer? I used this method on aireal shots as well. Shooting with the rifle moving came natural to me. You can do the same thing with still targets. I shoulder the rifle and pick up the sights as I bring the rifle up as soon as is starts to get on target I pull the trigger.l never try to hold the sights on the target ? I can't hold a rifle still and I don't believe anyone can or not anyone I have ever seen could do it? Gallon milk jugs full of water at 200 yards was no challange off hand using this method. Try it you may be surprised with your results? Nothing ventured , nothin gained!
I used to be a decent offhand shot, but age, arthritis and two ruptured biceps along with a couple go decades away from the shooting sports have changed that from decent to pitiful. I have just recently figured out that I do better offhand if I point and shoot like I was shooting a shotgun instead of focusing on my sight picture, breathing and trigger squeeze like a would from a rest. I have not followed up on it enough to get “decent” again but I do better than I do by shooting deliberately. Your post reinforces what I wast just discovering. I am also beginning to think that a fowling piece might be my best choice for a long gun now.
 
The best advise I can give has already been mentioned: practice holding your rifle at the shoulder often. It strengthens the muscles. When I shot BPCR, I kept it in my room. Any time I walked into the room I picked it up, set the trigger, and clicked it (hammer stays down). Make sure your particular gun type allows this without damage. By the time I got to my first match, the routine of picking up the rifle, setting the trigger, holding and firing was totally natural. Of course, I had practiced for years as a kid with a BB gun, then a .22 also. It becomes natural to be a good shot if you do this one thing - shoot a lot, or at least dry fire like above.
 
Lots of great advice in this thread. Like @LME I find it hard to hold a rifle still with sights on target. So I like his method of incorporating movement into aquiring the sight picture and squeeze as soon as your sight picture matches what you're picturing in your mind. Coming up on the target from directly below and squeezing at six o'clock works best for me because windage is already aligned and being held steady and the rifle recoils up. If I have to hold over the intended POI (as is the usual case with iron sights on milsurps) I might try coming in horizontally from the side while holding the elevation steady. I don't know how this method translates into moving targets because none of the outdoor ranges I can shoot black powder at feature or allow moving targets. I need to figure out some way to get in this training.
@wiscoaster I use your method in reverse. I let gravity work with me by coming down from 12 o'clock and into the bull. I use a set trigger so when the front sight is about centered I pull while still continuing the downward path. All the while I'm doing this I keep thinking "front sight, front sight, front sight." It works for me most of the time.
 
I used to do this 'induced sway' hunting groundhogs with a .22 when I was a kid. I'd stalk/crawl to about 25 or so yards and then pop up on my knee if necessary to see over the grass. I would gently sway left/right and squeeze the trigger as I crossed the ear. Worked out really well at eliminating wobble in multiple directions.

For flintlocks, I hate to shoot off-hand and need a lot of practice. Weapon of choice and length and weight impacts my accuracy a lot but I have found that I am not good at it and almost always pull low and right. I avoid the temptation unless it's with my small bore .32 and a squirrel. No way I'm off-handing at a deer unless it is a percussion or center-fire. I have taken numerous deer off-hand with both a Remington 760 carbine and a military spec 8mm Mauser.... which weighed the better part of 11+ pounds scoped.
I know what you are saying about your flint M.L. I used a percusion in by little show and had a hard time getting it to do what I wanted it to do. I finally loaded it to 1400F.P.S. to match the .22 rifles I used and it still didn't work? I finally realised the lock time was the culprit. I allowed for it and it was hitting dead on at moving targets. It was fine on still targets but had me scratching my head on why I couldn't hit well on moving targets.. I also use a substained lead and it served me well.
 
And I think it bears mentioning that often past a certain age and/or with certain health conditions, even practice, practice, practice won't produce a steady hold.
It is something we all have to face. I have bad eyes now and my timing is off terribly. I can still do fair at the bench but I can no longer shoot good at some types of targets. I still can hit a rolling tire but not every time. As a good friend use to say," I had it when I needed it"! I just don't have it anymore and I don't need it! This applies to many things! LOL!
 
The best advise I can give has already been mentioned: practice holding your rifle at the shoulder often. It strengthens the muscles. When I shot BPCR, I kept it in my room. Any time I walked into the room I picked it up, set the trigger, and clicked it (hammer stays down). Make sure your particular gun type allows this without damage. By the time I got to my first match, the routine of picking up the rifle, setting the trigger, holding and firing was totally natural. Of course, I had practiced for years as a kid with a BB gun, then a .22 also. It becomes natural to be a good shot if you do this one thing - shoot a lot, or at least dry fire like above.

^^^ This.

Developing the muscles used in that exact action is the only way to get steadier.

Adding a weight can help develop those muscles. Works for pistols as well.

When doing any particular thing, the more often one does it the better they will get at it, both from the coordination of repeated actions as well as the muscles used gaining strength. Ive seen some truly atrocious offhand shots, part of the equation was they never passed up the opportunity to use a rest. One friend made a horrible gut shot on a deer because he was a horrible offhand shot, he struggled to find a rest to make an easy shot, 75 yards with scoped rifle, couldnt find a rest where he could see it, and muffed it badly. He never shot offhand in practice. He was a good shot with a rest, but its not hard to shoot from a rest.

The majority of my shooting the past 20 or 25 years has been offhand. I figured its the hardest, so should get the most practice time. Where I shoot the best targets are 200-300 yards with a 24" 600 yard plate. A 4x scope on the 600 wasnt much of a challenge after doing it several years, kneeling or sitting seemed like cheating.

Shooting running game is also great practice, running rabbits with a rifle or pistol, or squirrels helps our overall shooting abilities.

As with rifles and practicing the most difficult thing, shooting pistols one handed is the hardest, so I practice it almost exclusively the past 25 or so years. When making a shot on game I use two hands, but again, it almost seems like cheating once one gets the hang of one handed. Most pistol practice is on the 200 yard rocks and 300 yard plate, maybe 80% vs 20% at various closer distances, and stuff like yucca stems and small things up close.

And yes, most rifle shooting has been iron sights. The Colts Patent self loading lightweight army rifle of poodle caliber was most often used, its what was cheapest for ammo at the time i was shooting the most. Many cases of money turned into noise back when surplus was imported without hindrance.
 
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@wiscoaster I use your method in reverse. I let gravity work with me by coming down from 12 o'clock and into the bull. I use a set trigger so when the front sight is about centered I pull while still continuing the downward path. All the while I'm doing this I keep thinking "front sight, front sight, front sight." It works for me most of the time.
There are many ways to do just about anything? The reason I come up on my target is from hunting. I want the prey in my sight at all times.Coming down on the target blocks your view. On wing shots it would be next to impossible to hit them?
 
I don't know about wiggles or waggles, but I learned, back in the 1960s at the SAFS at Camp Perry, that in shooting any gun there is a wobble factor. No one other than Superman can hold any gun perfectly still.
There is a wobble area that your front sight scribes over the face of the target. All anyone can do is to practice enough to minimize that area and to let off the shot while wobbling is minimal. Apparently Weebles aren't the only wobblers.
 
I may be wrong but he mentioned his elbow on his hip?
This is done in certain offhand shooting situations. Puts the shooter in a somewhat convoluted body shape but does result in basically a rest for the arm that is holding the forearm. I'm not sure in what types of competition it's allowed but I have seen it prohibited in many ml competitions. In that posture though it is probably not resting precisely on the hip.
 
..... shooting pistols one handed is the hardest....
With most pistols I shoot them better one-handed. Regardless of caliber or action. I don't know why, and would never have discovered that if I hadn't tried. And frankly, most NRA instructors I've mentioned this to think I'm feeding them a line of bull.

I also practice shooting with my non-dominant hand. Who knows if one's dominant hand might be injured and you have to defend yourself shooting with the other hand?
 

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