Difference B/W off-hand and Bench Shooting?

[Trench]

watch your cheek placement on the stock...I had a similar problem, but the opposite...on the bench, I was hitting an inch high and about 2 inches left at 25 yards, but off hand, I could consistently blow out the 10 ring or hit golf balls and suckers with a dead on hold...

I was told that my cheek placement and in turn my sight picture could have been different while on the bench....

Ranger

I want to echo this, because cheek placement seems to be my Bane right now for off-hand shooting. I didn't shoot between Nov. and March, and I seem to have forgotten where my "stock weld" was on my rifle. My shots have been all over the place since I've been able to shoot again.

 

[ericb]

Luie B - A good practice technique is to make a Wooden Flint for the Lock and do some Dry Fire practice. It can show you a lot, especially when working with a new or unfamiliar gun. I do it from time to time during the Winter Months when snowed in. Especially good for geting to "Know your Trigger"...

Eric

 

[hanshi]

Interesting because pistol shooting is where I discovered and learned "area aiming" as opposed to bullseye aiming. I use to be a police academy firearms instructor and had unlimited amounts of practice ammo to refine my technique.

I think a minor difference in your and my approach is that my muzzle seems to move in a rough circle rather than a pendulum motion. Also, a muzzle heavy rifle is much more accurate for me because it moves a lot slower. I recently sold my favorite offhand flinter due to having more trouble simply lifting - and not dropping it - it with painful hands. I do miss that fine rifle, though. It's replacement is shorter, lighter and has a swamped barrel. I finally got to where I couldn't even hold that rifle up much past 5 to 10 seconds. I also have McGivern's book.

 

[paulvallandigham]

I tried using a circle, and found I was doing more of a lazy figure 8( Turn the "8" 90 degrees, on its side). So, I gave up trying to do the circle and went to a straight small-arc, pendulum swing, that I narrow as everything lines up.

As for handgun shooting, I do a lot of 2-hand hold shooting, both for combat, and long range shooting. I also use rests, or creedmore positions using my legs and knees to support my gun for aimed fire. I use traditional 1-hand pistol and revolver shooting to knock the rust off my basics, usually using a .22 rimfire for this purpose. It takes recoil out of the picture so I can concentrate on other aspects and fundamentals. I have a large, heavy pistol( Remington XP100) with a scope on it that really helps me relearn how to grip my handguns properly, and that transfers nicely to my other, open sighted guns.

Those are the techniques that have worked well for me. My brother is more the target shooter, and is a certfied pistol coach. He spent several years on a pistol team using very fine target pistols to shoot bullseye. We talk about any new book he finds that gives another good idea about training.

I am finding that once I knock the rust off my fundamentals, the faster I can get that shot off, the more accurate my shooting is. When I try to concentrate too much on breathing, hold, and squeezing the trigger while holding the sight picture, that is when I get fliers. This is a recent discovery, so I am still trying to explore this idea. It first cropped up shooting IPSC doing double taps, and then again shooting a 48 rd. Ill. Police Association silhouette shoot, when I Double- Actioned my last 6 rds. at 7 yds in less than 2 seconds, and shot all 10-Xs ! The officer next to me complimented me on my "Machine gun shooting"! I was running out of time. In fact, my last bullet cut an oblong hole in the X ring as the targets were turning.

 

[hanshi]

I should mention that the barrel "wiggle" I experience is not something I do consciously but is rather like the barrel takes its own head, so to speak. Sort of a natural wiggle, I think.

 

[Zonie]

Whether it is a circle, flat figure 8 or whatever, it is natural for the barrel to move around the point of aim.
Unless the gun is supported by sandbags, crosssticks or a machine rest it is going to move.
The movement is impossible to stop using your body's muscles.

The trick is to learn to watch the movement and gently pull the trigger as the sights are crossing the point of aim.

I think this is one of the main reasons the set triggers are popular for target shooting.
They are very easy to fire without using any pressure that could effect the guns natural movements.

 

[George91946]

Missing targets with a flintlock is my special area of expertise. If you are missing with a flintlock, a good bet is that you are anticipating the hammer stroke and are dropping the muzzle a fraction of a second after you pull the trigger. I fight this all of the time, and sometimes complicate the situation with a blink at the time the priming fires off.

I found that it is best to follow Zonie's advice. Slowly squeeze on the trigger as the barrel waves over the bull and slowly release as it moves away from the bull. Eventually the hammer will fall. If it is a surprise, then you won't drop the muzzle. But if you anticipate, you will drop the muzzle every time. At least I do. Sometimes I get it right for a whole day, but then later begin blinking and muzzle dropping so badly that I have to go back to the sand bags and shoot off the bench in order to regain my fundamentals of trigger pull. Without practice, it's never automatic.

Lisle George

 

[hanshi]

So you think you're a "missing" expert :nono: . Let me tell you this. On a woods walk (informal) at the - I believe - 40 yard distance, hung two sections of pipe side by side. Well, I took aim at the one on the left and was rewarded with a solid ringing sound. I didn't bother to explain that to my partner that I was aiming at the one on the right which was a good 10" to 12" away. Now THAT, my friend, is a fine example of "professional" missing! :thumbsup:

 

[BrownBear]

Excellent!

I took a teenager on a deer hunt because his dad didn't hunt but the kid wanted to learn. Dad tagged along well back and was on hand when the kid got his first deer

I laid the kid down for a prone shot at about 50 yards and had him aim for heart/lung. Deer dropped like a sack of potatoes, and dad came rushing up just as we got to it. The kid had hit it in the neck right at the base of the skull.

Dad was bragging on his great shooting, and the kid blushed and looked at me. I winked and agreed. To his credit, all the kid said was "Thanks, dad." He's gone on to become a good hunter in his own rights, even if dad continues to be a non-hunter. Points to dad too, for starting it all. But to this day the kid and I never get around to reminiscing about his first deer! :rotf:

 

[matt denison]

Funny story.

I watched as my wife shot offhand at a doe that was completely unaware, standing perfectly broadside. When the gun went off that deer dropped in its own shadow, dead before it hit the ground. We walked up on it and I said "great shot honey" It was hit right at the base of the skull, perfect neck shot. She said "how did that happen" "I was aiming at its ribs" Didn't matter in the long run, we had meat in the freezer but I encouraged her to take a lean or a rest on the next one.

 

[luieb45]

Here's the part I don't get, I shoot pretty good off-hand with all my other guns and percussions but it all gets thrown out the window when I'm shooting my flintlock. Why would this be?

 

[BrownBear]

If you're like me, there's enough going on right in front of my face with a flintlock it takes a whole lot more concentration on follow through, where the sights go AFTER the trigger breaks. Kinda standard stuff for me every time I let the flintlocks gather dust for a few months before using them again. My only solution is more practice. Mabye, maybe not, that's happening to you too.

 

[luieb45]

Well... it was the first time shooting it since February :idunno:.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Tons of advice there. I haven't read all but I am sure you got a graduates degree worth. Brown Bear had the shortest, and maybe the best tip however. Going from bench rest to offhand will change point of impact if you do not keep some things the same for the rifle. On bench do rest the forestock where you hold with your hand. Do not rest the butt on the bench, hold it with your hand. (BTW: that is NMLRA rules for competition) The rifle has to be subject to the same influences both ways to hit at the same POI.