3rd day at the range - 18% group shrinkage!

[jhr1986]

My thanks again to Sterling Shooter who has offered advice in my previous threads which detailed my first two trips to the range shooting for group size. After his advice from last time I was able to shrink my groups by 18%.

7/18/12 group avg: 1.025"
Today's group avg: .852"

If I only figure the ammo which shot best today (CCI SV) the average was .742", or 28% improvement.

Still not close to where I want to be (not that I expected to get there in 3 trips to the range), but a marked improvement. Unfortunately they were out of Wolf Match today which my gun seems to prefer so I shot some CCI SV and Remington Target SV. The CCI shot well, but I think the Wolf would shoot even better so I can't wait to try again with the Wolf Match.

I also ran a couple dot drills that I read about here on the Hide, the concept sounds good because my ultimate goal is to be able to make reliable first round hits at distance and it sounded like fun too.

For what it is worth the Wx for today: wind from 170-200 (the range faces 190 so basically a direct headwind) at 10-12 knots, gusts up to 18 knots. Temp 32C - 38C, barometric pressure 2997 and fell to 2988 when I left.

The first two targets and dot drill were shot with CCI SV.

The next two targets were shot with Remington Target standard velocity except for two which were shot with Federal Automatch (2nd target, bottom right and middle group). Neither of these have been great in the gun before so I didn't expect them to be awesome, but I'll show them anyway. The dot drill was done with Remington Target and I think it shows that it just doesn't shoot too well in my gun, even with a steady rest they were shooting all over the place. I'm sure part of that is me, but it looks so bad compared to the dot drill done with the CCI that I think some of the blame has to go to the ammo.

My shooting platform today was far more stable than what I used in the first two trips out. Natural point of aim was far easier to achieve using only sandbags as opposed to a bipod in the front and my hand in the back. Virtually no wobble in the sight picture - I almost felt like I was cheating!

Anyhow, I've still got a long ways to go but I was very happy to see an improvement today.

Any comments/advice you can give based upon what you see in the targets would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Sterling Shooter]

Re: 3rd day at the range - 18% group shrinkage!

I'd like to reinforce stock to head, not head to stock. This will assure the height of your position is proper. When bringing the stock to the head you will note the barrel will be severely pointed towards the ground. Mentally, you will perceive this must be wrong since the barrel is not pointed anywhere near the target. This thinking is allowing the target to distract you. But make no mistake bring the stock to the head and establish the eyeball-eyepiece relationship. Next bring the elbow of the firing hand to the bench which will raise the muzzle. Adjust muzzle height with movement of the non firing hand on the forend. Now, you should have a NPA which will be somewhere likely off the target. Pivoting from the elbow of the non firing hand move the whole body to adjust NPA for the desired hold. Remember to follow through on your shot. Follow through prevents the brain from abandoning aim while the bullet is still in the barrel which would alter impact. Also be sure to maintain the eyeball-eyepiece relationship shot to shot to minimize the effect of parallax error.

Most important, do not let the target distract you. Do not unconsciously steer the rifle to the target as you are building the position. This is the first mistake most folks make. Also, you might want to shoot at an actual 50 yard NRA smallbore target to have some method to track your progress by score. In addition, the NRA bullseye target uses your natural ability to both balance and center things. Overall, it seems you are making progress. I wish I had an opportunity to coach you. I think with a highly qualified coach to observe your position, obvious errors could be eliminated quickly. Sometimes what feels natural is not correct. The coach can assure correct from the start, which is important for proper muscle memory development.

 

[SJshooter]

Re: 3rd day at the range - 18% group shrinkage!

You have some great groups! And some really good advice to work with.
What are you shooting these groups with again?

 

[jhr1986]

Re: 3rd day at the range - 18% group shrinkage!

Sterling Shooter, thank you for the continued help. You had mentioned bringing the stock to the head in my previous thread but I was unsure exactly what you meant. I'm going to practice that at the kitchen table when I get home, that way I won't have a target to distract me. Next time I go to the range I'll see if they have the NRA targets, if not I'll order some online - I may get to go tomorrow, we'll see.

You mentioned some other things, particularly follow through. I'm trying to remember everything at the range but sometimes I do catch myself forgetting one of the fundamentals - I'll forget to shoot at the bottom of my breathing cycle one time or forget to follow through another time. It's a lot to remember for a beginner, but I'm trying not to develop any bad habits. Just goes to show I need more practice.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: SJshooter</div><div class="ubbcode-body">You have some great groups! And some really good advice to work with.
What are you shooting these groups with again? </div></div>

Thanks for the support! Some of the groups are pretty good, but others are pretty bad - my goal is to be able to consistently shoot those good groups. That's why I'm posting all of my groups rather than picking the best ones, if everyone just saw the best ones they would think I'm doing pretty good

Here is a pic of the setup I'm shooting. It's a Savage Mark II TR with DIP 1 piece base and SWFA SS 10x42 scope and rings. I really love shooting it, way too much fun; it will be even more fun when I can consistently shoot as good as the rifle does!

 

[Sterling Shooter]

Re: 3rd day at the range - 18% group shrinkage!

The firing hand will bring the stock to your head. Grasp the butt of the stock with the firing hand and just bring the comb of the stock along side your cheek while your head is vertical and erect. Get the eyeball-eyepiece relationship and then remove the hand from the butt as you secure the butt in the pocket formed in the shoulder by pushing the butt to the pocket with the non firing hand which is controlling the rifle at the forend. Once the rifle is secure, place the firing hand on the pistol grip and allow the elbow to drop on the bench where ever it falls naturally. Remember in this position you will not use the rear bag, your arm length is determining the height of the position. Now, raise or lower the muzzle by moving the non firing hand's position on the forend. Move the rifle left or right by moving the seat of your pants. Of course you will be pivoting from the elbow of the non firing hand. This elbow should remain in its position for your entire string of fire. I rebuild my position for each shot but the elbow of the non firing hand stays put.

The thing about the target being a distraction is it's real easy to want to steer the rifle to the target before the position has been properly built and NPA established. Folks think NPA is established after they've acquired the target. For the best results NPA should be established before the target is contemplated. This means you should not look at the target while building the position. After the position is built and you have relaxed into it, then adjust the NPA for the desired hold. A video of the position building process would allow you to easily comprehend this concept in just a few seconds. I wish I had such a video to post. Your thread is inspiring me to produce such a video which I've needed to do for quite some time.

The main theme here is you want a position which is muscularly relaxed. Less muscle means less movement or wobble. Maintaining such a position allows sight alignment and trigger control to be properly executed.

One more thing, you might want to adjust your scope for shooting at 50 feet. At 50 feet properly executing the two firing tasks will produce groups which should be close to having zero dispersion. When you can produce such groups you know you are getting down the road with it all.