Help reading the tea leaves, er, targets

[748rpilot]

At least it feels the same kind of witchcraft as reading tea leaves. Unsure the degree to which it's possible but I'm looking for help reading the targets and determining most likely points of error in my shooting. I'm struggling to shoot consistent groups and to rein in the flyers.

I seem be able to put 2-3 on or near one another, then the remainder are usually either high but about on horizontally, or high and right. From time to time get one or two a bit left.

To build the position, I lay down directly behind the rifle so that the centerline of the rifle is about directly under my left eye. Place firing hand in the grip of the stock, lift the rifle up (no grip/squeeze) and bring the butt downwards into the shoulder while setting the rear bag. Adjust the bag fore and aft to achieve desired POI (smaller adjustment, macro already achieved with bipod height).

The last target I shot with firing hand further down the grip and trigger finger really low on the trigger, basically brushing the trigger guard. This seems to have improved the on-target result some.

On the fliers, when the shot breaks, I can't tell what's going on. Like I don't observe the reticle on the target where the bullet impacts. With a pistol I immediately can tell when/why I shanked one, but here, they feel good.

The targets:
All shot at 100 yards
Dots are IIRC 5/8", pasters from a Shoot N See
5 shots
Prone off a mat
Each group I completely reset position.
Pictures ordered first to last

Rifle & Gear:
Tikka T3X CTR .223, Left Hand
Mathews Fab adjustable cheek riser
ARC M-Brace high
Burris XTR 5.5 - 30 SCR2 MIL
Accu-Tac PC5 w/Caldwell sling stud to pic rail adapter
Taylor was Here rear bag
Norma Golden Target GTX 69gr

Any insight would be really appreciated.

 

[stello1001]

What are you using for aiming point? Do you have all 3 circles the entire time you're shooting? I use half inch circles. The idea is aim small, shoot small.

 

[748rpilot]

What are you using for aiming point? Do you have all 3 circles the entire time you're shooting? I use half inch circles. The idea is aim small, shoot small.

Center, bottom dot(s), top edge, just about where the void begins.

I used to shoot single dots but thought I'd try a different pattern because I was getting target anxiety with the single small dot, and rushing to break the shot. So just trying something different.

 

[BruceLeroy]

Your target is too big when using 3 dots. Use just one. If you consistently aimed at the same dot we could have a better chance at interpreting it but the dots aren't aligned the same for the whole target so it would be almost impossible to extrapolate any data resembling results from these groups.

ETA: You posted above while I was typing. If the center was the goal then it appears you are looking at finding your cone of fire for the combo you have. Different ammo will likely produce different results. I used to get target panic on small dots as well. I fixed this by decreasing zoom a bit.

 

[Maurygold]

These are pretty acceptable groups for a factory rifle shooting factory ammo.

I see most shooters learning to shoot using way too much input from their trigger hand on the gun. You want zero input into the gun from firing hand other than a trigger squeeze.

 

[supercorndogs]

I can't speak to the ammo, but most all of my factory 223s shot better than that with 26.6 and varget and a decent 55g bullet. Unless there was something wrong with them. Granted this one could just not particularly like the ammo. Are you sure it's you not the rifle? A video of you shooting woukd probably help on the cheap. Some professional instruction might help not on the cheap. Probably best not to start out learning to do everything wrong like a lot of us.

 

[stello1001]

Center, bottom dot(s), top edge, just about where the void begins.

I used to shoot single dots but thought I'd try a different pattern because I was getting target anxiety with the single small dot, and rushing to break the shot. So just trying something different.

Gotcha... might not be the answer you want but if a single small dot was giving you anxiety or creating issues for you, perhaps you could try a somewhat larger square or diamond. You should orientate the square to be like a diamond and shoot top/bottom corner.

 

[ma smith]

Sometimes it helps to shoot a big target, but off the centre...eg shoot on the points not the centre of a big diamond, etc. You will still get good visualization of the groups. and the larger area of refrence helps if your eyes are tired from shooting lots of "small dots" (or the light is crappy, etc).

 

[748rpilot]

The diamond/square targets and holding edge make sense, I'll try that this weekend and see how I fare.

I'm not 100% it's not the gun itself but leaning that direction. Off a bench with shot bags for a front rest, I was able to get groups slightly less than an inch. Not every time, but often enough I don't think they were flukes.

I've been wondering if the interface between the Caldwell slingstud to picrail adapter and the bipod is causing deflection to the left or right. If I use my finger under the rear of the stock, perpendicular, and lift the rifle up, I can move it side to side at the bipod. But the adapter is tight, the bipod is tight on all connections, maybe the foreend is deflecting ? I'll have to take a video to show what I mean.

I'll also try to get pictures or video of me shooting this weekend. I think I'll try to make the Frank & Mark class in OH this year. Gear and ammo add up quick enough that a class seems a good investment.

Thanks guys, like I said, appreciate the insight.