Re: Horizontal Dispersion
Also, another fair and balanced insight. Golly guys, what a swell buncha shooters we all are, eh?
9H, maybe you and I will even raise a glass one day..
No, but seriously, everything you're mentioning is obviously valid and are things I've considered. As I keep shooting and shooting, I find I go round robin back through the fundamentals, touching on the latest "soft spot" or weak link. Basically the errors become smaller and smaller and so where once was a mole hill, now it becomes the next big mountain I need to focus on.
So I've become very aware of how I'm breaking as a result, and I really, truly watch for any displacement possible, both through the reticle and by watching the muzzle (during dry fire). Most telling, when I instruct new shooters in handgun, where I employ a very similar technique, I'll oftentimes lose round count or be using a rental gun I'm unfamiliar with, and when I pull on an empty chamber, it is as rock solid and stable as can be. And I know- there use to be an anticipation there.
Call it anatomy, call it what you will, but it just doesn't torque for me this way. If you try again, with an empty hand, what I describe in the diagrams, you'll see that the finger pad approach is not a straight back motion either- it's impossible for the joints to move straight back. Just visually looking at it I see as much torque if not more than what I'm describing. You might *think* my way has more torquing because of the curling motion, but again, do it with an empty hand and track that part of your finger visually. Anyway...
Here's the thing I've found regarding the fundamentals and round robin- the grip and technique I use not only keep me as steady as when I shoot the other way, it really, truly improves many of the other aspects- it reduces any anticipation because it gives a much more steady grip on the rifle. It reduces recoil for the same reason. It makes shoulder placement substantially better. So even if there is a minute difference in the two methods themselves, it provides me much larger wins across some wider fundamentals, and that's one of the reasons I'm seeing such an improvement in scores. In other words, when I mess up now, I'm very aware it's bad breathing, rushing, or I haven't done proper NPA- and I can usually call it so from a mile away. And when I *do* do my part, I'm always sub MOA @ 600, again, with a bone stock rig, factory ammo, and 10X. And my dispersion when I am off is almost never just in the horizontal. It's usually off in a way that reflects those other factors being off.
Last thing I'll say is to please also remember Lowlight wasn't able to employ the technique I'm advocating. Just moving to the first joint doesn't win you much and I can easily see it detracting - albeit slightly - from scores. Sort of a neither here nor there approach. Props to him for making the vid, no doubt! But to test my method the grip would have had to have been like in my photos, with use of the second joint or first joint-second joint area, etc. Shame, would have been interesting to see it and its affect on scores had it been an option.
But, no matter. By now, we're just getting more and more academic at this point. What should we all be doing? That's right, getting out and shooting more
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