I need a better way to practice offhand

IDPA Mike

IDPA Mike

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"Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect."

I shot practice round of off hand , timer and full gear.
I had a group diameter of about 15"
3-x ,4-10's, 11-9's, and 4- 8's -- 22 shots including the 2 sighters.
How do I shrink my diameter closer to the 10 ring.
Thanks, Mike
 
Reduce the bad shots. You know how to shoot good shots, you just need to learn how not to shoot bad shots.

Focus on no 8s.

B
 
Get a book called "ways of the rifle" it is primarily for small bore, but it is the best book in regards to breaking down a rifle position and explaining how to make that position solid.

Second thing I would do is create a rutine and repeat it. Start from a rest, get into position, start aiming, give shot development 2 or 3 breaths max. If you hav fired, make sure to follow through, then return to rest. If you abort after 2 o 3 breaths, start from rest and repeat.

Another thing I always did was try and burn the mental image of the perfect shot in your mind, and focus on that feeling. Remember, if you focus on the positive, there is no room for negative.
 
IDPA Mike said:
Thanks, Mel

- - - Updated - - -



I'ts the massive ammount of 9'shat throw me?
Click to expand...



for me, 9's are usually NPA, or poor trigger control

2 things to work on, passed on to me by one of the better offhand shooters ive ever met


RELAX. if you're not relaxed, you wont shoot a good offhand. concentrate, and start at your neck. relax the muscles, then shoulders, arms, core, and legs. you want to rely on bone support for any position, and if you're using muscles, you're gonna fatigue, and thats gonna cause bad shots

once thats done, relax your mind. you know what a good sight picture is (or at least you know what a 10 looks like). shoot the first 10 you see, and dont spend lots of time trying to pretty it up for X's. a 200-0x beats a 199-19x all day long. focus on that post, and let your position and NPA do the rest

second: ball and dummy. load 5 duds, so that they look JUST like your regular ammo. put 5 duds into your pocket, with your 20 round practice string (no point shooting sighters for practice). load without peeking. you'll catch yourself flinching, im sure....i know i still do. when you "fire" a dud, unload it, and put it back in the pocket. you want to be able to pull the trigger without your mind subconciously trying to compensate for recoil. once your 20 rounds are done, stop. 20-30 well aimed shots can be tiresome, and theres no point in practicing when youre tired/fatigued (again, perfect practice).

if i were you, id make sure i had a data book too. plot your calls (dont look through the scope). if you think you shot a 10 @ 6, mark it down. when you're all done, compare your calls to your actual hits (you wont know which is which, obviously, but you can see if things sorta match up). the added bonus to this? youve now shot a "blind" group. adjust your sights/zero based on the group, and not just the previous shot. if you've got a 6-8MOA hold, clicking 1/2 left and right isnt really helping you.

this WILL help shrink your group....but be aware, it takes TIME. ive been shooting for almost 4 years now, and i'm JUST starting to shoot some decent offhand scores (and i still have a long way to go IMHO)
 
Jasper said:
for me, 9's are usually NPA, or poor trigger control

2 things to work on, passed on to me by one of the better offhand shooters ive ever met


RELAX. if you're not relaxed, you wont shoot a good offhand. concentrate, and start at your neck. relax the muscles, then shoulders, arms, core, and legs. you want to rely on bone support for any position, and if you're using muscles, you're gonna fatigue, and thats gonna cause bad shots

once thats done, relax your mind. you know what a good sight picture is (or at least you know what a 10 looks like). shoot the first 10 you see, and dont spend lots of time trying to pretty it up for X's. a 200-0x beats a 199-19x all day long. focus on that post, and let your position and NPA do the rest

second: ball and dummy. load 5 duds, so that they look JUST like your regular ammo. put 5 duds into your pocket, with your 20 round practice string (no point shooting sighters for practice). load without peeking. you'll catch yourself flinching, im sure....i know i still do. when you "fire" a dud, unload it, and put it back in the pocket. you want to be able to pull the trigger without your mind subconciously trying to compensate for recoil. once your 20 rounds are done, stop. 20-30 well aimed shots can be tiresome, and theres no point in practicing when youre tired/fatigued (again, perfect practice).

if i were you, id make sure i had a data book too. plot your calls (dont look through the scope). if you think you shot a 10 @ 6, mark it down. when you're all done, compare your calls to your actual hits (you wont know which is which, obviously, but you can see if things sorta match up). the added bonus to this? youve now shot a "blind" group. adjust your sights/zero based on the group, and not just the previous shot. if you've got a 6-8MOA hold, clicking 1/2 left and right isnt really helping you.

this WILL help shrink your group....but be aware, it takes TIME. ive been shooting for almost 4 years now, and i'm JUST starting to shoot some decent offhand scores (and i still have a long way to go IMHO)
Click to expand...

Thanks Jeff.
I have a club competition tomorroww at MRA. No pullers, just soot the 22 shots and use the spotting scope.
Much different than Reading / Nashua.
 
IDPA Mike said:
Thanks Jeff.
I have a club competition tomorroww at MRA. No pullers, just soot the 22 shots and use the spotting scope.
Much different than Reading / Nashua.
Click to expand...

I willing to bet you will shoot a better score at that match. Don't use a scope. You will be concentrating exclusively on making good shots.
When you have a target pulled for every shot, sometimes it's hard not to get hung up on that last 8 you shot. Then you start counting in your head and keeping score. Not good. Your focus should be on the shot you are taking right now, not the last one.
 
PatMcD said:
I willing to bet you will shoot a better score at that match. Don't use a scope. You will be concentrating exclusively on making good shots.
When you have a target pulled for every shot, sometimes it's hard not to get hung up on that last 8 you shot. Then you start counting in your head and keeping score. Not good. Your focus should be on the shot you are taking right now, not the last one.
Click to expand...

This....this happened to my last trip to reading. I had mixed bag brass and 69 gn bullets I never shot out of my rifle for the short course, which was on my mind the whole day. My 75gn hornady loads for 600 where fine. But my below my average scores at 200 and 300 bled over to 600. I tossed a few rounds out to the right snagging a 7 and a 6. This got to me. My sighters where a 9 and 10 at 6 oc. I should have just stayed on top of that and plugged away.....I didn't and it showed....that also followed last weekend shooting my garand. @ 100 this rifle shoots minute of 8 ring.....I lost focus and shot shotgun patterns! Loss of concertration is my big obsticlealong with lack of practice
 
Last edited:
like when the front sight is not crisp and struggling to hold your breath.....why cant I just stop and take a breath!!!! no i gotta yank the trigger
 
PatMcD said:
I willing to bet you will shoot a better score at that match. Don't use a scope. You will be concentrating exclusively on making good shots.
When you have a target pulled for every shot, sometimes it's hard not to get hung up on that last 8 you shot. Then you start counting in your head and keeping score. Not good. Your focus should be on the shot you are taking right now, not the last one.
Click to expand...


I shot a 184 .
Small group of shooters, but I m still happy with 2nd place, Silver medal.

View attachment 38314
 
dry firing drills help. I had a miserable time at the range last week and it was bothering me all week. shot consistently low and just terrible overall. Went to the range last night and took my time but tried dry firing drills first and realize that I drop my arms in anticipation of the shot....kept at it and when I stayed on target out came the boolets.......worked out very well and now I can go out of town as planned and focus on my business objectives
 
Jasper said:
for me, 9's are usually NPA, or poor trigger control

2 things to work on, passed on to me by one of the better offhand shooters ive ever met


RELAX. if you're not relaxed, you wont shoot a good offhand. concentrate, and start at your neck. relax the muscles, then shoulders, arms, core, and legs. you want to rely on bone support for any position, and if you're using muscles, you're gonna fatigue, and thats gonna cause bad shots

once thats done, relax your mind. you know what a good sight picture is (or at least you know what a 10 looks like). shoot the first 10 you see, and dont spend lots of time trying to pretty it up for X's. a 200-0x beats a 199-19x all day long. focus on that post, and let your position and NPA do the rest

second: ball and dummy. load 5 duds, so that they look JUST like your regular ammo. put 5 duds into your pocket, with your 20 round practice string (no point shooting sighters for practice). load without peeking. you'll catch yourself flinching, im sure....i know i still do. when you "fire" a dud, unload it, and put it back in the pocket. you want to be able to pull the trigger without your mind subconciously trying to compensate for recoil. once your 20 rounds are done, stop. 20-30 well aimed shots can be tiresome, and theres no point in practicing when youre tired/fatigued (again, perfect practice).

if i were you, id make sure i had a data book too. plot your calls (dont look through the scope). if you think you shot a 10 @ 6, mark it down. when you're all done, compare your calls to your actual hits (you wont know which is which, obviously, but you can see if things sorta match up). the added bonus to this? youve now shot a "blind" group. adjust your sights/zero based on the group, and not just the previous shot. if you've got a 6-8MOA hold, clicking 1/2 left and right isnt really helping you.

this WILL help shrink your group....but be aware, it takes TIME. ive been shooting for almost 4 years now, and i'm JUST starting to shoot some decent offhand scores (and i still have a long way to go IMHO)
Click to expand...

When I do dry fire drills, should I put on my shooting coat?
I have never done much dry fire. Should I sight it in and try as if firing on target all suited up, or is it OK to practice just sighting and trigger control?

I am going to try sighting out my window for practice."out of sight of prying eyes"
Someone mentioned using a scope, to exaggerate my movement . Any thoughts?
 
I think it is best to practice the same way you are going to shoot. So if you are going to do try fire, hang a piece of paper on the wall and put a dot on it to use as an aiming point. I have dry fired a complete match, using a similar method.

One of my previous coaches told me of a truck of using a pencil, and make like you are pulling the trigger with your hand. Lay the pencil across the top of your hand and pull it strait back.
 
personally I find dry firing tedious. I seem to shoot a lot more 10's dry firing, no matter how honest my call.

problem with dryfiring, is you subconciously know there wont be a bang, no recoil, and no environmental effects. I shoot smallbore (CLE 22lr upper) in the winter, and even that has become tedious at times. does it force follow through? absolutely, but I also lose all sense of recoil (rimfire recoil in a 15lb rifle might as well be dry firing)

ball and dummy is dry firing with live ammo, in a sense. you still shoot a real practice, with your regular rifle, and your regular ammo...but you add surprise dry firing into the mix as well. it'll help cure a flinch, which is (IMHO) the biggest thing that plagues all of us from time to time.

as for dry firing, yes, wear your coat. and your glove, and whatever else you wear while you're shooting. the one thing that dryfiring REALLY helps with is perfecting your position, and pre-shot routine. the way you load the rifle, mount it in your shoulder, and roll your arm into your chest should ALWAYS be consistent. one thing I will say, dryfire in an area with plenty of light. you can screw up head position BIGTIME when its dark(er) in a room, because it becomes really difficult to see whether or not the post is centered in the rear aperature.
 
When my son was with the AMU they would shoot a "blind" off hand...what this means is, shoot 20 shoots, plot your calls...and no spotting scope. When done go and look at the target, compare it to your plot. These method will do several things...it will establish your true zero (you will be amazed at where your shots are compared to your calls) and your focus will be to break shots. Add in the ball and dummy as Jasper says and you have a great training routine.
 
Jasper said:
personally I find dry firing tedious. I seem to shoot a lot more 10's dry firing, no matter how honest my call.

problem with dryfiring, is you subconciously know there wont be a bang, no recoil, and no environmental effects. I shoot smallbore (CLE 22lr upper) in the winter, and even that has become tedious at times. does it force follow through? absolutely, but I also lose all sense of recoil (rimfire recoil in a 15lb rifle might as well be dry firing)

ball and dummy is dry firing with live ammo, in a sense. you still shoot a real practice, with your regular rifle, and your regular ammo...but you add surprise dry firing into the mix as well. it'll help cure a flinch, which is (IMHO) the biggest thing that plagues all of us from time to time.

as for dry firing, yes, wear your coat. and your glove, and whatever else you wear while you're shooting. the one thing that dryfiring REALLY helps with is perfecting your position, and pre-shot routine. the way you load the rifle, mount it in your shoulder, and roll your arm into your chest should ALWAYS be consistent. one thing I will say, dryfire in an area with plenty of light. you can screw up head position BIGTIME when its dark(er) in a room, because it becomes really difficult to see whether or not the post is centered in the rear aperature.
Click to expand...

I'm in agreement with everything Jeff has said here.
Dry firing is good for only so much.
Firing a .22 upper is good for only so much.
But by all means, do them.

Live firing (.223) is really the only thing that is going to really get your scores up. I'm going to try the ball and dummy routine sometime. Sometimes my .22 upper does it's own b-n-d routine when I put pressure on the magazine a certain way and it doesn't feed. Really shows up any flinch or anticipation.
 

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