Update-Group I shot today

[Vikram]

Gents,

I am slowly,painfully slowly, getting used to shoot the HW77. To be honest, I am not very conversant with shooting with scopes.Most of my shooting was with open sights. This group was shot at about 30 yards in a medium breeze. The group is slightly less than an inch.Pellets used are Field and Trophy (H&N).




Not having shot a quality air rifle as this one earlier,I am thrilled.


I am slowly working up not being able to shoot no more than 5-10 shots a day.

For the record, the target was fixed on a sandbag with a stop of wooden planks and then a concrete wall behind it.Shooter invisible,50 feet away from a road,the next house over 80 yards away.

Any suggestions gentlemen?Thanks.

Best-
Vikram

[Mack The Knife]

Hi Vikram,

You don't say whether the group was shot bench-rested, free-standing, etc. Either way the groups are good but must get better if they are being shot from a bench, prone or sitting position.

I think you are doing the right thing by not shooting one pellet after another just for the heck of it. Practice does not make perfect but correct practice does.

Since I don't know what you are doing wrong or right, herewith a few general pointers.

1) Be CONSISTENT! This applies to the stance, the hold, the breathing, the trigger release, the follow through....everything. As a matter of fact this applies to all shooting disciplines.

2) A spring-piston rifle is hold sensitive. In other words, if you change the place or pressure of the hold points it will change the point of impact. Impact point can even change from stance to stance. Never rest a 'springer' on a hard surface whilst shooting as the rifle will most definitely jump and print a different point of impact.

3) Get into the habit of letting off the shot within 5 to 6 seconds. I usually try and do it within three secnds now and the results are very encouraging. For pure target shooting you may want to take a little more time but try not to exceed 6 seconds.

4) Your leading hand should only support the fore-end and so you need not hold it tight. The pistol grip on the other hand should also be held with gentle to moderate pressure and the thumb pointing somewhere between 10 and 12 o'clock. Try and squeeze the trigger blade between the trigger finger and thumb. Don't try for a concious release. Just squeeze the trigger back in a straight line and let the shot be a surprise.

5) Allow the rifle to recoil straight back - this why the grip on a 'springer' is light.

Can't think of anything else at the moment except to repeat that PROPER PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT.

Mack The Knife

[Sujay]

Did you notice the direction of the breeze ?

Check your mail....

[eljefe]

ITS PPPPPPPP
proper prior practice and preparation prevents p*ss poor performance
Best
Axx

[mundaire]

Vikram,

There are save & print target images posted on the downloads section here - you might want to use one of them next time... Nice grouping though...

'Best

Abhijeet

[Sakobav]

Vikram

Good going and beginning..

Have fun

[Vikram]

Thanks a lot Mack The Knife for the great suggestions.They make a lot of sense and very helpful.Thanks every one for the good words.Must say,I am discovering a whole new sport.Right from childhood I had an air gun and been plinking endlessly but,never with a serious toy like this.I am realising that there is a lot to air gunning.Been able to shoot about 13-15 shots today.These are the groups.

The first one, two separate groups.



The second one 5 shots.



All shot with me seated in a chair with my hands resting on the table.Keep your suggestions coming please.
Best-
Vikram

Pee Yess: You see that I am still using my shabby hand drawn targets.Couldn't print some so far.

[Mack The Knife]

Vikram,

Hand drawn targets are fine because very often those printed one's are just a waste of printer ink.

Herewith, three suggestions for you:

1) Learn how your trigger releases. Get upto a couple of metres of the backstop and then shoot each shot with your eyes closed. No need for a target. This will totally concentrate your mind on the trigger release alone. Just make sure there is an absorbent material in front of the backstop as you don't want the pellet smacking you. You could also keep your eyes open, provided you 'aim' at a blank surface. Personally I would prefer you try the latter method.

2) Stop drawing a cross-hair. Instead, just draw and colour a 1" diameter crcle with a bright colour.

3) Now that you have zeroed your scope and know that the rifle and pellet combination works, it's time to start shooting freehand, i.e. standing.

The reason for points 2 and 3 is that you are not practising to be a bench rest shooter but a field shooter instead and you have to build your confidence first.

Start at 5 or 10 yards and then progressively increase the range by 5 to 10 yard increments only after you can consistently group your shots within an inch. Do not linger too long on the target - cross-hair type targets tend to make you do just that.

Don't bother zeroing your scope for each range. We are interested in groups rather than hitting the bull at this stage.

Mack The Knife