By best group ever in 10mtrs air rifle

[fantumfan2003]

Need to do better.
Any tips, help most welcome and needed



M.

[sagar]

Nice Going sir. . .

[to_saptarshi]

What rifle are you using a peep one or open sight ? your sway seems to be horizontal and shot are placing right . Check your butt length,( LOP) and height and also how you are pulling the trigger.

[babawalter]

good grouping sir.
Pick same weight and same shape pellets from tin .and try it again, because all pellets are not in same size or weight.try to pick some best pellets from tin and try again.
Thanx
Baba

[fantumfan2003]

This is 10mtr opensight using the club IHP Model 25. The LOP seems fine. Can you please elaborate on the height part ? I did suspect trigger pull. I can make it out in two of the shots.

Can you give any suggestions on physical training. I am slightly built and I feel I will need to do some weight training to be comfortably lifting the heavier ISSF rifles go in to the future....

M.


M.

What rifle are you using a peep one or open sight ? your sway seems to be horizontal and shot are placing right . Check your butt length,( LOP) and height and also how you are pulling the trigger.

[fantumfan2003]

Improving my shooting....still need to work on the trigger pull and holding but something worth sharing..

About 12 shots in the green area



M.

[brihacharan]

[quote="fantumfan2003"]Need to do better.
Any tips, help most welcome and needed

Hi there M,
> Having seen the 'groupings' you have managed - here are a few tips that could perhaps help you in getting tighter groups in the future. these suggestins are not numerically sequential, but all the same worth taking note of....
* SIGHTS
Ensure that the alignment of your gun's sights (front & rear) are in line - a simple test is to tie a thread on to the front sight (post / leaf) and pull it upto the notch 'V' or 'U' of the rear sight. This should be in a straight line - any deviation even 1/2mm to 1mm will alter the flight of the pellet & cause deviation. The screws for windage & elevation have to be adjusted to get the right alignment.
* PELLET
All air rifles even if they are made by the same company & belonging to the same batch, perform differently - this an inexplicable idiocyncracy - agreed upon by the high priests of air rifling across the world. Also different pellets such as Round Heads, Pointed, Wadcutters & Hollows perform differently when fired from the same gun. So choose the one that gives consistant groups and settle for it. Also Indian made pellets have bad configuration - the size & contour ratio between the top of the diablo & the bottom flare resulting in deviation in the pellets flight path. The top of the pellet often does not sit perfectly to take advantage of the rifling of the barrel - causing the pellet to 'hop' within the barrel before it exits.
* HOLD
It is important to ensure a proper hold of the air rifle so that its weight is evenly distributed between its resting points - pistol grip & fore-end grip while shooting. The 'Artillery Hold' is often the best - see videos on youtube that demonstarates this.
* LENGTH of PULL
This also affects the trigger release to a certain extent - that's why match rifles are provided with adjustable LOPs at the guns' butt end. If the LOP in your gun is a shade long, then cutting the butt end by a centimetre or two may help - if its short then adding an extra pad to suit one's need would help.
* CHEEK REST
Always rest your cheek on the butt to give a vertical downward (gentle)pressure - meaning rest gently - more often than not we tend to exert a lateral pressure depending on one is right handed or left. This results in slanting of the barrel & moving it away from the bulls eye of the target.
* BREATHING
Breath control is vital - take a deep breath while aiming - release half of it to allow the body muscles to settle & relax a bit & help concentration / focus on the target - it also helps to steady the barrel & gently "SQUEEZE" the trigger - "DO NOT PULL" the trigger - it gives a jerk - bad for the aim.
* DELAY HOLD AFTER SHOOTING
Surprisingly it works, because if you lift the barrel / gun after shooting immediately the flight path of the pellet gets altered - pellets travel on a higher trajectory - the reverse happens if you lower the barrel immediately after shooting. Hence hold the weapon on target for a fraction of a second - this is peculiar to AIR GUNS / RIFLES only. This is due to the lower velocity of the pellet (mainly subsonic)as compared to powder fired cartridges whose velocity is above that of sound.
* BODY FITNESS
Keep your shoulder / arms & hip muscles strong by light exercises - push-ups / stretching / pull-ups etc will help. Gives you the strength to maintain a proper & steady hold while aiming.
* OTHERS
1. Excess vibration due to mis-matched seal / spring / rear guide / top hat & piston dia
2. Too much lubricant in the power plant / barrel cause dieseling
3. Wrong bedding alignment between receiver & comb (stock)
4. Loose screws that hold the receiver to the gun stock cause vibration (check tightness after 50 to 100 shots)

> Well I do hope these steps help in bettering your grouping - Good Luck.
Cheers
Brihacharan

[ckkalyan]

Wow! Lots of information, well thought out points brihacharan - Kudos!

[dev]

Manish,

I think you have the perfect build for air rifle. Work on the left hand elbow, glueing into your rib cage. Once you have this fulcrum right you won't feel the weight of the rifle. If you do weights do more endurance work, low weight and about 15 reps minimum per set.

Most if ISSF shooting is about repeating everything the same like a robot . It just bores me to death but since there is no other shooting sport bwhat to do.

Regards,

Dev

[fantumfan2003]

Brihacharan,

Many Thanks for the tips. Very useful indeed.

Dev,

I have suffered back problems and have to be careful about not lifting heavy weights and should not bend forward.

I need to move forward with that in mind....

The backup plan is always 10mtr air pistol

M.