TargetTalk

A prone dilemma...

Let´s say you shoot a numer of "good" shots (say a tight 99 or 100p).
Then you rest, just putting down the buttplate from the shoulder. When you continue, you check the zero point etc, everything feels perfect and you feel good to go.
And you get a flyer (sub 9,5 or so) in the first shot. And after that, you are back in the 10 for the following 9 shots, without doing any changes to the position, without adjusting the rear sight or anything.

I have tried to understand why this happens. Has anyone experienced the same thing and found a solution to this problem?

I personally suspect it has to do with eiter the buttplate position or the head position on the chiek piece. I just can't understand why it only affects the first shot, and not the following?

Could it be that the barrel has cooled slightly?
The rifle I use always takes a shot or two to warm up and start grouping consistently.

Havn't thought of that before... Interesting idea. But still, if you rest for one minute with the bolt closed... Can the barrel really cool down that much?

BGC,

Yes, the barrel can cool that much. Heat transfer and a metal rod in still air is a funny thing. When the first shot goes arwy is it always in the same place or does it move around a bit?

'Dude

It moves around, but it´s usually in the upper half of the target, that makes sense if the barrel has cooled down.
So... Do you shade that first shot or...??

If it moves around it is more likely something you are doing. Cheek not in the same spot on the cheekpiece perhaps?

Most often a barrel that is thermally unstable the shots will always pull in the same direction. Now, if cooling is the problem shading is not going to help. The barrel will cool at a different rate depending on the outside air temperature and wind conditions. (cools faster on a breezy cool day than a still warm day) so it is very hard to predict when to start shading and by how much.

Some guns with thermal stress problems it is the bedding of the action to the stock that is not right other times it is the barrel itself. Bedding can be upgraded by glass or pillar bedding while barrels with thermal stress problems can be sometimes be fixed by cryogenic stress relief treatment. That is the lower cost option to getting a new barrel but if stress relief does not work barrel replacement is ususally the next option.

'Dude

PS, Before I got to spending too much money I would try to get the same general behavior from the rifle off the bench using a telescopic sight. If ti does it then, then you know it is not something in your position.

Try dry firing the first shot after you resettle, then put in a shot, see if it is just a settling in problem.

Could just be first trigger pull is a little twitchier after a rest...

Thanks all

Now I have some different things to test :)

/ BGC

It's more than likely a mental thing; because you expect it to happen, it does. I sometimes take a break of 5 mins or more and it has no effect on the shot position. That said, I'm sure all barrels will differ slightly with their sensitivity to heat changes.

Rob.

how does your inner position feel in comparison to when you stopped... ie what made you stop? It suggests there is a difference between when you stopped and started, which could lead you to think about what could be happening.

What happens if you take a dry shot?

robf: I rest because my left hand starts to get numb (which also affects the mental game a little).

I was thinking in the same ways as you, RobStubbs and mangusta - perhaps it is more of a mental issue: when I continue the match - I'm not really "there" at the first shot.

So - last night at a local competition, in order to get back into the zone before I take that first shot, I dry fired and double checked my inner position. And that actually solved the problem, scoring only 10's after resting. (And I won with 592 :)

Thanks again guys!

Great to hear it helped, I had a similarproblem with an intermittent trigger twitch that took me a loong time to sort out!!

BGC wrote:robf: I rest because my left hand starts to get numb (which also affects the mental game a little).

I was thinking in the same ways as you, RobStubbs and mangusta - perhaps it is more of a mental issue: when I continue the match - I'm not really "there" at the first shot.

So - last night at a local competition, in order to get back into the zone before I take that first shot, I dry fired and double checked my inner position. And that actually solved the problem, scoring only 10's after resting. (And I won with 592 :)

Thanks again guys!

Glad it helped, now, how can I get to shoot 592 in prone ? ;)

Rob.

Practice!

(With apologies to Carnegie Hall)