TargetTalk

I am from a small town in texas where shooting sports are not at all popular and am pretty much the only shooter at this level. I shoot a consistant 3p air rifle score of around 287. I shoot with the JROTC program in our high school and last year qualified for 2 national competitions through them. I also qualified for the Junior Olympics last year, but now i am trying to really improve my scores but I really don't have a coach that really understands the shooting world. I was wondering what kind of exercises people do that they think really help them with any certain disiplin of the sport. Any advice is appreciated.
Thanks
Brandon

TenDot ...
At the 2006 National Coach Conference/School we had a session on a series of exercises developed by Amber Darland that were modified by Dan Durban & Sommer Wood.

Here is the link to the handout:
http://vc4hss.com/_2006_Info/2006_US_Sh ... rcises.pdf

jhmartin
thanks for the link i will try those but i was more so looking for training exercises that i would do with the gun that would help me in that way.

TEN DOT wrote:jhmartin
thanks for the link i will try those but i was more so looking for training exercises that i would do with the gun that would help me in that way.

Trying doing holding exercises with the rifle.

What are the holding exercises?

TEN DOT wrote:What are the holding exercises?

The following webpage is one version of a holding exercise.

http://books.google.com/books?id=0uXNTS ... es&f=false

Try some swimming. It helps you get in great physical shape which in turn helps you be able to lower your heart rate when shooting and will greatly improve your scores. I have been swimming for about a year and a half and since then my scores have gone up about 30 points in a small bore full coarse.

Ten Dot:

Dry holding can be done in any position, and is a drill to help your body learn the "feel" of the correct position. You need to get into a comfortable position, relax, let the rifle point where it wants to, and just watch the front sight to see how stable your position is, and how small of movement you have in the front sight. This is done with NO target.

After you think you have the "feel", put up a target and repeat the dry holding session, BUT start with your eyes closed, and open them only after you "feel right". You probably won't be o target, which is OK. just means your NPA needs to be adjusted by slight movements of your position (with eyes closed) until you are on target when you open your eyes. Then continue the hold WATCHING THE FRONT SIGHT to confirm your small movement and the "feel" of the new position.

After several sessions of this, and you are consistently getting a stable position, add trigger operation by dry firing. Watch that the front sight does not change the normal movement pattern you had established.

Next drill is "up/downs". Get into position, establish good feeling position with good NPA, dry fire without disturbing the front sight, get out of position; back into position and dry fire. Repeat.

This shouold keep you busy for quite a while. Report back on progress.

Hi Ten Dot
One of the most useful exercises you can do is dry-firing, but it can get a little boring after a while.
However, another exercise which has similar beneficial results, is to shoot at the back of a target.
For this specific exercise, however, NEVER aim at a bullet hole or other aiming mark. What you are trying to achieve is to develope your trigger pull and follow-through.
By aiming at a blank part of the target back, you are not concerned about holding exactly 'on target' - that comes from other exercises - you are trying to release the trigger without disturbing your aim, and because you are shooting a recoilless air rifle, the bullet hole should appear dead centre in your foresight. When you can't find a part of the target to aim at, without pellet holes, change the target. I repeat, DO NOT aim at a pellet hole, you must use a blank clean part of the target.
Every training session, try shooting 20 or 30 shots like this, before shooting at a normal target. You will see a decrease in the number of shots 'pulled', although I should say you will see an improvement in your trigger pull and follow-through and shots in the middle. (Forget negatives, POSITIVE thoughts always).

Good luck, and don't forget to post your results.

Walter in England