TargetTalk

Hi All, so far this forum has been awesome, apologies for all my newbie, returned to shooting after 20years, questions ;-)

So I have all the right equipment and lots of enthusiasm and a reasonable amount of talent (regularily around the 95 to 98 mark) but I know I am doing a whole bunch of stuff wrong and need to get some basic / intermediate coaching to help me focus on the really important points both with position and mental focus.

Sorry forgot to mention I am shooting .22 prone 25yrd and eventually 50m

Looking for suggestions around good coaches out there who can help with setup of gun, sights, canting, jacket, high position low position etc etc.

If anyone knows good coaches please can you post or PM me with the details

Cheers
Timmer

Tim,

as a starting point I'd ask at your club. Are any members there qualified NSRA club instructors or club coaches? If not then maybe ask for club secretary or match secretary who your county captain is, as they are likely to know of any in the county.

It may also be worthwhile attending the NSRA Club Instructor course, this is usually a weeekend-long event, and gives invaluable information about how the shooting position works, and techniques. You can attend if you aren't an NSRA member, but you only get the knowledge not the qualification.

You should also think of reading. The Ways of The Rifle is considered the best technical book. It is written by a top German coach with input from Olympic-level shooters. David Parishes books are good, if less technical (and with fewer photos); David was a British international shooter many years ago, and four times British champion, and later a coach and ISSF official.

Tim

Knowing which bit of the UK you are in would also help. Some of the Regions are very active, others less so. All of the Regional Squads are set up around a set of coaches, and are often actually the best way to find the best coaches within a reasonable distance.

Alan

I'm based in Gloucestershire :-)

Hi

I am based in Worcester and shoot at Bromyard Rifle Club.
I am afraid coaches are a bit thin on the ground in this area. There is meant to be a West Midlands training squad starting soon but I have not heard anything about it yet.
I have come to the conclusion I will need to travel out the area for coaching maybe even down to Bisley.

H

Thanks H and all,

I think you are right, might make some enquiries at Bisley... Any recommendations if I went there ?

At Bisley I think only Robin Taylor (?) does rifle coaching but I could be wrong. As Tim says your best starting point is your club and then your county association. The NSRA actually listed a large number of active coaches across the regions in the rifleman a couple of years back so see if anyone has access to that. Failing that drop Dave Froggett at the NSRA an email as he may well know. There is certainly a midlands rifle squad in operation, I just don't know their contact details etc :(

Rob.

NSRA David Froggett is the guy that organises coaches and coaching etc he is the guy to talk to at Bisley. He will also know of any coaches in your area.

I had an email today about the West Midlands training squad they are just getting underway. The training is at Aldersley range in Wolverhampton. I know it's not that close for you though. If you are interested drop me a pm and I will give you the contact details.

H

I would highly recommend doing the NSRA smallbore club instructor course at Bisley. It is a two day course. Everything you learn on the course can equally well be applied to your own shooting technique as well as the primary goal of instructing new members at your club. On my course they started by getting each person in turn to adopt their normal shooting position and then as a group to analyse this and offer suggestions for improvement & discuss such things as low v high position. You do not need any previous coaching/instructing experience or even be a particularly high scorer, just go with an open mind, listen to and follow their advise.

It would probably mean you having to stay locally whilst doing the course. You could even stay on the Bisley campus.

The other great thing that our county do, is to organise training sessions with Mike Babb, Olympic finalist. It will cost you £40-£50 for a one hour one on one session, but you spend the whole day with him, watching as each shooter has his session. Using a laser electronic training aid (like Scatt but better, can't recall the name) every part of your technique can be watched and analysed by mike, with help and advise given to correct errors & improve.

For example, the first thing Mike did with me, was to look at my position & then let my sling out by one hole. What an improvement! Just this simple act made my position feel so much more comfortable. Next it was noticed that I came up into the aim erratically each time & never from the same place, however once I had acquired the target, holding it was superb (Mike's words not mine) all this was shown on the electronic trainer. So we then practiced coming up into the aim & target acquisition to get it in one smooth single movement that could be repeated shot after shot. Armed with this new wisdom over the next few weeks, my average improved by 2 points.

Would suggest you contact the chairman at Surrey County smallbore Rifle Association for further details. You may be able to get your county to organise a Mike Babb coaching weekend.

There are few good books to read, Smallbore Rifle shooting a practical guide. Get it on Amazon for £10.34.

Ways of the Rifle by Mec, although this is a heavy read & also expensive.

And finally a free book. It was originally a paper book, now out of print but the author allows copies of it to be distributed providing it is done free of charge. They are just pdf files, so I have made a simple html front page to help navigate. When I get round to it, will do a ebub version.

http://www.njttechnical.co.uk/p2w/


hope all of the above helps.

Mike uses a Noptel electronic training system for live fire.