TargetTalk

This is a bit of a puzzler to myself as well as my coach, two weeks ago I was averaging about 93-94 is standing but now I can't even hit 90, I'm averaging as of this week about 84-85 in standing. I don't sway badly and my rifle will fully settle before I start really going after the trigger, however right when the shot is about to break the rifle will start to move in a seemingly unpredictable way. I also seem to have lost the ability to accurately call my shots, e.g. I would have the rifle move to the left during the shot but the actual shot is low right, or the shot will seem to be a weak 9 but in actuality is a 7. It is moving to the point where I shot my first 0 in more than two years today. I've never really experienced this problem before so it has me somewhat stumped.

After thought, I did change barreled actions (my 1913 had roughly 40 misfires while shooting a full course and is not being repaired) but I had shot poorly with the action during the match where it was misfiring. The problem has persisted after the change. I did switch front sights due to needing a larger front sight for my air rifle, could this be a factor? I switched from a 5.1ish front aperture to a 4.8 front aperture (I did bring the sight back enough to properly compensate for it) (my standard barrel has a 10in tube on it).
Am I just over thinking it?
Thoughts?

Edit: Also worth noting, my Air Rifle scores are still the same (the group is tighter but I get occasional flyers)

Obvious first point is to check the guns performance. Shooting it prone should give you the answers assuming you shoot good scores prone. Failing that bench rest it with your batch of ammo to rule out gun or ammo problems.

If the gun is apparently moving lots then you need to work out why. A number of factors come to mind. So poor trigger control - flinching or anticipating the shot. Holding for too long so that you go into the 'wobble zone'. I'd suggest you do some dry firing, looking at follow through and timing. If you can't call your shots then that suggests poor follow through. If you have access to scatt or other e-trainer then that would be useful, failing that get your coach to video you from a few different positions to see if that can identify likely sources of error.

Failing that the other option is go back to basics. Re-build the position from scratch and the technique. Make sure all elements are technically correct before starting shooting for score again.

Rob.

After practicing today I believe the problem was as you described, trigger pull was poor, along with a lot of tension in my shoulders leading to muscle spasms. Standing is going much better now (still a little low but if I concentrate on triggering it works well).

bpscCheney wrote:After practicing today I believe the problem was as you described, trigger pull was poor, along with a lot of tension in my shoulders leading to muscle spasms. Standing is going much better now (still a little low but if I concentrate on triggering it works well).

Good feedback, so that gives you a couple of areas to train. Suggest you build up some training drills where you go through your body - especially the shoulders 'feeling' for tension, and making yourself relax or 'untense'. Likewise for the triggering, do some drills where you really concentrate on getting the triggering right - and just ignore the score, again dry firing is very good for this.

Rob.

You mentioned that the the rifle will fully settle before taking the shot. In my opinion, if you wait for the rifle to fully settle, you will break the shot late. If you break the shot aggressively* AS it settles, you will actually break the shot in the stillest part of your hold. This is due to the slight lag time caused by the nerve signal to travel from your eye to your brain to your finger. It is roughly .3 seconds.
*an agressive shot is not one that is jerked. It is one that is broken with confidence and gusto. A good example would be the trigger control of Abi Bindra. You can see it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjvLBAF60CA
It looks like an uncontrolled jerk, but it isn't. It is just very aggressive and directly to the rear.
Matt

WesternGrizzly wrote:You mentioned that the the rifle will fully settle before taking the shot. In my opinion, if you wait for the rifle to fully settle, you will break the shot late. If you break the shot aggressively* AS it settles, you will actually break the shot in the stillest part of your hold. This is due to the slight lag time caused by the nerve signal to travel from your eye to your brain to your finger. It is roughly .3 seconds.
*an agressive shot is not one that is jerked. It is one that is broken with confidence and gusto. A good example would be the trigger control of Abi Bindra. You can see it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjvLBAF60CA
It looks like an uncontrolled jerk, but it isn't. It is just very aggressive and directly to the rear.
Matt

I experimented with this before I read it but it does seem to work much more consistently, if I trigger before I normally would (about .3ish seconds as you stated) my standing (air rifle) scores hit 98. Who'd a thunk it