TargetTalk

At what age do you start having the kids move their sights? We use to teach that if you were shooting off then your npa was wrong. Have one kid and parent that swears its the sights. Can put it on the bench and shoot 10's all day.

well shooting from a bench and shooting from the shoulder can produce different results. that's also why you need to sight in every time you get down into position (theoretically it shouldn't happen if you're in the perfect position all the time, but for practical purposes there will always be a little inconsistency). i would suggest if you don't feel comfortable allowing that child and parent moving the sights, then supervise a bit of the shooting. by watching the kid through the scope you can usually tell if it's the kid or the gun. i mean if they shoot 3 or 4 groups and they're consistently to the right, then you move the sights. while you move them explain what you're doing and why. if it's sporadic shooting, then explain to the kid they need to be a little more patient and that their hold will tighten up with practice.

If all that mattered in setting the sights was being sure you got only 10s when the gun was locked down on a bench, they could have done that at the factory. The reason they don't is that people and benches behave differently.

The most important missing information is a description of what kind of group is the kid producing and whether it's consistent from one string to the next. If it's all over the paper or a tight group that moves, it's not the sights, it's the technique.

But if he's got a tight group, just not where it should be, and you're not aware of some other problem with technique that could explain it, I'd move the sights the appropriate number of clicks to center his group and see what happens.

I get youngsters to move their sights as early as possible. Heck they can always be moved back again.

IMO too many people are scared of the sights and don't learn how to adjust them. Training is the time to try and rectify errors but if a person is consistently erroring in a match then move the sights accordingly to maximise the score.

I would personally encourage everyone to move their sights to actually learn how much difference say 5 clicks make.

Rob.

thats the whole problem the kids are all over the place. I am talking about 9-10 year old just begining. He shoots a 10 on shot then a 3 oclock 4 then a 12 oclock something else. How do you move the sights for that?

jake wrote:thats the whole problem the kids are all over the place. I am talking about 9-10 year old just begining. He shoots a 10 on shot then a 3 oclock 4 then a 12 oclock something else. How do you move the sights for that?

If they want to mess with the sights let them. Like you say it probably isn't but what's the harm ? It might also keep them happy in that you're listening to them and letting them experiment rather than just tell them no or that that's not the problem.

Rob.

If the shots are all over the target and it looks like Swiss Cheese, I would recommend using a lighter rifle or use a support. Hitting everything but the target works very frustrating and demotivates. Also, if the rifle is to havy physical problems can occur (back injury a.o).
I would work on position and balance first (in a playfull manner).

Albert B
(The Netherlands)

All of my shooters fire off of a bench the first few times.

Day 1) I let them fire on a CMP BMC target and tell them I want them to learn only 2 things .... that the sight picture looks like and what a match gun trigger feels like (even an 888 trigger is nicer than the WalMart guns kids have shot before). I have them shoot about 20 shots so they tear a nice hole somewhere on the target, and then explain to them we're looking for group size, not what the score is.

Day 2) Now I really dork up the sights for them .... at least 1-1/2" off in each direction. 3-5 shot groups adjusting only one direction until centered, and then the other so they see that adjusting the height and windage does move the groups.

When I get them started in positions, I tell them I don't care whose gun it is, when they are shooting it, they own the sights .... It's up to the next shooter (who is most probably more experienced than them) to re-zero the rifle for themselves.

I use the USAS/4-H Passport program and learning the sight adjustment is part of the 1st pin awarded .... the basic pin.

I also have some very good sporter shooters, both lefties, and righties. I like to put a lefty on the line and fire a group in prone .... nice and tight 5 shots. Then put the righty up ... same gun, but no sight adjustment .... another 5 shots .... more often than not there is about a 1/2" difference in the group location ..... this is very good to show the kids that another shooter cannot zero your rifle.

JHM, can you inform me (for our junior training) what the contents of the USAS/4-H Passport program is?

Thanks,
Albert B
(The Netherlands)

Go Here:
http://www.4-hshootingsports.org/instru ... ources.htm

And scroll down to the link near the bottom labeled:
"4-H Passport Shooting Qualification Program"
and you can download the PDF file.

While not much, my younger kids work hard for these simple pins. (~$3.00 ea)
CMP also has some simple achievement pins that are $1.00 each.