TargetTalk

So what - yawn - lots of smoke, not so much fire. Hammerli took 8 years to sort out the 280, and the SP20 is still not what was promised. Pardini had its shares of flops (remember the GPE?). Walther's SSP is a truly rare piece of work. FWB had problems with their AW93 barrels, Morini with the trigg...

Well, I'm doing my bit here in Canada! I received my MG-2 a couple of weeks ago to replace my Hammerli SP-20 in standard pistol (the .22 slide broke in two, so I'm only using it for .32 now). So far I love it. It is the only one at my club, and yes I'm a little nervous about reliability issues at th...

In terms of exercises, the U.S. Marine Corps pistol training program (for bullseye, not combat!) has proven pretty darned useful for me. It sets a series of specific, practical goals to accomplish one after the other. This is the program that they use to select new members for their pistol team. It'...

I get the same thing. Essentially it means I'm doing the same thing wrong, consistently. Sometimes it is a physical cause (NPA, trigger finger placement, etc.) but very often it's mental. A little anticipation of the shot that causes a micro-twitch of the muscles coming from the subconscious that is...

For me, it seems to hinge on the word "anticipation." If I can stay focused, calm and unworried/positive in my mind while the shot breaks, all is usually good. If I anticipate the shot (usually by trying too hard for any number of reasons) bad things happen. It's definitely a tricky state ...

Spring weight to use is going to vary depending on whether iron sights or a red dot mounted on the slide is used, correct? If a red dot, spring weights needed will be less/lighter than for iron sights, although in either case a heavier spring will be needed for ball ammo.

Just some thoughts. I think this may relate to some of the debate here in terms of hold and accuracy and may help lower-level shooters like myself understand some of the concepts. I see there being two distinct types of movement affecting accuracy. The first type can be illustrated if you stick your...

Me, too. The faster I shoot the higher my score more often than not. I suppose it's a good problem to have, but frustrating. Too much time to think -- and specifically, to anticipate the shot in trying to make it just right. I think I have Carly Simon's "Anticipation" as a theme song when ...

I freely admit that I'm not the greatest shot in the world, but I'm still going to express my opinions on this anyway. I really don't think my stance hurts my shooting. Lots of other stuff, sure, but not that. I personally don't find the 90 degree stance comfortable (I do have a bad back, too), nor ...

My experiments with allowing the subconscious to break the shot also result in a mix of really good shots and really bad flyers. My theory is that most of the flyers are caused by an inadvertant but serious conflict in the goal that I have set for the subconscious to achieve. The goal is to hold the...

The biggest key to shooting is what happens when the shot breaks. There are several types of breaks that a shooter can attempt: 1. The complete surprise break. Neither the conscious or subconscious mind knows when the gun is going to go off. This is usually accomplished by applying the pressure to t...

I think it's important to recognize that the conscious and subconscious are inseparably intertwined in everything you do. There's a tendency to separate the two, and I see that on some of the comments here, but thinking that way is a mistake IMO. Since we are by definition not consciously aware of t...

Hi, Paul! Three of us at the range where I shoot have Hammerli SP-20s; myself and one other the original SP-20, and the third an SP-20 RRS. All three of us shoot the guns for .22 and .32 swapping barrels and receivers. All three of us have had cracked frames (the crack occurs in where the frame is e...

I have used an SP-20 for a few years now (the original, not the RRS). I don't have a Pardini, so cannot compare. The Hammerli has certainly got an excellent basic design with a nice low bore axis, light overall weight due to aluminum/plastic construction but still well-balanced and stable in the han...

Just to set the record somewhat straight, yes we need an ATT (Authorization to Transport) to travel with the guns anywhere, using a reasonably direct route. The long-term ATT normally gives permission to go from home (i.e. the address specified for the gun as registered) to any authorized range and ...

Honestly, they don't even need a majority. A minority in partnership with the NDP will do the trick, since they are even more anti-gun than the Liberals. Although we are trying to fight this, I fear that Canada is going the way of Australia and Great Britain, as usual. I have been proudly Canadian a...

Man, I thought I was weird being bothered by this event while shooting now and again. It's a real relief to see that it's not abnormal! What with having to concentrate on sight picture, hold, emotional control and a smooth suprise break, having your shot process screwed up by some random piece of al...

Are your shots all over, or is there a consistent pattern (like low left or something)?

Well, I did some admittedly rather unscientific testing this morning with my Hammerli and Eley Practice, scoring a diagonal line with a sharp screwdriver deeply into the band of bullets (much deeper than any accidental damage could cause). I then fired sets of five normal and damaged at 25 yards and...

Sorry, guys. I did sound downright "preachy" in my last post, where the reality is that I am making a lot of guesses and am unsure of the facts here. Not enough sleep the past couple of days. I plan to do some testing this weekend and as long as I can get a stable enough platform to get co...