TargetTalk

Hey everybody!

I just started shooting precision air rifle about 4-5 months ago, and I am having some problems with sway. I am shooting scores from 95-99, and the only movement is coming from side to side. I am using a Walther LG300XT aluminum, and the only extra attachments on it are some sight risers (no barrel weights or other weights). The rifle was loosely fit to me by the gunsmith at Champion's Choice. Fast replies would be greatly appreciated because I am going to the US Army Marksmanship Unit's CHampion of Champions match later this week.

Thank You!

Sorry, I forgot to mention that it was in standing.

How does the movement start? (to the right or left) from where in your body? from what point in your shot routine?
Where does the barrel sit in relation to your feet? heel/center/toe
What does your stance look like?
Is your head tilted or straight on the cheek piece?
How does the angle of the gun look like? angled left/no angle/right
Is your hip rotated (open to the target)?
NPA
Path of the muzzle to the target.

You don't actually have to respond to all of this (it will probably be a novel) but if you really think during your next practice about these points (one at a time) you might figure it out yourself. I did not put them in any special order, either one or several can be the problem. There are are more things that can influence balance but I think you have enough to start with!

If you can (or have done before), ask someone to take some pictures of you in position from all possible angles. Upload them here or look at them yourself, you never know what you find, it might be obvious when you see yourself from the outside. You can also draw a plumb line from the barrel to see where it sits over the feet, see angles of your body parts and lots of other interesting things.

As you might have noticed by now, there are plenty of things in play here and it is really hard for anyone who haven't seen you in position (or in action) to give you a good answer, especially if you want an individualized one. Think it through and come back and we can take it from there.

EJ

As EJ said, balance is the thing to make sure you are aware of.

Often body sway comes from having your head tilted slightly to the right (or left if left handed shooter). A slight forward tilt is ok, but best if you can get rid of it through use of risers.

Try standing in position, without the rifle or shooting clothing, but with your eyes closed and see if you begin to sway. If so, note the position of your head. Looking in a mirror level your eyes (or ears if easier to see) and repeat the eyse closed drill. If your position remains steady longer, you've found a good starting point for training.

Use of a balance board can also be beneficial, after finding the root cause.

from what I read in "ways of the rifle", it said somewhere that there will always be some sway, but it is up to you to determine whether or not that sway is at a manageable minimum.

One way to reduce sway would be to practice some balancing exercises; which can be done before practice. ex. while standing on one leg with both eyes closed, attempt to balance yourself on a balance board(if you have one lying around somewhere). there are many others which can be looked up online.

hope this helps!

One mistake a lot of shooters make is not releasing the muscles they use when they are trying to find their point of balance. Using muscles to steady one's body is not a problem, but once you find your point of balance, you need to make a mental effort to let go. That will produce the most balanced, steady position possible.

Adding to that, make sure you are letting the shot happen, not making it happen. This is easy enough with trigger control, but how good is your NPA? If you are not perfectly centered on the target when you settle and look through the sights, then there's room for improvement.

Making changes this close to a competition will be detrimental to performance and really should be left until afterwards. Best of luck at USAMU.

Thanks for all of the replies!

I don't have any good pictures of me in position.

My NPA is not really in the center of the target for every shot, it just seems that it is above about an inch. I really need to work on consistency because my npa is almost never in the same spot.

As for trigger control, I am trying to get it to where I can just "let go", but i just can't seem to get my body to do that.

I know this sounds simplistic, but try saying to yourself "stand still".

If your NPA is high, you might want to move your buttplate down a little bit...but I agree with the other poster that it's a bit close to your competition.

I know it is too late to beat the time for Champ of Champs as I am at Ft Benning for pistol shooting. I do not know anything about rifle shooting and very little about pistol shooting. I found this link that possibly may offer a bit of help--http://www.tra.org.au/coaching/Standing%20Sway.pdf

Best of luck the next two days shooting your 3x40.

Come see us in the woods.
Jack

Okay, I just got back and thought I would update you guys ;) . I shot two new competition personal records (564/600 and a 569/600). I think I may have found my problem with sway. Right before the competition, I tried turning by back foot a little more parallel to my front foot and it seemed to work pretty well and my groups were much tighter. Now I am noticing that I seem to be jerking the trigger and need to work on trigger squeeze. Are there any good drills for improving trigger squeeze?