TargetTalk

My scores, never very good, have been really bad of late. Last night whilst shooting a truly disastrous match card I noticed a lot of uncontrollable barrel wobble up to and including the trigger release. Out of desperation and for no obvious reason, I then shot a practice card without a glove, but altering nothing else, and immediately the barrel was a good deal steadier. Twenty shots or so produced no more discomfort than with a glove, though I do have an off-set hand stop that I'm sure helps. The overall score was much improved, but then I would expect that on a practice card where the pressure is off the shooter. The real point was the increased confidence from the lack of barrel wobble. Standard length Anschutz 1813 barrel, by the way, and no additional length from a sight extension to increase the natural wobble factor. Is there any reason for what I experienced? Does the fore end naturally sit better on the bare hand than on a glove or was it match nerves that caused the original wobble? Should I continue with the experiment? Advice gratefully received. I should add that in both cases the fore end rested correctly on the fleshy part where the base of the thumb joins the palm. I should also add that I then shot another practice card with a different glove on (top grip on the palm instead of plastic, both gloves being Kurt Thune) and with the sling tightened by one notch, which again resulted in much reduced barrel wobble and a similar i.e. improved score but at the expense of an uncomfortably tight sling, which I didn't like. Would that be the route to take, however?

The only real difference in no glove (aprt from more pain) should be less cushioning. So to me I'd have to wander if you just had the sling too tight with the glove and perhaps even the hand stop in the wrong place. You could for example replicate the position of your hand with no glove by moving the stop away from you ever so slightly and at the same time lengthening the sling a couple of notches.

Rob.

I can see how taking off the glove would affect sling tension. Without it the hand will sit closer to the stop, so sling is effectively longer, and the position drops slightly.

Is there an NSRA qualified instructor or coach who could check your position over?

Thank you both for your helpful responses. I will try lengthening the sling, which I would not have thought of. Alas, we have no NSRA instructor available locally, but I do know of a former GB coach who might help me if he can find a moment or two. I had already contacted him but he is not local and is very busy at the moment, hence my appeal to this forum. Clearly I need to examine the basics of my position. I still wonder whether the fore-end doesn't somehow assume a more stable position if placed directly on or into the left hand, without the interposition of layers of synthetic material, however skillfully designed and however necessary for comfort in most instances the glove may be. Probably this odd variation has not been tried very much, if at all.

Cumbrian,

I can't think of a single successful shooter who doesn't wear a glove. As well as providing much welcome padding during a long match, it also deadens the pulsebeat. I think it would be more worthwhile evaluating your position than pursuing bare knuckle shooting! Why not post photos. We can't see what's going on inside, but we can often spot things that look obviously odd in your geometry.

As an aside, I would contact your county association and ask for details of their next Prone Instructor course. Every club should have one, if one for insurance purposes. You have to be an NSRA member and RCO to get the qualification, but you can still attend the course without these.

Tim

Tim S wrote:Cumbrian,

I can't think of a single successful shooter who doesn't wear a glove. As well as providing much welcome padding during a long match, it also deadens the pulsebeat. I think it would be more worthwhile evaluating your position than pursuing bare knuckle shooting! Why not post photos. We can't see what's going on inside, but we can often spot things that look obviously odd in your geometry.

As an aside, I would contact your county association and ask for details of their next Prone Instructor course. Every club should have one, if one for insurance purposes. You have to be an NSRA member and RCO to get the qualification, but you can still attend the course without these.

Tim

Tim,

I'm sure you are right - thank you. The pulse deadening is something I had not thought of. I will doubtless return to the mainstream, but it was an odd phenomenon nonetheless. Will look into these courses.

Tim S wrote:As an aside, I would contact your county association and ask for details of their next Prone Instructor course. Every club should have one, if one for insurance purposes. You have to be an NSRA member and RCO to get the qualification, but you can still attend the course without these.

Tim

Tim,
Good suggestion. And note that most instructor courses cover the RCO bit within them so whilst you used to have to do it separately, in a lot of cases nowadays you don't.

Note also the NSRA has a list of upcoming courses, a lot of which are run from Bisley - which is handy if you're in the vicinity.

Rob.