I thought I'd post this here... I frequent this area more than others on here...and I know most of us are hunters...so...



Off Season Practice…

On another site, I was impressed with a couple of photos that a dad rook of his 12 yr old son, that he is taking out to the range and teaching him how to shoot. The Dad evidently was a former Marine, and is training his son to be able to shoot in a variety of positions, that he had been taught in the Corp…

Since my military experience was Army, despite being able to score as an expert on the M 16, M 60, M79, M203 and 45 ACP, my main MOS was that of a glorified BedPan Commando in the Medical Corp. I never had the advantage of being able to go thru Marine Rifle training.

Well taking a look at some of the positions that the pics of the young man was working with, I have decided to just go out in the woods, a couple of miles from my home, on Forest Service land and start working with those positions. The entire focus is to start working with shooting OFF HAND, instead of relying on a bench, or a bi pod off off the hood of a vehicle. Even for a varmint shooter, that does pretty darn well, shooting off hand is a real eye opener and real world assessment of your shooting skills. MINE SUCK!!!!

So recently I have gone out and posting a target on a small hunk of plywood, I can carry out there with me. I have set it up at 100 yds, and have tried my luck and started practicing with a Model 70 Featherweight in 223, shooting some loads that equal a 22 Hornet or 218 Bee load. I am using a 3 x 9 scope set on 4 power. So far I have shot off about 350 rounds in the last few weeks.

For economy, I am also starting to supplement that, with my CZ 452, with a 6 x 24 Tasco Target scope, with the power set on 6… and using Walmart 22 Ammo ( preference being Winchester 36 grain HP Lead, 500 count boxes..) I crank up the elevation, and set targets out to 100 yds with that also.. ONCE again, what a humbling experience that turned out to be. ONCE again, I SUCKED!!!!

The good news is though, surprisingly it doesn’t take a lot of this to start noticing that you can get better awfully quickly! I am shooting 100 rounds of 22 ammo a day. I am using 4 or 5 targets each session, that I run off the internet.

Surprisingly my challenge was not my trigger finger or my eye, the key to master is your breathing! A lot of trigger pulling and you really learn to start being able to not only control your breathing patterns, but actually learn to use it to your advantage. Just a short time and the results are really paying some excellent dividends! I am going to start moving the 223’s targets further out there, and start using smaller targets with the 22 LR, just to make it more challenging!

I sincerely believe doing this out in the woods where you hunt also helps in your mind, to be better at being a better shooter when hunting, as opposed to doing all of this at a contolled environment “at the rangeâ€â€¦. I have even been setting target up on this small piece of plywood, but where I am aiming in between trees and threading the shoots thru narrow “alleys†thru the brush…

Even for we adults, practicing with a good 22 Bolt action a lot during off season.. well in a short time, I am going from REALLY SUCKS… to actually turning in some impressive groups with that CZ and Featherweight.. from sitting positions, to using a tree for support etc…

Some of you gents oughta try this… it is paying some good dividends for me on improving my off hand shooting accuracy dramatically..!

Cheers
Seafire

seafire

It isn't that shooters can't handle a rifle offhand and standing on their hind legs, it's like you said they don't practice.

I always end my load development sessions by shooting off hand, usually with my M-1. I shoot a paper plate at 100yds. Other times I use a smaller target and either a Model 61 Winchester or my Ruger 10-22 at 50 yds.

After that it's pistol time. 10 yds rapid fire and a reload for two cycles. I'm no McGivern or Miculek by a long shot, but for a 72 year old guy with Glaucoma I ain't bad.

When you think you can really handle a firearm try shooting handgun silhouettes. You'll get a real lesson in wobble control.

Everybody shakes, and like you said you have to control it to the best of your ability. If you can't stop it make it work for you instead of against you.

If you are in combat your BP isn't going to 112/60 and you'll be sucking wind like a vacuum cleaner. Not optimal.

But the key to your whole dissertation is, Practice, Practice, Practice. You are no going to progress much if you sit your can down at a bench and shoot.

Best wishes, Bill

If I hand to shoot of hand when hunting I wouldn't do it. I have several sets of shooting sticks and I take them every where. I have popped the occasional gogher off hand with a .22, but I remember trying to hit a deer with my 25-06 off hand, the deer had no fear. FS

quote:

Originally posted by seafire2:
...it doesn’t take a lot of this to start noticing that you can get better awfully quickly! ...

Hey Seafire, Excellent post. If you posted flicks, I don't see them.

I like to do Off-Hand shooting with a 22LR while the larger rifles are cooling. That basically means I get 30-100x the shooting with the 22LR. And as Seafire said, it really helps settle me down too. I do use a Hasty Sling for all my Off-Hand shooting and all the position shooting where I don't have a solid rest. Even then a Hasty Sling can really tie the rifle to your body.

Also agree with Seafire's noticing that the breathing has an effect on how steady a person is. Once you work your way past it, then you can begin noticing the Heartbeat, or the combination of the two. You need to be aware of it subconsciously but not allow it to over-ride everything else - easier said than done.

I do love a nice 22LR. And prefer one with an action similar to the rifles I normally Deer Hunt with - a Bolt Action. Doesn't have to be expensive to be accurate either.

Good Hunting and clean 1-shot Kills.

Good post, Seafire. We're the same way over here. No matter what we're shooting at the range that day, the 22's always go along for practice. It really is amazing how much you can improve your shooting by just working on the fundamentals with a .22. The ammo is cheap, the recoil is none, and the rifles (at least ours, also CZ's) simulate the feel of our hunting rifles. I've seen a marked improvement in my shooting skills from non-supported positions as a result. Another thing that helps is the use of a sling as a shooting aid. I've gotten pretty adept at wrapping myself up with one for added stability.

Off-season? To me that means rabbit season I try to get out every few weeks with my .22 and bag a bunny for the pot. Good eating, good chance to survey the deer hunting grounds, and good practice getting comfortable with offhand shooting. I have an old Cooey that likes the $10/500 American Eagle ammo, will do 1.5" @ 50 yards - plenty for the little furballs.

It wasn't until after this that I was able to hit my first running deer. Until you get the practice, everything happens so fast. Once you do it a few times and keep up the skills, it's like everything is in slow-motion.

The other day my wife says "let's go to Gander and see if that CZ I like is still there". Off we go and pretty soon she's the proud owner of one of the model 452 trainer's. She's a pretty smart gal.

That thing is just too fun and in a few trips to the range her skill level has really increased. She was consistently dinging the targets on a plate rack from offhand at 50 yards with the issue iron sights last time we went. We'll keep working on it and see how far we get.

A real plus is this rifle feels like a scaled down version of my iron sighted 7x57 and she now hits pretty well with it too. (I believe I'm going to have to hide the 7x57 if I want to deer hunt with it)

You might also consider picking up a copy of "Art of the Rifle" by Jeff Cooper.

I took the 5 day general rifle class from Col. Cooper and it greatly improved my field shooting skills. The book is essentially the class outline.

I still have more fun shooting a good 22 rifle than anything else. I had a Kimber Super American (from back when they were in OR) for a number of years. Bought a CZ 452 American. Liked it so much I sold the Kimber.

quote:

Originally posted by Clayman:
Good post, Seafire. We're the same way over here. No matter what we're shooting at the range that day, the 22's always go along for practice. It really is amazing how much you can improve your shooting by just working on the fundamentals with a .22. The ammo is cheap, the recoil is none, and the rifles (at least ours, also CZ's) simulate the feel of our hunting rifles. I've seen a marked improvement in my shooting skills from non-supported positions as a result. Another thing that helps is the use of a sling as a shooting aid. I've gotten pretty adept at wrapping myself up with one for added stability.

That sling will also be an aid for follow up shots with a larger caliber rifle for big game.

Check out the old timers shooting bolt guns in rapid fire mode at Camp Perry.

When you are properly hitched up with a bolt gun rapid fire can be just that....rapid.

Best wishes, Bill

I have a couple of 22 LR understudy rifles that get a lot of use; a CZ 452FS, a Sako 78, and a Winchester 52 Sporter. Since the 17 HMR has been around, I find myself using a Marlin 917VS as an understudy more often than the 22 understudies, due to its weight match and the 17 HMR's flatter trajectory out to 100 yards.

Jeff

Yup teach them young and teach them multi position shooting with a good .22 and they will soon prove to you that you are not quite as good as you think you are with a double deuce.

When I am getting ready for a trip, the last 30-45minutes of every range session is with the .22 off hand at ranges 25-100yds at steel silhouettes. I cheat and use rapid fire pistol targets at 100, the rim fire rifle rams at 75, the turkey at 50 and the rest of the targets at 25. By trip time, I get pretty good and when you move to the sticks or any form of rest it is like shooting fish in a barrel. Kudude

I have increased my offhand practice as well, and not just with 22s. (We're not supposed to shoot 22s on the Centerfire range anymore )

I now save stragglers or small numbers of workup loads that didn't make the cut for offhand practice with my hunting rifles at the end of a session. I think practice with the real hunting rifle allows the trigger, rifle hold, and breathing to all come together best for me. I have been surprised to find how fast improvement can be....and also how soon a flinch can show up in offhand shooting.

Cheers,

Dan

At the range at which I am a member, you are not even allowed to shoot any field positions. There are no other ranges within driving distance, otherwise I would go there instead. Apparently it is the result of the majority of innocent paying for the irresponsibility of a few. Oh well. I plan to do a lot of off hand this summer with a friend of mine at his place. We can shoot gallon milk jugs out to about 200 yards. Getting one of them offhand should be a trick at that distance, for the first few days, anyway.
Good shooting,
Graham

quote:

Originally posted by M70classic:
At the range at which I am a member, you are not even allowed to shoot any field positions. There are no other ranges within driving distance, otherwise I would go there instead. Apparently it is the result of the majority of innocent paying for the irresponsibility of a few. Oh well. I plan to do a lot of off hand this summer with a friend of mine at his place. We can shoot gallon milk jugs out to about 200 yards. Getting one of them offhand should be a trick at that distance, for the first few days, anyway.
Good shooting,
Graham

.

Where in BC .... There is alot of country in BC ......I do hate having some range boss scowling when I shoot away from the bench ...
I can,t honestly tell what most of my rifles will do off the bench .........Most of the time I sight in from kneeling .....Today I did all my target shooting sitting on my butt in a rock pit with iron sights ... got a less than 3 " group @ 55 paces with my 9.3x62 with 3 different loads 250 X.. 270 Speer and 285 Lapua ..... ..from a light weight 20" barreled CZ FS ....I was very happy .................

Went out today and tried some off hand with the CZ 452 at 100 yds....from a standing position...

talk about even more humbling!!!!

however the more I do this, the more I can recommend it to others..

change locations and positions also each time you go out..

two days out in the woods shooting 100 rounds each session, will tighten up your skills a lot more than a month at the range shooting off the bench at 50 yds...