TargetTalk

Hi' Folk's,

I think I'm in the wrong place. I've only taken up Air Rifle shooting as a retirement hobby.

But seing as I'm here I'll ask a silly question anyway.

I shoot a Steyr LG 100 FT with a Nikko 10-50x60 scope. In Field Target at club level.

When is it considered best to let the pell' go?

As soon as the crosshaire first meets the target?

Or to try and steady the crosshair on the target?

Ray

Ray,

Right or wrong place I'll try and anwer your question.

You should wait until the cross hairs (or sights) settle on the target before you squeeze the trigger. If you are trying to pull the trigger as you see the target come into view you will be snap shooting or jerking the trigger.

I've never shot field target, but I didn't think the ranges were all that far. If your field target rules are the same as the US ones I looked up on the web your ranges should be 10-55 yards. It looks to me like you have over scoped your rifle. Even set down at 10x any little wobble in your hold will be greatly amplified in your scope.

With precision air rifle shooting we have the shooters use a front aperture that is large enough so that the target is visible in the front sight even when they are wobbling.

I'm not sure I can exlpain it real well, but even when you are holding the rifle as steady as you can there will be a slight amount of movement. You want to have the whole target plus some light around it visible at all times in your wobble range.

FWIW I have a 6-24X scope on a .17 HMR rifle I use for Squirrel hunting. I use it set at 6x for any hunting or off hand practice. Only time I crank the scope up to the 24x max setting is if I am shooting off the bench Even when I shoot Prone I usually only crank it up to 18x.

Hi' TWP and thank's.

We only use the big mag' for the tight depth of field in range finding.

An F/T couse is usually 30 knock over targets.

One pellet per target.

There are three positions in F/T. Most shots are taken sitting. There will be two or four kneelers and two or four standers.

The kill zone is 40mm and you are correct 10-55 yards.

I normally use 25 mag' and 15 mag' for my standing/kneeling shots. 10 mag for close 10-20 yarders.

The world champ, Ian Taylor, shoots with 30 mag' and 20 mag for his standing/kneeling.

Being new to Air Rifle target shooting. I just want to pick up any tips I can from the precision guys.

Regards
Ray

Target sports magazine (available from W H Smith) now runs a monthly FT article by tim finley which seems to be covering all aspects of FT shooting.

Ray,

Am I reading your post right, you use a higher magnification for standing than you do for kneeling?

TWP,

Sorry I ought to have written it better.

No, I normally shoot with 25 mag' for my sitting shots. That's the majority position in F/T, unless of course the target is quite close, bellow 30 yards.

15 mag' for my standers and kneelers.


Crossshot,

Thank's for that one I'll look out for the Target Sports Magazine.

Ray

Ray,

That makes more sense.

It seemed counter-intuitive to use higher magnification for standing.

http://login.prospero.com/dir-login/ind ... ieldTarget
This is the site for field Target in the U.S..
If you do a search on magnification and off-hand, you will see that most shooters shoot off-hand at high magnification. I have a fixed 36X Nightforce scope for competition. Some shooters shoot off-hand at 50X. It is difficult at first BUT untimatley you get the hang of it and your scores improve.

I shoot FT with almost same rig (Leupold 35X is only difference) and found from my 10M pistol shooting that there are several major points in shooting offhand with high magnification:

1. You can hold on the target. Do not try to time the shot, etc. In 10M pistol, you quickly learn that you can hold on the target -- this works for rifle and scope, too.

2. When using iron sights, the universal approach is to concentrate on the front sight rather than the target. Translating this to a telescope is to concentrate on the crosshairs. Once you do this, you will find that your corrections are less pronounced and holding on the target becomes easier.

3. "Ways of the Rifle" suggests a firm grip on the handgrip and firm pressure against the shoulder. The firm grip reduces gun movement from squeezing the trigger. Excellent book on shooting, by the way.

4.You need to practice off-hand a lot. I try to do about 6 to 10 shots every time I practice. More than that and I get tired and the value of the practice diminishes. Lower magnification seems to help some, but when deciding to get a fixed power scope, I tried shooting only at 35X and found that I could hold just fine (again, with practice).

5. A final point is that you really need to control external light even more with offhand shooting. I have a video camera shield on my eyepiece but even with that am sometimes forced to (literally) throw a cloth over my head to block light from behind. You can't shoot what you can't see!

Best,

Joe McDaniel
DIFTA Match Director

One additional point on FT shooting: My Steyr was originally setup with a very light trigger. Once I began shooting 10M pistol seriously, I decided to setup my Steyr trigger with the same 500gram pull and some first stage. This helps a lot for offhand in my opinion as it reduces the tendenancy for one to "grab" the shot instead of a "squeeze." It has not hurt my sitting shooting at all, and I use the firm grip and firm shoulder contact recommended in Ways of the Rifle for sitting as well as standing. [I shoot over my left arm and with the butt against my shoulder instead of the "off both knees" some use. I got an impossible "crick" in my neck trying to shoot off both knees!]

Best,

Joe

Thank's for the info' lads

I don't seem to be able to adopt the gun in the cradle of the arm technique.

I do like some first stage, I tend to play with it at times. Is this wrong?

Again I try let the gun just sit with the butt hook under my arm. Also to relax with as little firmness as possible.

I've manufactured some new furniture on my Steyr to fit me.

http://photos.fotango.com/p/eba00546768f00000007.jpg

http://photos.fotango.com/p/eba00546768f00000008.jpg

Thank's for that link DonC

I did think the "Ways of the Rifle" was aimed at live ammo' shooting and not Air rifles?

Again, yes I concentrate on the target not the croshair.

Very good food for thought, thank's lads.

More practice needed.

Ray

"Ways of the Rifle" techniques are applicable for any shooting sport. Whether the gun makes a "bang" or not is irrelevant. The best chapters are the off-hand/standing and probably the kneeling for FT. The major thing out of all chapters is to get into position, relax, aim, close your eyes for a few seconds. When you open your eyes, if the target has moved you need to adjust your body position, not just twist, to align the sights. This will put your body into the least stressed position for the shot. Only takes a few seconds as you get experience.

Finally, it is "practice, practice, practice." I like the IFP targets since they simulate FT shooting better than most paper. There is a very challenging target at http://www.curragh.com/challenge/ for 10M practice.

Nice "furniture!" Mine is pretty original except for a wind string (and a groove in the receiver to get to the bolt adjustment).

Best,

Joe