TargetTalk

17 year old son, no coach, 6 foot three or four, 220 lbs, walter air rifle.

about 6 months ago was normally scoring about 95% or above on standing targets. Now lucky to break 91.

shooting about two pellets diameter in vertical shot variance per 20 shots, but about 6-8 pellet diameters in horizontal.

known: about same time as drop in score, lost weight, went to a one size smaller coat same brand coat (CC), but a little different design.

family stress increased to a peak about 14 months ago.

does have a few old stinky girls calling and texting him, but seems (on the outside) to not let this get in the way of match or practice schedule.

has a long history of high power service rifle shooting (since 11)

He checks NPA each shot by casting eyes down and right of rifle (right hand shooter.

he works hard and its heartbreaking to see him struggle blindly with this.

any ideas on what to look for? Thanks Fellows

You really could do with getting a coach to look at him shoot. It could be something to do with his position, and I'm guessing at his age he's either still or only just stopped growing. That will change things but its very hard to tell without seeing him shoot.

Rob.

I had this happen with me (20 y.o. 6'5" 250lbs) for me it was just neck tension. I noticed that my face wasn't really sitting on the cheekpiece much and it was forcing me to hold my head up. Also look at triggering (another huge problem I had/have) and also follow through. I've made bad shots much worse with poor triggering and poorer follow through.

at range now, phone pic jacket taken off

south central, Virginia(shotgun country), he and his sister are the only precision shooters within 150 miles, we drive three states up to shoot with a coach and his club. he says to look at feet spread too far apart and too long on trigger waiting for a perfect sight picture as possible causes. varied both, saw no improvements. we see this coach about once a month. Thank You for any ideas.

Big boy! They probably don't card him at the tavern.

The solutions you mentioned will not produce immediate results.

with jacket, seems head is offset toward rifle too much

too much hip tilt?
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It is tough to say even with the pictures. Sway could be from the rifle out of the center of gravity. Generally you should have the rifle positioned over the left foot between the arch and ball of the foot. It looks to me that the rifle is too close to the toes. Again that is hard to say from the pictures, but rifle over the toes will cause sway. If this is the problem he could lower the buttplate and shoot from the fist, with the rifle shifted toward the index finger/thumb. Of course it will take a while to see if this would work. That should also bring the rifle up to prevent the head tilt. Solutions often take a while to resolve. Tilt in the hips is acceptable, but tilt and twist is bad for the lumbar. From the pics I can't see twist, but that is another problem area. Not only will it cause sway, it is very bad for the spine. Since it is a high injury area I thought I would mention it even though it is not evident in the pics to me. Good luck.

Coaching by pictures over the internet is always a little iffy.

A few things I might see but can't be sure without the 3D view.

The butt might be a little long. Move the rear sight forward some (to maintain eye relief) and shorten the butt in say 5mm increments over a few targets. (5mm shoot 10 shots, another 5mm shoot 10 shots etc...) while the effects on score will probably not be immediate he will likely finds one setting that just feels more comfortable. (hence more relaxed) I have a feeling the balance point of the rifle is a little too far out in front of the left foot.

The spread on the feet looks about right but there might be more rearward point to the back foot than I like. Remember, as the feet become more splayed it is more difficult and a different set of muscles trying to keep the body from swaying fore and aft.

Finally, he is shooting with the fingers on the support hand pointing forward, try supporting the rifle with the hand bent back and the fingers pointed to the left. This support hand position can help move the rifle closer to the body and get the CG of the rifle more directly over the natural CG of the body. (Hence less strain to try and couple the two systems).

Also, if you do lower the butt as noted in another suggestion, remember the butt is not allowed to be more than 220mm below barrel centerline. (USAS Rule 7.4.4.1 (F)) Just keep this in mind so he does not get used to shooting the rifle one way and then gets to equipment control and someone tells him he has to raise it.

That is my 2 cents for the morning.

Cheers,
'Dude

Thanks Fellows,

we are trying several things including your ideas above. possibly too many things in too short a time period......expecting instant results

Thank You, Fellows

You son's height isn't helping. His center of gravity is a lot higher than the teenage girls' whose hips and glutei maximi give them an unfair advantage while they're shooting in the high 90s. However, I think that the key idea is patience and practice. It simply takes time to refine the nerve and muscle response that slows down and narrows horizontal movement. The Marines used to have sessions that were simply holding exercises for 60 seconds at a time over 30 minutes. No shooting, no dry firing, just holding. It's torture but it helps. Mike Barron