As my blogson mentioned, I hosted Ted and his #1 son at my club this past weekend. I brought along some stalwart companions - my Colt Gold Cup, my Colt Official Police .22LR, and, at the request of Ted's son, the Remington 572 Fieldmaster pump-action .22LR.
My shooting with the Remington was fine - of course, shooting a rifle on a 25 yard pistol range isn't terribly challenging to start with. I didn't have trouble with the Official Police .22, either; at 25 feet all shots were kept solidly in the black in a tight, decent grouping. But the Gold Cup... I had a hard time hitting the target, period. I could barely hit the ground if not for gravity. Ted shot it just fine; it was obviously all me shooting like crap.
But yesterday I redeemed myself. I went to the range with Bill and Elizabeth to play with some of their shiny new toys (which are extremely nice, and left me with a serious case of the I-gotta-haveits). Since I had just been two days prior with Ted, I brought along the same guns I took on that outing plus my new SKS (which is not a single-shot, like my old SKS...).
I practiced shooting the Gold Cup very carefully, taking care to grip it very tightly (the 20% tighter grip Robb talks about) and also to stop stabbing at the damn trigger. It's hard to believe, but when you take your time and actually aim the gun, you can actually hit the target. Shocking and novel, I know, but I'm learning this for the first time, apparently... It also doesn't hurt that I'm going shooting more often and starting to shed the dreaded flinch.
Yeah, this is much better:
The Official Police .22 had an interesting target:
So, basically, when I can slow myself down and take some time, I make my shots. Go figure. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. Some of it's that I normally practice with defensive firearms using silhouette targets, and am happy to keep all shots COM under rapid-fire shooting. I've found that splitting range sessions works pretty well - take defensive guns only one range trip, and "fun" or target guns on another. Trying to mix the two almost always yields the worst of both worlds - I can't hit squat in either case...
Slow ride. Take it easy...
That is all.
6 comments:
22LR rifles at 25 yards can be challenging. Make the target a 1 inch square. Come out to an appleseed or two, and they'll have you hitting it consistently.
Jim Conway (founder of NEShooters training) gave me a good tip to help your pistol issue. When training with defensive arms on silhouette targets, start and end your range session with a 'one hole drill'. Shoot at about 4 yards, and try to put a magazine in the same hole. Take as much time as you need to make every shot perfect.
Nice shooting Tex!
Thanks for the kind words on my shooting! It sure is a lot of fun.
I also noticed a flinch that I had to concentrate on controlling. Must have been something in the air. ;-)
zeeke42,
Believe me, getting to an Appleseed shoot is definitely in my future.
As for the pistol shooting, I've found that keeping "practical" vs. "fun" shooting separate has worked pretty well. I'm at a place where I can reliably hit COM with my carry guns; I'm bringing the "braggin' rights" shooting up to snuff now.
And yes, I am well aware that my shooting at 25feet would be laughed at by the bullseye shooters who practice at 25 yards...
Brigid,
Thank'ee kindly ma'am! Given the company you keep and the shooting y'all do, that's high praise indeed...
Ted,
Shooting is a lot of fun! I like to call it my "range therapy" - as I've mentioned before, I've found no better stress reliever than a Magnum handgun.
Which reminds me... I've gotta break out the S&W .44 Magnum for you the next time we go to the range... *g*
Damn... Zeeke beat me to it.
Jay, next Appleseed up here is February 7 & 8th in Athol at Woodman. (Yes, FEBRUARY. Stop whining and remember that Washington's boys didn't have Sorel boots and down coats. You can do this... and I'll be right there as I'm instructing.)
Hope I see you there. Plenty of room left still.
Ross,
I can unequivocally state that I will most emphatically NOT be able to attend that Appleseed.
That's the weekend of the Pinewood Derby for the Cub Scouts.
Maybe the next one, though!
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