Shooting is shooting, archery, smallbore or highpower. A lot of things are the same. Mental game, follow through and so on. I had archery in high school as physical ed, but it was just introduction. In offhand you want a heavier rifle to slow down the wobble. I shoot 17lb rifle, lead weights are added.
An attempt (10/22 target shooting)
- Thread starter toxophilite
- Start date
toxophilite
9mm
@Podmonkey Shot with a sling today, groups tightened up a bit.
@GUNSICK Left three targets using cheapo thunderbolts I bought w/ my rifle and the right three targets w/ the cci mini-mags I got today. Probably, at my level and at this distance, ammo isn’t such a big factor in accuracy. BUT I’ll just finish off this box of cheap dirty stuff and stick w/ the cci for reliability.
@nortatoga The mini mags shot well, I’ll be trying those standard velocity ones next if I can find them.
@GUNSICK Left three targets using cheapo thunderbolts I bought w/ my rifle and the right three targets w/ the cci mini-mags I got today. Probably, at my level and at this distance, ammo isn’t such a big factor in accuracy. BUT I’ll just finish off this box of cheap dirty stuff and stick w/ the cci for reliability.
@nortatoga The mini mags shot well, I’ll be trying those standard velocity ones next if I can find them.
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That is good! You are doing fine, in fact you should participate in our monthly E-matches.
Look for them in the competition/training sub forum.
He's just shooting for shits and giggles dude.
I understand that and there are bunch of rules that are not important for what he does, but shooting offhand means sling is not used for support. Kind of like playing soccer, you can play without rules, two on two, one on one or just pass the ball around, but if you use hands you are no longer playing soccer.
He can also shoot off the bench or use a pen to punch holes in the paper, the idea is to do this in a specific form.
OP is going to an Appleseed where he will be using a sling!
Appleseed is not a benchmark of position shooting.
This is precisely why I am not particularly interested in getting into competitions, the inane rules and arbitrary restrictions, the elitism, the gaming mentality of it all.
Appleseed does a good job of teaching the essential fundamentals. If a person can do well at an Appleseed shoot they have a very sound foundation of marksmanship that can be applied in any other shooting endeavor.
Furthermore my own interest in firearms is almost always rooted in practical application. If something such as a sling can be used to improve one's marksmanship I see no reason to preclude its use.
Lots of good educational info from Civilian Marksmanship Program CMP:
Coaching Resources - Civilian Marksmanship Program
CMP Publications and Training Materials - Civilian Marksmanship Program
Coaching Resources - Civilian Marksmanship Program
CMP Publications and Training Materials - Civilian Marksmanship Program
Evaluating one's shooting skills without anything standardized to compare to is meaningless. Kids play for adults. Why stop at sling, there are other more effective supports that can be used while standing. Why shoot standing at all? This is about a challenge and developing a skill not about massaging one's ego.
Don't be facetious. Practical marksmanship should include anything one might reasonably have in the field or any real life situation. A sling is something one is likely to have available so why not learn how to use one? A bench is not likely to be available so its use is something of a crutch but is often unavoidable on the range. That said I do make a point to take my lazy ass off the bench and get on the ground to practice kneeling and prone shooting. You will always have the ground under your feet after all....... Well If you don't you have much bigger problems at hand than firearms usage calls for.
Shooting supported from a barricade of some kind is also a technique one should practice. Door frames, cars, tables, walls, garbage cans and so on. All things likely to be encountered in a shooting situation. Or for the hunter, trees, ledges, logs and so forth.
The idea of position shooting is to learn to shoot with variable degree of stability. From very unstable offhand to stable slinged-up prone. The actual technique of breaking a shot depends on how stable is the target in your sites. Once you master that, you can shoot in any real life situation and under stress that goes with it and effects your hold.
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toxophilite
9mm
@Podmonkey My ultimate goal, admittedly, is the most unpractical of situations: I want to get into long range shooting where I probably won't shoot w/ a sling.
@Mosinitis My references in shooting: Cleckner's long range shooting handbook, Appleseed material and that USMC video I posted about earlier all shoot w/ slings. I did not notice that CMP offhand has no sling! In my mind's eye, with the shooting coat and gloves and blinds on their glasses, I thought they were shooting w/ a sling!HAHAHA. Thanks for pointing that out, CMP is something I may get into in future.
@Mosinitis My references in shooting: Cleckner's long range shooting handbook, Appleseed material and that USMC video I posted about earlier all shoot w/ slings. I did not notice that CMP offhand has no sling! In my mind's eye, with the shooting coat and gloves and blinds on their glasses, I thought they were shooting w/ a sling!HAHAHA. Thanks for pointing that out, CMP is something I may get into in future.
Some shooting disciplines include sling usgae.
PRS competitions involve a lot of positional shooting as @Mosinitis describes. Including shooting from the prone, off a bench and supported of barricades. PRS is one of the few competitive disciplines that interest me as it has practical applications. Like all competitive disciplines though it has become a gear race.
In position shooting the sling is used for support in every shooting position except offhand. In offhand the sling can still be attached to the rifle, it just can't be used for support. There are good reasons why position shooting developed in a way it developed, it's not always easy to understand for a beginner. CMP can put you on the road to life long improvement of marksmanship skill and challenge that goes with it. (NRA has an identical program, but CMP has taken the lead). Other programs are dead ends.
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Most if not all organized shooting disciplines have entry level programs where one can shoot with what he already has or get into it with inexpensive rifle. You can start in position shooting with $200 Daisy 853 air rifle, which was made for that purpose. It is only a gear race at the top and not much of a gear race when compared to other sports.
For Cheese & Rice Sake @Mosinitis this is a new shooter!! And Appleseed is geared for just that! Get off you high horse!
I really need to get myself to an Appleseed one of these days too.
Pod I guarantee you will enjoy yourself!! Even being a long time shooter!!
He is being overly modest, he is not a total beginner and knows more about marksmanship than some people here who give him advice. Archery counts.
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Does that really make a difference? We can never learn enough!!
toxophilite
9mm
I’m trying to chew the meat and spit out the bones but at this point, A LOT of bony stuff still feels mighty chewy to me.
I get it though, and this whole thread makes me want to be a better shooter without a sling, but don’t knock my interest to shoot well w/ a sling too.
To use your analogy of horse and water, EVEN if the horse does not drink, the rider STILL brings him to water the next day. I do listen, and I hope you’d be hard on me the next time cause thats what makes us all better at this thing.
Tox
Honing the fundamentals is always a worthwhile endeavor.
Nothing is wrong with Appleseed, any shooting is better than no shooting. To use another example, if one is serious about learning astronomy, would one go to a respectable university that specializes in that field and does that for over a century or should one just take Madam Cleo star reading class.
Enjoy appleseed shoot, but CMP is the real deal. It's not elitism or "high horse" it's just a reality.
Enjoy appleseed shoot, but CMP is the real deal. It's not elitism or "high horse" it's just a reality.
Appleseed is a CMP affiliate program.
It is not affiliated with the CMP
Post a link where you saw it on CMP website.
CMP was created by the act of Congress over a century ago to promote marksmanship to civilians. It was originally called DCM and supervised by the Army, about two decades ago it became independent non-profit organization serving the same purpose. Appleseed was created by Fred, who used to sell m14 stocks and parts through Shotgun News about 15 years ago.