Match shooting

[Doc22]

Things that have worked for me. Practice as much as you can afford. I do agree with practicing with good ammo, but I also agree with practicing with your sub par ammo. Like Todd said practice with flags. The main thing is to shoot enough to learn your ammo, gun, and the conditions in the area you are shooting. I am fortunate to be able to shoot at home, but my home range does not have an ideal layout. I have learned it helps to practice with ammo that is less than Ideal especially in tough conditions, seems tough conditions will sort of mask your looser ammo, as long as you mentally prepare yourself for it to not be perfect.

"don't expect ammo that will only score a 2000 to do any better than that", watch your flags watch what happens to your shots on all different conditions, you will find conditions that your setup prefers versus others.

FWIW.... Unless you are testing ammo.......If you look outside trying to cherry pick perfect conditions to practice in you are not doing yourself any favors. If you look outside and think....hmmm that's kind of junky I'm not going to mess around with that. Go setup the flags and burn a box or 2 and I bet you will learn a whole lot

Things that have worked for me. Practice as much as you can afford. I do agree with practicing with good ammo, but I also agree with practicing with your sub par ammo. Like Todd said practice with flags. The main thing is to shoot enough to learn your ammo, gun, and the conditions in the area you are shooting. I am fortunate to be able to shoot at home, but my home range does not have an ideal layout. I have learned it helps to practice with ammo that is less than Ideal especially in tough conditions, seems tough conditions will sort of mask your looser ammo, as long as you mentally prepare yourself for it to not be perfect.

"don't expect ammo that will only score a 2000 to do any better than that", watch your flags watch what happens to your shots on all different conditions, you will find conditions that your setup prefers versus others.

FWIW.... Unless you are testing ammo.......If you look outside trying to cherry pick perfect conditions to practice in you are not doing yourself any favors. If you look outside and think....hmmm that's kind of junky I'm not going to mess around with that. Go setup the flags and burn a box or 2 and I bet you will learn a whole lot.

thanks especially the part about the 2000 scoring ammo. flags still havent arrived yet but as soon as they do, I will have another excuse to hit the range lol.

 

[Doc22]

@doclu60 thanks for the advice about the mentor, it came in handy today on a bunch of different levels.

 

[Hi-NV Shooter]

Thank you Lee. I appreciate your kind words. Hope the best for you and yours during the holiday season.

Take care my friend......Scott

Same here Scott, be safe in your travels.

You take care as well my friend,

Lee

 

[Intell]

If I were in or near LA, Open Grove rimfire and air rifle range at Oxnard would be a great place to shoot.
It’s Joe Fredrich’s range, I’ve shot there before and it’s a very nice place, Joe is very accommodating to new BR guys and could give you some good advice as well.

 

[CharlieNC]

Doc I'm a rimfire newbie too, and I started a couple of years ago shooting prone as practice for Fclass. Using a CZ457 MTR and moderate grade ammo I became frustrated after two years because I could not consistently shoot 1" at 100yd and sold it. But I had a custom built and even purchased my first bench rest earlier this year. Along my fclass and rimfire journey the only mentors I could find were contemporaries at my stage, so we were simply observers for each other.

Being retired I have been able to practice as much as desired, but without the benefit of a mentor. I learned to get the best equipment possible and use the best ammo in order to have productive practice meaning shooting to evaluate setups, recoil control, hard vs soft hold, etc. Ammo that averages 0.5" groups does not facilitate learning to shoot 0.1" groups, and can lead you astray with false conclusions. Practice smartly with objectives in mind.

 

[Tony K Harper]

Doc I'm a rimfire newbie too, and I started a couple of years ago shooting prone as practice for Fclass. Using a CZ457 MTR and moderate grade ammo I became frustrated after two years because I could not consistently shoot 1" at 100yd and sold it. But I had a custom built and even purchased my first bench rest earlier this year. Along my fclass and rimfire journey the only mentors I could find were contemporaries at my stage, so we were simply observers for each other.

Being retired I have been able to practice as much as desired, but without the benefit of a mentor. I learned to get the best equipment possible and use the best ammo in order to have productive practice meaning shooting to evaluate setups, recoil control, hard vs soft hold, etc. Ammo that averages 0.5" groups does not facilitate learning to shoot 0.1" groups, and can lead you astray with false conclusions. Practice smartly with objectives in mind.

CharlieNC,

To hitchhike on what you said. A horse trainer once told me the saying "practice makes perfect is wrong".
He said, "practice can make permanent".

"Only perfect practice makes perfect."

TKH

 

[CharlieNC]

CharlieNC,

To hitchhike on what you said. A horse trainer once told me the saying "practice makes perfect is wrong".
He said, "practice can make permanent".

"Only perfect practice makes perfect."

TKH

Exactly! That was the nature of my recent thread " Budget Ammo is a Waste" when dealing with learning to shoot accurately.

 

[JimSC]

I shot my first ARA match in January 2022 and ended the year with a 1948 straight aggregate, this year I ended with a 2188 aggregate. Since that first match I practice three times a week when possible, sometimes more often sometimes less depending on external factors. I used the best ammo I could find which was usually mid price SK stuff. I don't know what works or doesn't for others, there are no mentors so to speak where I shoot. Somehow I did manage to see an improvement of a little less than 10% between the practice and reading the forums and upgrading my equipment. The main benefit to me though was I got a lot of enjoyment from spending afternoons at the range which is what a hobby is supposed to do. I think many people lose sight of that but keep in mind that once you drive out that gate after a match non one in the world other than yourself and the other competitors will care what your score was.

 

[Doc22]

If I were in or near LA, Open Grove rimfire and air rifle range at Oxnard would be a great place to shoot.
It’s Joe Fredrich’s range, I’ve shot there before and it’s a very nice place, Joe is very accommodating to new BR guys and could give you some good advice as well.

@Intell Yes Someone else from Open Grove reached out to me, I plan on going up there to shoot however from my conversations I was under the impression that they only do air rifle and i wouldnt be able to shoot my 22

 

[Doc22]

Doc I'm a rimfire newbie too, and I started a couple of years ago shooting prone as practice for Fclass. Using a CZ457 MTR and moderate grade ammo I became frustrated after two years because I could not consistently shoot 1" at 100yd and sold it. But I had a custom built and even purchased my first bench rest earlier this year. Along my fclass and rimfire journey the only mentors I could find were contemporaries at my stage, so we were simply observers for each other.

Being retired I have been able to practice as much as desired, but without the benefit of a mentor. I learned to get the best equipment possible and use the best ammo in order to have productive practice meaning shooting to evaluate setups, recoil control, hard vs soft hold, etc. Ammo that averages 0.5" groups does not facilitate learning to shoot 0.1" groups, and can lead you astray with false conclusions. Practice smartly with objectives in mind.

@CharlieNC Yea that is the problem I am running into, the best shooter at our range only shows up to matches. the guy I am using as a mentor right now is an old Marine Gunnery Sargent. Mentor is a loose term, his advice to me yesterday was no one can help you but you you just gotta get out here and practice. Then he volunteered to watch me when I did my first group prone. Great guy who retired from the Corp the year i was born. And I am 5 years from retirement myself lol

 

[Doc22]

I shot my first ARA match in January 2022 and ended the year with a 1948 straight aggregate, this year I ended with a 2188 aggregate. Since that first match I practice three times a week when possible, sometimes more often sometimes less depending on external factors. I used the best ammo I could find which was usually mid price SK stuff. I don't know what works or doesn't for others, there are no mentors so to speak where I shoot. Somehow I did manage to see an improvement of a little less than 10% between the practice and reading the forums and upgrading my equipment. The main benefit to me though was I got a lot of enjoyment from spending afternoons at the range which is what a hobby is supposed to do. I think many people lose sight of that but keep in mind that once you drive out that gate after a match non one in the world other than yourself and the other competitors will care what your score was.

Hey Jim, first of all congrats on the 200 point improvement. I was told that be competitive at ARA you have to average above 2000 so that is my goal, I am still looking forward to my first ARA match. I am with you 100% I enjoy spending time at the range I was there for 6 hours yesterday and had a great time,
I currently have the best equipment I can afford, I have a Annie54, with a Sinclair front rest and a Bald Eagle rear bag with a Sightron 36x scope. I am going back and forth with ammo, my gun is pretty forgiving it likes Eley match, but surprisingly the SK semiauto auto ammo shoots pretty well as well

 

[JimSC]

I can recommend a couple of books one is Bullseye Mind by Raymond Prior the other is With Winning in Mind by Lenny Bassham. Both address the mental aspect of competition shooting. You can google both, I know Creedmoore Sports carries the first and I believe I got the second on Amazon

 

[Ccrider]

A lot of you experienced shooters are hinging your argument that practicing with bad ammo does not help on the fact that you cannot outshoot your equipment or ammo.

While this is true, the conclusion that practicing with cheap ammo is a waste of time does not follow, at least for me. Gun set up, gun handling, breathing watching flags and predicting where the wind will blow the shot— all of these things can be improved while practicing with cheap ammo.

Of course, those of you who have shot hundreds of thousands of rounds execute these things correctly as second nature. Those of us that are just starting cannot get these basic things right consistently when trying our best.

 

[MrG52D]

A lot of you experienced shooters are hinging your argument that practicing with bad ammo does not help on the fact that you cannot outshoot your equipment or ammo.

While this is true, the conclusion that practicing with cheap ammo is a waste of time does not follow, at least for me. Gun set up, gun handling, breathing watching flags and predicting where the wind will blow the shot— all of these things can be improved while practicing with cheap ammo.

Of course, those of you who have shot hundreds of thousands of rounds execute these things correctly as second nature. Those of us that are just starting cannot get these basic things right consistently when trying our best.

How so? When your shot goes astray, how do you determine if was you, the ammo, your setup or what? Please elaborate.

 

[BowChamp]

Hey guys Im new to the site out of Los Angeles, Ca. Yes there are rimfire shooters out here lol. My question for the group for those of you that are serious about your benchrest competitive shooting, how many rounds do you typically shoot during your practice days? How often do you all practice?

I'm about as new to this 22LR game as anyone, this was my first year competing in ARA Unlimited.

I shoot about 150 to 300 rds during my practice sessions and I try to practice at least once a week, sometimes more. I try to pick some of the worse days, as far as wind, to practice. I don't have a mentor and had no one to show me anything as far as ARA Unlimited is concerned. I'm fortunate enough to have two local clubs to shoot ARA matches at. Three Saturdays a month I'm at one of them having fun competing.

Practicing has helped me a lot. I use mid priced cheaper ammo a lot during practice and save my better expensive ammo for competing.

Learning to shoot over wind flags has made a big difference in my scores too. This is also part of my practice.

Looking forward to hearing about your progress....keep us posted!!!

(Edited to add) There are a couple shooters on this forum and another that have been kind enough to answer some of my questions and I thank them!!

 

[Ccrider]

How so? When your shot goes astray, how do you determine if was you, the ammo, your setup or what? Please elaborate.

if it was you: I know when it’s me. I flinch, break the trigger wrong, don’t follow through etc. I have shot enough to know when I have done this and generally can call the shot when I screw the pooch.

the ammo: if everything else is right and the shot goes astray- it’s probably the ammo.

your setup: generally by how the gun is tracking.

or what: Sometimes stuff happens and I don’t know why. Fortunately, when it does, it generally will not repeat itself.

Shoot enough of any lot of ammo and you can determine its capacity and tendencies. Once you shoot a couple of hundred rounds you have a decent idea of what the ammo will do.

I have some cheap Tac22 that shoots better than some lots of center x in my Vudoo. Price of the ammo is not determinative of how well the ammo performs.

 

[Bottom Fodder]

I agree with Ccrider , I use cheap ammo instead of “dry firing” to work on mechanics of shooting and by doing so I have found some cheap ammo that shoots in some guns as good as the high price stuff

 

[CharlieNC]

if it was you: I know when it’s me. I flinch, break the trigger wrong, don’t follow through etc. I have shot enough to know when I have done this and generally can call the shot when I screw the pooch.

the ammo: if everything else is right and the shot goes astray- it’s probably the ammo.

your setup: generally by how the gun is tracking.

or what: Sometimes stuff happens and I don’t know why. Fortunately, when it does, it generally will not repeat itself.

Shoot enough of any lot of ammo and you can determine its capacity and tendencies. Once you shoot a couple of hundred rounds you have a decent idea of what the ammo will do.

I have some cheap Tac22 that shoots better than some lots of center x in my Vudoo. Price of the ammo is not determinative of how well the ammo performs.

For whatever differences our experiences are completely opposite. CX shoots in the .1" vs .5" groups at best with T22 and other cheap ammo. My need is to translate this capability into shooting for score, which has not progressed using the cheap stuff and I don't see how it could, and only leads to second guessing while trying to learn.

 

[jelenko]

using the cheap stuff and I don't see how it could, and only leads to second guessing while trying to learn.

Which can lead to wasted effort and chasing blind alleys.

 

[JimSC]

if I could find an unlimited supply of CenterX I would gladly use it for practice but until that time comes I will save what I can find for matches