Practicing Offhand Shooting

[Catfur]

I've picked up a 17 Hornet for the primary purpose of practicing offhand shooting (and reloading, of course).

A day at the range reveals that, frankly, I suck, hard, at offhand shooting.

Any pointers on how to practice? Right now I can't keep a set of crosshairs even remotely steady.

 

[Alex Wheeler]

You wont ever be able to keep them steady. Its hand eye coordination. You set up a weave pattern and squeeze it off as your coming into the target. Look up high power shooting tips.
The lighter the gun the harder its gonna be. When I started service rifle I could just keep them on the 24'' target paper.

 

[ShootDots]

What I used to do to practice off hand shooting was productive and lots of fun.. Over the years I had several leases in The Texas Hill Country. That area of Texas is LOADED with Armadillos... I had a Marlin .22 Magnum... Well almost every trip up there I went thru a box of ammo (50 rounds) shooting at them... I found that if you put the crosshairs just a tad over them and slowly brought them down "into" the animal and squeezed when the crosshairs passed into the animal, I almost always hit.
One year I had a shot at a doe (nice sized one too) at just shy of 100 yards. I used the same "technique" and hammered her to the ground, placing the bullet right in the heart / lung area. It is a pretty decent technique. Shooting at all those Armadillos was GREAT practice!

 

[SS427]

I swing the rifle from right to left. I'm right handed so the trigger pull slows the momentum of the rifle on the aiming point and I can get a decent sized group. Nothing to brag about but certainly good enough for most small varmints and heart/lung shots on big game.

This works out to about 125 yards but beyond that all bets are off. I will only take a longer shot at game if I have a rest of some sort. I carry shooting sticks for this very reason.

 

[Lapua40X]

The best single source I can recommend is a book:
The Art Of The Rifle
Colonel Jeff Cooper
http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-Of-Rifle/dp/1581605927
You'll get more out of that book than you'll ever get from an open forum.

 

[Erik Cortina]

Dry firing at a distant object is an excellent way to practice. When I used to shoot silhouette, I would practice everyday through my living room window. You will get better, but like others posted, you will never be super steady, but you will learn to break the shot at the right moment. Your "wobble" zone will also get smaller and more predictable with practice.

Another way is to print reduced silhouette targets and practice shooting at them.
By the way, the longer you aim, the worst the wobble gets. So, try to get your shot off in about 3-5 seconds.

 

[newgun]

After you get good at that try it on a running horse. Like others have said you just got to squeeze at the right time. If I had to learn this as an adult I don't know if I could. But all the shooting my family did when we were kids really helped.If you cant stand your older brother to win that helps too!

 

[Immike]

I agree with the daily practices and it will come to you with time. Establishing your stance is a good place to start with foot position. I would aim at the locking button on my living room door knob every evening. You have to keep the rifle handy for constant practice.

 

[fdshuster]

If there is any off-hand rifle silhouette shooting nearby, consider getting involved in that. It's a great way to develop off-hand (unsupported) shooting skills, while also having a good time doing it.

Many different versions from as close as 40 meters to ( 22 RF & cowboy pistol cartridges) many hundreds of meters (Hi-Power rifle).

At some match's you will pay a small fee to shoot, but not for score/ competition. Or, you can shoot for score & get an NRA classification. Your choice when starting out.

Minimal equipment required. You go to the firing line with a firearm, ammo, hearing & eye protection, maybe a stop watch. Shooting can be with a scope or iron sights. Check it out if possible.

 

[johara1]

Get a good 22 bolt with a good trigger and shoot clay birds at 100 yds. learn trigger control and follow through...... jim

 

[finnaddict]

Basically this is how I practice. Off hand is no joke. It clearly shows who masters and who doesn't. Check out these tips on off hand shooting.

This is something that can be done at home at a short distance without using live ammo. My personal tip on this is don't wait until the day prior to begin practicing. You will gain nothing. Practice consistently and continuously.

 

[jpretle]

Air gun works great for practice. Cheap too. Getting a natural point of aim is paramount. If your position is different each time you set up to shoot, you are starting over. Continual practice will develop the muscle memory, allowing for the NPA to be established.

 

[DaveWhite]

Air gun works great for practice. Cheap too. Getting a natural point of aim is paramount. If your position is different each time you set up to shoot, you are starting over. Continual practice will develop the muscle memory, allowing for the NPA to be established.

+1 - Air Rifle is the best offhand practice you can get. The slow barrel time forces you to follow through. It is cheap to shoot and generally not too hard to have a range at home. If you can find time to shoot twenty or thirty rounds each day for a month, you will find your ability tightening up considerably. practice, practice, and more practice. All of us need it and few of us get it...

 

[Lapua40X]

... Any pointers on how to practice? Right now I can't keep a set of crosshairs even remotely steady.

"Crosshairs" infer you're using a scoped rifle to practice off hand shooting. I wouldn't recommend that for the novice. The scope dramatically amplifies the amount of movement on the target and can cause the new shooter to tighten up trying to hold a steady point of aim. Additionally, I don't believe you should be learning to shoot off hand at distances that would typically require a scoped rifle.
Most of the less expensive air rifles aren't, IMO, accurate enough to offer a satisfying learning experience. I'd recommend a rim fire (single shot bolt action is you have one) if you have to purchase one I'd suggest the Ruger 10/22
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130730035947/criminalminds/images/4/49/Ruger_10-22.jpg&imgrefurl=http://criminalminds.wikia.com/wiki/File:Ruger_10-22.jpg&h=300&w=590&sz=36&tbnid=WxYXppR4cJ-pVM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=177&zoom=1&usg=__ZqKBwEJ-Z0bIjMzqDgs3USfQ5o8=&docid=yTo8LBhPejWWbM&sa=X&ei=ax1cUsfJIojm8gSlqYHgCA&ved=0CFMQ9QEwBw

 

[jonbearman]

There might be some exercise's to build upper body strength as well. Google it.

 

[Link]

There might be some exerciser's to build upper body strength as well. Google it.

I'm not really proficient but I use the heaviest rifle I have for exercise.

However I use a rifle under 7.5lb for comp.

I'm a senior so I can tuck my left elbow against my ribs, that helps.

have fun Link

 

[Outrider27]

Another way is to print reduced silhouette targets and practice shooting at them.
By the way, the longer you aim, the worst the wobble gets. So, try to get your shot off in about 3-5 seconds.

+1 on getting them off as quickly as you can (without rushing things too much). Just for reference, back in the 1960s the Russians did some serious research on things that effect accuracy in position shooting. One of the things they found out was that shooting offhand your wobble area went to hell in a handbasket after 14 seconds, so if you didn't get the shot off by that time, or preferably MUCH less, lower the rifle, relax, take a few deep breaths and start over.

Another thing you will find is that with practice, (and dry fire is great practice for this) what seems like a very short time to get your position, sight alignment and sight picture and get the shot off before your wobble area goes huge will become more than enough time to do it all and prepare for the next shot as time goes on and you gain experience. The final major improvement in my scores when I shot intercollegiate pistol came with a major change in rythm when I shot timed fire (5 shots in 20 seconds for each of two srtings); it was suggested (by a retired Marine Gunny who had probably forgotten more about marksmanship than I'll ever know) that I take an extra second or so to get my sight alignment and sight picture settled in and then shoot the string like rapid fire, which resulted in a string shot in 11 to 12 seconds rather than 20 (rapid fire is 2, 5 shot strings, 10 seconds each). As usual he was right, lol. Rythm is important when you shoot offhand, and developing a rythm that gets the rifle mounted, sights aligned and a good sight picture and the shot off quickly comes only with lots of practice, but it will do wonders for your score, just as rythm improved my pistol scores.

 

[stubbicatt]

I bought one of those Crosman PCP air rifles from Walmart dot com and a Benjamin air pump (that looks like a heavy duty bicycle pump), a pellet trap, and half a metric buttload of pellets. In shape it closely resembles a drop belly centerfire match rifle stock, and is plenty accurate.

Shooting those 10 meter air rifle targets is quite a challenge, and I hope it makes a difference for me when it comes time to shoot centerfire again, assuming my neck fractures heal by next Spring.

 

[jonbearman]

There is a book by Bill Krilling I believe and it is called "SHOOTING FOR GOLD" and it talks about exercises to build up the muscles to stabilize your rifle.

 

[nwflycaster]

Are you looking to get into any kind of competition? If so, what discipline. It makes a difference. Spend some time with somebody that is proficient and have them take a look at your position while you shoot.

For me personally, I don't shoot coming into center but prefer the hard hold method.

If you are wanting to get into high power XTC shooting you can probably find a range nearby that will have a clinic when the match season rolls around again.

Air rifle or rimfire does make great practice, but first you need to be making good practice not ingraining bad habits. I would start with my first suggestion before practicing a lot on your own