Site pictures and triggers.

[Lenard]

I have been thinking about this for some time now, but have been a little shy about posting about it. I have hunted rock chucks for almost 25 years and experienced some crazy things.

Since we are hunting on ranches and need to be pretty mobile, we have purchased and used the Caldwell Dead Shot Field Pod, for the last 4 seasons. Now, the Field Pod is nothing like shooting off a bench. There is always movement of some sort, even though not much. My two sons shoot with me at times, but two other elderly gentlemen, all use Field Pods and have adjusted to them better than I ever believed possible.

Shots to 400+ yards have been made by three of us. We all use buckets for sitting and may be in one place for an hour or more waiting for the chucks to come out. A year ago last spring, I had been sitting and glassing when I spotted a chuck sitting on a rock at 369 yards. I can still see the crosshairs locked on that chuck for what seemed like a milisecond as I touched the trigger. I killed the chuck.

Actually, the prelude is really about what the mind and body can adjust to when shooting off a rest that is unlike a bench. We have all talked about this and find strange that this can be done with such proficiency.

I want to know if any of you have had like experiences as it seems to unnatural to be able to pull the trigger at just the right time. I really don't want this post to become a post about me, but posted what I posted FYI.

 

[cdparker]

I am a long range target shooter, sling and F class. If you concentrate on the cross hairs, your mind will make the gun will go off by itself. There is no conscious effort in pulling the trigger. Follow through is very important also.
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[memo43]

I am a long range target shooter, sling and F class. If you concentrate on the cross hairs, your mind will make the gun will go off by itself. There is no conscious effort in pulling the trigger. Follow through is very important also.
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this after a while you develop muscle memory where things seem to be almost automatic. Its the subconscious part of shooting. I have had episodes where the rifle literally has gone off only to reveal a picture perfect center shot.
Now if I could only have more of those.

Memo

 

[MrMajestic]

A good trigger and lots of practice! Nice shooting!

 

[onelastshot]

Over the years I've learned that there simply is no substitute for a quality trigger. When you start shooting over 300 yards everything has to come together for a clean and accurate hit; there's no substitute for a firm rest but I've managed to discipline myself in learning to shoot effectively in sitting and prone positions. That being said, there's no learning curve to adjust to a poor trigger. You don't begin to fully appreciate the difference until you finally sit down at a bench and place your finger on a quality trigger. You focus on the target and alignment and the trigger simply responds.

I've got a few rifles I've had for years that shoot well but don't have what I consider to be a true quality trigger. Instead of purchasing something new this year I've decided to focus on what I've got and replacing a few triggers.

 

[Lenard]

memo43.... Funny you should say the gun just seems to go off. A couple summers ago, we were shooting like 3 days a week and working on our basics. I was shooting some mighty fine groups and told my shooting partner, that it almost seems like I could wish that bullet into the center of the target. He looked at me as if I had lost my mind. But, as you mentioned, the gun sometimes just goes off.

I don't mind being told I was crazy, but this has proven real on certain occasions while hunting chucks.

By the way, I do not have a trigger over 15 oz. with my four varmint hunting rifles.

 

[Lenard]

onelastshot....It is good to see you post using sitting or prone where there is movement and the trigger goes off at the opportune time. We've read and been told that to make long distance shots, we have to have a solid rest. I am convinced that the body/mind can accomplish most anything.

At age 53, my youngest son decided to take time from his business to shoot with us. I spent some time giving him instruction on how to hold the rifle gently, find the natural point of aim, and squeeze. First time out, he killed a number of chucks at 250. On our second trip, he killed some out to 300 yards. It only pushed his appetite to shoot further. On the last morning, he killed a chuck at 485 yards, all using the caldwell rest and his 700 223 He shot high on the first shot, but was dead on for the secone. He is now hooked.

Thanks for posting as it answers some questions for me.

 

[TRG]

I'm one of the other "elderly gentlemen" Lenard mentioned. Not being as elderly as Lenard, I can forgive him for not remembering that I don't use the Caldwell rest but rather a Manfrotto tripod and pistol grip head with a Pig Saddle and I sit on a dove stool. It's high enough to put me above low lying vegetation and with elbows to knees I get a pretty stable set up. The operative word is "pretty". The gun never really stops moving. That means the trigger release has to be timed. How this works is something we discuss regularly. For several reasons, I can't shoot a light trigger. My triggers are set in the 2.5-3lb. range. Even at that, the trigger release can seem unconscious.

Most people are familiar with the idea of being in "the zone." It doesn't make any difference whether it's on a trap field, at a pool table or behind a rifle. When your in the zone it all seems easy. It's effortless to mentally focus and it almost seems that the world slows down a couple of notches. In high stress situations, people report that their vision tunnels, becomes highly focused and bright and events are in slow motion. Doctors attribute this to endocrine releases. The eye and the mind work on a frame per second constant. If the frame per second constant increases than motion seems to slow. It is said that Ted Williams could see the stitches on a pitched ball. The subconscious is capable of making incredible complex calculations in an instant. Otherwise there would be no three-point jump shots, no broken sixty yard crossing targets and no chucks killed at four hundred yards off of wobbly-*** rests. The question becomes how do we get in the zone? Whenever that happens, it seems all things are possible. Something to ponder.

 

[hogpatrol]

One with the gun. ;D

 

[K22]

I'm a avid varmint and predator hunter.

I use a home made cross sticks constructed of 1/2" diameter solid aluminum rod, the ends cover with rubber heater hose and bound together with 1" velcro. I also carry a light weight sportsman's chair with me to sit on which gives me four points of support, elbows of knees, feet flat on ground while sitting. My home made stick is sturdy and does not flex like a lot of commercial sticks on the market. I carry the chair on a sling and I'm highly mobile.

This system works quite well out to about 300 yards. It's great for moving around frequently or stalking. Beyond 300 yards I need a bipod in the prone position to have any chance of a hit. Since where I hunt, shots longer than 300 yards are rare so I hunt with the cross sticks all the time now.

Like others have said, a high quality trigger is a critical for this kind of shooting.

Some movement is unavoidable with most field rests but by practicing you can master the trigger control / release / follow through process. Maybe "master" is the wrong word, become more proficient is more like it.

I have no desire to use a bench in the field because it restricts my mobility.

 

[dryhumor]

I have two 3oz set triggers. Some shots it seems like forever before the trigger breaks. Some days I think to myself "right about now... And it breaks. Nothing beats a good trigger.

Except an accurate rifle

 

[MQ1]

I've enjoyed that being in "the zone" feeling much more often shooting competitve archery than varmint hunting. Although I shoot recurves, At one time I was very competive in 3-D and 5 Spot archery, having to take a hiatus with some neck issues.

In any case, my greatest discovery was that the weight of my triggers and releases were not nearly as important as that they were crisp with no creep whatsoever. My scores actually got significantly better once I realized this, and now all of my triggers and releases are of varying weights. This is important in pistol shooting too, and have found that I pretty much don't concern myself with the weight of pull...I just concentrate on the sight and the follow-through, whether I'm competing in archery, bullseye pistol, or varminting with an accurate rifle.

i don't think of a good trigger as being only capable of a low weight setting...it is more important that it is crisp, and breaks in a way that does not allow me any hint of anticipation, so that I concentrate on the sight picture and follow-through.

MQ1