I did a lot of competitive shooting back in the day, and much of that was from the kneeling and standing positions. To some extent, they represent the sort of sight movement we see when firing from field positions as opposed to the sighting bench. One of the techniques one learned was to take a mental polaroid photo of the sight picture as the rifle fired. With practice, one would know exactly where the bullet went before looking through the target scope. Subconsciously, it also forces the shooter to maintain sight picture that extra millisecond through the shot. Hence, not only do you know where the bullet hit but also groups tend to shrink significantly. All of that translates directly to the field. When a PH or guide inquires "how did the shot feel," I can typically answer pretty precisely where I hit the animal.
Absolutely. While I personally don't care for the hassle of going to the range unless I have to, dry firing at home is very useful, especially mounting quickly and firing at an imaginary target. My living room has striped wallpaper and wainscoting that's very useful for this exercise. I pick a stripe, mount the rifle, swing on the molding at the top of the wainscoting till I reach the stripe, and fire. This is an adaptation of the exercise I used to train my left eye to close when shooting my shotgun (surgeries have left that eye seeing off kilter). Do not dry fire shotgun though. Even with a hard nylon primer snap cap I still broke a firing pin in my A5. Rifle or shotgun it's great practice for mounting and follow through. I also practice mounting and dry firing at still "targets" (usually the seal on one of the diplomas hanging in my office ... finally found a use for those things
).
Good explanation. I learned this from a competition shooter while in college, in a casual setting shooting at a friend’s farm. It has been helpful, I need to practice more.
Without question having the proper stance, handholds on sticks in my opinion is the single most important thing to practice before Africa hunt. Even shooting off sticks I have seen friends with the barrel not fire end resting on fulcrum that was quickly corrected. To me, when I say call the shot which I completely agree with is mentally I want to see the hole on the target/ animal after the shot. So I pick my spot stare a hole through it and when I squeeze the trigger I try to see the bullet hit. While I can’t actually see it it forces me to stay down on the rifle guaranteeing follow through versus lifting my head up to “see what happened after the shot.”
I think of grip, cheek weld, trigger pull, etc as ingrained muscle memory actions. I do not consciously think of any of those. I also shoot with both eyes open. With practice, one only sees the target though peripheral vision is still working if something unexpected happens. At the shot I "know" where the sights were, and can thus accurately call the spot struck on a target or an animal.
Exactly. I recall first employing this technique when I shot my first elk back in '71, an exceptional 6x6 bull (346 B&C). I'd already hit it twice, first in the neck then in the poop chute. When I finally caught up to him I knew if that bull ran any further down in the canyon I'd never get it out. I concentrated on following the bullet into his head and that's where it went.
Interesting dialog. For me it's concentrating on a spot on the target, not the reticle. The biggest mistake I find myself making when wingshooting is shooting at the bird and not a spot on the bird, e.g. white ring on a pheasant's neck. Or in Africa the spot on an impala where the lateral stripe meets the front shoulder.
Yes, the crosshairs and the desired Point of Impact have to be in alignment of course, but it is possible to follow your desired target and not keep your crosshairs in alignment. For me, focusing on the crosshairs and looking at my target ‘through’ the crosshairs helps me avoid this mistake.
Ruger (I think) used to have a heavy rifle (Hawkeye African?) in .223. A rifle, identical to your dangerous game rifle in an inexpensive, soft recoiling caliber would be the answer if you could find or get someone to build/modify
Yes ive seen those 22 rifle sleeves here in the uk @Rare Breed
@Ontario Hunter
Yeah, the trigger on my 06 is a little light. Been meaning to do something about that. Of course, trigger weight on my shotgun is pretty much immaterial. Wingshooting = pulling hard and fast on the trigger. Next year I'll force myself to make a quick trip back to the range with my rifle before I start deer hunting in Montana for a refresher on its trigger weight. But that will mean taking time out from chasing uplands, sigh!
