Too Good to Get Better??

[GasLight]

I went out and got some shooting in yesterday. I haven't done a bunch of shooting overall, but I have a rifle that will easily shoot under 1/2" at 100. For a while I thought that I was getting to be a darn good shot, but the problem is, the gun shoots this way whomever is behind the trigger. So this got me to thinking, if I have a gun that will give me under 1/2" groups without working too hard at it, is it too good to learn on? When it gets down to it, trying to improve with gun that performs so well makes it tough. The feedback isn't nearly as dramatic as a rifle that shoots 1 MOA... a rifle like this can make you complacent, and will hide some of the flaws in technique. I guess the thing to do is to maybe set some type of benchmark with where I am at now, and continually try to beat that? Maybe the answer is to stretch it past 100 yards? Anyway, was just having some thoughts and thought I would throw them out here.

Dave

 

[Bacarrat]

Re: Too Good to Get Better??

Get out of shooting at 100. IMO, it's a total waste to shoot at 100 yards. To develope loads or zero, maybe, but other then that.

 

[KHOOKS]

Re: Too Good to Get Better??

Yes you need to shoot longer distances I to get bored of shooting at 100 yards. Even a 100 yards with my 22lr gets old when the rifle/ammo combo will hit bottle tops one after the other. But them bottle tops get harder at 150 yards. Just move it on out and the fun will return!

 

[LoneWolfUSMC]

Re: Too Good to Get Better??

No, it's not too good to learn on.

If you hand a novice that rifle and he does not perfectly execute the fundamentals he will not be able to shoot the rifle to it's potential. It's that simple.

While a novice may not be able to fully realize the potential of a 1/4 or 1/2 MOA rifle, it WILL allow him to rule out equipment issues and concentrate on tightening the nut on the trigger.

Once you are consistently shooting the rifle to it's potential at close range, move it back. It's much harder when the environment decides to kick your ass.

 

[GasLight]

Re: Too Good to Get Better??

Yeah, I definately need to stretch out a bit more, but what I was saying is that if your equipment is too good, and the rifle is very forgiving, then maybe you can keep some bad habits and they get covered up in the rifle's performance. And this would create a situation where you can do good to a certain level, but because your rifle didn't give you enough feedback, then you can never exceed that level. Not sure if I am making sense at all... Thinking of golf, if you buy a set of very forgiving clubs, you can get away with a bad swing, so you never learn the perfect swing, because you play good enough with those clubs, but when you want to step up your game, you need to break it all down and start over with a better technique, where if you had started with clubs that require a perfect swing, then you will be that much further ahead, getting feedback while you learn.

DD

 

[KHOOKS]

Re: Too Good to Get Better??

When your out there shooting at 400 yards or better you will be glad to know your equipment is dead on the money. That way you know your doing something wrong or the environment is causing you to put rounds off of point of aim.

 

[oneshot onekill]

Re: Too Good to Get Better??

A week or so ago there was a post regarding if using a rear bag was "cheating". I pondered that question for a while and decided my opinion was that in pretty much any situation within the parameters of this forum it was not. (But a Lead-Sled is!)

That said... I've recently been working on MY skills with a pretty simple exercise that brought me back down to earth!

Try achieving those groups STANDING... OFF-HAND! Ain't gonna happen! Do this for several trips to the range. No rested shooting... at all! Here's the "silver-lining"... Go back to rested shooting after that and your groups will tighten up to 1/4 Minute from 1/2!

 

[desertHK]

Re: Too Good to Get Better??

Like other suggested, get out of 100 yards. go beyond 600 yards, if possible.

Another way to practice, if you don't have the option to shoot that far is to be creative with your 100 yards, or 200 yards. If your gun is a 1/2 MOA, then put a 1/4 to 1/2 inch dots on a piece of paper, similar to the one that LL created. Now you get one shot at it. It won't be as easy. Group shooting at that range (100 yards), with such an awesome stick may just give you a false sense of confidence. JMHO

 

[Killswitch Engage]

Re: Too Good to Get Better??

take your rifle to 700-1k and shoot in a simple 7-10mph full value wind and mid morning mirage. i promise you that you will be humbled. if not, you need to find a new hobby.