DITTO...With PCPWith Springer
I'm guessing in Quebec you don't have the option to use the harness do you? I couldn't have done the seated position if we couldn't use it. See if it is legal. It will make all the difference. My body proportions just wouldn't allow me. I have short arms and a long torso and short legs and I always feel like I'm about to fall backwards if I don't keep my abs tensed and that isn't conducive to relaxed shooting. I do try from time to time, so I feel your pain.To reiterate what someone else said, just keep practicing. Do a search for natural point of aim and I think you'll find some suggestions.
Here in the states within the OPEN class we're allowed body slings/strap harnesses.In European style WFTF there NOT allowed.Shooting from a seated ( Bumm Bag ) position w/o a harness WIDEST SPREAD of your legs you can do the better.Once wide enough you can rest your trigger hand arm on your thigh of same side while rifle rests on other sides knee.Whats key is attempting to get your body mass over your AZZ & forward some so as you relax into position your in a sense falling into your self supported by your legs locking the forward lean in check and not outward in any direction taking you off balance.* On a personal note, been shooting competitive FT for @ 5 years now with 4 of them in HUNTER class on a seat using a bipod. Doing so have been progressively a better shooter year after year being now give or take a 90% shooter in Hunter PCP.Last year ( 2015 ) invested in shooting OPEN class with scope clicking, bumm bag sitted etc ...After an entire year devoted to getting the hang of it ... NEVER DID and struggled to get back at 80% and honestly never averaged even that 2016 went back on the bucket / seat with bipod and near immediately was back to the previous percentile shooting.For me and my body type & obtainable stablity, Hunter class just works better and is more fun to boot along with the challenge of shooting at only 12x Best of luck !Scott
What I personally did was record myself from a couple different angles andthat helped a little bit but the biggest things for me has to been just keep shootingand after a week or two it became much more comfortable and steady.I'm new to FT and hope to improve but the biggest thing for me has just been to get to the matches andA) get the experience and B) watch other people and if you see something try it out and see if it works for you.I look forward to seeing what some of the more experienced shooters have to say?
Seeing your pulse in the sight picture is normal. It happens shooting rifles prone with a sling also. A shooting jacket can reduce it, but is another expense. I use the same position you just described and can reduce the pulse from my left arm with a cheap elbow brace from a sporting store. You kind of need to time the shot so your wobble, pulse and target all line up. don't try to force it though, especially with a spring gun, PCPs are slightly more tolerant.
Your heartbeat will always come into play. That is why many (myself included) wear a shooting jacket. Adding layers will decrease the felt heartbeat. You can even put on a thick sweatshirt and that should help. Based on what you are saying about your comfortable position, it sounds like you are shooting over your arm? Which is a good position. See the photo below for confirmation. That's Brad Troyer with the red stock there. I shoot directly off of my knee and prefer to have the rifle balanced between my knees in terms of where the weight sits. For me, this mitigates some of the muzzle flip and also puts me in a more upright position. To achieve this, I kind of lean back instead of hunching over the rifle. Hopefully that makes sense. I try and get as much engagement as I can between my right knee/thigh and my right elbow. Then I simply wrap my hand around my left knee. I don't have long enough arms to completely wrap my left arm around my left knee, but many shooters do. Also, I'd recommend a pair of pants that have a long inseam and aren't too tight in the hips. This will allow you to spread your legs more comfortably if you choose/need to. See the pic below. Bear in mind, there is no right way or wrong way...only the way that works for you. Comfort is paramount. Hope this helps some and good luck!
The jacket I use is a Kurt Thune FT jacket. The arms are quite flexible but do have some rubberized material on the elbows to help stabilize that contact with your knees/thigh. Most folks here in the states us Creedmor jackets as they are easily accessible and offer a lot of options. The vast majority that shoot with jackets shoot with them open or loosely buttoned/strapped for seated shots. They are of the most use for offhand, and provide good support for kneeling as well. I like the rubber on the elbows and shoulder (the shoulder padding/rubber helps mitigate your pulse). Again, more layers between your rifle and your body is a good thing in terms of cutting the visible jumps from your heart beat.If your rifle is contacting your chest, there will be some pulse from there. But also, the shoulder that your buttpad is in contact with is going to move you some as you have an artery running through your armpit to give that pulse. And yes, you will get some pulse from your left arm where the fore stock is in contact. It comes from multiple places. When I started, I shot over my arm and it required a lot of timing on my part to time my shot in between heart beats....particularly if I was not feeling stable that day. The more you practice, the better you will get at controlling it and learning how to shoot with it.
What position are you shooting best in, Joe? (I'm talking WFTF International, so no supports and no bucket to sit on.) Do you ever notice your heart beat when sighting? That's what I think I'm running into now... there is a regular movement of the sight picture which seems to be my heart beating because my chest and stomach are right up against my legs with me all bent over.
I tried last night with a thicker leather jacket, using the same sitting field target position as in the first photo. And the results were MUCH better! If there was a pulse, it was barely discernible and my shooting was about the best I've ever done. Only problem was that it was uncomfortably hot, especially crouched over like that. Maybe outdoors in cooler weather it'll be perfect.But at least now I know what the problem is, and I'll try to find a shooting jacket that works for me as well as try to lower my heart rate, etc.Thanks for all the advice!