Off hand shooting - 1.5" spinner 32 yds

[Marc In Iowa]

For a couple of years I've been testing and tuning air rifles for plinking in my forest; Discovery 22, Hammerli 850 177, Coyote 177, Walther Terrus 177, GAMO Urban 22 and now Brocock Bantam 177.

Most of my shooting has been off my deck, sitting on a stool in the corner. I bag rest the front of the rifles and have each elbow resting in the corner of the railing.

Kind of a triangle from front bag to left elbow and right elbow. This is similar to the "bucket and sticks" of Hunter Field Target (HFT); elbows on the knees, rifle front supported by the sticks.

It's a pretty stable way to hold the rifle for testing the accuracy. Not as rock solid as complete front and rear bag resting but pretty good.

The best group I can shoot is .29" CTC at 25 yds.

After two years of learning plus lots of trial and error, I've settled on two rifles for most of my shooting. I don't hunt. I do plinking out to 82 yds and I'm practicing for Field Target with the Bantam 177 from 10-55 yds.

22 Urban 3-9x 32mm
... 7.8 lbs
177 Bantam 4-16x 56mm
... 9.4 lbs

I'm now trying to work on off hand, unrested shooting. My challenge target is a 1.5" spinner at 32 yds. The bulk of my shooting is with the Bantam 177 because I really need to have shooting this rifle be routine and second nature for Field Target; the hold, trigger, scope, weight, stock (adjustable cheek piece & rubber butt pad), etc.

The best I can do at this time with a little cheating (I'm leaning my hip into the corner of the deck railing, not truly unsupported) is 6 hits of 10 shots on the 1.5" spinner at 32 yds.

Once I get really solid holding the rifle off hand, I'll stop cheating and just stand, completely unsupported.

I'm looking for good links to off hand shooting tips or whatever advice you might have. Off hand, unsupported shooting is all new to me.

I figure practice, practice, practice are 3 key aspects.

[HunterWhite]

That's really a nice setup you've got there.
 I live in the city so a 30 minute practice session starts with a 75 mile ride.

[Marc In Iowa]

I can use the range at night too. The targets at 32 yds are lit by a solar patio light.

[ranchibi]

Marc, off hand is by far the toughest way to shoot accurately! Tommy mentioned to me to slowly bring the barrel up until the crosshairs hit your target then release trigger...takes some practicing but I understand how it works. Have fun and good luck in FT!

[Marc In Iowa]

... slowly bring the barrel up until the crosshairs hit your target then release trigger...takes some practicing

Yup. Might take some practice. I tried it just now in the dark and hit 3 times of 10 (still "cheating" with my hip in the deck rail corner).

Maybe I was jerking the trigger more.

The sight picture with the solar light is just as nice and clear as during the day.

[ranchibi]

... slowly bring the barrel up until the crosshairs hit your target then release trigger...takes some practicing

Yup. Might take some practice. I tried it just now in the dark and hit 3 times of 10 (still "cheating" with my hip in the deck rail corner).

Maybe I was jerking the trigger more.

The sight picture with the solar light is just as nice and clear as during the day.

That’s cool! I “occasionally” shoot at night and use an LED flashlight to illuminate my paper target.

[bReTt]

Decided against a Streamline/Dreamline Marc? 

The Bantam is one that I would like to try. 

https://www.issf-sports.org/theissf/academy/e_learning/rifle.ashx

[Marc In Iowa]

Decided against a Streamline/Dreamline Marc? 

Well, I've held out for the Dreamline but Gosh! It's taking a long time to come out!

Latest rumor is January, 2019.

The Streamline hasn't established any sort of following in the world of Field Target. The tight accuracy needed for FT at 55 yds may not be much of an advantage with the Smooth Twist barrel.

I got interested in the Brocock Bantam after seeing a guy shoot one for Field Target. I decided to give it a try. So far, I've been pretty satisfied and that's not easy for me! 🙂

Sort of "picky" and "exacting" I suppose. I'm always threading a sweet spot path between perfect and "good enough for what really matters." A bit of an "odd duck" as it goes.

I do only shoot for fun.

I've still got my eye on the Dreamline but we'll see where the Bantam takes me. I'd like to see how the Dreamline rifles perform once they are available.


Thanks for the shooting link! Just what I was looking for. I will study the recommendations and give them a try.

[bReTt]

Decided against a Streamline/Dreamline Marc? 

Well, I've held out for the Dreamline but Gosh! It's taking a long time to come out!

Latest rumor is January, 2019.

The Streamline hasn't established any sort of following in the world of Field Target. The tight accuracy needed for FT at 55 yds may not be much of an advantage with the Smooth Twist barrel.

I got interested in the Brocock Bantam after seeing a guy shoot one for Field Target. I decided to give it a try. So far, I've been pretty satisfied and that's not easy for me! 🙂

Sort of "picky" and "exacting" I suppose. I'm always threading a sweet spot path between perfect and "good enough for what really matters." A bit of an "odd duck" as it goes.

I do only shoot for fun.

I've still got my eye on the Dreamline but we'll see where the Bantam takes me. I'd like to see how the Dreamline rifles perform once they are available.


Thanks for the shooting link! Just what I was looking for. I will study the recommendations and give them a try.

I like the compact size of the Bantam.  I have not handled one but just from reading others reports and comparing images, it would appear to be a better carry gun.  The Streamline with moderator is long compared to the BB. 

I am impressed with the accuracy of my SL.  Surprisingly it handles well for such a long gun.  I usually shoot from some sort of a supported position with it.  I have shot it very little in a standing offhand stance. 

I think that you did well in choosing the BB.  It really comes down to personal preference and the best way to know for sure is to handle them. 

One standing offhand shooting tip that was probably the most helpful for me (shooting the Anschutz and FWB) was timing the trigger break as your sights are swinging into the target, not as its swinging out.  Seems basic now but at the time I didn't even think about it.

Shoot straight!

[Mossonarock]

I'm no airgun FT shooter but I was on a marksmanship team shooting .22 lr as a boy. On the team, we used a shooting sling. Since you seem to be shooting PCPs, I think the shooting sling will work for you but what do I know. Here's a link to what I'm talking about:https://gundigest.com/more/how-to/rifle-shooting-basics-loop-sling I beleive the type of sling I used is called a Loop Sling. Please take note: a shooting sling is NOT a carrying strap which also gets called a sling. The sling I used only attached to one point on the rifle usually on the front sling mount, not toward the rear on the stock (if that makes any sense).  Using shooting slings has long been falling out of use. Its not taught in the military like it used to be- like since the Korean War. Perhaps because of different firearms being used nowadays. That also means hunters have been forgetting about it too. Not that it isn't useful; I think it is. It really does help to stabilize your rifle in any position from prone to standing. It really helps to relieve the downward pull of the muzzle. You won't need to use your shoulder muscles nearly as much to hold your rifle up.

I haven't been back into airguns long enough to really practice with a shooting sling with springers but I did make one for myself. What little practice I've done has led me to mixed results. I seemed to have done ok with my HW97 but not so well with my Hatsan Edge. Difference in recoil perhaps? IDK. I need more practice.

I don't want to derail this thread with a discussion of shooting slings. I've been thinking of starting a thread on shooting slings to see what others have to say but I've been wanting to practice some more on my own first. (winter, rain, all that)

[Marc In Iowa]

I think that you did well in choosing the BB.  It really comes down to personal preference and the best way to know for sure is to handle them.

So much IS personal preference. If we all loved the same thing there might be only one flavor of pie!

Both the Bantam and the Urban suit me well but there's many folks that don't like the looks of either. I had to drive 8 hrs round trip to get to a dealer where I could handle the Bantam to decide.

[Marc In Iowa]

I think the shooting sling will work for you ...

https://gundigest.com/more/how-to/rifle-shooting-basics-loop-sling I

A loop sling came supplied with the Daisy 853 I got used from the CMP. I didn't really know what to do with it.

Here is what I found for Hunter Field Target rules.

AAFTA Hunter Division Rules
"A rifle sling attached to the rifle at only two points may be used."

As a practical matter, I don't see people using loop slings (or any slings) for HFT. I'll look into it a bit.

Thanks!

[Mossonarock]

A loop sling came supplied with the Daisy 853 I got used from the CMP. I didn't really know what to do with it.

I admit using a loop sling seems a bit weird at first till you get it figured out. As a boy, it took me a lot of practice to figure it out. The hard part is figuring out how it wraps around your forearm. Then there's the never ending struggle of getting the tension cinched up just right. Its the tension that makes it work to stabilize the rifle.

[pigmode]

Speaking of shooting offhand with slings... Its been many seasons since I've shot High Power, but have found a couple of tips here that could be helpful along the way.

Still can't post external links, so search "How to Shoot Standing — HP Champion Carl Bernosky Explains"