a range trip and a revelation

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Hardtarget

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Saturday here in mid-Tn was beautiful! We got through cutting grass so I made a trip to the range.

I picked up my Colt Diamondback .22 along with a couple other pistols. Got my gear on the table and saw I'd left my tape measure at home so I just stepped of 25 good paces. (not accurate but better than going home)

Then the wierd part. I could not hold my hand steady...at all! My 24 rounds looked like a shotgun pattern! Even a two hand grip was jitters. :what: All I can figure was cutting eleven yards on a ZTR and that weed eater had "fried" the nerves in my hands and arms. Just no control there at all.

After I thought about it it was kind of funny so I packed up and went home. No sense in a bad waste of good ammo. Its too expensive right now for that! :D

Mark
 
Motorcycles can cause similar problems. An hour on the highway with a buzzy bike can leave my hands noticeably less dexterous. They can feel quite strange for a bit.
 
That can happen. The old school chainsaws were notorious for causing permanent nerve damage. Perhaps some vibration absorbing gel gloves while using those tools.
 
Motorcycles, lawn mowers, chainsaws, power tools, lifting weights can all cause muscular fatigue, and will cause the shakes. I'm sure your nerves are fine.

But if you go out and notice unsteadiness in your hands even though you haven't done anything physical, it's time to see a doctor I think.

JMO
 
I figured some of you had seen the same type of reaction to those types of viberations. I did a little dry fire tonight and I was noticably steadier. Not the same as rounds down range but the sight picture looked much better.

I'll have a chance to shoot this weekend. Proof in the puttin' (rounds downrange,that is) :D

Have a good week.

Mark
 
Something I discovered long ago, is that my pistol sessions were improved by having a rifle session first. Even something as simple as putting 10 or twenty rounds down range gets me in that 'zone' that seems so important for a great range day with handguns.

Which is as like placebo effect--that I expect it to be so, so it is so--is as likely any other explanation.

But, getting on the bench with a long arm, letting the muscle-memory kick in, all that has helped take that tremor/twitch/shake out.

Sometimes.

Your mileage may vary.
 
Some days it seemed I couldn't shoot a decent group with any handgun. Then one day it hit me as I was pondering whether to adjust my grip, raise my powder charge, or just stick to rifles -- how many cups of coffee did I have this morning?

Now, if I plan to do any serious range work, I forego the joe.
 
"Drinking products that contain caffine such as coffee ... have been proven to cause shakes...jitters...when shooting."

And why do you think the old pistol teams always tried to "treat" their opponents to a nice cup of coffee before the match? Smart shooters thanked their "friends" for the offer but declined.

Jim
 
One time I took out my .44Mag and new ammo loads for some accuracy testing along with my new Mosin Nagant for some fun.

I made the mistake of shooting the Mosin first. That shocked my shoulder and arm enough that my handgun shooting was a waste of time and ammo.

So I don't doubt that a bunch of serious work with the garden tools before going to the range could do this.

Also if you're overly hungry or just ate a big burger the sugar loss or extra in the blood stream can somewhat affect our shooting.
 
a couple months ago, my shooting buddies and i were out exercising the weapons. we mainly shoot pistols at various objects from golf balls at 15 yards, to a gong at 111 yards.

early in the session, i quickly fired off the remaining seven rounds of my very heavy elk loads through my 45lc blackhawk. this load kicks like an elk!

anyway, after those seven rounds, i pulled out my bearcat for some golf. never got a shot off the gun was shaking so bad. my buddy watching from the sidelines quietly said "you're just wasting your time". even he could see the gun shaking.

i put the gun away and watched the others shoot. every 5 or 10 minutes i would pull the bearcat out and try to shoot. it took 45 minutes before i was steady enough to shoot again (and hit the golf balls).

i'm sure that, if i shot those elk loads every day, i would not have this problem. but, i'm not. i'll make sure those loads are shot at the end of the day!

murf
 
For what it's worth, I have learned for ME that I shoot .22 pistols first, then .32 ACP, then .38 Special, then 40 cal. I tried it the other way and really noticed a difference.
 
I prefer to mix them up.

If I just shoot .22 I can sensitize to it in a sense where it seems loud even through hearing protection. A magazine of .45 resets my perceptions and suddenly the .22 is back to normal/nothing.

Same goes the other way too. For e.g. I had a chance to shoot a snubby .460 S&W revolver...it was sensory overload (I could feel the muzzle blast slapping my face, and, well, unpleasant is the word)...afterwards I spent time with my Buckmark to undo the damage so to speak.

I am not the greatest shot on the planet by a long shot, but I would be worse if I didn't go back and forth between different intensity loads from time to time...I think.
 
Look at the bright side. If you just bolt on a nice Skilsaw blade to that weedwhacker, think of all the money you'll save piddling around with a .22. easy to hit the target too
 
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