Stavrogin
Member
Hey everyone. I'm trying to learn to shoot from positions well, and I'm finding a greater-than-expected difference between my prone shooting and my sitting. I'm hoping some of you here might be able to help pinpoint my mistakes. I'm posting this here instead of in the Competition shooting forum just because I'm using field positions, not competition ones, and my focus is on practical, not formal, shooting. If this should be posted somewhere else, please let me know (yes, I'm still new around here).
I've only been trying this with the air rifle on the basement range so far, but I suspect I would get similar results in RF or CF.
Prone, I can put 5 shots inside a .5" circle relatively easily, with 4 of the 5 or so overlapping each other. When I go to the sitting position, I'll get two or three inside the black, and the others will be nearly an inch low and a touch right. This happens again and again.
When sitting, the range is about 9M. Prone, it's probably 7.5-8M, because I'm against a wall in my basement and need room for my legs and feet. So yes, the distance is slightly shorter, but not by enough to account for the difference I'm seeing.
So I'm doing something wrong sitting. The shots generally land in one of two places: on target, or low and right. The ones that are off-target are consistently in the same wrong place.
My sitting stance is based on how I understood it in Jeff Cooper's "The Art of the Rifle"; heels on the ground, body about 45 degrees to the target and leaned well forward, upper arms (just above the elbow) contacting the inside of the knees. I try to maintain a consistent cheek weld, though I'm not sure how well I'm doing this.
Another thing: when prone, it feels as though the rifle moves much more when the shot breaks, but it feels like it jumps and returns to its original position. When sitting, the rifle doesn't feel like it moves as much, and I don't get that same "return" feeling.
Any of this give any of you some clues as to what I'm doing wrong in the sitting position? I'm not using a sling, because my air rifle doesn't actually have sling attachment points of any kind.
Rifle is a CZ Slavia 631 spring-piston with the stock iron sights.
Any thoughts?
I've only been trying this with the air rifle on the basement range so far, but I suspect I would get similar results in RF or CF.
Prone, I can put 5 shots inside a .5" circle relatively easily, with 4 of the 5 or so overlapping each other. When I go to the sitting position, I'll get two or three inside the black, and the others will be nearly an inch low and a touch right. This happens again and again.
When sitting, the range is about 9M. Prone, it's probably 7.5-8M, because I'm against a wall in my basement and need room for my legs and feet. So yes, the distance is slightly shorter, but not by enough to account for the difference I'm seeing.
So I'm doing something wrong sitting. The shots generally land in one of two places: on target, or low and right. The ones that are off-target are consistently in the same wrong place.
My sitting stance is based on how I understood it in Jeff Cooper's "The Art of the Rifle"; heels on the ground, body about 45 degrees to the target and leaned well forward, upper arms (just above the elbow) contacting the inside of the knees. I try to maintain a consistent cheek weld, though I'm not sure how well I'm doing this.
Another thing: when prone, it feels as though the rifle moves much more when the shot breaks, but it feels like it jumps and returns to its original position. When sitting, the rifle doesn't feel like it moves as much, and I don't get that same "return" feeling.
Any of this give any of you some clues as to what I'm doing wrong in the sitting position? I'm not using a sling, because my air rifle doesn't actually have sling attachment points of any kind.
Rifle is a CZ Slavia 631 spring-piston with the stock iron sights.
Any thoughts?