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Hi all. I'm a new shooter, with about 6-7 months of total shooting experience. Through some gentle guidance of an older coworker I got sucked into traditional Bullseye shooting. I thought I'd put start to put my range sessions on here, in case it interests others, but mostly so I can process how I shot and how to keep on improving.
Today was a short 1 hour session at a nearby indoor range. Lighting was adequate, but leaning towards the dim side.
All shots were fired one-handed, at 25 yards. All bullseyes are 5.5" (or 5.3" for the last one).
Equipment:
Ruger MkIII 22 pistol. Stock, except for the sear which I swapped to a Volquartsen.
Kimber Custom II Target 45acp. KC Crawford, a bullseye gunsmith, fit a Kart barrel and bushing, and cleaned up the trigger to 3.5lb (minimum pull weight for NRA competition)
Ammo:
-Bulk Federal Walmart .22 rounds. I like the 325 "auto match" box better but these are okay.
-For the 45acp, 200gn LSWC with 4.1gn of Winchester WST
Today felt like an average session for me.
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Here is the first string I shot: string of 10 leisurely shots from the Ruger. On the 25-yrd timed-fire bullseye, 9-ring is 5.5", 10-ring is 3.4", and X-ring is 1.7"
I'm not at the level where I can predict my shots will be "9 ring, 5'o clock" but the last shot, the west-8ring one, I definitely saw my front sight twitch left at the break point. Interestingly this was on the last round in the magazine, and on the Ruger, the trigger pull always seems lighter or different on the last round. Aside from that, it looks like I'm getting about 4" groups here. This is on the timed-fire target, so translated to the 25 yard slow fire target (a 5.3" bullseye), I would mostly be in the 8 ring, with one in the 9 ring.
I'm starting to develop a shot routine: with gun pointed down and away, with my eye focused on the front sight, I raised my arm so the gun aims above the target, maintaining focus on the front sight while inhaling. I then lower my arm into shooting position. Hold breath. Trigger pull steadily to rear. Bang. Rinse repeat.
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Second string. I switched over to the 45. Same target. String of 5 shots. Slow.
Eh. I'm in the black, but for slowfire, this isn't that great. I'm better than where I was a month ago...which was spraying everywhere. So there has been progress! For the shot that is in the north-8ring I saw my front sight twitch up at the last second.
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Third string: 10 shots slow, new 5.5" target. Rings are at 2", 4" and 5.5".
Went back to the Ruger MkIII pistol. Again the last round in the magazine sprayed to west-8. My group size is starting to open up. I think I'm starting to grip the pistol too tightly and my shoulder is tensed up.
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Fourth string. I jump back to the 45. Five shots slow. Same target.
I see and feel increased wobble for this string. My hand is gripping hard still and I didn't feel confident for any of the trigger pulls except for the very last one, which went dead center. The shot that went north-orange, I held my breath too long and I took an ill-advised shot. I should have stopped, and restarted shooting routine.
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Fifth string. 45 again. 5 slow shots. Same target.
First shot I see it hit the white. I put the gun down, take a few deep breaths and stretch my back.
I pick up the gun again, and consciously relax my grip slightly. Still firm, but not a death grip. I'm not sure really how to "relax my shoulders" but I tell myself mentally to relax.
Second shot, I see it hit west-inner ring.
Third, fourth and fifth shots are grouped in that center cluster.
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*Removed image as it is over the limit*
Sixth string. I jump back to the Ruger 22 pistol. 5 shots. New target. This time it's a 25yd slow-fire target. 7-ring is 5.3", 8-ring is 3.8", 9-ring is 2.6", 10-ring is 1.51", X-ring is 0.7".
Hm, after two strings of 45, the Ruger felt different in my hand with the different grip angle. I get one X-ring, but the rest of the shots felt rushed...coming after holding my breath too long.
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Seventh and final string. Went back to the 45. 5 shots, same target. Forced myself to take a few deep breaths before starting, and even aborted a couple of shot attempts if I felt that I was holding my breath past 10 seconds or so.
Best string of the day. 1-X, 2-10, 1-9, 1-7.
After that, I switched to some casual two-handed firing which feels really different, and the sight picture is different too.
I welcome any comments.
Until next time,
Today was a short 1 hour session at a nearby indoor range. Lighting was adequate, but leaning towards the dim side.
All shots were fired one-handed, at 25 yards. All bullseyes are 5.5" (or 5.3" for the last one).
Equipment:
Ruger MkIII 22 pistol. Stock, except for the sear which I swapped to a Volquartsen.
Kimber Custom II Target 45acp. KC Crawford, a bullseye gunsmith, fit a Kart barrel and bushing, and cleaned up the trigger to 3.5lb (minimum pull weight for NRA competition)
Ammo:
-Bulk Federal Walmart .22 rounds. I like the 325 "auto match" box better but these are okay.
-For the 45acp, 200gn LSWC with 4.1gn of Winchester WST
Today felt like an average session for me.
-------------------------------------------------------
Here is the first string I shot: string of 10 leisurely shots from the Ruger. On the 25-yrd timed-fire bullseye, 9-ring is 5.5", 10-ring is 3.4", and X-ring is 1.7"
I'm not at the level where I can predict my shots will be "9 ring, 5'o clock" but the last shot, the west-8ring one, I definitely saw my front sight twitch left at the break point. Interestingly this was on the last round in the magazine, and on the Ruger, the trigger pull always seems lighter or different on the last round. Aside from that, it looks like I'm getting about 4" groups here. This is on the timed-fire target, so translated to the 25 yard slow fire target (a 5.3" bullseye), I would mostly be in the 8 ring, with one in the 9 ring.
I'm starting to develop a shot routine: with gun pointed down and away, with my eye focused on the front sight, I raised my arm so the gun aims above the target, maintaining focus on the front sight while inhaling. I then lower my arm into shooting position. Hold breath. Trigger pull steadily to rear. Bang. Rinse repeat.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Second string. I switched over to the 45. Same target. String of 5 shots. Slow.
Eh. I'm in the black, but for slowfire, this isn't that great. I'm better than where I was a month ago...which was spraying everywhere. So there has been progress! For the shot that is in the north-8ring I saw my front sight twitch up at the last second.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Third string: 10 shots slow, new 5.5" target. Rings are at 2", 4" and 5.5".
Went back to the Ruger MkIII pistol. Again the last round in the magazine sprayed to west-8. My group size is starting to open up. I think I'm starting to grip the pistol too tightly and my shoulder is tensed up.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Fourth string. I jump back to the 45. Five shots slow. Same target.
I see and feel increased wobble for this string. My hand is gripping hard still and I didn't feel confident for any of the trigger pulls except for the very last one, which went dead center. The shot that went north-orange, I held my breath too long and I took an ill-advised shot. I should have stopped, and restarted shooting routine.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Fifth string. 45 again. 5 slow shots. Same target.
First shot I see it hit the white. I put the gun down, take a few deep breaths and stretch my back.
I pick up the gun again, and consciously relax my grip slightly. Still firm, but not a death grip. I'm not sure really how to "relax my shoulders" but I tell myself mentally to relax.
Second shot, I see it hit west-inner ring.
Third, fourth and fifth shots are grouped in that center cluster.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
*Removed image as it is over the limit*
Sixth string. I jump back to the Ruger 22 pistol. 5 shots. New target. This time it's a 25yd slow-fire target. 7-ring is 5.3", 8-ring is 3.8", 9-ring is 2.6", 10-ring is 1.51", X-ring is 0.7".
Hm, after two strings of 45, the Ruger felt different in my hand with the different grip angle. I get one X-ring, but the rest of the shots felt rushed...coming after holding my breath too long.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Seventh and final string. Went back to the 45. 5 shots, same target. Forced myself to take a few deep breaths before starting, and even aborted a couple of shot attempts if I felt that I was holding my breath past 10 seconds or so.
Best string of the day. 1-X, 2-10, 1-9, 1-7.
After that, I switched to some casual two-handed firing which feels really different, and the sight picture is different too.
I welcome any comments.
Until next time,
