Well, finally got my chance to get outside and shoot from sitting and prone for the first time... OMG, will there be a chiropractor at the Appleseed event? %)
Seriously, I completely underestimated the new challenges that presented themselves in these positions and, although it sorta felt like shooting from the bench in comparison to offhand, trying to settle into position consistently with the bolty was near to impossible first time out. Plan is to dry fire a LOT from these positions and get back on the horse but boy was I delusional about how well I would do starting out.
Keep at it... the flexibility will get there, eventually!
Think of Rifleman prep as physical therapy without the hourly rate.
Start off slow and work into it at least 3x per week.... you will feel 20 years younger.
One of the many hidden rewards of the Rifleman quest.
Thaddeus just had a guy shoot 248 this last weekend with a scoped bolt-action. He also shot a 237 with an iron-sighted bolt-action. He told Thaddeus he'd practiced for 2 months dry firing in his house, working on manipulating the bolt, and transitions.
https://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php?topic=53424.0;topicseen (https://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php?topic=53424.0;topicseen)
Keep at it. A Rifleman Persists!
The news from the last NC shoot is both encouraging and inspiring. Thank you for alerting me to that and to all on here for the good comments on this topic :)
We call it Rifleman yoga. ;)
Rifleman yoga
Very funny
^:)^
Quote from: DrRichP on April 23, 2018, 05:02:23 PM
Thaddeus just had a guy shoot 248 this last weekend with a scoped bolt-action. He also shot a 237 with an iron-sighted bolt-action. He told Thaddeus he'd practiced for 2 months dry firing in his house, working on manipulating the bolt, and transitions.
https://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php?topic=53424.0;topicseen (https://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php?topic=53424.0;topicseen)
Keep at it. A Rifleman Persists!
Hey that's ME! And yes its true, I signed up in January for the patriots day weekend Appleseed in Ramsuer. That night I made some 1/3 scale targets and posted them on our bathroom door because I could only get 27 feet away from that door down a hallway. Every night (well, minus a few) I would pick 2 of the three positions to really work on and call my shots honestly while dry firing for somewhere between 15 and 30 minutes. After that I would dry fire the entire AQT 5 seconds shorter than what it calls for. At first it was very difficult to get acceptable shots in that amount of time, but after 2 weeks I was shooting the AQT in 10+ seconds less than allowed and getting acceptable sight pictures on every trigger break. When the first day of the event came around, my wife made me a snack bag and threw quite a few Tylenol in there as well (i'm 6'4 and almost 300 pounds) because she thought I would be really sore, but to my surprise I was perfectly fine even after two days and 15ish AQTs. The positions only get more and more comfortable the more you do them. I shoot kneeling instead of sitting and it really hurt to begin with, now I can get into position and watch TV if I wanted. Bottom line is, if you want to do well, make time to practice the skills it takes to do well. I am taking a week off this week and then i'll be back at it. Gonna go for the 250 rocker soon!
Quote from: slowisslow on April 24, 2018, 03:46:48 PM
Hey that's ME! And yes its true, I signed up in January for the patriots day weekend Appleseed in Ramsuer. That night I made some 1/3 scale targets and posted them on our bathroom door because I could only get 27 feet away from that door down a hallway. Every night (well, minus a few) I would pick 2 of the three positions to really work on and call my shots honestly while dry firing for somewhere between 15 and 30 minutes. After that I would dry fire the entire AQT 5 seconds shorter than what it calls for. At first it was very difficult to get acceptable shots in that amount of time, but after 2 weeks I was shooting the AQT in 10+ seconds less than allowed and getting acceptable sight pictures on every trigger break. When the first day of the event came around, my wife made me a snack bag and threw quite a few Tylenol in there as well (i'm 6'4 and almost 300 pounds) because she thought I would be really sore, but to my surprise I was perfectly fine even after two days and 15ish AQTs. The positions only get more and more comfortable the more you do them. I shoot kneeling instead of sitting and it really hurt to begin with, now I can get into position and watch TV if I wanted. Bottom line is, if you want to do well, make time to practice the skills it takes to do well. I am taking a week off this week and then i'll be back at it. Gonna go for the 250 rocker soon!
Hey, thanks so much for sharing your story. Yes, I will do dry firing drills at the house and keep at it. I think my biggest takeaway (once again) from last weekend was that shooting rifleman is a BIG accomplishment and sometimes it's difficult to recognize that "from the air" until you get "boots on the ground" and face-to-face with reality. I'm really enjoying this forum thanks to posts like this and the multitude of seasoned shooters that are willing to share and offer a hand to those coming up the ranks :bow: