Hey all,
I often read a LOT of posts about accuracy of equipment and ammo. While that is a constant (somewhat) what is not constant is what is the shooter capable of?
In the competition circles, there is a term for a good shooter. You may hear someone say "He/She is a HARD HOLDER", what does that really mean? You also may hear someone wish you luck prior to a competition (luck has nothing to do with it), but it may be phrased as "Hey, good luck and HOLD HARD"!
Does that mean holding the rifle hard in the shoulder? It could.....
I had this explained to me, and I will share it in here. Holding HARD is simply trying to hold the rifle as still as possible and not disturbing the sight alignment/picture thru the trigger squeeze and maintaining that hold thru FOLLOW THRU.
I can build a very accurate rifle, lets say it is a rifle capable of .25 MOA at 100 yards. The rifle and ammo combination, .25 MOA. Does that mean you, the shooter will post up .25 MOA groups regularly? Absolutely NOT.
But there is extreme value in knowing what the equipment is capable of. Since this is Appleseed,we are talking about 3 position shooting. Unsupported shooting positions, where in some we use a sling (seated and prone).
To find the capability of the ammo and equipment, you may wish to bench rest the rifle, take as much variation (you) out of the equation. Use 25 or 50 yards for this test. Shoot more than a 3 shot group, more than a 5 shot group. I recommend 10 shots. Several times. 5 groups of 10 would be advisable. Then measure the group size in MOA. What is it?
Assume it is 1 MOA. That is really good. That means it is a 1/4" group (one ragged hole almost) at 25 yards.....and 1/2" at 50 yards.
Now get in prone. Slung up......
Do it again....5 10 shot groups. Measure them. Lets say for this example they are now 2 MOA groups.
Subtract what it was supported from unsupported. You now have a MOA measurement for your equipment/ammo combination.
This is important to know in say centerfire competition, so you can tell when your equipment is starting to degrade (and barrels will degrade). It is also important in rimfire, even though barrels degrade a LOT less.....but the reason it is important is because you now know WHAT YOUR HOLD IS WORTH!
Now dry fire, ALOT. Compete, ALOT. Come back to this test in 6 months. DO it again....what is your hold worth now? Probably a smaller number...because you are learning your trigger and equipment.
Only a robot will have the same hold as the equipment. You must account for your personal ability. As with anything, it is great to have a baseline measurement.
Sort of like that Redcoat target you shot (or will shoot) in Appleseed.....it baselines your performance at the beginning of the event, and is something to measure against at the end of the event.
You can also now test different things. Because you know YOUR HOLD/Your baseline. For example:
- What happens if I tighten the sling
- What happens if I loosen the sling
- What happens if I add a shooting glove to my support hand
- What happens when I wear a shooting coat
- What happens if I choke back a bit
- What happens if I use a center of mass hold
- What happens if I use a 6 o clock hold
- What happens if I square my body up more to the target
ETC ETC......
You will never really be able to measure the above changes if you do not know what your baseline hold is worth.
I also recommend only trying one of the above type changes at a time. Never change more than 1 thing at a time, there are too many variables.
Hope the above makes sense, helps or gets you thinking about what your hold is worth, versus your equipment.
Another thing this will help immensely with, is when your groups start to open up....if your shots were on call, then that should likely lead you to look at the equipment or ammo, something external to you likely caused that. You will be able to do this with confidence.
An example of looking externally with confidence:
I was shooting at 200 yards standing a few years back, with a scope. I put up 4 misses in a row, until my partner asked me "Are your shots on call"? I said yes. He then said, "Look at your scope"! My scope elevation turret was one complete turn off in the wrong direction (24 MOA off)!
Why did it take me 4 misses to look externally? Because I did not trust my personal skill level, and did not know what my personal hold was.
An example of the opposite would be say a High Master or Army Marksmanship Unit competitor......were they to shoot a miss, the first miss...if it was called a center shot, they would immediately be looking to their equipment. They would not proceed to shoot 3 more misses in a row.
That is confidence that is only gained thru personal experience.
R/
Chris