Shiloh Rifle Forums

Yes, I have both and the PCP is easier to shoot well but the Spring guns (FWB) will teach you to shoot better if you are up to the challenge. It is unforgiving to lack of follow through and stable hold in particular. Swing through or timed shooting does not work.

Charles

omgb wrote: ↑Thu Nov 09, 2023 2:26 pm A spring air gun has to be the most frustrating gun to shoot. I got so fed up with several of mine, I gave them away and bought a PCP gun. I never looked back.

Indeed. Though I moved to a CO2 rifle. 600fps MV is plenty for off-hand practice in the basement.

I wrote this for my son when he started shooting BPCR silhouette. He had developed the habit of raising his head to see if he hit the target. It must have worked as he shot several Master scores as a junior. He set several national records as a junior that are still holding 14 years later.

Cap’n Bly’s Shootin’ 101


When ‘arf yer bullets fly wide in the ditch
don’t call yer rifle a cross eyed ol’ bitch.
Thars things ye must pay heed to which,
breathin’ an’ sightin’ an’ for Gawd’s sake don’t twitch.
Hold ‘er steady as she blows an’ resist the itch
to raise yer noggin to see forthwith.
Let the smoke clear a lit’l an’ recover a bit,
now take a peek to see what yuv hit.

"Keep your head down & follow through..."

Where have we heard this before or at least some of us? It's an age old concept that really points to a persons ability to concentrate and focus on the task at hand. Positioning for zero barrel harmonics, grip and cheek positioning, consistent target acquisition, trigger control, lock time and target focus are all functions of follow through.

"Properly address the ball, keep your head down, controlled backswing, use your hips and power through, watch the club hit the ball and follow through with your swing" is exactly the same as the aforementioned. Yes, two totally different sports with such eerily close concepts but, both having almost the exact absolute requirements in making an accurate shots. And anyone who has played golf or has shot long distances at targets, knows what happens if you try to see where your ball/shot goes before you follow through.

You want to shoot better, work and focus hard on your golf driving concepts and likewise, you want to hit a golf ball more accurately, focus hard and follow the known shooting mantra, "Keep your head down and follow through with your shot."

I have two points to make concerning follow-thru:

First, call your shots. Follow-thru begins the moment you start your trigger squeeze. Does the sight picture change? Since this is a possibility, I ask "What did the sight picture look like when the trigger broke? If shooting scope, were the crosshairs on the desired point of aim? If shooting aperture sights, were the bull, front sight, and rear sight concentrically viewed at the moment the trigger broke the shot? I find that very few shooters call their shots. As an example, I'll use myself. I noticed when shooting mid-range that as I started the process of trigger squeeze, the force exerted by my trigger finger perceptibly caused my sight picture to drift to the left and upward so that when the shot broke the sight picture was no longer centered on the target. This is poor follow-thru! I'm still fighting this problem after 20 years of shooting BPCR. I also noticed that the same phenomenon was existent when I shot silhouette. It is present even though I always use set triggers.

Second, what do you see immediately after the shot fired and on recoil recovery? I'll use the silhouette venue as an example. If I am using good follow-thru practice, after I recover from the recoil of the shot, I can observe the animal fall when I am shooting with a scope. I can do the same if I am shooting apertures. If I cannot see the animal fall without raising my head, I have failed to properly follow-thru and have missed the shot.

Hope this helps. The guys I shoot with can call every shot and can call the hit or miss while looking through the sights.

OPS

Well stated Ole!

I let my spotter know if the shot was not perfect. That said, he hears from frequently.

Woody

To the original poster, ignore follow-through at your peril, or are you just stirring the pot?

I was shooting silhouette at Raton some years ago and had Jimbo spotting while I was on turkeys. My shots kept going over the top and I couldn't work out why until a slap on the back of the head and the call "keep your head down" saw me start hitting targets again.

LOL hey gamerancher may i ask who Jimbo is to see if i know him ? lol

That would be Jimbo Terry, aka: Gentleman Jim, aka: One of the "harsh brothers".

Woody

lol ok may i ask where he might live right now ? lol

You have not been in this game very long if you ask that question.

Woody

If you want to develop excellent follow through, shoot a lot of flintlock matches.

George

So does the rifle start to drop when the rifle ignites the cartridge?

Or does it start to drop as soon as you perfectly line up on the target before your brain has sent the message to pull the trigger.

The rifle is already dropping across the target before you shoot.
The drop is stopped or reduced if you follow through.
Follow through provides the time your brain takes to see the sight is on target and activates your brain to pull the trigger.

This time frame is far longer than the time the bullet travels down the barrel.

Developing follow through helps control the drop of the rifle between the time you recognize you are on target and your brain activates to pull the trigger.

Follow through stops or slows moving off the target before the bullet even starts to go down the tube.

So bullet travel time is not really important.
Follow through is very important for offhand shooting and provides a consistent bench rest technique for bench shooting as well.

Woody wrote: ↑Fri Nov 10, 2023 10:42 am I let my spotter know if the shot was not perfect. That said, he hears from frequently.

Woody

Hear ye, hear ye