i need a little help with my shooting

[styxvalleydan]

ive been having this problem when i shoot, when i was about 12 to 14 i could hold a steady bead on anything within 100 yards ......now at the age of 20 i am all over the place even at distances short of 70 yards....if i were to free hand a shot at 100 yards i would probubly place and 18 inch group....i tried a by pod and i can keep about a four inch group with just about anything i shoot at 100yrds. ive heard caffine and nicotine can play a large role in my wobble. is there a practiceing technique i can do to help with this...any advice is greatly appreciated

[GSP]

At 20 you should be in good shape shooting off hand, at 50, well it sucks...:(

Stop trying at 100 yards and get VERY good at 15 yards. Place your feet at 45 degrees to target, feet straight below armpits. If you are right handed, place your let elbow against your ribcage, lay forearm in left palm and pull stock to shoulder. DO NOT GRIP FOREARM, let it lay on the palm of your left hand.
Push stock to cheek and everything should lineup (eye/sights).
Take 2 normal breaths and on the 3rd, let half out and hold, SQUEEZE the trigger.
Don't worry about where the shot hits the paper. Keep doing the same thing until every shot hits the same place. At that point adjust sights to match pattern.

Read this post on bow shooting, good advice regardless of what you are shooting.
http://www.kentuckyhunting.net/forums/showthread.php?t=65065

[rabbit16v]

I have the same problem. I have a natural shake that is hereditary coupled with bad eyes. Breathing helps me to keep a smaller pattern.

[KentuckyWindage]

You didn't mention your sight.. do you see well?

I ask because if your vision is a little blurry, and target acquisition takes you longer than it should, then you'll start to become uncomfortable and won't be able to stay still.

You probably already know it, but I'll tell you the Army method- breathe, relax, aim, squeeze. Basically take a breath, let it out. When you've let out the breath, you have a natural pause before taking the next one. During that pause is when you should squeeze the trigger.

We used to do a dime/washer test (have a buddy lay a dime or washer on your barrel while you're in prone position and don't knock it off when you squeeze) in the army to make sure you're holding steady, but I don't reccomend it as it requires repeatedly dry-firing your rifle.

Best advice I can give you is make sure you see well, be calm, remember to squeeze during the natural pause and don't think about being "all over the place". If you get it in your head that you're not steady, it'll be really hard to fix. Also, I would definitely lay off caffeine before shooting with this problem. Since you know you have the problem, that is. Caffeine can make you jittery and hard to be still.

Also make sure you're getting the same sight picture every time if you're shooting open sights. Meaning wherever your cheek touches your stock on the first shot, make sure it's in the same spot the next time as well. This isn't a concern if you're using a scope, as the eye relief for the scope forces you to have the same sight picture every time.

hope that helps.

[tex]

Could be trigger pull. What is yours set on?

[Ky'sFinest]

proper technique

try to be comfortable while in stance

relax

consistency consistency consistency.

make sure you sights are in proper working order as well.

don't over focus on you holding the rifle and pulling trigger, focus on the target, and envision where you want to hit.

let the trigger suprise you.

don't anticipate the shot,

keep eye on target,

follow through.

take your time when aiming at target.

few pointers, good luck!

[Bray]

Don't forget to aim at a very small target. As the saying goes, "Aim small, miss small". A lot of the time people will look at the big target and won't focus on what they are actually trying to hit.

[bloodhounder]

you didn't mention what you were shooting. if its a heavy recoiling caliber, it just could plain ol flinching in anticipation of the "kick".

[jfrench]

Join the USMC they'll fix that problem really fast....LOL

I bought a practice shell with the rubber primer and practice dry firing the rifle and shotgun several times a day leading up to season. Make sure you point the darn thing down range though. Saves on ammo for just practicing follow thru on the trigger finger.