Thursday, June 23, 2005
What you lookin' at?
I have been shooting for years and I was taught, like most new shooters, that when aiming with iron sights you should focus on the front sight with the target and rear sight out of focus. I learned this early on in my life and practiced it pretty well, at least until I came into adulthood.
Like many airgunners and shooters, I got away from airgunning and shooting during my college years. It wasn't until after getting a job and living life that I renewed my interest in shooting. I got back into firearms first and it wasn't until after my divorce that I really restarted my airgunning life. After the divorce I was dirt poor from lawyer fees and other debt so I couldn’t afford to do a lot of firearm shooting. My dad had a wonderful FWB124 that I really enjoyed and thought I would get one for shooting in the backyard. My plan changed when I found an ad in the Gun List or Shotgun News, I don't remember which now, for and HW97 brand new. I called Bob Koschler in Tampa and he convinced me to go with the newer technology in the HW97 and that I wouldn't be sorry. I got it and things haven't been the same since.
Since the HW97 didn't have iron sights I had to get a scope. I got a Bushnell 3-9x scope and shot lots for rounds through that rifle. I didn't remember much about my rifle training tended to look at the target when aiming with a scope rather than the crosshairs. Even after acquiring other airguns over the years, I forgot about focusing on the front sight and still tended to focus on the target. It wasn't until recently that I started shooting with my FWB300 in the garage and reading my book "Ways of the Rifle" (recommended reading for any competitive rifle shooting) that I realized I needed to refocus my aiming on the front sight. That did improve my scores.
Recently I was talking about shooting stuff with Wade Sutherland and he mentioned that he focuses on the crosshairs in his scope instead of the target when shooting, just like with iron sights. I had never thought of this and thought I would give it a try. After all these years of focusing on the target I found it very difficult to change my ways. I am still working on this new technique but it does seem to help reduce the wobble area a bit. I don't seem to focus on how much the crosshairs move and I tend to follow through better. I am going to continue to work on this style of sighting as I rework my shooting position, perhaps it will help me to improve my overall shooting consistency.
Like many airgunners and shooters, I got away from airgunning and shooting during my college years. It wasn't until after getting a job and living life that I renewed my interest in shooting. I got back into firearms first and it wasn't until after my divorce that I really restarted my airgunning life. After the divorce I was dirt poor from lawyer fees and other debt so I couldn’t afford to do a lot of firearm shooting. My dad had a wonderful FWB124 that I really enjoyed and thought I would get one for shooting in the backyard. My plan changed when I found an ad in the Gun List or Shotgun News, I don't remember which now, for and HW97 brand new. I called Bob Koschler in Tampa and he convinced me to go with the newer technology in the HW97 and that I wouldn't be sorry. I got it and things haven't been the same since.
Since the HW97 didn't have iron sights I had to get a scope. I got a Bushnell 3-9x scope and shot lots for rounds through that rifle. I didn't remember much about my rifle training tended to look at the target when aiming with a scope rather than the crosshairs. Even after acquiring other airguns over the years, I forgot about focusing on the front sight and still tended to focus on the target. It wasn't until recently that I started shooting with my FWB300 in the garage and reading my book "Ways of the Rifle" (recommended reading for any competitive rifle shooting) that I realized I needed to refocus my aiming on the front sight. That did improve my scores.
Recently I was talking about shooting stuff with Wade Sutherland and he mentioned that he focuses on the crosshairs in his scope instead of the target when shooting, just like with iron sights. I had never thought of this and thought I would give it a try. After all these years of focusing on the target I found it very difficult to change my ways. I am still working on this new technique but it does seem to help reduce the wobble area a bit. I don't seem to focus on how much the crosshairs move and I tend to follow through better. I am going to continue to work on this style of sighting as I rework my shooting position, perhaps it will help me to improve my overall shooting consistency.
