TargetTalk

ZD wrote: ↑Sat Nov 18, 2023 10:52 pm I can't say I ever made it to that level when I use to shoot competitive smallbore and air rifle. However, I can tell you something that worked for me, and what works for the shooters I have coached over the years.

If you look at many top level athletes in standing, they spend a good amount of time setting up the rifle as close to the bull as possible before they put their face down on the cheekpiece all the way. It is a good idea to study video footage from world cups to get an idea of this. Here is a much older video from 2004; I used this to illustrate this exact point to our shooters at smallbore camp. You don't have to fidget as much as they do, but it will give you a good idea.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsf70AyGbuE

A lot of this comes down to your routine in standing. Things like how you relax your back, your elbow, etc. Even lowering your head on the cheekpiece. Others on here can explain better the idea of breathing on to the bull better then me; when I took my last breath I just relaxed my body and my last breath on to the bull. I have my shooters work on making the rifle as steady as possible before they put their head down all the way. More of a feeling. There is a whole conversation that can be had about pre-aiming as well; things like looking above the sights or other reference marks can help you when you are relaxing into position.

Make sure your hips are perpendicular to the firing line and the rifle is over the center of your feet as much as possible. It would be helpful to make sure your body is truly aligned with the bull; if you can mark the very center of the target on your firing point see how it aligns to your feet. In a perfect world it should go along the center of your feet; for me it was a little closer to my toes.

Do you have the way of the rifle or any other books from MEC?

I would be curious to here others opinions on this. This is a worthwhile conversation to be had.

-Zach