Shooting traditional offhand

[quigley]

Well my Great Plains Hunter should be here tommorrow. Cant wait. Got invited to a local traditional shooting club. Going next Saturday. They do alot of offhand shooting in competitions. Ive always been a bench shooter and shoot from my treestand leaning on a rail. Never been a real steady shot. Can any of you deadeyes give me any tips for shooting my GPR offhand? Arent you supposed to plant that hooked stock in your bicep area and hold your breath or something? Cant wait to make some smoke even if I dont hit the target.

 

[Swampman]

I shoot the same way off the bench as I do off hand. My T/C has about an 8 ounce trigger.

 

[Semisane]

The best advice I can give you for offhand shooting quigley is to not do it the way I do it, `cause I stink at offhand.

As I understand it, there are three steps; (1) practice, (2) practice, (3) practice. You might want to spend a lot of time dry firing at a spot on the wall, or on the back fence. You can safely fire the set trigger on your Great Plains with the hammer down on the nipple (don't trip the trigger with the hammer at half cock).

 

[cayuga]

Off hand shooting is real hard for me. I have been practicing though. And this might sound strange, but when hunting I can make off hand shots. Maybe its because I do not think about what I am doing and just do it.

As of late I have been shooting off hand. I found that I like to get the butt of the rifle tight to the shoulder and then with my other hand support the rife as close to the trigger guard as possible on an open palm of the hand. I was shooting that way last week at 30 yards and was actually doing pretty well.

 

[lewistt]

Practice is the key. I find I am really good if I hold way forward on the forend. Just shoot a lot. I think you will find your groove. This is as much art ,as it is mechanics.

 

[Long-Shot]

Like everyone else has said, practice. However, if you bring your forward hand in just infront of the trigger, or find a good balance point, your shot group will improve. Bring that elbow of your forward hand in to your chest and use bone support to hold the rifle steady. Breath, dont hold it. Shoot only on your natural respiratory pause. That is breath in, breath out, its that little pause you take before breathing in again. In, out, bang. Also, watch your trigger pull, slow steady pull to the rear and the rifle should "surprise" you when it that round breaks.

For a recap, bone support, firing on natural respiratory pause, and trigger control. Keep practicing and you will hit. This is the basic fundamentals of marksmanship. Using them is the best way to hit your mark.

 

[richdeerht]

The other tip for offhand shooting a ML rifle is to follow through. (especially on a flinter!)
Hold the sights on target until the bullet hits the target.

 

[bernieg]

I like to practice dropping the hammer with out moveing the rifle. I shoot off my arm an stand side ways to the target. I place my forhand so the barrel will be front heavy.We shoot ball, 50 cal, 30 to 45 gr bp. Enjoy yourself!!! :wink:

 

[Buglemintoday]

Go out with a .22LR or pellet gun that is sighted in and walk around and shoot cans or rabbits (if legal in your neck of the woods)

The best offhand practice I've ever gotten was from actually going out and doing it (mostly with my ruger 10/22). In Texas we have a lot of non-game animals you can hunt 24hr a day/365 days a year. A brick of 22lr and some property full of snakes, rabbits, rats, coons, coyotes, skunks, porcupine can lead to some good offhand practice!

 

[doulos]

I know very litlle about shooting offhand except that it definitely takes certain muscles to be trained for it. The only way is to practice until you get used to it. I have deinitely improved by practicing. I started about 25 yards away and just kept shooting. Now I usually shoot at 50 offhand and i am getting a bit better. I now allways include some offhand shooting with every range session. And it has helped. I am not ready for competition but this has given me more confidence if I have to take a offhand shot while hunting.
One thing is for sure I shoot certain guns offhand better than others. I definitely shoot My 11pound .58 Stith Hawken better off hand than my others. It has a tapered barrel and all my others are straight barrels.