 |
| When they graduate up to shotting a shotgun. |
Remember this: Just because you can aim it doesn't mean you can hit it until you practice. Unless you are gifted.
I was test shooting a .22 Marlin rifle for my accuracy and the gun's when I thought: what would it take for a newbie to start out shooting?
My son has recently decided that he likes the activity of air-soft. He doesn't want to shoot the 12 gauge because for him its to noisy. He wanted to be able to hit the other team's men but his accuracy was somewhat off so we tried to figure out a way for him to practice but not have to hear the 'big boom' everytime.
I have a Grizzly BB gun that I use on smaller things but I told him to use it for target practice. Here's what I suggested he do.
I removed the sight and told him to pick a target that would move. (Here I did some research and found out that you can be right handed but the left eye is dominant and vice versa. At this point one does need to be able to match your master eye.) We regarded his stance and corrected it because he was trying to stand like he's shooting a bow. Left foot forward and bend at the waist were implied.
I told him to practice for 20 or 30 minutes in the morning or evening but twice on weekends. I had him shoot at styrofoam cups so I or he could see where he was hitting and to concentrate on the target not the gun. Usually people just starting out without assistance do spend more time on the gun instead of the target.
Later to focus his mind on the target we set up a series of cups with stupid images on them. I would yell which one to hit but each time it was in a differnent direction. Some would be hanging in the trees, in a bush, buried in the ground, etc. It was pretty funny. This was how we conquered his gun fixation.I wanted him to do instinctive pointing of the gun. It would seem that the sights themselves is what causes this because the shooter gets disabled by the sights or maybe I should say 'dependent'. If you took the sight away I would question how accurate a new shooter would be after about ten shots?
Of course my evil plan is to teach him this so he can graduate up to the 12 gauge pump shotgun. As with rifles that will teach him his aim buy I'll use a .22 for that because its not so noise and it has a scope but the shotgun is a different matter.
The goal here was: shoot where you look.
This is also a useful tool in horseback riding because when in saddle a horse will move in the direction your head or face is looking because of the subtle turn in direction of your body.
The other sneaky trick to this is the repetition of the shooter utilizing the BB gun more frequently. Hunters do not always shoulder guns often because they know how to work the gun but new shooters have to 'practice' the body position and the follow through of posture, eye, trigger, bullet, target.
The process here with my son was a form of repetitive follow through to the end where the BB meets the cup.
After he got that down to accuracy I decided to get a clean drinking bottle with some rocks in it. While holding the BB gun with no sights I would toss the bottle up into the air like a skeet and let him aim without firing. I told him then to put the BB gun down and just use a pretend gun. That was humorous but he said he could focus on the target and not the gun.
When you take into account that you can get 2400 count zinc plated BB for about $5 compared to a box of 25 gun shells starting out its cost effective to use a BB gun especially if you're slow at achieving your endeavors. Also if the shooter is gun shy or nervous at the 'big boom stick' that would help them focus on the hand eye coordination instead of the fear. Dealing with noise fear will come later.
I also took into consideration his swing and lead of the target.
There are four basic types:
1. Spot Shooting (aim gun, wait for the target to get to that point then fire).
2. Swing Through (come from behind the moving target ahead of it them shoot. Dwell time is compromised.)
3. Pull Away (moves gun with target then goes in front of the target then fire because you've built your swing time with the speed of the target.)
4. Sustained Lead (Aim in front of target then maintain for split second them fires).
I had him go through the different ones on dry fires and asked him which on he liked best.
Forcing him to focus on the target and not the gun improved his angle and speed of the target.
I tossed the drinking bottle. He tracked them movement with his eyes, then empty fired the BB gun. We did that over and over with no BBs.
At this point all we've been doing is noiseless shooting. This should be helpful but as he progresses I'll be sure to post.
The best thing about using the BB gun was the repetition, shooting without recoil, and low expense.
Wait till I have him out on a windy day. That should be rich.
Written by: W Harley Bloodworth
~Courtesy of the AFOH~
