What are your specific offhand shooting exercises if you do any?

Timber Wolf said:

Honestly, I have not noticed it a lot in my shooting, but have in my bowling! The same weight ball sure seems lighter. Seriously though, it has to have helped in holding up a rifle, I still can’t hold real still.

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You may need to pay more attention to natural point of aim (NPA). Try mounting the rifle with your eyes closed, then get comfortable and open your eyes. DON"T change anything, just watch the front sight and see how steady you can hold on whatever you happen to be pointing at. To get on another target move your FEET, not your upper body. Back foot left to go right, or right to go left (a very small amount 3/8" makes a big change). Back for forward to go lower, or further apart to go up.

I spend a fair bit of time just shouldering it and putting the sights on a fixed point in the distance. Far away fence posts work good. Then just hold.....hold....hold....

MajGen Vaughn Ary, USMC 30lb can, completed 100 reps for the USMC CFT

Just goes to show that you don't need any fancy exercise equipment. For resistance training for upper and lower body strength, I have one of the Chuck Norris Total Gyms. I've had it for about a dozen years and at first thought it was a joke, but it will kick your fanny until you get use to it. It will give you a total upper and lower body workout using cables pulling your own weight. You can just about duplicate any workout that a resistance machine at the gym will give you. It is great if you are limited in space, just pull a couple of pins and it collapses and can be slid under the bed or stood up in the closet. I've have both knee and shoulder problems and it helps strengthen the muscles building strength in those areas.

Phil Coffins said:

I’m getting old enough to except the fact that I’ll never be as fit as I once was. Not waiting till I’m to frail to do it I had a T-bone and two cocktails for supper. Then having a warm glow I told wild stories of my remarkable shooting of years gone by. Soon I’ll repeat this exercise!

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The T Bone or the two cocktails? Or both? I would guess both.

Gunny5821 said:

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MajGen Vaughn Ary, USMC 30lb can, completed 100 reps for the USMC CFT

Just goes to show that you don't need any fancy exercise equipment. For resistance training for upper and lower body strength, I have one of the Chuck Norris Total Gyms. I've had it for about a dozen years and at first thought it was a joke, but it will kick your fanny until you get use to it. It will give you a total upper and lower body workout using cables pulling your own weight. You can just about duplicate any workout that a resistance machine at the gym will give you. It is great if you are limited in space, just pull a couple of pins and it collapses and can be slid under the bed or stood up in the closet. I've have both knee and shoulder problems and it helps strengthen the muscles building strength in those areas.

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I couldn't imagine taking a PT test again after all these years. Fond memories but they will stay just memories.

Can you see your heartbeat?

Larry (Omaha) said:

We all want to be good shots, just wondering how some of you shooters are going about it?

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Flint62Smoothie said:

1) Get a good quality, pre-charged, gas, or single pump air pellet rifle and shoot in your basement or garage constantly. Practice with a purpose! The Daisy 853, available refurbished for $100, from the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP), is a phenomenal value to 'learn' how to really shoot. It will group better than you can. See link here:

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I find @Flint62Smoothie suggestion spot on. I have a number of refurbished Daisy 853s from the CMP (last two cost $275 or so delivered, or $137.50 per) and use them as part of an almost daily practice routine now that I recently retired. I find that lifting weights like ammo boxes makes me better at lifting ammo boxes. Dry firing makes me better at dry firing. Doing pushups makes me better at pushups. Hanging a weight….. you get the idea. The only thing that I have found to improve my offhand shooting is real offhand trigger time. All my 853s will group under .25” at 10 yards off the bench. I can’t shoot offhand that well. Yet.

What I do is shoot at metal air gun swinging targets setup at 25 yards that are 1.7” diameter. The result is digital, either a hit or a miss. That’s the equivalent of a 6.8” target at 100 yards or 13.6” at 200 yards. May not sound that great, but puts me in the black on an SR target at 200 yards offhand. On a good day will get quite a few Xs. Oh, and the cost of practice with a 17 caliber airgun. Maybe $0.015 per round for plinking ammo (20 yards or less) up to almost $0.03 per found for the good stuff for accuracy out to 30 yards and beyond. My current almost daily routine is 10 consecutive hits at 25 yards on a 1.7” target from both an iron sighted (peep sight) and a scoped gun (3x scope scavenged from a crossbow). Currently find myself jerking a shot every third session or so. A bit more improvement and will see what happens at 27 or 30 yards. Trigger time. Doesn’t really matter the gun you use from my experience.

30 years ago, local matches were my practice. Today I use a rest of any kind I can get!! nAlso a smoothbore with appropriate shot for the purpose.

necchi said:

Can you see your heartbeat?

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Yes thank you I had a triple cardiac bypass in 2021. It takes a scope over 24 power but can see the bounce. Never saw it with any iron sights however.

nhmoose said:

Never saw it with any iron sights however.

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Well, you should.
When you understand what I said, then you can begin to shoot accurately.
truth.
sometimes, it's too late,
sometimes it'll never happen.
That's why folks "compete" in shooting sports.
Some excel, some don't.(period)
Some improve, other's will never make it.
With your by-pass? I'd recommend little or no caffeine, plenty of rest and breathing exercises.

necchi said:

Can you see your heartbeat?

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Yes absolutely in a scope, some can who have exceptional visual acuity.


Natural Point of Aim has been mentioned and I can't stress enough how important it is to know it because it's the foundation for good offhand shooting. Everybody has one and it may even change depending on the gun you're shooting. I know I change a bit when I shoot an Enfield v a Springfield because of stock design.

Here's some more stuff that deep dives into breath control and settling the "jitters" and "wobble" when shooting offhand-

https://www.nike.com/gb/a/how-breath-improves-performancehttps://www.nrafamily.org/content/basics-of-shooting-breath-control/https://www.ssusa.org/content/rifle-fundamentals-breath-and-hold-control/
Olympic Biathalon shooters practice it to calm their heart rates and settle their aim after skiing. It has a technical name- Valsalva maneuver. Basically it fools your cardiovascular system into a short slow down in your heart rate meaning you have less wobble in your aim for a short window of time. It does work.

Phil Coffins said:

I’m getting old enough to except the fact that I’ll never be as fit as I once was. Not waiting till I’m to frail to do it I had a T-bone and two cocktails for supper. Then having a warm glow I told wild stories of my remarkable shooting of years gone by. Soon I’ll repeat this exercise!

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I am in the same frame of mind as you.

Gunny5821 said:

Spot on! I tell you one thing though, although I tend to stay in shape, at age 64 my heart rate was always in the mid 60s. About 3 years ago, I began experiencing palpitations, which turned into A-Flutter/AFIB. The docs were able to bring it under control with a couple of pills and I haven't had an episode in almost 3 years, which I was thankful for. Since the other alternative was ablation, I told the doc that I wasn't too comfortable with the idea of having a hot poker ran up my groin to my heart. Everything else checked out fine, he said just my electrical system was out of wack.

Where I'm going with this is, the pills they put me on is doing the job, but my resting heart rate now is 45-52 bpm, sometimes as low as 41 bpm upon awakening. Although I always qualified expert and in the silver category both rifle and pistol in my younger days, I have found that the slower heart rate has definitely improved my scores over what they have been in the past 20 years or so.

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Iv hard camera done 4 times it's that bad first time saved my life and 3 bypass the rest was with stints

Taking beta blockers will lower your pulse rate and, so I have read, contribute to more accurate shooting. So much so that the are banned for use by Olympic athletes in shooting sports. A North Korean shooter was expelled in 2008 because of that. Those with certain heart conditions have to use them, but others, like me, really can't have my pulse lowered any more than it already is. So I couldn't use them even if I wanted to. Anyway, messing around with heart meds is kind of a tricky thing at best.

SPQR70AD said:

shooting off hand to me is a waste of powder lead and caps that are in short supply.

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As it is with most things, opinions vary. I think shooting from the bench is boring. Maybe someday I won't physically be able to shoot offhand and when that day comes I'll shoot from the bench. But as long as I'm able I'd prefer the challenge of shooting offhand.

Actually don't do none; just a concession to my joint problems. But I do often shoulder them and sight on things. Nowadays that's the best I can do.

Most of my practice in the last couple years is PCP (Pre Charged Pneumatic) shooting, relatively heavy rifles, quiet and very accurate...they tell on you when you mess up. 22 cal Nova Liberty PCP at 3 cents per shot using Crossman Premier pellets. Shot about 5 days per week. 25 cal Umarex Gauntlet PCP rifle at 4 cents per shot with JSB Exact King Diablo's ( now around 6 cents). Shot about 3 days per week.

Shoot , and practice often as you can. Dry fire your rifle until you know where the sear brake is from instinct. I used to shoot with an 8+ lb flint 44" brl. longrifle. Start a routine where you place the rifle butt on the floor , and mount the rifle , sight on a target , dry fire the gun while sighting. Doing this, will develope a muscle memory in your body. It's like driving a car , you don't concentrate on keeping the vehicle between the lines , your body does in automatically. Personally , when I was 14 yrs. old , my Dad and I shot in trap leagues all summer. You mount the gun the same repetitious way each time you shoot , your body develops muscle memory , unless you change your shot , and stance routine. Don't ask how many bushel of shotgun shells , I shot up in the 12 + years of competition trap , before I quit shooting modern guns ,and began m/l competition. ................oldwood

The stuff about NPA is golden. I put a piece of painters tape nose-high on the wall and stand in my typical shooting position about 4 feet from the mark. I'll close my eyes, lower the rifle, then point again where I assume I was aiming. Adjust your feet to rotate your body left or right until you can repeat your closed-eyed-lift-n-point "on target." It's not easy, but helps establish and internalize your NPA. No use in working against yourself to hold on target.

Most European Off hand rifles have or had a Sockdarner Palm rest. The length to suit the shooter to allow the none trigger elbow to rest on the forward hip.60 degree feet.If your shooting serious comp,chalk your foot position on the floor. Trigger arm elbow shoulder high, butt hook above bicep with barrel across chest. Not trying to teach Granny about Eggs,just following ancestors. Can't send pickies as supid W10 dosn't reckognise my early Kodac 640 digital.Sold my 96/98 PL7 shooter recently as fall damaged 88 y/o shoulder hurts. It will nodowt be seen at MLAIC meetings again in near future. 129 ex130 not bad at 50m. O.D.