What is your method to combat offhand wobble?

[Felonious]

I've shot thousands of rounds through a CO2 blowback BB gun offhand. Costs a good bit less than a penny per shot. It's a great way to practice in volume without breaking the bank, and if you make a mistake, an injury is a lot less likely.

I know that's not exactly advice on how to get better shooting off hand, but it definitely helped me get better shooting lefty and in other strange positions.

 

[SOLANCO]

Slings. Solid rests. Stable positions, sitting or prone. And everything else that has been recommended or that you can think of. Not least of which is practice.
You order your everyday affairs in work and life to best enable you to perform. Why would you not do the same in shooting? Shots that count beats counting shots.

 

[springfield art]

Yes, or a tree; at my range I rest shoulder against divider when pistol shooting.

 

[SOLANCO]

I wonder about my handgun practice. I regard a handgun as a defensive tool. If my readings were true, most pistol fights are at very close range. Minute of navel accuracy not as important as the ability, clarity and will to pull the trigger on someone right in your face. Unlike the feudal samurai, it's not the sort of thing we can practice on actual people.

 

[LME]

No one can completey control wobble. There are a few good methods of shooting that people have already mentioned. My prefrence is to bring the rifle up moderately slow and as soon as the picture is right let her rip. Don't hesidate!
When shooting aireal targets with a rifle there is no such a thing as wobble as target and rifle are all ready moving but the shot is the same with the target still or moving. Oddly enough wobble doesn't exist with these shots. If you try it with a Muzzle loader you need to make sure you follow through a tad longer than you would with a modern rifle. I found that out the hard way.

 

[Pratt]

There is the rule of the pattern of four. Your sight alignment to make a sight picture on your given target. Your body and breathing will raise your sight alignment up and slide down to the left of target center. Then it moves right with the same pattern back to the desired sight picture. Now you use this movement pattern with your breathing and trigger control. You cannot control your heart beat, Work the 4 pattern, until you know your pattern and when to squeeze. Thick as mud or understood? or you could just rest next to a tree.

 

[#blackpowderbill]

We all know that practice in our sport will make us a better shot. This post is asking what do you do to combat any wobble when shooting offhand? I have alway been taught to bring the rifle up, acquire sight picture, center and hold your POA, stay steady, and squeeze the trigger. I just read an article that said to help avoid OH wobble one should shoot similar to wing shooting. The article said that when the rifle is used in the swing position, it has little, or less wobble. I have never been successful at swinging the sights across a target and timing my trigger pull to have discharge when the POA is accoss the sights.
Opinions and thoughts please.
Larry

Practice carrying your rifle around the house. Shoulder it every few minutes. Carry it from room to room getting used to it's feel and balance. This builds muscle memory.

That will improve the wobbles,weaves & flinch.

 

[flntlokr]

Long ago a crack shot and coach told me to be sure to get my shot off within 8 seconds of settling my sights. The rifle will become unsteady as the tiny muscles all over your body that control the steadiness fatigue. If the shot isn't gone by then; let down, rest for a few seconds, and start the whole set-up again. That is very hard for most folks to do (including me); we nearly always figure we can calm it down and get a better sight picture if we wait a while longer. The steps he taught: 1. Visualize and concentrate the target, take a deep breath and release it. 2. Take another comfortable breath as you cock the rifle and raise it to your shoulder. 3. Exhale slowly as you bring the sights into line with your eye , concentrating on the front sight. 4. As soon as your sight settles on the target release the shot as you finish the exhale. 5. Maintain your aim for '1 Mississippi' after the shot. Steps 3 to 5 should require no more than a few seconds. The 5th step is probably the most important (Particularly if you shoot flint). That routine is worth practicing even while dry firing until it becomes natural and you no longer have to think about it. Remember, once the gun starts to wobble it never gets better and it becomes a question of timing, (which works for some folks with a lot of practice). Have fun with it.

 

[TexiKan]

When I started shooting muzzleloaders, I had a .40 cal rifle and a .45 cal rifle. The .45 was ideal for my size but it was eventually stolen. Fellow club members talked me into a .50 cal. Hawken and my choice, a Sharon, was far heavier than comparable rifles. I struggled with holding it steady and eventually settled on having my holding elbow against my chest/ribs. Nearly everybody was shooting elbow away. I was glad to see a Muzzle Blasts article address my hold and stated it was acceptable. A few months later I was attending a competitive shoot in another state when the range master stopped the line to chastise me for me using an "illegal hold." A group of their officers gathered around me to make a tell me and discuss it. I informed them that they best look at a recent Muzzle Blasts article on it and it had been acceptable to the NMLRA. After further discussion, it was allowed. I still use that hold and rifle to this day....and had Sharon made a .45 cal. Hawken, I probably would have ordered it.

 

[bronko220002]

Well it seems everyone here has their own method. For hunting any kind of support is a help.
I may have posted about this earlier but I forgot. Back in the early to mid 80s I shot competitively small bore and centerfire Anyway, to shoot solely offhand without any additional support the very best thing you can do is practice. Not only actual shooting practice but dry fire practice. The key is to develop muscle memory and strength for your support arm. My mentor told it to me like this. He said - You're never going to hold your rifle dead still. There is too much going on in your body, especially your heartbeat which you can't stop. The trick to shooting offhand is to get the muzzle moving in a circle. Over time and practice, with muscle development, that circle will continue to get smaller and smaller. The muzzle will still be moving but your circle will be minute. Now this is where your dry fire practice comes in. As long as you squeeze the trigger and not jerk it your shot will find its way to the center of the target.
Following his instruction I saw my shots in the 10 ring increase by at least 25% and by about 10% in the 10X ring.

 

[Malamute]

.., to shoot solely offhand without any additional support the very best thing you can do is practice. Not only actual shooting practice but dry fire practice. The key is to develop muscle memory and strength for your support arm...

^^^ This.

After seeing a friend badly muff a simple offhand shot on a deer at 50-75 yards, and knowing he could shoot well with a rest, I thought that doing the majority of my fun shooting and practice offhand was worthwhile. Over the past 15 to 20 years most of my rifle shooting has been on the 300 and 600 yard plates and mostly offhand. Iron and optics, post CW, and post BP period guns mostly, but the benefits are useful for all types.

Same basic principal for handguns, mostly 200-300 yards and mostly offhand, and much one handed. After doing that long enough with rifle or handgun, closer or with a rest or other position seems like cheating.