Canadian Airgun Forum

So I now have a Daisy 853C. Great gun. Very accurate, usesd for the 10M prone Canadian Cadet marksmanship accreditation. With the peep sights on the official 10M target, it's really spot on. When I shoot at 10M off the bench with a bean bag under the stock, I get tens nearly every time on the Olympic target. And so can everyone else.

Which gets boring, after a while.

So what should I do? Strive for tens on EVERY shot? So that anything under a possible is a failure? How do you plot improvement in that environment? 100 - 100 - 99 - 100 - 100 - 99 - and so on. No data to work on. Unless I should micro-analyse the impact points? Do you do that?

Or should I convert to Olympic Ten Meter which really separates the shooters from the wannabees? Or lie down with my old bones and shoot prone with just a sling? Or go to greater distances where there is no standard, except self-fulfillment? Erm, nope, there's too much of that already in shooting sports, so no, thank you. I don't need an orgasm every time I shoot (so that rules out hunting). I want to measure my performance against officially recognised standards. So what do I do?

The answer is of course Olympic. And the only standard is standing, off-the-hand at 10M, 0.177. There is no other way for an air rifleman to tell if he (she) is a good shot or not.

And I'm afraid to think that I'm probably not.

It seems like you've answered your own question.
Shoot the targets the way they're meant to be shot (offhand at 10m) and not off a rest.
That definitely won't be too easy.

or do a combination.... ten shots each of prone, kneeling, and standing.... and keep track of your improvement out of 300....

Bob

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Dominion Marksman Silver Shield - 5890 x 6000 in 1976, and downhill ever since!
Airsonal; Too many! Springers, Pumpers, CO2, but I love my PCPs and developing them!
Proud Member of the 2000+fps Club!

weird way to word a question to be sure..

I also find that if I'm just benched at around 50' it gets to be boring... so I stretch it out farther... I don't know what you meant by no fulfillment... if you want to challenge yourself to make it more interesting, why not put some paper out at longer distances. If you just don't want it to get boring, do what I do and put out some reactive targets and plinkables at different ranges and try that. it may not be as refined as competition shooting, but I think everyone will agree it is a lot of fun.

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-Call me Nick

65 yards with the qb79 and a 9x scope isn't the "easiest" thing in the world.

I was shooting at a "VEX" bottle (bout the size of a 1Liter coke bottle)..
once dialed at 9x I turned it back to 3x and worked my breathing and hold.
3 out of 6 direct hits at 3power and 1 skimmed the label.

My theory is if it gets boring, put it out farther. when your at the range of your airgun, make em smaller... i have some nice 1/8" aluminum i use for gongs and that never gets old at 100yards

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- QB79 - CenterPoint 3-9x40 - 660fps - Zero'd @ 75yrds
- PCP2.0 - 480fps with "no" breech seal on the bolt on CO2

I have found that shooting .22 shells is do-able but very challenging, best of all they are cheap and re-usable. Stand them on putty, take 30 shots and score 1 for a hit and 0 for a miss. Keyrigger and I have done this offhand at 10m and rested at 25 a number of times.

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Airgunning is my hobby... and it is cheaper than
maintaining an outside relationship with another woman.
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I have had my 853c (and a couple of other fine 10 meter rifles) for about three years now and I have yet to fire a prone shot...

It took me about four months to get five in the black (on cadet grouping targets) consistently from kneeling.

I agree that bench resting at ten meters is not a lot of challenge. So I shoot standing offhand most of the time.

I have started using sidewalk chalk cut up into peppermint sized discs (as was suggested by another member).

I also use bottle caps stuck on edge in plasticine.

When I get warmed up and am on a roll I use yellow map pins.

But if you really want a ten meter challenge get a pistol....I just got one a couple of weeks ago and I had to start with the bottom of a gallon paint can, then a coffee can, then a bean can, then a tomato paste can....now I'm down to chalk and bottle tops but only hitting one in three...not too bad considering I have tendinitis that needs physiotherapy in my right elbow. My hat is off to the guys who can consistently smash aspirins standing offhand with a pistol.

Then if you want to increase the challenge get a clock and limit your lock load and aim time to 30 seconds per shot.

My personal best so far has been thirty bottle caps in a row on the clock standing offhand with the Daisey 853c. That was with preloaded five shot clips and I don't think I could match that in single shot.

On the thirty first cap I was shaking from lactic acid build up in my arms and the cap didn't go flying. I fired three shots and gave up. Later I noticed that the cap had three dents in it.....

I know I'm going to be handed my butt the first time I compete, but I am going to train and practice to do my best.

"Aim small miss small"...and when you're done doing that...aim even smaller.

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All my flyers are above the black ring because I have a tendency to aim high.

Try toothpick shooting in a standing position offhand .
I get 1 out of 3 or 4 shoots or more all depends on which rifle I use .
I should try it with a pistol on a good day that is .

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René

I agree with Mauser.
After probably 10000 shots through my 853c in 3 years I can now hit the 10 (std ISSF 10m target where the 10 is the size of a period) 7 out of 10, with the other 3 being 9's, standing offhand.
And 8 means I've flinched.
It's gotten boring and the only way I see to improve is expensive coaching (not an option) or a vast outlay in cash for a true Olympic rifle (also not going to happen).
So I purchased a Gamo Compact target pistol.
Now I'm back to being really pleased when I hit the 10 (std ISSF pistol target), and a good target has all the shots (I shoot 5/target) in the black.
My next step is the 'Quigley Down Under Shot', which I'm going to try this weekend if it is windless. A photo of a 2.5 in pail at 50yds (I did the math for a 500fps gun).
I'm hoping for a consistent 1 out of 3.

Here is my pass-time challenge......Really hard for it to get "too easy"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmkXCThgmZE

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"It's just a springer..."

OK..that's impressive.....now was it bench rest and scope?.......

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All my flyers are above the black ring because I have a tendency to aim high.

What's the problem?

Increase the shooting distance and shoot standing- when you get to be able to shoot&kill gophers consistently at 150 yards using a 20fpe springer- then I think it can be established you are a good shooter- one who can take into account all the variables- pellet drop, springer recoil, windage, etc. etc.

Really, my point is that you can design any criteria for your shooting, using something other than a target-class gun (as people have indicated) to "prove" the point. I use the gopher-shooting example as that gentleman in Australia does (did?) this consistently on his farm to eliminate pests. I've never heard of anyone else being that accurate with all the potential variables using such a (relatively) low-powered gun. If I can ever shoot like that, I'm confident that my shooting days will be over.

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Please note: I do not conduct business through Private Messages (PM's) in online forums. Please do not send a 'PM" with a business-related question.

There is no problem Eric. The fellow who started this thread asked one of those perennial questions which...when all is said and done....is exactly what this forum is about...

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All my flyers are above the black ring because I have a tendency to aim high.

FT sitting position @ 10yds......lots practice and luck involved, emphasis on the luck

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"It's just a springer..."

The more practice is involved...the less it is really luck....I'm impressed....

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All my flyers are above the black ring because I have a tendency to aim high.