Good and bad days at the range

[jeff_gibbons]

Just curious to learn the experiences of this group. I know I’m nuts, but have you ever had a range session with a great rifle and load that sprinkled rounds around the paper for no reason than the knucklehead behind the trigger?

Today I shot my favorite rifle with a known combo and could not group!!! Too much coffee? Too early?? Full moon?

I bagged it and switched to the 22lr to fight another day.

Guess it’s like golf, some days it feels right and works. Other days - not so much

 

[Dsnow9]

Yes, it happens to me more often when shooting pistols but does with the rifle as well.

If I’m all over the place with the rifle I usually bring out the front and rear bags, settle down and walk through all my steps and do a couple empty chamber trigger pulls. I put one in the chamber and let it fly after walking through the process slow and calm. I don’t think it’s ever not hit its mark after that.

I then put the rifle away and go home. Knowing that I was just having an off day. Shooting a scoped rifle does not come naturally to me. I grew up shooting iron sites and didn’t use a scope till my 20s. I need a minimum of 100 rounds down range a year and a lot of empty chamber trigger pulls to feel confident going into hunting season with a scoped rifle. I can’t explain it.

I can pull out an iron site gun like my 30/30 and hit targets out to 100 though without even thinking about it or prep. Something about scopes and I just don’t get along.

Something about focusing on the crass hairs instead of the target…

 

[LuketheDog]

Just curious to learn the experiences of this group. I know I’m nuts, but have you ever had a range session with a great rifle and load that sprinkled rounds around the paper for no reason than the knucklehead behind the trigger?

Today I shot my favorite rifle with a known combo and could not group!!! Too much coffee? Too early?? Full moon?

I bagged it and switched to the 22lr to fight another day.

Guess it’s like golf, some days it feels right and works. Other days - not so much

It's too much coffee for me. The range I like is an hour away and I'd pound coffee on the drive down. I found when shooting longer ranges I could see my heartbeat making the crosshairs hop all over the target, even when shooting on a concrete bench. I limit myself to one cup of coffee on range days now.

 

[nrpate05]

I can pull out an iron site gun like my 30/30 and hit targets out to 100 though without even thinking about it or prep. Something about scopes and I just don’t get along.

Something about focusing on the crass hairs instead of the target…

I can relate to this. I think it is because when shooting iron sights I don't expect to be super precise. If I can shoot a softballish group from field positions at 100 or so yards with my muzzleloader I call that a success. It always seems much more casual for some reason. When I'm shooting my scoped rifles I obsess over the bullet landing exactly where I want it and that anxiety can hamper my shooting. Like Maverick said in Top Gun..."If you think, you're dead." I always try to remember that.

 

[Sheltowee]

Just curious to learn the experiences of this group. I know I’m nuts, but have you ever had a range session with a great rifle and load that sprinkled rounds around the paper for no reason than the knucklehead behind the trigger?

Today I shot my favorite rifle with a known combo and could not group!!! Too much coffee? Too early?? Full moon?

I bagged it and switched to the 22lr to fight another day.

Guess it’s like golf, some days it feels right and works. Other days - not so much

I'd suspect the loose screw behind the trigger is to blame for most of my bad range days.

 

[noharleyyet]

Just curious to learn the experiences of this group. I know I’m nuts, but have you ever had a range session with a great rifle and load that sprinkled rounds around the paper for no reason than the knucklehead behind the trigger?

Today I shot my favorite rifle with a known combo and could not group!!! Too much coffee? Too early?? Full moon?

I bagged it and switched to the 22lr to fight another day.

Guess it’s like golf, some days it feels right and works. Other days - not so much

I hear ya...chased & only surrounded the bull for about 40 bucks worth of loads yesterday with my most accurate rifle.

 

[Forkyfinder]

I have worse pistol days than rifle. . . Sometimes it happens.

One thing ive noticed - different things can be hard to shoot for different people. All of my rifles are either braked or heavy enough theres modest recoil. Changing platforms can be tough too. Most of my "off days" were scopes not holding together.

Always good to bring a 22lr for practice and another centerfire you trust.

 

[Treeshark]

I then put the rifle away and go home. Knowing that I was just having an off day.

I do this same thing with my bow, especially later in a session when I’m getting tired.

“Alright, it was you- the bow is still on target. Let’s go home.”

 

[jeff_gibbons]

Thx all. I’m going to experiment with reduced coffee next trip.

 

[noharleyyet]

I hear ya...chased & only surrounded the bull for about 40 bucks worth of loads yesterday with my most accurate rifle.

It came to me yesterday what I was doing wrong...and it was something very elementary.

*spinning a CDS dial expecting 1/4"/click

 

[Cogreeny]

Yes, it happens to me more often when shooting pistols but does with the rifle as well.

If I’m all over the place with the rifle I usually bring out the front and rear bags, settle down and walk through all my steps and do a couple empty chamber trigger pulls. I put one in the chamber and let it fly after walking through the process slow and calm. I don’t think it’s ever not hit its mark after that.

I then put the rifle away and go home. Knowing that I was just having an off day. Shooting a scoped rifle does not come naturally to me. I grew up shooting iron sites and didn’t use a scope till my 20s. I need a minimum of 100 rounds down range a year and a lot of empty chamber trigger pulls to feel confident going into hunting season with a scoped rifle. I can’t explain it.

I can pull out an iron site gun like my 30/30 and hit targets out to 100 though without even thinking about it or prep. Something about scopes and I just don’t get along.

Something about focusing on the crass hairs instead of the target…

Same. My old man wouldn’t buy scopes so we used irons as kids. Killed deer and elk just fine didn’t know any better. Turned 18 moved out and started using glass. Kinda miss those days though.