Phrase: Pulling you shots

just-shoot

"Pulling Your Shots" What is ment by this phrase? This could be my problem. I have two deer rifles, a 30-40 Krag w/ open sights that I shoot very well with - 100 yd target. The triger pulls back freely untill a resistence is felt, then I squeez just a tad more for the shot. I also own a youth 243 w/ a scope and when I shoot it, one shot can be good, then the next 8" to the left, then the next mite be 6" high and I'm just all over the target. The triger pull on this is just a continous long pull and at some point it fires. Am I anticipating the shot and jerking?I carried my Krag 3 day this years hunt and didn't see a thing, took the 243 evening of the 3rd day, saw a deer and miss the shot. I took the time and ammo to get this rifle sight-in before I left, and when I got back from the hunt I was all over that target again. I originally purchased this for my daughter, but now I'm contemplating selling it and get her a 44 mag lever action. It has to be light to carry and little recoil.It's a bad situation when I shoot better with open sights. What do you experts think my problem with this rifle could be? Many Thanks![This message has been edited by just-shoot (edited 11-11-2001).]

Orphanedcowboy

The problem with the gun maybe the gun/scope, gun/ammo combination or poor quality scope. What brands are they? Clean the gun thoroughly, check all the screws on the rings and bases to make sure they are tight,check the action screws holding the gun in the stock to be sure they are snug, but not to tight, this can also cause you problems. Then with several different brands of ammo, go to the range and use a 25 yd target. On your lowest power setting fire 3 rounds of your regualar ammo you normally use in the gun, they should be in a relatively small group, if not have the scope checked. If they are then zero the gun on the target at 25 yds. Let the barrel cool, clean the gun and proceed out to 100 yds, fire 3 rounds if the group opens up, clean the gun and try a different brand of ammo and maybe a different grain of bullet, if you still are having the problem, clean the gun and try another brand, if the problem persists, then have a fellow shooter watch you, they may enlighten you to your problem. When I generally see people who "pull a shot", right handers, low and to the right, left handers, low and to the left. I watch them pull the palm swell into their shooting hand, instead of squeezing the trigger with just the finger, causing the barrel to move slightly into their "pull". most often happens on heavy factory triggers. I used this method to cure myself of the affliction, I would take a target and hang it down my hallway, off of the kitchen bar, with an unloaded weapon, I would cycle the bolt and concentrate on the crosshairs, pull the trigger, if the crosshairs moved I was pulling and not squeezing. I bought a snapcap for my heaviest trigger and practiced and practiced until I squeezed the trigger. I also take every new gun I buy and have a trigger job performed, that decreases the resistance on the trigger and makes for a smooth sqeezable trigger. I hope this helps.

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Orphanedcowboy@msn.com

DaRoosta

Orphanedcowboy is right on track with this one. "Pulling your shots" can be attributed to many things and the best advice, which he already gave, is to practice. It sounds like you may be recoil sensative and pulling the trigger instead of squeezing. Another common problem is people who don't check their natural point of aim. That usually means their benchrest or bipod isn't completely aligned to the target, causing them to hold it to the target instead of resting it at the target. What I mean by this is if you have to physically hold it down and to the right in order to align with your target at the range, often times people will shoot up and to the left because when they pull the trigger they will release their hold slightly. This will cause the barrel to come back to it's natural point of aim. When this is the case, it's frustrating and can cause a lack of confidence.The ammo can also be a problem, but a .243 at 100-yards shouldn't be off 6"-8" just by varying the ammo. Check your equipment and maybe you'll find the answer. Whatever the case, I wouldn't sell the rifle until you find your answer. A .243 is a great deer rifle.

JustC

both of these guys are ABSOLUTELY CORRECT. experience is evident among the people who have been there and done that before. You may also want to have the rifling checked to be sure the throat is not eroded. I know the 243 doesn't inherently do this, but if you are not the original owner, you should check anyway. Pulling a shot is 9 times out of 10 trigger pull or stock tension, or scope problems. Follow the cowboys advice first, check all screws and mounts. Then the stock. I have also seen a gun which had a swivel stud put in which contacted the barrel inside the stock and threw bullets everywhere.The same follows for pushing shots as well. If you have too little finger on the trigger, you can often push the rifle to the other side. The hallway trick or the 'spot on the wall" trick at my house, works well to break any trigger push/pull problems.

woodsrunner

Just one more thought. You said the .243 is a youth gun. Are you built like a normal adult or taller even? Do you get a good consistant sight picture every time you mount the gun? It could just be the gun is too short for your build. Check every thing that's already been sugested. But keep in mind your eye could be too close to the scope for proper sighting. Or you could be lifting your cheek from the stock trying to get a proper sight picture.

just-shoot

A lot of good suggestions and possibilities, I'll run the checklist. Thanks everyone.