The R&D Think Tank for the Practical Rifleman

A regular rifle shooter trying to become exceptional at regular rifle shooting.

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Dot Drills...



...are frustrating:


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2012-10-06 001 006 resized

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I shot these right handed, and the left side left handed.  I forgot to take a photo of the completed target and I seem to have lost it.


The dots are ½” and I’m firing from 100 yards.  The dots are small enough that my crosshair obstructs most of it when lined up. 

I like these targets because a). the targets are small enough to really make you do it right, b). “hitting something” as opposed to “shooting a group” seems more realistic, worthwhile, and that it removes some of the mindgame factor (“4 out of 5 rounds and this looks like it could be my best group ever”), and c). each shot is its own event and must be set up for independently of any other shot on the page.

I’m placing a self-imposed moratorium on group shooting for the foreseeable future unless absolutely necessary.  I have a pretty good idea what my rifle will do.  Trying to hit stuff seems like a better expenditure of my ammo at the moment.

Merry Christmas.
Posted by Rifleslinger at 6:00 AM

24 comments:

  1. Sir, You just spoke volumes. Group shots tell you how the tools and operator are getting along. Point shots are the final exam. IMHO

    I pray that you, yours and all sheepdogs have a blessed day.

    Respectfully

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  3. Yep -good moratorium - besides the best group is always one shot
    Merry Christmas to all

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  4. Dot shooting with a RIFLE?!? Damn...and I thought dot shooting with a pistol was frustrating.....

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    1. Dot shooting with a PISTOL?!? Sounds like fun!

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  5. It amazes me to read all the other websites on how many people are 1/2 moa shooters when I go to range all the time and and look up and down the line at all the targets and don't know where all these self proclaimed shooters are. Thanks for your truth RS. I recall that video of a police sniper who shot the pistol out of the suicidal man's hand back in the 80's. But every internet sniper can do that if they don't count the warm up shot and 3 fliers that weren't his/her fault. Great !!!! another test!!! Thanks RS, I'm still trying to improve Rifle Bounce and Rifle Ten and now this, uggghhhhh

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    1. I didn't count the ones that completely missed the target. They weren't my fault!!!

      Just kidding.

      Thanks for the kind words. I will keep peddling my version of the truth.

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  6. Shooting from the bench only is a waste of time unless you are sighting in a rifle scope or testing a bullet load or testing the accuracy of a rifle. Your method is a great way to practice becoming a better shooter. I'm amazed how many shooters at my club spend their entire session only shooting from the bench. Every practice shot away from the supported bench makes a shooter understand their limitations and strengths! Keep up the good work!

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    1. In my area, you basically have to use the bench at the range. No position shooting, as the baffles are only meant to work for people using the benches. It's one reason why I find it hard to shell out money for a range membership.

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    2. Do you have any woods you could sneak your rifle up to?

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    3. Quite possibly...

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  7. Geez man, do you take anything for that spasticity?


    Anyway, I can do that easy.....

    .....when I draw the dots in after - I'm still workin' on 8" dots :)

    Happy Holidays and best of health to you all.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Well, I stopped using caffeine about 3 weeks ago.

      Drawing the dots in after... that's not a bad idea.

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  8. So...if one were interested in doing so, where might one procure said "dot targets"?

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    1. I'll send you a PDF. I have your email already.

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    2. Can you send me a PDF too? I have a scoped rifle that is feeling kind of lonely these days.

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  9. Thanks! What power of scope would you need, realistically, to pull this off? Iron sights at 100 are completely out of the question. You can't hit what you can't see.....

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    1. I'm not sure. I would guess that maybe a 4 power would work with the black dots on white paper, but I haven't tried with anything less than 9x. I remember being able to see golf balls at 100, but trying to acquire them with irons was, well, trying.

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  10. I know this has been mentioned in prior posts....but consider reloading? I don't care what Match ammo is out there. Nothing in my experience has improved accurate shooting like reloading your own ammo.

    I recommend the OCW method instead of ladder testing.
    http://optimalchargeweight.embarqspace.com/#

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    1. I am a reloader. One day I'll break out the Bergers I have and work out a load. I'm familiar with OCW, but haven't tried it yet. I was thinking of using a ladder to find out "about" where the node is and then use OCW to home in on the right spot.

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    2. My mistake then RS. I had thought that I remembered you saying that you had tons of Federal match ammo and didn't reload.

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    3. I have tons of Federal .308 match ammo and haven't reloaded for this rifle yet, so you were pretty close.

      I reload for the TRG exclusively because factory .338 ammo is ridiculous. For my other rifles I probably reload 95% or more of their diet.

      I've reloaded a lot of .308 on my progressive for my M1A, but I haven't given that ammo a shot in the bolt gun yet.

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  11. A variation, the...........COW PATTY DRILL
    Last fall I was out shooting at a 600 yard target and gong set up in a gentle bowl. The bowl is a hayfield in which the cows had been pastured after the cutting. It was littered with cow patties, which ranged from 0-700yards.
    I know the ranges in the bowl to the target, creek, gate, etc. from shooting there a lot over the years.
    I had a blast picking out a cow patty, analyzing the range and wind, then using the reticle for a hold and firing a quick shot. Cow patties aren't very tall, so they're hard to hit out past 300, they're reactive and there was a lot of them.
    To shoot one at 500, the next at 75 and the next at 650 in a short amount of time, using my standard zero, really was a challenge and informative. I was shooting a 308 from prone with a bipod, spotting my own shots.
    Single shots at a target are always easier for me than groups, I must have ADD. Consistency is hard, concentrating on that one shot is easier.

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    Replies

    1. Your dot drills sound like more fun than mine, as long as you don't have to inspect them for hits...

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