Bullseye Pistol

[Pete D.]

There is so much good advice in this thread that it amounts to a very handy primer for nra bullseye pistol, aka conventional pistol, aka precision pistol.
Some thoughts:
You only need two pistols…..a .22 and a .45. If you invest in a quality .22 conversion like a Nelson or a Marvel, you need only one pistol. What you do need are good reliable magazines…..as many as you can afford.
You need regular practice. Emphasis should be on slow fire and rapid. (As shooters will say “win it in slow fire, lose it in rapid.” Very true)
Test and find the ammo that shoots best in your gun. Buy a lot of it. A LOT of it. Find a .45 loading that your gun likes. Fortunately, a lot of .45 loads have been time tested……there are “classic” bullseye loads. They are classic for a reason. They use 185 or 200 grain SWCs and a light load of a fast propellant…..i like Bullseye at 4.2 grains. I keep my velocity above 750 fps.

 

[Pete D.]

Do you know if a book like that exists for highpower rifle?

There are quite a few books concerned with high power rifle match shooting. It is important to realize that over the years there has been a shift away from the heavy .30s in Service Rifle matches. When shooters realized that heavy bullets and fast twist barrels would allow ARs to outshoot the M1a, it was a new era.
Look for books by David Tubb. The Marine Rifle marksmanship handbook is a must.

 

[anothernewb]

One thing I was shown to get better at bullseye, lift weights. It works. work your shoulders. the old front lateral raise, and out to the sides.

You're not aiming for massive weights. Just enough so that your loaded gun is less than your workout weight. start light, like 2-3#. bring it up and hold it out for 30 seconds or so, or whatever you can start with. I usually do 3 sets of 5 reps. work your way up to about 5# and longer times. Really helps keep things steady.

 

[Soupy44]

Forgot to mention, here's a forum completely devoted to Bullseye:

https://www.bullseyeforum.net/

Lots of High Masters, National Champions, some Olympians, and a number of highly regarded gunsmiths regularly post.

 

[Pete D.]

If you have never seen a “high master” shoot, watching a string or two is nearly magical.

 

[243winxb]

If you have never seen a “high master” shoot, watching a string or two is nearly magical.

Yes, its amazing.

"Master" was the highest clasification in my day.

I was shooting next to one & scoring his targets. He broke the National Record for timed fire with the 45acp. Putting the first 20 rounds in the X ring, then 5 more while everyone watched. The next 5 ended it, with some in the 10 ring.

Another master i was shooting next to cheated. 45 rapid fire, targets turned, late shot missed target completely. He claimed one hole has 2 bullets. They gave it to him.

Indoors at 50 ft, a master challenged his 1 shot, to be of higher value. A jury of three shooters voted. I voted no, 2 others yes. That 1 X won the agg for him. It did not break the next higher scoring ring.

Drinking & shooting Bullseye- 1800 match, 25 yards indoors. 2 relays. First relay shot, went in bar. Watched a shooter down 3 shots of whisky with beer, before going back on the firing line.
I said something to the range personnel. Was told "Hes ok. Shoots better after a few"

Then cash pay outs stopped & NRA metals were given. Cant eat metals.





The good old days.

 

[MrBorland]

Do you know if a book like that exists for highpower rifle?

There are quite a few books concerned with high power rifle match shooting.

Not specific to High Power, but I can highly recommend "With Winning in Mind". Lanny Bassham was an Olympic medalist rifle shooter, and his book focuses on the mental game in all forms of competition. As many here know, having a strong mental game is huge in the shooting sports, but so many struggle with it, often without even knowing it.

 

[sfl_gunner]

Not specific to High Power, but I can highly recommend "With Winning in Mind". Lanny Bassham was an Olympic medalist rifle shooter, and his book focuses on the mental game in all forms of competition. As many here know, having a strong mental game is huge in the shooting sports, but so many struggle with it, often without even knowing it.

I have the book. I started reading it.

 

[Pete D.]

There is a series of books concerned with precision long range shooting . Not cheap. Three volumes.

By Bryan Litz. Available from MidwayUSA.

Also….go to Amazon and search “high power rifle book”.

 

[Blue68f100]

Roll trigger is TR Sear (true radius). This sear can be adjusted to have a lot of travel to virtually zero. All my 1911's have the TR sear. John Harrison Custom sells the ignition group as well as just the sear. Like all things in a 1911, all parts require fitting. But these are the nearest to drop-in as you can get. All that needs adj is how much roll if any you want. I also have the TR sear jig for doing my own.

 

[243winxb]

Roll trigger

In the late 70s, the Russians were using them. I modified a Ruger SBH 44 mag with 10" barrel to be a roll trigger. Worked great .

Avoid any hammer/sears that are surface hardened.

 

[Jim Watson]

Gunsmiths have been hand working roll triggers long before the TR jig.

 

[DMW1116]

After the forum update I came across this thread again. I learned a couple things today. Mainly I learned why people swap out springs and use light target loads in 45. I was shooting 9mm minimum loads in rapid fire and was fighting like mad to get the sights back after each shot.

Second, I might actually shoot the rapid portion better with iron sights. I lost the dot a time or two and had to rush to catch up, with predictable results.

 

[243winxb]

rapid fire

Muscle memory is a learnt action that develops through repetitive movement. Meaning- practice, practice & more practice.

The 45 will come into alignment, almost automatically , when muscles remember. Break the first shot as soon as the target faces you. This gives almost the full 10 seconds for the next 4 shots.

All 5 shots must be fired down range in the 10 seconds, so keep squeezing the trigger. A 7 is better then a 0 if you run out of time.

Seen a guys late shot cut the target & backer in half @ 25 yards.

 

[DMW1116]

I’ll definitely have to devote some time to rapid fire. I’ve been working just on slow for a while now. I went through all three stages with my 22 and 9mm today. I was disappointed but not surprised.

 

[kidneyboy]

After the forum update I came across this thread again. I learned a couple things today. Mainly I learned why people swap out springs and use light target loads in 45. I was shooting 9mm minimum loads in rapid fire and was fighting like mad to get the sights back after each shot.

Second, I might actually shoot the rapid portion better with iron sights. I lost the dot a time or two and had to rush to catch up, with predictable results.

Losing the dot is fixed with practice and iron sights are doing the same thing as the dot.
Part of the mental aspect of bullseye shooting is figuring out that 2 seconds is a really long time.

 

[Soupy44]

Download the Marine Corp Pistol Workbook. It will give you step by step drills that will get you to master level scores.

 

[DMW1116]

I’ve been practicing one aspect or another of bullseye for a while, but today was the first time I’ve shot a full 900 point course. Since I don’t have a 45 yet, I shot 22, centerfire, then 22 again, all from 25 yards with reduced targets for slow fire. My local range only has 25 max for pistols. Seems endurance might be more of a factor than I thought. Anyone know how I shot a tighter group with timed fire than I did on slow fire? I always seem to pull one on slow fire and today was no exception.

 

[Soupy44]

It's easy to try to dress up shots too much in slow which leads to poor trigger control. You feel you can snatch the 10 or X, but that usually leads to snatching the trigger ruining all your good hold work.

Timed fire is fast enough to force you to stay on the trigger while slow enough to easily let the sights settle.

 

[Buck13]

Shot my first Bullseye match with a borrowed gun and I sucked. But let me tell you, I love it. I'm ready to do it more. What are some good entry level 1911's? What ammo is preferred for each of the different stages? Where can I find training plans?

If you're serious, go to Bullseye-L every day on the Commercial Row sub and keep at it until you score a wadgun ready to go to work. A little patience should pay off within a few months.

I wasn't serious or patient and just found a supposedly unfired Range Officer .45 for sale via Gunbroker for a grand. In six months, I haven't had time to shoot it enough to decide how big a mistake that was...

 

[DMW1116]

I finally got all 10 shots inside the 8 ring on slow fire (25 yard reduced target). Of course I put one in the 7 and one in the 6 rings on the next ten shots. I’ll take it though. Now to see if I can do it again in less then three years of trying.

 

[DMW1116]

Any comments on the difference between shooting slow fire at 50 yards on the bigger target vs the reduced target at 25? I don’t have access to a 50 yard pistol range but I imagine they’re similar in difficulty. I’ve done it sitting at the bench on the 50 yard rifle range but it’s not the same as standing in sure.

 

[Russ57]

The 50 yard slow fire target is the same as the 25 timed/rapid fire target (only the 10 and 9 ring are black on the 25 yard target, on the 50 target the 8 ring is also black).

 

[DMW1116]

Right, but the slow fire target for 25 yards is a reduced target with black out to the 7 ring and the black is slightly smaller than on the 25 yard rapid and timed fire targets.

My perception is the slow fire from 50 yards is about the same difficulty as the slow fire from 25 yards using the reduced slow fire targets, though I’ve only been able to try from 50 while seated.

 

[Soupy44]

The quality of your gun/ammo combo will be more pronounced at 50y. I was told early on in bullseye that most pistols will shoot a box of rocks well at 25y.

As proof, I shoot my great grandfather's WW1 1911 in the M&P and As-Issued matches which are all at 25y. That gun sounds like a baby rattle when you shake it, but it'll clean a 25y target no problem.

That said, do not go down the rabbit hole of chasing the perfect gun/ammo combo. Keep practicing until you are bored at how good you are at shooting 10s and Xs at 25y in slow, timed, and rapid fire.