How much does your hold/grip affect accuracy on a rimfire?

[TargetTerror]

I just picked up a Savage Mark II with a heavy barrel. (Great rifle!) It shot ~.7 - .8 inch groups with CCI standard velocity and Wolf MT at 50 yards. I took it out to 100 yards yesterday, and my groups were in the 2 inch range or so for most ammo.

I want to be sure that I eliminate as much shooter error as possible, so I was wondering how important consistent grip pressure, pressure of the stock on the shoulder, placement of the stock on the shoulder, and cheek position are for a rimfire rifle? With my big bore revolvers, slight changes in grip and grip pressure can change POI by several inches at even 15 yards. Does the same thing happen with rimfire rifles, albeit on a smaller scale? I obviously tried to be as consistent as I could, but let's just say there is a reason I'm not on the olympic team quite yet...

Also, I was using a Caldwell bag front rest. Need I do anything to remove/reduce any tension that might develop from placing the gun on the bag, and then moving gun around to the bullseye? It felt sometimes that the gun was "jumping" upon firing, rather than just recoiling backwards. The "jump" seemed often to be to the left, and fairly consistent.

 

[rcmodel]

Yes, a consistent hold is necessary.

The front bag is fine as long as only the stock is touching it.
Do not rest the barrel on it, or let it touch it.

Then get comfortable and on target so you don't have to force the gun over to keep it aligned.

Now, pull the gun into your shoulder firmly.

You can slide a rear bag back and forth under the slope of the butt-stock to change elevation.
Or squeeze the bag with your left hand to change it.

Unless you are shooting a center-fire with a lot of recoil, you don't have to even touch the forearm.

As long as your hold is consistent from shot to shot, the rifle will recoil off the bag in the same way each shot.

rcmodel

 

[scythefwd]

Proper body positioning.
Proper sight picture.
Proper breath control.
Sqeeze the trigger.

Those are how I was taught to fire. I also believe that they are in order of importance. A jerked trigger can get you 2 inches off at 100 yards, but improper body positioning can put the shot off the paper. For proper body positioning, I was taught basically to do what rcmodel told ya. Just make sure you are consistant, as changing your body position in the middle of a group will kill your grouping. Shoot, I try not to break my cheek weld and I shoot bolt guns.

 

[Slamfire]

Shooting a rimfire rifle is excellent practice. The slightest error in position, hold, trigger pull, and follow through, will show up on target. And because you are not flinching, your call will be better, and you will see the errors on target.

Two inches at 100 yards with cheap .22LR is pretty good.

As an example of how gripping effects accuracy, I have been banging away with my Stevens M416 .22LR on the ground with a sling. I am trying to work on my slow fire prone position in Highpower rifle. I found putting step ladder tape underneath the fore end improved my on target groups. The forend of this WWII era rimfire is a smooth polished piece of walnut, and because it was slick, I got slight, inconsistant movements during recoil. This rifle has a scope. I could see the scope move during firing, and end up with the cross hairs not in the ten ring. And the bullet impact would be any where at random.

By the way, follow through has to be perfect. You got to learn to pull that trigger, and not move or twitch as that bullet goes down the barrel.

 

[scythefwd]

slam,
Couldn't agree more about follow through. I learned to sqeeze, here the pop, and wait till the woosh (gotta love low velocity .22lr's) before I let go of the trigger. On the other hand, in an indoor range, a mossberg model 44 will do 1.5 inch groups, or a 100 consistantly with a good set of sights.

To clarify my two inches, thats two inches off from the center of your group, in a calm environment.

 

[Slamfire]

Couldn't agree more about follow through. I learned to sqeeze, here the pop, and wait till the woosh (gotta love low velocity .22lr's) before I let go of the trigger. On the other hand, in an indoor range, a mossberg model 44 will do 1.5 inch groups, or a 100 consistantly with a good set of sights

.

Yeah, when you get used to shooting centerfire, learning to stay put till that rimfire bullet leaves the barrel, is taking work.

This weekend, I sighted in my Win 52 at 200 yards. I shot on the bench. Even on the bench, the slightest twitch showed up on the bull.

I am totally surprized that the come up, for a .22 LR, between 100 yards and 200 yards is 23 MOA.

The come up for a 308 between 600 yards and 1000 yards is about 23 MOA.

I wonder how high the .22LR bullet is going.

 

[scythefwd]

It's not that it's high or low, its that the round is SLOW!!!!11one! The rounds I was shooting with were somewhere around 1100 fps. I have even shot subsonic rounds, which means they had to be below 750 fps. That isn't a whole lot of enertia there.

 

[porsche]

when i was in HS i shot competitive small bore rife. we used a strap wraped around the upper arm, a shooting glove and the tighest shooting coat we could find. once in position, you could not move very much. inessence, we were frozen in the prone position. the accuracy was pretty amazing although i am sure my rifle was accurate once sighted in..

 

[rangerruck]

rc is pretty much dead on here. I sometimes get sloppy with 22 and 17, and though they are very accurate, on a rimfire, your followthrough is important, since the round stays in the bbl longer, and is lighter. now then, you need to make sure your bbl is freefloated, at the range, even after you PURPOSELY HEAT IT UP/!!! Secondly, you may find it likes a little pressure pad up front up the bbl, at or near the tip of the stock. As for follow through, keep the rifle in the shoulder somewhat tight, how tight depends on your expirimentation; and then after you pull the trigger, keep your face, head, eyes, and tightness into the shoulder all the same, for an extra half second. This will give me a noticealby tighter group downrange, and a predictable shotmaker at that. In other words, I can almost tell you exactly where the hole is going to show up, as I can tell from when the crack goes off, where i was holding, if I keep it tight in my shoulder, and my follow through doesnt move.

 

[rangerruck]

As far as the front rest goes, a 22 is supposed to jump, since it doesnt' have enough impulse to make your body move rearward, and so your muscles and structure then push it up. if it consistently goes in the same direction that is a good sign that you can keep a hold on; just keep it in the shoulder , face, eyes, cheek rest, that half second longer, and a bit tighter in the shoulder to eliminate that jump a bit more, and keep the rest in the same place under the rifle. A lot of rimfire dudes liket the front rest, as close to the trigger guard as possible.

 

[pgeleven]

consistency is key when firing ANY weapon for grouping. your first shot should be the same as your last shot.

 

[Swampy]

TT,

Position, follow through, and overall consistency of operation is key to accurate shooting/grouping with ANY firearm, be it air rifle, rimfire, or highpower.

BTW... if you really want to learn about accurate position shooting, try a rimfire prone match sometime.....

I've been an X-Course Highpower competitor for some years now, but just shot my first Rimfire Prone match last weekend. 160 shots fired in eight 20 round stages. 50 yards, 50 meters, and 100 yards. Bright sunny day and a 10-12 mph wind from 12:00... fishtailing. You really have to watch those little wind flags when shooting rimfire...

You also really do learn to do a full follow through when shooting rimfire. If you don't it really shows downrange.

I took my old Mossberg US-44 that I bought from the CMP a few years back for $65. Shooting CCI Std Vel I managed a 1499-34X (Out of 1600). Good for 4th Place.... and that shooting against a field of some pretty fancy rifles.... Anschutz, Winny's, Remmy 40X, H&R Mod 12... etc.. and firing some high dollar target .22 ammo.

I was pretty happy with the performance of the old clunky Mossberg, the ammo.... and me... 52 year old eyes and all. HA !!

Good luck,
Best,

Swampy

Garands forever

 

[Mike 56]

I am a work in progress shooter. There was an older gentleman at the range that gave some pointers one of the things he taught me was body positioning put your rifle on the front bag with out the rear bag set yourself up in a commutable position and aim your rifle at your target close your eyes and take a deep breath relax open your eyes and and see if your rifle is still on the target if not reposition yourself and try it again. For flinching i have a 1022 with tech sights when i have spare time at home i practice dry firing with a dime on top of the front sight.

Mike

 

[Swampy]

aim your rifle at your target close your eyes and take a deep breath relax open your eyes and and see if your rifle is still on the target if not reposition yourself and try it again.

This is known as verifying your "NPA".... or "Natural Point of Aim"..... an absolute MUST for any type of accurate rifle shooting from any position. This is one of the first things we teach our new shooters at our rifle positions clinics here in SW Missouri..... Osage Orange Sharpshooters (CMP Affiliate).
Link to Osage Orange Sharpshooters website

Best to all,
Swampy

Garands forever

 

[rangerruck]

the dime on the bbl trick; that is a great old trick, I remember learning that one while shooting in the Army some years back. good practice.