The end result You don't have to be a long range shooter to benefit from what I have written. Hunters can certainly apply some of the most basic things to improve their shooting skills. In Encore's initial post on "Extreme Long Range", he mentions a half dozen things that every in-line muzzleloader should be aware of and probably adapt to their loading cycle. Lets say that a hunter's average group size is 4 inches at 100 yards. If they apply some of Encore's advise and their groups shrink to 3 inches, that equals a 25% smaller group than before. Who wouldn't be happy with that?
If you could shrink your group size 25% at 1000 yards, that would be HUGE and it would be accomplished simply by following good advise. The same applies to the act of shooting. Remember, Small errors compound. They stack on top of each other. Think about it. Natural point of aim off a little, grip, cheek weld, eye relief varies, breath and trigger control off, recoil management and follow through need work, etc. All of the above comes into play whether you are trying to shoot a deer at 100 yards, Smokey's postal match, or a target at 1000 yards. One might think that once you have a decent working knowledge of the basics and some hunting or match experience, you can be done learning. Not true! Especially for me! Some things will come more naturally and you can rely on muscle memory and not really think about what you are doing. For me, the other basics require constant attention and I have to run through my mental checklist of a good shot cycle every shot. Just shooting more won't necessarily make you a better shot if you just keep practicing your bad habits. I think Albert Einstein said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Remember, anyone can become a better shot if they can learn and apply the basics. Perfect practice! Hope you learned something. X
If you could shrink your group size 25% at 1000 yards, that would be HUGE and it would be accomplished simply by following good advise. The same applies to the act of shooting. Remember, Small errors compound. They stack on top of each other. Think about it. Natural point of aim off a little, grip, cheek weld, eye relief varies, breath and trigger control off, recoil management and follow through need work, etc. All of the above comes into play whether you are trying to shoot a deer at 100 yards, Smokey's postal match, or a target at 1000 yards. One might think that once you have a decent working knowledge of the basics and some hunting or match experience, you can be done learning. Not true! Especially for me! Some things will come more naturally and you can rely on muscle memory and not really think about what you are doing. For me, the other basics require constant attention and I have to run through my mental checklist of a good shot cycle every shot. Just shooting more won't necessarily make you a better shot if you just keep practicing your bad habits. I think Albert Einstein said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Remember, anyone can become a better shot if they can learn and apply the basics. Perfect practice! Hope you learned something. X
