Shooting from the Bench...How?

[44man]

Now I will tell you something very funny! Since I have been shooting big and heavy guns I can't shoot my Mark II's worth a darn. I used to head shoot squirrels at 50 yards but now the little, light gun shakes like a dog with a mouse. Now I need a rest for them.
Course, I am an old, shaky guy anyway and the heavy guns damp out shakes!
Picture a gun holding pretty still and this old man behind it shaking all over!

[ole 5 hole group]

NO, shoot the most accurate, full hunting loads all year instead. SHOOT BIGGER GUNS MORE. The first gun I take from my safe is the .500 JRH. I have a love affair with the thing and even if I don't shoot for months, I will hit a bottle of water at 100 off hand first shot.

Back in the day I thought I could shoot about any firearm fairly well and today I can usually still hold my own but hitting a water bottle at 100 yards off-hand on the 1st shot with a revolver or pistol - maybe if it was a 10-gallon jug??

I've got a fair shooting 450 Marlin that kicks like hell with a peep sight and I can usually either hit the 2-liter bottle with the bullet, throw a little dirt on that bottle or just miss a 2-liter bottle at 100 yards off-hand.

Jim, I don't know how many rounds you fire in a session, but I like to shoot anywhere from 50 to 200 rounds in a session, depending of course, on the length of time I get to stay on the line. I don't mind 12 rounds or so of heavy artillery but I don't find much enjoyment in shooting heavy loads all day long - self-abuse is not my forte.

440 grains at 1,350fps in that JRH is a handful and just because it shoots small groups is no reason for me to shoot it all day long at that velocity when I can shoot small groups with that JRH at 950fps with the same bullet and it feels so gooood compared to that 1,350fps load.

[44man]

Yes, my friend, there is a limit so that recoil does not take over. Once I start to change, I go to another gun. It does no good to get beat.
The trouble I have is if I reduce a load accuracy also leaves so I can't tell if it is me or the gun.
20 or more loads with the .500 is enough so I go to the .44 and can then shoot it all day.
I really don't shoot the big ones too much at a time. What is learned will stick until you start to go bad, then quit. The very first shot is always best. The old archery thing explained it. Go out and shoot one arrow and put the bow away until the next day.
I might shoot less then anyone here but what I shoot hits.

[JosephG]

Howdy all,
I am the fellow that started this thread...and...i am really impressed with the great resposne this thread has received. Thank you. the guidance and experiene you shared is exactly what I needed. I value the different approaches taken as it made it clear, at least in my mind, there are certain "cardinal rules" (consisitency of hold, trigger control, etc.) that must be adhered to for good results while at the same time there is considerable flexibility as to specific technique (two hands or wrists on a sandbag, a wood block and foam combination got a rest, frame or barrel on a front rest, etc.). All this tells me I needs to experiment with with techniques and find the one that works for me. This is exciting as it is bringing me back into the 'experimental" aspect of shooting that originally attracted me into the benchrest game those many years ago. Thanks again to all those that responded and i am always open for more suggestions from y'all. Good shooting and may all you boolits find the "x's" on the targets.

Joe

[Whiterabbit]

Funny story. I had the BFR in 460 at the range, shooting at 50 yards. My buddy was next to me and said "hey, can I shoot that?" Well sure, of course! He asked the same question you did. "any tips for shooting?" I didn't think about that question in detail at all. he asked it thinking what you were thinking. I didn't. I immediately thought about his other revolvers, he shoots a bearcat, single six, and other small revolvers. Though no stranger to heavy recoil, he has bear paws and has told me many times his 22 revolvers shoot better when using one hand than two. So without missing a beat, I said "Yeah, use two hands."

The guy next to him was a stranger and heard our entire exchange. He nearly fell out of his bench laughing.

[tenneesse]

When I shoot my .454 CasulL and my other revolvers off a rest and find nothing under my hands gets me the most repeatability. Also damage to elbow and shoulders goes along with the big bore handguns and wrists if sessions get too lengthy. I do 20 round sessions and give it (me) a rest and at that not every day. Ive never shot the .500's though a friend had a .460 Ruger ported and I found the .454 had far greater recoil.

With my auto's I still just rest forward of the trigger guard. I find Glock very hard to shoot from any rest, I find Glocks hard to shoot period.

[9.3X62AL]

I rest my revolvers and autopistols in The Gray Wolf Method, using just enough fore arm pressure on the rest to steady the assembled hands and handgun. My object is to inflict the least possible variance upon the recoil impulse from that produced by offhand shooting. I classify the results had from a Ransom Rest as "Nice to know", but my real interest is in learning how well The System (me, the platform, and the ammo) works in concert. A Steinway or Strativarius backed up by a garage band of 13 year old metalheads can't do its best work.