For awhile I've wondered how much does our equipment vs skills contribute to benchrest success. Everyone agrees you need a combination of both to succeed but how much is attributed to good equipment and how much is acquired skills.
I have a buddy visiting me, up here from NC to do some deer hunting. He was available this afternoon so I asked him if he wanted to try .22 benchrest. On our first target I set him up with my Stiller 2500X (the Un-Calfee) and my Van Ahrens one piece rest. I shot my old Turbo with a two piece rest (Hart/Fudd top and Edgewood rear). Both rifles are well tuned and we both shot the same lot of proven excellent ammo. I set up my wind flags between our two benches. The only coaching I did was to tell him to shoot a few sighters, watch the flags and to shoot free-recoil and not touch the rifle except for the trigger.
My buddy is a decent shot on game but has never done any competition rifle shooting. I told him to fire a few warm-up shots, then go to his sighters, watch the flags and figure out your holds. I set my timer for 30 minutes and off we went. The conditions were cloudy, winds of about 5-10 mph but not too switchy. We had primarily a right to left condition. Temp was in the low 40s.
I shot a 249-14X on my first target with one shot going a bit high and left as I misjudged the hold for a slight velocity change. My buddy shot a 247-12X, shooting 3 - 9s. He only used about 15 min. to shoot the target and only shot about 35 shots. We then switched rifles/set-up. I told him not to rush and use his sighters.
With the Turbo he shot a 247-16X, took more time and shot more sighters. He had one ooops where he hit the light trigger before he meant to. Again he had 3 - 9s. I shot a 250-16X with the Un-Calfee.
While this is not scientific and only one new shooter and one day, I think the experiment has some value especially for beginners. With top shelf equipment, perfectly tuned and excellent ammo a green beginner can average 247 and 14Xs in less than perfect conditions. My 14 years of experience shooting this game accounted for 2-3 pts and a couple Xs per target. Of course that is what it takes to win. But if a beginner is practicing and shooting over flags and is struggling to consistently shoot decent scores, look to issues with your equipment or ammo. My buddy kept saying how easy it was to hit Xs and figured out the holds pretty quickly. Hope this is helpful to some of you beginners out there thinking of ways to improve.
I have a buddy visiting me, up here from NC to do some deer hunting. He was available this afternoon so I asked him if he wanted to try .22 benchrest. On our first target I set him up with my Stiller 2500X (the Un-Calfee) and my Van Ahrens one piece rest. I shot my old Turbo with a two piece rest (Hart/Fudd top and Edgewood rear). Both rifles are well tuned and we both shot the same lot of proven excellent ammo. I set up my wind flags between our two benches. The only coaching I did was to tell him to shoot a few sighters, watch the flags and to shoot free-recoil and not touch the rifle except for the trigger.
My buddy is a decent shot on game but has never done any competition rifle shooting. I told him to fire a few warm-up shots, then go to his sighters, watch the flags and figure out your holds. I set my timer for 30 minutes and off we went. The conditions were cloudy, winds of about 5-10 mph but not too switchy. We had primarily a right to left condition. Temp was in the low 40s.
I shot a 249-14X on my first target with one shot going a bit high and left as I misjudged the hold for a slight velocity change. My buddy shot a 247-12X, shooting 3 - 9s. He only used about 15 min. to shoot the target and only shot about 35 shots. We then switched rifles/set-up. I told him not to rush and use his sighters.
With the Turbo he shot a 247-16X, took more time and shot more sighters. He had one ooops where he hit the light trigger before he meant to. Again he had 3 - 9s. I shot a 250-16X with the Un-Calfee.
While this is not scientific and only one new shooter and one day, I think the experiment has some value especially for beginners. With top shelf equipment, perfectly tuned and excellent ammo a green beginner can average 247 and 14Xs in less than perfect conditions. My 14 years of experience shooting this game accounted for 2-3 pts and a couple Xs per target. Of course that is what it takes to win. But if a beginner is practicing and shooting over flags and is struggling to consistently shoot decent scores, look to issues with your equipment or ammo. My buddy kept saying how easy it was to hit Xs and figured out the holds pretty quickly. Hope this is helpful to some of you beginners out there thinking of ways to improve.
