Newbie needing coaching/advice.

[JDBraddy]

Shot my first ARA match wensday evening 9/14/11 in Boerne Texas, using my old Martini Intl. Mk-II, managed a 1713.75 aggregate with my high card being 1850. Thought it was fairly good for me, but finished dead last of course! Obviously have plenty of room for improvment....

In addition to my Martini, I just picked up a used Anschutz 1408. The trigger is a quite usable single stage, set to about a pound, that makes a noticable twang or ping when the gun is fired. Not sure what's going on there. It seems to shoot fairly well, at least the initial 50yd 5shot groups using Fed 711-b after sighting in scope.

I've already been told I need to start saving for one of the Pappas rests everyone seems to be using, and make myself a set of windflags and learn to use them. Any other advice welcome.

 

[cpeters]

Where to start....many people fret about what they need before going to thier first match....you learn so much by just showing up and talking to the folks there. I think you can get alot of input from some of the shooters I see standing around in your picture.

You already know about the rest and wind flags so I'm not going to list them. I don't know much about the martini but the Anschutz, here is what I would do in this order.
1. Trigger.....a pound aint going to cut it especially off of the bags.
2. If you are going to use the wood stock you need a flat plate mounted to the accessory rail to go into the front of the one piece rest when you get it. I would also have concerns at the bottom of the butt of the rifle how it is going to ride the back of the rest with the angle on the bottom that those stocks have.
3. Rifle probably needs bedded properly in this stock or ideally a benchrest type stock.
4. Put a tuner on the barrel so when you start buying good ammo such as eley as an example you can start tuning the rifle.
5. Ammo, get test lots and see how the rifle will shoot. Then start tuning to the ammo. Looking at your targets it seems like it is almost 2 grouping vertically, that could be anything....right now you have too many things working against you to figure that out. Bags, stiff trigger, bedding, ammo, tuning. could be any one or a little bit of several of those items.

You may not be able to do it all but don't get discuraged, keep going to the matches and shooting. Hopefully slowly you will go from last place and start working your way up.

Good luck
Charlie

 

[BJH]

Thats a tough crowd you are running with down there! Fred,Jack,and probably David........watch them real close! ........BJH