Air rifle benchrest shooting (BR25?) is it really a thing?

[TD_boy]

It's a national thing...

The NSRA run various regional competitions across the country (cheap to enter/compete in with very basic rests)
There's other competitions run to World Benchrest rules (the ones with the expensive rests and probably the least widespread) and then there are various club competitions.
And then there's the AGF one as well .

 

[SPB]

As above, there are some postal competitions to enter, Yorkshire Benchrest is a favourite as well as the Eley comps. Ultimately you are only competing against yourself.
Shoot with what your have got to begin with then you'll identify areas to improve, as with all hobbies, depends how far down the rabbit hole you want to go.

 

[Mark Palmer]

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Benchrest shooting ... preposterous what ever next ............. is 177 better than 22

Yes, "Benchrest", ie you rest on a bench, not lie on a pile bricks, that would be "pile of bricks" shooting

 

[DAV777]

Bolton Gun Club in Leigh are big on Benchrest.

yes its really good there,good people nice atmosphere,i have learned how to shoot with a porta aim and rest bag there...bulls every time now near enough with my springers...

 

[DAV777]

Or is it a niche, nerdy and very expensive branch of the sport with very limited take-up?
Are there any competitors on this forum? It looks interesting but if it's limited to two or three clubs near Chichester then I won't bother persuing it.

no...just go with a springer or pcp and something to rest the rifle on...but a club will prob have something there..just go and shoot you will love it....there will be people with top end guns but everyone is at a different level...just go and enjoy a few hours shooting

 

[Charlie11]

Question from a non BR shooter…..why do you need a glove??

To stop your pulse from being transmitted into the stock and giving that rise and fall motion.

 

[PistolDan]

To stop your pulse from being transmitted into the stock and giving that rise and fall motion.

Blimey …..assuming that’s not a wind-up

 

[Slayer fan]

Blimey …..assuming that’s not a wind-up

It's defiantly not a wind up mate.

 

[TD_boy]

The glove thing isn't essential - I don't use one and do OK...
Learning your technique is much more important IMHO.

 

[Flinty]

Question from a non BR shooter…..why do you need a glove??

You rest the butt of the rifle on the top of your hand, you can't hold it, just rest the butt on top, you can shoot without a glove but my poor old Arthritic hands, like the rest of my body, sure do need some help

 

[nobby]

Transmitting a pulse is quite easy, and easy to see when you are working at 35 mag or more. When a bench rest shooter wants a rising cheek piece added to their stock I offer the advice not to adjust it too high, as it's easy to transmit a pulse in that case.

 

[weepete]

Question from a non BR shooter…..why do you need a glove??

I just use one to protect my hand, as I tend to rest the butt of the rifle on the back of my hand, and it can rub a bit after shooting a few cards. So, more of a comfort thing for me.

 

[Smudgerii]

Blimey …..assuming that’s not a wind-up

I wish it was.. death is another option on stopping the pulse

 

[Mark Palmer]

I wish it was.. death is another option on stopping the pulse

Get yourself checked out by a doctor, just to make sure you dont have a heart/blood pressure issue,, youd be surprised how many people have undiagnosed problems in this area and are totally unaware of it! (Usually a stroke or heart attack is when its diagnosed ) then learn to relax.... it takes a bit of time to learn to calm your body down, plenty of advice online for techniques, I find deep slow breaths help me, avoid coffee and sugar for a couple of hours before shooting as both will elevate your heart rate... bear in mind carbohydrates are sugar! The idea is to be as relaxed and calm as possible, so your heart rate is nice and low and your pulse isnt pounding, making you nod like the Churchill dog!! I like a firm shoulder contact but a light touch elsewhere on my rifle, so cheek and trigger hand contact is light, the lower fingers apply finger tip pressure to the grip to ensure good shoulder contact, my thumb has little contact, so I'm not gripping the gun, trigger is set as light as is safe. Cheek contact is also light, I use a piece of tape on the riser for location and a bellows on my diopter for accurate eye relief, the bellows just touching my eyebrow. Gentle , slow breaths whilst taking aim, and firing at the rest point between exhale and inhale.
A bit of practice of calming techniques (can be done anywhere and almost any time) will help over time to lessen the effect of your heart beat on your shooting

 

[Tim_B]

I tend to shoot my cards right after a cuppa and a sausage and mushroom baguette.....on 36x my pulse is like a jack hammer.....then I moan on my scores.....yet the next week I repeat the process. what a plum

 

[Smudgerii]

Get yourself checked out by a doctor, just to make sure you dont have a heart/blood pressure issue,, youd be surprised how many people have undiagnosed problems in this area and are totally unaware of it! (Usually a stroke or heart attack is when its diagnosed ) then learn to relax.... it takes a bit of time to learn to calm your body down, plenty of advice online for techniques, I find deep slow breaths help me, avoid coffee and sugar for a couple of hours before shooting as both will elevate your heart rate... bear in mind carbohydrates are sugar! The idea is to be as relaxed and calm as possible, so your heart rate is nice and low and your pulse isnt pounding, making you nod like the Churchill dog!! I like a firm shoulder contact but a light touch elsewhere on my rifle, so cheek and trigger hand contact is light, the lower fingers apply finger tip pressure to the grip to ensure good shoulder contact, my thumb has little contact, so I'm not gripping the gun, trigger is set as light as is safe. Cheek contact is also light, I use a piece of tape on the riser for location and a bellows on my diopter for accurate eye relief, the bellows just touching my eyebrow. Gentle , slow breaths whilst taking aim, and firing at the rest point between exhale and inhale.
A bit of practice of calming techniques (can be done anywhere and almost any time) will help over time to lessen the effect of your heart beat on your shooting

Cheers mate appreciate the thoughts, sadly well past diagnosis and been on the tablets for 28 years.

 

[SPB]

Gold Dust there from @Mark Palmer .
I run through the breathing cycle then on the breath hold start counting the pulse, on the count of 5, (and if everything else is okay) finish squeezing the trigger. Consistent for me.

 

[Frog]

Or is it a niche, nerdy and very expensive branch of the sport with very limited take-up?
Are there any competitors on this forum? It looks interesting but if it's limited to two or three clubs near Chichester then I won't bother persuing it.

Not expensive unless you want it to be just like any other shooting or any other sport really. £400 - 500 will get you a set up that can shoot 250s especially if you source second-hand.

 

[GridNorth]

I use an AA S510 TR with a Vector Optics Sentinel-X 10-40x50 scope. I have not yet managed to score above 245 but in all honesty that's down to me and not the kit. I do get frustrated at times and gave up for a while but I have just put the scope back on the rifle to give it another go. This time I'll take it a little less seriously and I have no intention of entering any competitions. I also prefer the NSRA version of BR. I used to be in club that had a few "serious" BR shooters with thousands of pounds worth of kit even not counting the gun but to be honest I could not see the point of what they were doing. They spent hours with a gun clamped in a vice tweeking this, tweeking that until eventually they would fire a serious shot by very lightly touching the trigger. The logical conclusion to that is that you stay at home and fire it from your computer. It's not for me but I can appreciate that some people get satisfaction out of the tweeking of the gun until it's perfect i.e. they are attracted by the tweeking not the shooting perhaps. I prefer to think of what I do as precision shooting rather than hard core BR.