re: classic .38's....a glitch?

Hi, Gordon:
When I have a new handgun student, I draw a sight on a target, in a perfect 6 o'clock hold. I draw it life size, with the rear sight an inch wide, as on the High Standard. Then I draw one off centre with the front sight squarely in the notch and explain that if she or he fires with the sights there, it's still a 5. Finally I draw another one directly below the first, but with the front sight half out of the notch, up and right, and tell them that they'll be lucky to hit the upper right hand corner of the target. I explain that they won't hit if they chase the bull with the front sight and ignore the rear. They should lock their wrists and concentrate on sight alignment first and the bullseye second.

A flintlock with it's slow ignition is a different problem. Then you're better off shooting when the sights are perfectly steady and an inch off centre, than firing when the sights are swinging pass centre.

Speaking of shooting 6" groups offhand at 100 yards, consider that the 10 ring on the NRA B-6 50 yard target is 3.36" in diameter, so shooting a possible requires the equivalent of a 7" 100 yard group. You need to shoot 97% to make High Master, and considering that rapid fire isn't easy means that a High Master can't lose many points in slow fire and has to clean timed fire, IIRC. Somewhere I read that the highest score ever was 2680 out of 2700. That's 20 nines on 27 targets. Way out of my league.

Bye
Jack

Hi, Gordon:
Sorry if I confused you about locking the wrists. Of course you lock your wrists after the sights are aligned with the eye and then get on target by moving your upper body. I have a tape of Susan Nattrass doing her thing at trap. She locks her face,arms and shoulders to the gun and breaks a hard left by pivoting her lower body.

Ribbonstone's last post is correct. My right shoulder is too far gone most times to shoot one handed. When I do, my right arm is almost straight out sideways and I put my left hand in my back pocket.

Usually I use the isosceles position with my elbows slightly relaxed. You may prefer the Weaver stance, with the right arm pushing and the left arms pulling, assuming you're right handed. If I use the Weaver, I only bend my left elbow slightly. I've seen some pictures lately of shooters with their left elbow bent about 90° and aiming cross body, so that the barrel to shoulder angle is about the same as a rifle shooter's. That doesn't work for me.

It's so long since I shot regulation slow, timed and rapid strings that you'd wonder if I was bragging or complaining. No doubt the thinking has changed, but IIRC, the idea back then was that you had to clean timed to win in the Masters rank. Now I'm happy to break 80 at slow fire.

You're getting there. Keep practising and thinking.

Bye
Jack