The 2014 Season
The Scores
| Date | Location | Standing | Sitting | Rapid Prone |
Slow Prone |
Aggregate | |
| April 13 | Bonfield | 96-1 | 99-1 | 97-2 | 199-13 | 491-17 | 98.2% |
| April 27 | Bonfield | 95-0 | 98-2 | 100-2 | 193-3 | 486-7 | 97.2% |
| May 3 | Milan | 193-1 | 197-5 | 195-3 | 185-3 | 770-12 | 96.3% |
| May 10 | Bonfield | 193-3 | 196-6 | 195-4 | 195-6 | 779-19 | 97.4% |
| May 18 | Bonfield | 94-2 | 100-3 | 98-2 | 198-5 | 490-12 | 98.0% |
| May 24 | Lodi | 97-2 | 98-1 | 97-2 | 190-4 | 482-9 | 96.4% |
| May 25 | Lodi | 183-6 | 197-5 | 196-5 | 396-15 | 972-31 | 97.2% |
| June 7 | Milan | 194-4 | 200-8 | 197-10 | 198-7 | 789-29 | 98.6% |
| June 15 | Racine | 180-0 | 200-14 | 196-7 | 188-1 | 764-22 | 95.5% |
| July 4 | Van Meter | 97-3 | 97-3 | 95-1 | 195-10 | 484-17 | 96.8% |
| July 5 | Van Meter | 192-5 | 198-13 | 187-4 | 194-6 | 771-28 | 96.4% |
| July 6 | Van Meter | 187-3 | 199-9 | 198-9 | 193-7 | 777-28 | 97.1% |
| July 21 | Camp Perry | 99-1 | 95-1 | 98-1 | 195-7 | 487-10 | 97.4% |
| July 22 | Camp Perry | 91-1 | - | 94-1 | 92-2 | 277-4 | 92.3% |
| July 23 | Camp Perry | 89-0 | 99-3 | 96-3 | 182-9 | 466-15 | 93.2% |
| July 24 | Camp Perry | 88-2 | 99-2 | 98-1 | 194-5 | 479-10 | 95.8% |
| July 25 | Camp Perry | 94-1 | 99-2 | 97-1 | 196-5 | 486-9 | 97.2% |
| July 27 | Camp Perry | 191-6 | 200-9 | 192-9 | 191-6 | 774-30 | 96.8% |
| July 28 | Camp Perry | 193-6 | 200-8 | 196-4 | 193-3 | 782-21 | 97.8% |
| July 29 | Camp Perry | - | - | - | 197-9 | 197-9 | 98.5% |
| August 16 | Lodi | 195-4 | 200-10 | 175-0 | 198-10 | 768-24 | 96.0% |
| August 30 | Milan | 195-4 | 197-11 | 196-7 | 197-5 | 785-27 | 98.1% |
| September 7 | Bonfield | 97-3 | 100-8 | 100-4 | 197-6 | 494-21 | 98.8% |
| September 13 | Brookston | 190-2 | 200-12 | 197-6 | 196-8 | 783-28 | 97.9% |
| September 20 | Bonfield | 196-5 | 198-8 | 198-5 | 199-11 | 791-29 | 98.9% |
| September 21 | Bonfield | 195-7 | 198-5 | 197-4 | 198-8 | 788-24 | 98.5% |
| October 5 | Bonfield | 195-5 | 197-5 | 194-4 | 199-7 | 785-21 | 98.1% |
| October 11 | Milan | 194-1 | 198-4 | 194-3 | 194-7 | 780-15 | 97.5% |
The Stories
Over the years I have been in various states of readiness
when the highpower season began. Some years I had the chance to get a feel for
all the positions, confirm sling settings, and fully prepare for the season to
start. Other years I may have dry-fired a little standing and only spend a week
or two getting ready.
This year I was shooting my last smallbore match a couple of days before the
first highpower event. The first time I picked up a service rifle since last
autumn was when I put my re-barreled upper on my lower. The night before the
match I was reloading since I didn't even have enough ammunition to fire the
whole course. I don't really like scrambling like this but that's what I get for
leaving everything to the last minute.
April 13
As with the first match of every season, this is my opportunity to begin getting zeros for a re-barreled upper I have never shot before. Normally I will calculate some basic come-ups from previous zeros but with this year's scramble I never got around to it. I didn't even know if we would shoot today because of rain in the forecast.
Wobble in standing was a little larger than I expected but I guess that's what happens after being away from the rifle for so long. As the shots were coming up above my call, I kept coming down with the rear sight. Until, that is, I got to the bottom and I was still shooting high 9's. At that point I adjusted my hold from a center of mass to 6 o'clock. This centered up my shots but now I have to adjust the height of the front sight for the next time I shoot.
I was surprised how quickly I found a stable sitting position. The only thing I really had to adjust was my sling setting. Since I use a new sling each year I just took a stab at which setting was appropriate for this stage. It was pretty close and that only left my sight settings as the other unknown. Because I was bottomed out for standing I went to a 6 o'clock hold for my first sighter. I wasn't as low in sitting as I was in standing so I wound up coming up a few clicks even with the 6 o'clock hold. For some reason on the last shot of my string I pulled the trigger and all I got was a "click". The primer had an indentation from the firing pin but it didn't go off so I got to shoot an alibi string all by myself.
Back at 300 I finally had enough bullet drop to be able to take the rear sight off the bottom with a center of mass hold. My guess was pretty close but I kept coming up during my sighters and my string was still low. There were actually two distinct groups. Seven shots on the bottom of the X-ring and into the 10-ring and another group of three 9's at 7 o'clock.
There was still some sling fidgeting that needed to be done for slow prone but I never really got it where I liked it. It felt alright as I started but then became more and more forced later in the string. My neck started to feel extended and twisted as time went on. The first half was a 100-9x but then things got less comfortable and the later shots took longer as each one took more effort.
| Offhand: | 96-1 |
| Sitting: | 99-1 |
| Rapid Prone: | 97-2 |
| Slow Prone: | 199-13 |
| Aggregate: | 491-17 |
April 27
Since the last match I have been able to adjust my front sight so that my rear sight is not bottomed out at 200 yards. I also made some calculations so that I had some estimates of what my new zeros should be. The conditions, though, made it difficult to get zeros. It was chilly with overcast skies and a stiff breeze that would gust every now and then. The skies cleared and it warmed up during the day but the gusts continued.
The wind made shooting standing a challenge this morning. The lulls didn't come very often and they were short when they did. I would line up the shot and reach that point where my concentration was focused on getting the shot off and the wind would pick up and I would have to start over again. At first I tried to be as patient as possible and wait things out but that took a lot of time and I felt I had to speed up. Shots 3 & 4 were back-to-back 8's as I was coming up outside of call. My trigger control was pretty good and I had a really good support position with my forward arm.
In sitting the rifle felt like it was pointed lower than it should have. This was probably firing point related and I tried to adjust my leg position and buttstock placement to compensate. Nothing really helped and I caught myself holding the handguard with my fingers instead of letting it rest in my palm. This was subtle but it made the difference between pointing at the middle or the bottom of the frame. It also put more muscle tension in my support hand. I had to crank in more wind than I expected but regardless, it was a much bigger group than it should have been.
I still wasn't quite sure of my sight settings in rapid prone. Since we were on a fairly protected range I put in 2 clicks right and got an 8 out on the left. After that I was putting in full corrections in an effort to get in the middle. The string didn't feel very good. My breathing was off and that really messed up my timing. Some shots went quickly, others were delayed. The result was a clean but it felt like a lucky clean and not one that I really deserved.
After last week's slow prone I was looking forward to this despite the wind. The sun had come out by now but the wind was changing quickly. Since I wasn't going to get a no-wind windage zero today I just focused on getting the elevation ironed out and practice breaking good shots. I turned the elevation drum a bit but I had a hard time staying in the middle, mostly due to wind but also elevation. My positioned slipped during the string and things just felt loose.
| Offhand: | 95-0 |
| Sitting: | 98-2 |
| Rapid Prone: | 100-2 |
| Slow Prone: | 193-3 |
| Aggregate: | 486-7 |
May 3
I'm still trying to chase down a good weather day to help in establishing my zeros. 200 yards was pretty calm today but when I shot 300 and 600 there was a down-range fishtailing wind that was hard to pick up with mirage. The trees still look pretty barren because of the long-lasting winter.
I dry-fired some standing this past week just to get a better feel for the position. Things felt different though on the firing line but this happens all the time. My wobble was larger than normal but I could deal with it. My first shot for record was an eight that broke just off the black at 8 o'clock. After that I broke good shots but they kept winding up on either side of the 10-ring. Even the few X's that I called came up 10's.
Sitting felt better than the last match. My position seemed adequate but I was still playing with my elevation zero. Both of my sighters were at the bottom of the X-ring. Since I called them higher, I came up a couple of clicks. The first group was decent size but still low with one shot out at six. The second string felt like either my eye had shifted to the left or the rifle had shifted to the right. The resulting target had a bigger group and everything was on the left side.
Now that we move back to 300 my windage zero is still more of a guess. It gets harder since the wind is pretty stiff and doesn't seem to want to pick a direction. My elevation is good throughout the sighters and both strings. The windage zero may be good but it's really hard to tell. The position of the rifle dropped a little during the strings but I felt like I still had good sight alignment. My breathing still needs work. I hold my breath for too long as it is tempting to get the next shot off quickly when the front sight comes back to the target.
The day only got worse in slow prone although much of it really wasn't under my control. The wind was going downrange and would switch without much warning. Mirage was hard to read because of the wind direction. My position felt decent and it wasn't too hard to get good front sight focus. I was able to get a fair elevation zero but a windage zero was impossible. If the wind was consistent and readable maybe I could narrow down the zero but that wasn't happening today.
| Offhand: | 193-1 |
| Sitting: | 197-5 |
| Rapid Prone: | 195-3 |
| Slow Prone: | 185-3 |
| Aggregate: | 770-12 |
May 10
We finally got a low-wind day with plenty of sun. Despite this it was still a poor performance day where not many things went right.
The physical aspects of my standing were acceptable today with hold and trigger-control working alright. As usual I would start my process over again when I held too long. With very little wind I kept clicking left to adjust my zero to my call. Things started off well and I didn't drop any points until shot 8. On the back half some mistakes crept in where I would lose concentration and let a bad shot go.
There was still some zero-shifting that I had to contend with in sitting. After the sighters I thought I had everything dialed in. The first group was pretty good but it was shifted into the 10-ring at five o'clock and I lost three shots just across the line. I adjusted for the second string and that group was centered but I still threw one shot away.
A shifting position was my problem in rapid prone. During each string the rifle just didn't seem to want to come back to the same place. The position of the rifle relative to my forward arm pushed the magazine next to my arm. That caused the rifle to rotate a bit and didn't help matters. The result of all this was shots everywhere and not a lot of grouping consistency.
My initial position set-up in slow prone is doing something that keeps me from being comfortable and relaxed. My neck feels strained and my forward arm is interfering with the magazine position. After some initial zero adjustment I didn't stay in the X-ring for very long and I shot way too many 10's to have this be a clean.
| Offhand: | 193-3 |
| Sitting: | 196-6 |
| Rapid Prone: | 195-4 |
| Slow Prone: | 195-6 |
| Aggregate: | 779-19 |
May 18
The weather is finally starting to cooperate and we are able to get some warm days for matches.
I didn't feel like I was focusing very well for standing this morning. The shooting was kind of an afterthought and my mind was elsewhere. This showed up during my shot process where I would rush into some shots and not wait for the ideal sight picture. I thought my NPA was pretty good today as my hold would center on the target in most cases. Lack of concentration during the trigger control phase would cause the shot to go out.
There hasn't been a lot of progress made in sitting. This stage used to seem so easy, now it's a struggle to get the group size down. After my relay had fired our rapid-fire string the pits announced that they did not expose the targets for the proper time so we would refire. The second string didn't feel any better than the first and, while I could get a good sight picture, I still felt like I was jerking the shots all over the target. Regardless of the score, the groups are still larger than I would like them to be.
I had been experimenting this week with improving my prone position. I found that the magazine interferes with my forward arm too much so I brought my right elbow outboard more. That rolled my body to the right and moved the magazine away from my arm a little bit but it also brought me quite a bit lower. As I was shooting the string I noticed that while the sight picture looked good, I was beginning to get a counter-clockwise cant in the front sight. This was from the magazine still pressing against my arm. The resulting group was a good size but it was high and to the left. The pits also could only find 9 holes so I had to shoot a refire (my second of the day) for the remaining shot. The refire string didn't feel as good and had a larger group.
For slow prone I used the same basic position but the low level of the rifle moved my eye out of alignment with the rear sight. To compensate I had to extend my neck and it really wasn't that comfortable. As I started shooting, the shots were scattered all over the 10-ring with not much rhyme or reason. The group was centered but it was also big and I had a hard time shooting X's. At one point a cloud came over and darkened the range. I tried to wait this out but shot before we really got back to bright skies. I tried to see too much of the black above the post and shot a 9 out the bottom.
| Offhand: | 94-2 |
| Sitting: | 100-3 |
| Rapid Prone: | 98-2 |
| Slow Prone: | 198-5 |
| Aggregate: | 490-12 |
May 24
This was the team match of a Regional Championship with very nice weather.
Standing had the occasional breeze that would come through but pair-firing gave us plenty of time to wait them out if we wanted. Since the targets at this range are a bit elevated, I had to get the sights up a bit higher.
Because of the elevated targets, I had to make a special effort to get the rifle to point higher in sitting. I had the buttstock a little lower in my shoulder than normal. This would have been fine since my hold was decent but I think I was looking through the sights differently so the group was up high.
Yet another big group in rapid prone. I really need concentrate more on my breathing and getting in to a comfortable cadence.
The high end of the 600 yard line had a slope down toward the targets. This dropped my support elbow down and therefore the whole rifle. To compensate I had to bring my head lower and that became a bit uncomfortable. The range faces west so the targets were in shadow this afternoon and it made it hard to get good contrast with the front sight.
| Offhand: | 97-2 |
| Sitting: | 98-1 |
| Rapid Prone: | 97-2 |
| Slow Prone: | 190-4 |
| Aggregate: | 482-9 |
May 25
A 100-shot Regional Championship that starts at the 600 yard line.
The most obvious thing about today's slow prone is the firing point. It sloped upward so there was some natural elevation support for my forward elbow. This let me get the rifle higher and naturally pointed at the target. The conditions were pretty calm with a gentle breeze from the left. My problem was getting into a rush because I wanted to shoot fast and avoid wind changes. This made me sloppy when lining up the sights and I lost points because I rushed the shot.
The wind was a little stronger for the second slow prone match. While spending a lot of time at 4 clicks left I started to build on the right side of the 10-ring so I kept adding windage. I stopped and paused a couple of times when the condition died off but it wasn't too hard to see in the mirage. This time I made sure I was comfortable and focused on the front sight before I let the shot go. I told myself that I can shoot slower if it means that I am breaking good shots.
I think I rushed the first string of rapid prone because the group was so big. There were a few in the middle but the rest were scattered around and I even had one in the 8-ring! The second string was more methodical and came out much smaller and a clean although I had a couple of shots that were right on the line.
I was surprised how well the rifle held in prep for standing. Of course once that was over and firing began things opened up a little. I had a really hard time getting good calls. I would call a nine and the spotter would come up outside the black. At one point I fired three 8's in a row. That got frustrating but I kept telling myself to just stop and focus on the next shot. It didn't really work and my trigger control was pretty bad for the whole match. It seemed like there was a long pause between when I wanted to shoot and when the shot broke and there was plenty of movement during this pause.
Since I felt like I was muscling the gun too much in sitting recently, I tried just cradling the handguard with my forward hand instead of gripping it. The most apparent result of this was the rifle jumping up during recoil. Unfortunately this didn't really shrink the groups although if they were centered things would have been much better.
| Slow Prone: | 196-7 |
| Slow Prone: | 200-8 |
| Rapid Prone: | 196-5 |
| Standing: | 183-6 |
| Sitting: | 197-5 |
| Aggregate: | 972-31 |
June 7
Today was a pleasant day to shoot for our state championship. I left for the range rather late the night before and didn't get much sleep. Consequently I was tired for most of the day. This didn't worry me too much as I really wasn't anxious about shooting. I just went from stage to stage executing like I knew I could.
In standing I just kept telling myself to set up my NPA, keep a solid support arm to keep the hold small, and to stay disciplined by only breaking the shots I wanted. It took a while to get things going as I dropped four points in the first half. At the same time I also had four X's in this same span. The back half came a little easier with solid 10's.
The sitting strings felt alright but still not as natural as they should be. On the first one I just kept telling myself to squeeze the trigger and let the gun go off within my movement. On the second one my eye got fuzzy and I had to stop for a few seconds and blink it away. Neither group was anything good but at least they were centered.
The first string of rapid prone felt like the rifle was shooting on its own and it was going all over the place. There didn't seem to be a lot of control on my part. The group wasn't huge but it was shifted to the left with three 9's. For the second string I tried to be more methodical with each shot. That part was fine but there wasn't much cadence with my breathing. I would hold my breath for some and actually breathe between others. No consistency.
My 600 yard zero seems to still be a work-in-progress. I put on what I cleaned the target with two weeks ago and put my first sighter high in the 8-ring. I came down a few clicks and shot an X for my second sighter. Thinking I was good to go my first shot for record went back up in the 8-ring. That prompted some more cranking on the elevation wheel. That was too bad as I would have cleaned this if I had a better initial zero.
| Offhand: | 194-4 |
| Sitting: | 200-8 |
| Rapid Prone: | 197-10 |
| Slow Prone: | 198-7 |
| Aggregate: | 789-29 |
June 7
The range at Racine tends to be rather featureless and a bit bleak. Today was also windy and there was a forecast for rain in the afternoon.
There was a 10-12MPH wind blowing across the range which really affected everyone's hold in standing. It wasn't bad enough to cause misses but it would gust and ebb so that I had a hard time drifting into the middle of the target. One difficulty was trying to stay disciplined and only shoot the shots I wanted. This takes time in these conditions and I could have waited all day for the right shot. Early in the string I had some wild shots with a few 8's and a 7. After that I got into a rhythm but couldn't really get past the 9-ring. So I was still losing points, just slowly and not in bunches.
The light in sitting was such that looking through the sights produced a slightly hazy sight picture. The wind was blowing on a fairly protected range because I had to put on four clicks of right wind. I had a lot of pressure down on the stock from my cheekbone. The first string was fired really fast but the sights were just coming back to the target I didn't want to waste the opportunity. The result was an 8X clean with the two 10's really far out. I shot the second string pretty fast as well but it didn't feel very good and I called one shot as being out. The extreme spread of the group was actually better than the first string but it was only 6X.
I under-doped the wind for my first sighter in rapid prone and got a nine on the left. The wind was moving faster than I thought. My first group was on the upwind side with one 9 just across the line on the right and another just off the line on the bottom. I shot a decent cadence and tried to breathe on most shots. I didn't breathe as much for the second string but 80% of my shots were less than X-ring in elevation. The problem was they were spread out across the 10-ring with a close 9 on the left and another out the bottom. I'm curious when these bottom 9's occurred in the string.
The wind for slow prone was generally moving right to left and my initial correction was 10 clicks. My first sighter was good for windage but high. I came down into the middle but early on I started to get behind on the down-wind side. I would put on more wind and still stay behind. After that long pick-up it let off and I had started taking clicks off. I couldn't do this fast enough and I felt like my correction was late on each shot. The minimal mirage also hindered my ability to see the changes.
| Offhand: | 180-0 |
| Sitting: | 200-14 |
| Rapid Prone: | 196-7 |
| Slow Prone: | 188-1 |
| Aggregate: | 764-22 |
July 4
Normally the Van Meter Regional is a hot and humid affair. Today's team match however had mild temperatures and I even had to put on a sweatshirt in the morning.
Standing was really uneventful. Since pair-firing is a more efficient use of time, it gives me more leeway to find the right shot and the comfort that I have plenty of time to start over if I have to.
My sighters in sitting were both X's but they weren't called as such. The lighting made it difficult to see good contrast between the sight and target and to have good calls. The group had shots out to both the left and right as well as one out the bottom.
The rapid prone group was way out on the left. There really wasn't a lot of wind that would have put it there so I was doing something wrong. It is nothing I can really put my finger on but I think I am getting away from my methodical way of breaking shots.
I am trying to work on solving the problem of my first shot at 600 being way off on elevation. Even if I get the wind right it seems like I am initially either too high or too low.
| Offhand: | 97-3 |
| Sitting: | 97-3 |
| Rapid Prone: | 95-1 |
| Slow Prone: | 195-10 |
| Aggregate: | 484-17 |
July 5
Because of low participation, there were not enough non-distinguished shooters to hold a leg match today so we will have an 80-shot practice. Yesterday, after 200 yards, I moved the wrong way and got some sharp back pain. I get this from time to time and I try to deal with it but even with some pain medicine this morning, my movement was limited.
There is certainly nothing wrong with my zero in standing as I don't really have to adjust my sights based on calls so I didn't bother shooting any sighters. My first shot was an X but then I had a harder time with the timing of each shot. On shot three I tried to pull the sights from the right into the black but I just kept going out the other side and fired an 8. After seven shots I had dropped 7 points and was getting discouraged so I stopped and told myself to be more disciplined and take the shots that I wanted. That seemed to work as I cleaned the next 11 shots and got into a much better rhythm.
My sore back meant that I had limited flexibility in sitting. This usually means that I can't stretch out forward like I normally do. It isn't much of a stretch but I do like to find a solid place to put my forward elbow. Making things worse was a firing point that sloped backwards. Visibility wasn't too bad and I shot some good, centered groups but each one had a nine out the bottom.
On my first string of 300 rapid I tried to take my time and wait until my sight picture was clear. I help this along by blinking whenever my eyes get a little fuzzy and breathing between shots. I guess I took too long and still had a round in the chamber when the targets went down. It didn't really matter as the group was centered but still big. All shots got away on the second string but I shot faster and tried to keep my eyes open for the whole string. This group was a little smaller but I still had a 9 that was on the line down low.
I am still trying to find what I am doing wrong to be so off on my first shot in slow prone. I fired my first sighter with an elevation of 65. That gave me a low 7. Since I could not have been that far off on my zero I came up to 69 and then shot a high 8. Not much sense in this but I decided to just run with it and see what happens. For the most part I was in the 10-ring but had some elevation problems including an 8 straight out the top. I finished with an elevation of 68 but not a good solution of how to solve this.
| Offhand: | 192-5 |
| Sitting: | 198-13 |
| Rapid Prone: | 187-4 |
| Slow Prone: | 194-6 |
| Aggregate: | 771-28 |
July 6
Today's weather was going to be very Van Meter-like with temperatures in the 90's and high humidity. Scattered rain had soaked into the ground and you could really feel the moisture hanging in the air. I hydrated pretty well and the heat didn't bother me that much except that I was pretty tired by the end of the day. My back was a little better but I still had limited flexibility.
The rifle actually hung very well during the prep period for standing. Once I started shooting though each shot became a struggle and I felt uncomfortable in my position. Early on I shot back-to-back 8's and so many 9's that I started to get discouraged. I also felt overcome with feelings of apprehension and nervousness.
For sitting I was on the same sloping firing point as yesterday. The first string felt decent enough. It looked like there was a lot of haze in the air not only from the humidity but also smoke from the other rifles. The first group wasn't bad even with the lone 9 at one o'clock. The second group was exactly the same size but it didn't feel very good. It also had a shot at one o'clock but that was still within the 10-ring.
I'm trying to get back to how I know I can shoot rapid prone. By focusing on the front sight and squeezing the trigger I know I can shoot good groups. On both of these strings I tried to keep my eye open for all the shots and left the breathing as secondary. The first group was good size but shifted a bit to the left. The second string was again mostly good except for two bad shots on opposite sides of the 9-ring.
The skies were lightly overcast for slow prone but there was still plenty of light. My analysis of my elevation zero pointed me towards having different zeros based on lighting conditions. I put this to the test by calculating that I should fire this stage today with 66 clicks of elevation. My first sighter was an X which gave me a lot of encouragement. Unfortunately, my inability to hold elevation throughout the string caused additional problems. I would fire off several 10's and then shoot a corner 9. I need to slow down and be more discriminating with my shot selection, just like in standing.
| Offhand: | 187-3 |
| Sitting: | 199-9 |
| Rapid Prone: | 198-9 |
| Slow Prone: | 193-7 |
| Aggregate: | 777-28 |
Heading to Camp Perry this year feels a little strange. The altered schedule has the matches earlier in July and in a different sequence. Plus, on-post housing for the Trophy matches is impossible to find so I will be staying in Port Clinton for the first time. I don't do very well outside of my comfort zone so my confidence level isn't very high. I will try to remain positive and take each shot at a time.
July 21
Warm and clear day for the six-man team match.
There was a mist in the air this morning but it was
gone by the time I had to shoot standing. I tried to ignore my nervousness
and get the shots over with. The first shot was nine below call so I came up
a click. After that I kept shooting into the bottom of the 10-ring so I had
to come up a couple more. On most shots I got to the point where I felt I
held too long so I had to start my process over again. On a few I just took
the rifle down and restarted my mounting procedure. This kept me from making
marginal shots.
During my preparation period for sitting I could tell
that things weren't as good as they could be. My position wasn't very stable
and I had movement in the sights. After dropping into position for the
string it got even worse because I had a hard time seeing and the sight
picture would get fuzzy. I got the expected result which was a hideously
large group with even an eight out the bottom.
I fared a little better in rapid prone than sitting
but it was still sub-standard shooting. We went with three clicks right wind
and I started to put shots on the left. Two more clicks at the magazine
change helped but my group was still a bit low. I shot pretty fast and held
my breath for most of the string.
My biggest worry for slow prone was my elevation for
the first shot. I have tried to come up with a system for a good zero based
on light conditions and the other ranges I shoot on. It was pretty bright
with a clear sky so I put my elevation at +64 and the first shot was an X. I
thought I had finally figured this out until my second shot came up a low 8.
Then I started the frustrating process of bringing my elevation up on each
shot. Once I got centered with an elevation of +68, things were fine in very
consistent wind conditions.
| Offhand: | 99-1 |
| Sitting: | 95-1 |
| Rapid Prone: | 98-1 |
| Slow Prone: | 195-7 |
| Aggregate: | 487-10 |
July 22
I don't know what to really say about the
President's match. It was a warm day with good conditions for shooting
but things just seemed to go wrong in every stage.
I was on first relay and as I took my rifle out of the
case I noticed that the ECI was stuck over the bolt carrier. I yanked it out
with the help of some other shooters and hauled my stuff to my firing point.
My problem with 10 shot stages is that there isn't a lot of extra time so I
tend to try to make shots that I wouldn't normally. I started with a couple
of 10's but neither one was on call. Then I shot a nine and then pulled a
shot out to the right that I thought would be an eight. It wound up a 7.
After that it was just a bunch of nines as I couldn't seem to break clean
shots.
The wind for rapid prone was going towards 1 o'clock
and was only worth a couple of clicks. I fired the string with no apparent
changes from the way I always do. While the wind was correct, my group, if
you can call it that, was wide and extended down to the 8-ring.
For my elevation in slow prone I just put on what I
came off with yesterday. The first shot came up a low seven. I came up 5
clicks and shot an eight out the top. Then I started cranking back down but
10 shots doesn't give you much time to correct before I was all done. My
last three shots were 10's at the same elevation I started with.
| Offhand: | 91-1 |
| Rapid Prone: | 94-1 |
| Slow Prone: | 92-2 |
| Aggregate: | 277-4 |
July 23
The morning of the N.T.I. brought rain. By the
time we walked out to the line there was only a slight drizzle but the
skies were pretty dark.
I really wasn't nervous for standing but my relay had
a little wind which made me not work hard enough for each shot. I started
off alternating nines and eights and I felt like there was nothing I could
do about them.
Since I used three clicks of wind for standing, and
felt like I could have used another one, I put on four clicks for sitting.
The target looked dark but I was at least breaking clean shots. The group
was slightly on the upwind side but a decent size.
The wind for rapid prone was now blowing towards 5
o'clock. I put on three clicks as I stood up and added another one as I
thought the breeze picked up. I shot the string just like I would any other.
Since the wind was coming back in our faces, my glasses were quickly specked
with water droplets and I had a hard time seeing. The group was tall with a
eight out the bottom.
I feared another first shot in slow prone to be wild.
It actually turned out to be a low 10. As I started to gain confidence with
the hazy targets, on the fourth shot the target didn't go down and I had to
call for a mark. They scored a miss and I challenged as I didn't have much
choice. My challenge was denied so I soldiered on. I stayed mostly in the
middle except for a low eight.
| Offhand: | 89-0 |
| Sitting: | 99-3 |
| Rapid Prone: | 96-3 |
| Slow Prone: | 182-9 |
| Aggregate: | 466-15 |
July 24
The wind came out in force today for the 2-man
team match. Apart from this it was a pretty pleasant day to shoot. Not
too hot and lots of sunshine.
When it gets this windy I have to change my strategy
for standing. I get rid of the sighters pretty fast and try to be as
efficient as possible with the time. As soon as my partner fired I would be
loaded and waiting on the target to come back up. The wind was stiff but I
could see that there were some fleeting opportunities to break a decent
shot. I started with a couple of X's but only fired one 10 after that. On my
fourth shot the wind dropped the sights and I let the shot go in the 7-ring.
I tried to work through each shot and keep holding until I got the sight
picture I wanted.
Since we came off standing with 7 clicks of right
wind, we went with that for sitting as well. I had a couple of X's for
sighters but we put on one more for the string. I had brought my feet in
towards me to get a better position and it steadied my hold. The group was
an acceptable size with a called nine at 10 o'clock.
My rapid prone groups haven't been very good recently
but my position felt good for this one. I had to fight through a sight
picture that would get fuzzy on some shots. Our wind call was good and the
group was narrow but a bit tall.
With bright skies I was hopeful that I could maybe
avoid the random elevation problems I've been having in slow prone. The wind
was still strong and blowing towards 7 o'clock. With 12 clicks on the gun my
first sighter was an X. After that my elevation was pretty good except for a
couple of shots and I didn't have to adjust elevation during the string.
| Offhand: | 88-2 |
| Sitting: | 99-2 |
| Rapid Prone: | 98-1 |
| Slow Prone: | 194-5 |
| Aggregate: | 479-10 |
July 25
I was hoping this would be a relaxing day out
shooting the 4-man team match. The weather was certainly good for
shooting a good score but we didn't really take advantage.
As I was trying to find a good spot for my feet for
standing I noticed our firing point sloped down towards the target right at
the firing line. The point's crown was well behind us which meant that my
forward foot would be below my back one. I thought this would bring my NPA
too low but that part was fine. It was my horizontal NPA that was off. Each
shot process would put the sights in the white on the right. Even when I
tried to adjust for it, it didn't help. Shots were off call and I was
struggling too much to shoot a good score.
I brought in my feet for sitting a bit like yesterday.
The hold was fair and I felt like I could see well but the group was low.
After shooting my rapid prone string it turned out the pits had the incorrect time so we would refire. My sighters were just above the X-ring which is where I want them. As I was shooting the string the position felt looser and looser and it seemed to drop with each shot. The target had a couple of separated groups but the bulk of the shots were quite low.
The wind was changing pretty fast when I was shooting.
When the sun was out you could see the mirage running and then die off
quickly. Instead of clicking around we wound up doing a lot of favoring to
account for the smaller pick ups and let offs. I finished with the same
elevation that I started with.
| Offhand: | 94-1 |
| Sitting: | 99-2 |
| Rapid Prone: | 97-1 |
| Slow Prone: | 196-5 |
| Aggregate: | 486-9 |
July 26
The first day of the championship and there was
rain in the forecast but we stayed dry.
In standing my shots were coming up to the right of
call. I was actually a little slow to click over because I was thinking
about yesterday's NPA problems. Today the shots were just coming up to the
right despite decent breaks on the trigger.
Bringing my feet more inboard in sitting has really
improved my hold size. I think it brings me closer to the foot position I
had when I first changed from a cross-legged position. The first string had
good hold but poor trigger control. I would squeeze the trigger and the
whole gun would move. On the second string I broke the first shot wild and
thought it was way out. My trigger control was better and just felt more
natural.
For rapid prone the wind was mostly going down range
but you still needed a click or two of left. I put on two for my first
sighter and got a nine on the left. That didn't really make sense so I took
both of them off and shot another sighter in the X-ring. Thinking I was good
to go I fired my first string straight away. The result was two small
groups. One on the left edge of the X-ring and another on the left in the
9-ring, about where my first sighter was. I couldn't explain that one. The
second group was bigger and more scattered. I walked off the line scratching
my head.
| Offhand: | 191-6 |
| Sitting: | 200-9 |
| Rapid Prone: | 192-9 |
July 27
It was very humid walking out to Viale this
morning. Not really hot but there was a lot of moisture hanging in the
air.
Conditions were calm for standing and I wanted to take
as much advantage as possible. I got sloppy with my first sighter and put
that in the eight ring. After that I stayed more disciplined and made better
decisions. The occasional nine would creep in but I didn't want to let one
go before I was ready. A couple of times I anticipated the shot without
pulling the trigger. The whole rifle would shake and I was grateful I didn't
fire.
I am still trying to fine tune my foot position in
sitting. During prep I am trying to begin with cross-legged and then move my
feet outboard. This has helped limit sight movement and give me a better
opportunity to squeeze the trigger. The first string had a lot of movement
though and my whole body seemed to move with each shot. The range went cold
due to boats in the impact area so we sat in position before the next
string. After the range went hot, I got one sighter and it was an X. The
second string felt better than the first and after the mag change the sights
settled back on the target with each shot.
My elevation problems in slow prone seemed to have
worked themselves out by concentrating more on the front sight. Who would
have guessed? The targets today were a little dark and hazy but the front
sight was pretty clear. Passing clouds made mirage difficult to look at so
it appeared quite subtly in my scope. Despite my best efforts at looking for
wind changes my shots were being pushed left and right over and over again.
On the back half I was either centered up or way out on one side or the
other.
| Offhand: | 193-6 |
| Sitting: | 200-8 |
| Slow Prone: | 191-6 |
July 29
When we went out to the range yesterday the wind was blowing so hard the targets were bowed, the carriers were hard to run, and some targets were being pulled out of the frames. The day's matches were scrubbed and we got a badly needed day off. Because today was the last day, the decision was made to shoot one 300 rapid and two 600's.
Normally at any given highpower match rapid prone is shot sometime in the middle of the day. Today we would shoot it early in the morning. I was on the first relay and my sight picture looked pretty dark through the sights. This caused the front sight to be difficult to focus on. My sighters were good for elevation which is lower than I really want but I didn't want to click up as I don't think my zero was shifting. To compensate I just held slightly higher during the strings and I didn't let myself see too much black. Both strings were good for elevation with the first one having shots out on the left and the second string with wild shots on the left and out the top.
For today's first slow prone I started with 68 clicks of elevation and got a low 10 for the first sighter and a low 9 for the second one. I came up a click and stayed in the 10-ring. I only had a couple of X's but didn't drop any points for the first 11 shots. Then, I moved a little as I broke a shot and also saw that the wind had really let-up. That netted an 8. As I took windage off a few shots later the wind picked up and pushed me out to a 7 on the right. I kept within the 9-ring after that but lost too many points on just a couple of shots.
I was able to stay in the middle a lot better for the second slow prone of the day and our final match. Both sighters were X's but by the fifth shot I had already shot an eight and a nine. After that though, it was pretty easy sailing with no dropped points and eight X's.
| Rapid Prone: | 196-4 |
| Slow Prone: | 193-3 |
| Slow Prone: | 197-9 |
| Aggregate: | 1753-60 |
August 16
Sometimes I like a bit of a break from shooting after Camp Perry so I really wasn't planning on going to this match. Still, I thought it might be nice to get away and shoot since it has been such an inconsistent season.
During prep time in standing I could tell my NPA was good since the gun naturally wanted to stay on target for windage. Once that happens its just a case of keeping the hold small and discipline on shot selection. I was able to get into a groove and I fired one shot after another until I felt like slowing down. Then, I would just stop and rest and begin again. I broke one really bad shot early on for an eight but those were the only points I dropped in the first half.
I have been more confident in my sitting with my less drastic leg position. It's certainly more cross-legged than cross-ankle. The first string didn't feel great as I have more wobble than I would have liked. In addition the target faded on me on a few shots. The seconds string felt even worse as my trigger control was poor with shots breaking as my body was moving.
If I knew rapid prone was going to be such a disaster I may not have shot this weekend. The biggest frustration is the mystery behind it. When I put my sling on it may have been a little higher on my arm than normal but it didn't feel much different when I was in position. As I fired the strings the rifle seemed to drop somewhat but that happens on a lot of strings. I tried to follow it down but at some point my face was lower than I was comfortable with. Both groups were way out of position a little high but very far to the left. The second group was so far out that I didn't have any 10's and even fired a 7.
With a west facing range, the targets are in a bit of a shadow in the afternoon. The 600 yard target sighting black didn't look as distinct as it should have been and faded out when I brought the post into it. That worried me at the beginning but I was still able to focus on the front sight. So I just got the top of the post as sharp as I could and broke the shot smoothly. The sun made the mirage easy to see and the wind was mostly steady.
| Offhand: | 195-4 |
| Sitting: | 200-10 |
| Rapid Prone: | 175-0 |
| Slow Prone: | 198-10 |
| Aggregate: | 768-24 |
August 30
At this point in the season I usually start thinking about winding things down but this year I am thinking about more opportunities to shoot. For some reason I want to shoot more and not miss any weekends before the weather turns cold. Today we had nice weather although it was pretty cloudy and dark in the morning.
As I was prepping for standing, I had this feeling in the back of my head like I didn't want to be there. Like there was too much pressure and it would be better to just not shoot. My hold wasn't huge but it was dark and it was hard to accurately call where the front sight was on the target. I started shooting feeling like this was just a big burden I had to carry. The sighters broke a little wide for 9's. When I got into the record shots I would follow up wide 10's with 9's. It just felt like I wasn't performing and each shot took too much effort. Shot number 9 broke on the far left for an eight and I had to stop and collect myself before things got out of control. I started up again just trying to break shots smoothly and to be discriminate with my shot selection. After that eight I didn't drop any points in the final 11 shots and gained confidence as I went along.
It was still dark downrange for sitting. As I was shooting my first string I would have to stop my cadence, blink, acquire the sight picture again, and resume shooting. This happened a few times and really messed with my timing. For the second string I saw myself breaking shots just a little lower than normal but it turned out they were lower than I thought. Two 10's low and two 9's even lower. What gets me is that I am shooting 50% X's and still dropping points.
After the rapid prone debacle at the last match I wanted to be very careful as I fired today. I confirmed sight alignment, focused on the top edge of the post, and made sure everything was clear. Neither string was a terrible group but they were shifted a little to the left. After consulting others on my relay it looks like an adjustment in my zero is in order to bring things back to the center.
The wind was pretty light for slow prone with not much to correct for. I lost a nine early on and then settled in but I had a hard time getting into the X-ring. Most of my shots were somewhere in the 10 but at least I wasn't dropping points. On shot 19 I broke one that didn't seem as settled as the others. That came up an 8 at one o'clock.
| Offhand: | 195-4 |
| Sitting: | 197-11 |
| Rapid Prone: | 196-7 |
| Slow Prone: | 197-5 |
| Aggregate: | 785-27 |
September 7
A clear day with a chill in the morning but then it warmed up during the day. Humidity in the air as well which made for some haze and for uncomfortable conditions when shooting.
Thinking about last week's standing performance I went into this stage today thinking that I could clean it. In prep my NPA was good and the hold was pretty small. After my sighters I put on one right based on my call. My hold varied from shot to shot but when I felt it was too big I stopped and started over again. I lost two shots because the sights stopped low and I still let them go. The other one I lost took off toward two o'clock when I fired. I was sure this one was going to be an eight but it was a mid-ring nine. That was probably my only poor trigger control shot. The rest of the shots broke smooth without a lot of extraneous movement during firing.
In sitting I had my feet forward like I have been for most of the year. The handguard sat in the palm of my hand and not on my finger tips as it sometimes does. This may have been due to the buttstock elevation in my shoulder. The string felt decent but not great. I tried to focus on the front sight and squeeze the trigger. There were a couple of shots I would have called out due to movement at the time of firing.
There was bright sunlight for rapid prone but that still made the front sight hard to focus on. I had adjusted my zero to the right and based on my sighters I still had to come another click right. During my string I tried to focus on the post before letting the shots go and I held my breath for several shots as I sometimes do in this event. The string didn't really feel any different than all the other rapid prone strings except that the rifle held well horizontally and it wasn't dropping in my shoulder like in the past. The resulting group was good and only a little larger than the X-ring.
The frustrating part of slow prone was calling good shots but shooting all over the 10-ring. I would bring the post into the target, focus on the top edge, and break the trigger in a way that I felt was smooth and consistent. My calls that were not center were at least within the X-ring. But the target kept coming up with the spotter all around the outside of the 10. I couldn't even favor into the center because there was no consistent place to favor to. Even though I didn't drop any points in the first half I knew, with a big group, it was only a matter of time.
| Offhand: | 97-3 |
| Sitting: | 100-8 |
| Rapid Prone: | 100-4 |
| Slow Prone: | 197-6 |
| Aggregate: | 494-21 |
September 13
Whenever I get a chance I like to go and shoot at ranges I have never been to before. So I traveled to Brookston, IN for their state 300 yard championship. The only problem was that we had a cold spell come through and temperatures this morning were in the 40's. I was glad I brought my winter coat as it was chilly until the sun came out and had a chance to warm the range.
At this time of year, with north facing ranges, it seems like the targets have more light on them than earlier in the summer. I think this was what made the sighting black in standing look so small. Of course, having a slightly larger than normal hold didn't help this perception. The sights would come into the target but then dart around so much that I didn't feel confident in breaking the shot. So I would start over and try it again. My trigger control was good but I couldn't really time the shot based on the movement on the target. After only dropping three points in the first half, things fell apart in the second half and I shot a bunch of nines.
In some ways sitting was similar to standing with good trigger control but a little more movement than I wanted. I fired both sighters and both strings straight-away. During the strings I didn't have to muscle the sights back to the target very much but I was very happy with how smoothly I was breaking the trigger. There was a good flow from shot to shot. The first group only had four X's but I can chalk that up to the movement I was getting.
Rapid prone had a lot of changing light because of the clouds that would be passing by overhead. I would fire some shots with bright targets and then some shots with the targets in shadow. Regardless, my groups had decent elevation and would have both been clean if they were centered.
Slow prone was a disappointment because I feel I should be performing at a higher level than I have been. My groups aren't as tight as they should be and the X-counts aren't as high either. The front sight was in good focus and I felt like I could see well but I was using more of the 10-ring than I should have.
| Offhand: | 190-2 |
| Sitting: | 200-12 |
| Rapid Prone: | 197-6 |
| Slow Prone: | 196-8 |
| Aggregate: | 783-28 |
September 20
The weather warmed up from last weekend. I was looking forward to shooting although I stayed up too late last night and felt quite tired this morning.
A slight breeze would pick up every now and then in standing but it was nothing bothersome. I was pleased with how smooth my shooting was. My feet felt solidly placed, my support arm was in a comfortable place on my coat, and each pull of the trigger didn't disturb the rifle. I dropped a nine early on shot #2 and then proceeded to work through each shot. My calls were consistently to the right of the spotter but I couldn't really correct for this. All four 9's were in the same place from mid-ring to close at 10 o'clock.
As I looked through the sights for sitting the front sight was in good focus but I kept losing the target as I brought the post into the middle. The position felt good but I lost a point on each string. On the second string my bolt got stuck on the magazine before it pushed the last round forward so I fired an alibi. I cleaned that one.
My rapid prone groups were quite good today. I shot both with a click too much elevation. The first string was clean but the group was high and slightly to one o'clock. The second string was also high but there were two 9's just barely across the line. The sight picture for both strings wasn't great but I tried to get it as good as I could before shooting.
Slow prone felt good. Front sight focus was as good as it has been but the rifle seemed to recoil differently than it has been. It's hard to describe but my awareness was improved for each shot and I felt like I was seeing each shot better at the shot break. I was hitting the X-ring from the beginning and cleaned the front half. My sole nine was the 13th shot but I felt like I performed much better than I have been.
| Offhand: | 196-5 |
| Sitting: | 198-8 |
| Rapid Prone: | 198-5 |
| Slow Prone: | 199-11 |
| Aggregate: | 791-29 |
September 21
I had expected a sunny and mild day today but it turned out to be a bit chilly and cloudy. There was some sun in the morning but not for long.
Standing felt about the same as yesterday with maybe a slightly larger hold. I had a few poor decisions where I would shoot even when the sights weren't pointed in the middle. The rifle felt good mounted in my shoulder but my calls were sometimes hit or miss.
There was a little bit of pulse in sitting but nothing that really should cause much of a problem. The first string felt good and was the width of the X-ring but went from the center to just off the 10-ring at six. I shot the second string in changing light and I found myself losing the target. The sights would come back to the frame and I had a sharp post but the sighting black would disappear. On those occasions I would have to bring the sights in again.
What I remember most about rapid prone was holding my breath from shot to shot. After a few shots I would breathe again and do the same thing over. I had to stop a few times anyway to get the front sight back in focus. The first string was actually a clean but with only three X's. The second group was much bigger and I couldn't pinpoint why.
There wasn't anything really bad about slow prone but nothing that stands out as really good either. I was plugging away trying to break good shots but still had a couple that popped up where I didn't expect them to. I'm shooting groups that are too big and my X-count is not high enough for this range.
| Offhand: | 195-7 |
| Sitting: | 198-5 |
| Rapid Prone: | 197-4 |
| Slow Prone: | 198-8 |
| Aggregate: | 788-24 |
October 5
The temperatures have really dropped recently. When the match started it was only in the upper 40's and never got out of the 50's during the day. An occasional breeze would blow through and the dark clouds made the day seem colder and more depressing.
Because of the cold I really wasn't motivated to get up and shoot standing. I think I would have been content to just score or pull targets. There was even a spot on my glasses that was in my line of vision when I positioned my head on the stock to look through the sights. I was too lazy to clean this off so I just moved my head a little bit to look around it. There was some wind but I could just wait out the gusts and shoot in the lulls. Not many noteworthy shots. I just went through my process and had three 9's on the front half and two on the back.
My sitting has really dropped off in the last few matches. The strings actually feel good position-wise but the groups are off-center and just large enough to produce 9's. I find myself shooting fast because my position allows the sights to come right back to the target. Then I just let the next shot go. I think I am not being discerning enough to dress up the sights and not being smooth on the trigger.
I called my first sighter in rapid prone as a 10 at 12 o'clock and that's exactly where it ended up. I called the second sighter as a 10 at 2 and that came up a 9 at 5. That left me scratching my head. The resulting first group was low with one 9 just below the ring and another way down on the outside. As if that wasn't bad enough, I came up two clicks and shot the second group on the left with four 9's. That certainly made a mediocre day one to forget.
Before slow prone I just remember wanting to hurry up and get this over with. After a couple of 10's for sighters my first record shot was a nine. Now that I had dropped a point I wasn't really excited to shoot another 19 shots. But I kept going although it was a little hard to get good contrast between the front sight and the target with the overcast conditions. I just kept rolling through the string but used most of the 10-ring to get through it.
| Offhand: | 195-5 |
| Sitting: | 197-5 |
| Rapid Prone: | 194-4 |
| Slow Prone: | 199-7 |
| Aggregate: | 785-21 |
October 11
It was pretty chilly this morning. Taking off my winter coat to put on my shooting jacket made me wonder why I was even shooting. But the day turned out really nice when the sun came out.
My recent performances in standing have given me confidence and with each match I just roll through the stage like I know I can. Sometimes my hold is a little larger or smaller but my trigger control is usually good and my discipline level keeps me from shooting too many bad shots. Things started a little rough this morning with a 9 for the first shot and I dropped four points in the first 10 shots. Despite this I just kept plugging away and tried to take the best shots I could. I could see my breath and that obscured my sight picture so I had to stop breathing during the end of my shot process.
Shooting at this time of year has altered what I see through the sights. Because the sun isn't as high my groups have shifted. Also, the smoke from the rest of the firing line and the mist in the air made it really hard to see the target. I shot a good group on the first string but it was low in the 10-ring and didn't have any X's. I came up two clicks from that and shot a clean but this stage seems like such a guessing game right now.
Rapid prone hasn't been too successful recently. I'm just trying to do what I can to keep the groups small. The first string felt good. I took my time and tried to make sure each shot was dressed up. On paper though, it was another case of a group going off to 11 o'clock all the way past mid-ring nines. The second string felt as good as the first as I shot deliberately and had a clear sight picture. This time the group was centered but a little tall.
Slow prone capped a disappointing day as I was fiddling with my elevation since my first shots were low. I did get into the middle but I had already lost plenty of points and didn't feel like really trying hard.
| Offhand: | 194-1 |
| Sitting: | 198-4 |
| Rapid Prone: | 194-3 |
| Slow Prone: | 194-7 |
| Aggregate: | 780-15 |
Statistically, this was my worst year since 2003. Regardless of the numbers, my performance just felt really off. This was due, in part, to the fact that I really couldn't get into a shooting rhythm. Because the Nationals were moved up, the season didn't feel like it was very long before we were driving to Camp Perry. I didn't have that feeling of constantly shooting and knowing my position and my zeros. It was like a series of single matches as opposed to a season of shooting. All that translated to inconsistent performances.
There was a lot of missed opportunities in standing this year because I felt that my technique in this stage was pretty good. My support arm was positioned so there was good, consistent bone support, my trigger control was smooth and without a lot of extraneous movement, and I was better with my decision-making. All that should have meant good scores but there would be some bad wind day that would crop up to bring my average down. Things really improved at the end of Camp Perry and the end of the season.
This was the first time since 2008 that my sitting average for a season fell below 99.0%. Group size compared to last year went up by over 5%. This may not seem like much but the group size has been pretty steady over the past few years. Once the group size increases it gives me less margin for error with a non-centered group. That makes a big difference in turning cleans and 99's into 98's and worse. During the season I tried playing with my foot position and my forward had placement. I couldn't find a long-term correlation in performance to either of these things.
The drop off in rapid prone has been even more dramatic than sitting. This stage has never been my strong suit but this year it has really hurt my overall scores. Average score was the worst since 2002 and group size was almost 20% bigger! This stage was also where misplaced groups really hurt me. While things seem to look the same through the sights, the groups would either be big, off to the side, or both.
I took a significant step backward with my slow prone scores. There were some good strings early in the year but things seemed to drop off. An inability to keep my elevation zero consistent was a real problem. That meant that each match I was adjusting and chasing the spotter up and down. In many cases the first shot out of the gun was either high or low regardless of other factors.
