▲57
SHOOTING A SPRING GUN- PART 2- SHOOTING (POSITIONS) | AIRGUN
L
ast month we looked at the basics
of how spring guns work, the
fundamental differences between
them and pre-charged pneumatics (PCPs)
and why they are comparatively so much
harder to master. This month we’ll take a
look at the safety aspect that needs to be
born in mind, some fundamental points
along the way, then begin to look at
shooting positions themselves.
SAFETY FIRST
Shooting sports in general have a
remarkably good safety record, yet it falls
to all of us to do our bit to maintain this
fi ne tradition. Shooting safely by
conducting ourselves in accordance with
accepted rules, is part of our
responsibility, yet being seen to be ultra
safe is just as important. Spring-powered
airguns in particular are an aid to this.
Take the classic break-barrel design.
When the gun is being carried and not
shot, it takes just a second to break the
barrel open (without cocking the action),
which instantly tells everyone that the gun
isn’t loaded; rather like a double barrelled
shotgun! Likewise, an under-lever can
have the lever just unclipped at the
muzzle, so that it will hang slightly down,
again signifying to everyone that the
action is clear and safe.
Guns with moving breech sections
such as loading taps of some sort, can
just have the tap turned upwards, or the
breech unclipped - again proving all is
safe. In short, if we all make an effort to
look safe, the chance of an accident
occurring will be extremely unlikely. Also
remember; one serious accident tars us all
with the same brush and there are many
people out there who would take this as
an opportunity to try and heap further
restrictions and controls upon us!RECOIL FUNDAMENTALS
OK; we’ve got our springer and we’ve
become familiar with how to show that the
mechanism is safe. Now it’s time to adopt
some shooting stances, and see how
everything feels. Before we do that, we
need just to understand some basic rules.
Whatever recoil is present when the gun
fi res, will be transferred to the shooter and
possibly any object that it comes into
contact with. How this is dealt with will
affect results downrange.
Any deviation from the exact shooting
position from which a gun was zeroed, may
well result in a different point of impact,
however slight. Tracking that deviation in
advance, with homework, practise and
experimentation and being prepared to
compensate for it in the fi eld, for any
changes that may occur, is all part of the
spring gun experience. Learning to do it
right makes us a better shot all round.STRIKE THE POSE!
KNEELING
When I fi rst started shooting back in
1979, for some reason, the kneeling
position just felt right and I subsequently
ended up taking almost every shot from
this position; even in competitions. I
began in an indoor 10metre target club
as it happened, but their accommodating
approach allowed me to do my thing in
the booth on the range. Some friendly
pointers early on (from a club member
who had been there when the legendary
Malcolm Cooper had been in attendanceas a special guest) stuck in my mind,
and has helped ever since.
A key point is balance and for me,
the forward weight of the rifl e really
helps stability. The offi cial accepted
kneeling position sees three points of
contact. If you’re right handed, the left
knee will be raised as a support for the
left elbow, whilst the right knee will
contact the fl oor, along with the toes of
the bent right foot; with the heel of the
right foot directly under the bottom. The
left elbow ideally sits in the small hollow
of the supporting knee, whilst that front
leg should go straight down at a right
angle beneath the elbow- so as to allow
weight to be transferred straight down
and be fully supported. Deliberately
angle the front leg, and you’ll see what I
mean, as the whole tripod effect tries to
slide away!
Repeatability is the key with all this,
and making sure that the butt pad
locates in exactly the same spot and at
exactly the same height in the shoulder,
every time, is also critical, and will really
pay dividends in the long run. The
benefi ts here are twofold. Firstly, the
recoil of the gun will be allowed to
dissipate through the shoulder in an
identical way each time; and secondly, by
locating the butt carefully at the same
height, the shooter’s eye will be looking
through the same part of the scope lens
each time - a vital factor, if parallax error
(the apparent movement of an object,
when viewed from a slightly different
angle) isn’t to creep into the equation.GET A GRIP?
Grip is a big part of shooting a recoiling
gun successfully and consistency ofThat butt pad
should be in an
identical place
in the shoulder
every timeJust breaking the
breech (without
cocking) of a
break barrel
shows it is safe