Tips on Pistol Shooting

[airgun_novice]

Dear Dev, Jitu, bodhijobs, et al,

I had the fortune of getting an eye-over from tirpassion during his brief stay in the city on Feb 22nd. Feedback obtained was on pellet selection, gripping, stance, SOA timing, breathing, follow-through, finger pressure on the butt and on the trigger among other things. He also helped me zero down on 2 pellets - for prax and tourneys which fit through my particular AP.

After 22nd I went to the range today for some serious prax - practically after 4 months. Of course , in the interim I participated in 3 tourneys but that outcome would have been better - a lot better if some serious efforts had gone in that period. At practically every shot I relived relevant portion of our conversation. The result ? Some good grouping. I did not count nor did I set the sights but simply shot "as-is". Felt satisfied after the exercise was done. Seems I closed the gap of those 4 months to a good extent.

Would like to suggest to you guys to make best of his current presence here in India. If you guys can get him over to Tughlagabad range some Sat-Sun should he be visiting Delhi (Jitu - you will need to make that trip from Jaipur) or just for a day or so, it would be worth the effort. Or if it's easy to visit Kolkatta, that trip too would be worth the efforts. Certain flaws can be pointed and certain tips be encompassed. This should hold in good stead till his next trip in Oct. Better preparation would mean better performance in smaller/ regional tourneys and the GVM which is probably later in Oct.

So good luck guys! Hope we all climb those coupla notches in our performance.

regs
A.

[tirpassion]

Arre agn bhai... ab to aap mujhe sharminda kar rahe ho .

You had some simple things missing (although they are vital). Whatever you are doing now (which I am really happy about) it is only YOU. I understand that the physical supervision of an experienced shooter is something which you all are missing. I am sure there are more than qualified people around you all to show you the basic technical things like gripping, trigger finger placement and the verification of stance (head position) etc. But why do not they show up voluntarily is a big mystery for me After all, the things we discussed are too simple to be kept as a secret .

Laage raho agn bahi!!!!

[brihacharan]

Arre agn bhai... ab to aap mujhe sharminda kar rahe ho .
You had some simple things missing (although they are vital). Whatever you are doing now (which I am really happy about) it is only YOU. I understand that the physical supervision of an experienced shooter is something which you all are missing. I am sure there are more than qualified people around you all to show you the basic technical things like gripping, trigger finger placement and the verification of stance (head position) etc. But why do not they show up voluntarily is a big mystery for me After all, the things we discussed are too simple to be kept as a secret .
Laage raho agn bahi!!!!

Hi tirpassion,

> You are being unduly "modest"
> Like they say "Common Sense is the Uncommonest of all Senses" - Simple things are often "Overlooked" or rather taken for granted
> It needs someone like "you" to point out these shortcomings - AGN was lucky to have you around
> We are waiting till October to squeeze more out of you
Briha

[Olly]

Yaa... catch him as soon as he lands here again...

[airgun_novice]

Dear tirpassion/ hvj1 et al,
Finally got around sticking them thick (0.5") rubber pads in front of the grip - find it better in hand now. Finger can not "curl" around by default now. Used son's old Hawaii slippers and cut out pieces from one. Plan to visit the range tomorrow and check out the grouping. Will post the outcome to verify your opinion if the modification works.
regs
A.
PS: tirpassion congratulations for your outstanding performance (and ranking) in the regional Ile de France 10m AP competition.

[tirpassion]

Thanks agn bhai,
It was certainly my best performance till date. But frankly, I did not expect the outcome because there were a few big guns around who incidentally could not bring out their best during that particular week-end .
best regards
tirpassion

[tirpassion]

Oh yes agn bhai,
I forgot to mention something important. When you have a softer surface (.5 inch rubber) you will tend to grip it more tightly (the exploitation of the strong on the weak ). Be careful about it and do not make grip juice !
(In France, we funnily term the phenomenon of gripping very tightly as squeezing juice out of the grip or making grip juice.)

best regards
tirpassion

[airgun_novice]

Oh yes agn bhai,
I forgot to mention something important. When you have a softer surface (.5 inch rubber) you will tend to grip it more tightly (the exploitation of the strong on the weak ). Be careful about it and do not make grip juice !
(In France, we funnily term the phenomenon of gripping very tightly as squeezing juice out of the grip or making grip juice.)

best regards
tirpassion

Ahem to that ! Only the Francais can squeeze juice outta AP grip !!! And we tend to "Blame it on Rio". Will keep that juice of information on my (finger) tips.

[major]

Hello all,

I am planning to buy an air Pistol in one or two weeks max. I am finalizing on Pardini. Please guide me whether I should go for K10 or K12? I wanted to go for lp10. But, somehow due to budget constraints, I am settling for Pardini as I am getting it for 30k cheaper.

Am I making the right decision in going for it?

Regards,

[tirpassion]

Hello major,
you are doing the right thing. Pardinis have the finest mechanical triggers along with Morini. I would suggest you to go for the K12. Pardini came out with the K12 with a modified trigger mechanism after 2 years of K10 only because the K10 trigger mechanism was not up to the mark. And off course, they are exceptionally well made!!! I have had the opportunity to shoot both the K10 and the K12 and my preference is tilted towards the K12.
For your information, the K12 costs much more than the LP10 in Europe. Pardini is selling the K12 in India at a cheaper price just to make inroads in the Indian market.

Best regards
tirpassion

[airgun_novice]

Dear tirpassion/ hvj1 et al,
Finally got around sticking them thick (0.5") rubber pads in front of the grip - find it better in hand now. Finger can not "curl" around by default now. Used son's old Hawaii slippers and cut out pieces from one. Plan to visit the range tomorrow and check out the grouping. Will post the outcome to verify your opinion if the modification works.
regs
A.
PS: tirpassion congratulations for your outstanding performance (and ranking) in the regional Ile de France 10m AP competition.

Must have gone to the range 7 times since and what improvement in performance. After tirpassion pointed out certain flaws and I took conscious efforts to correct them and "increased" the grip as stated above, there was a clear difference in the outcome. First, we have to understand that I was out of serious practice for 3-4 months and had thus started after tirpassion gave his time and efforts to observe me at the range. I kept at it since.

The good points are:
1. Around 70% shots now land in Desired Zone (i.e. #9, #10)
2. Whites shots are eliminated
3. Greater confidence has now manifested
4. The perpetual "pellet confusion" has cleared away.

The not-so-good points are:
1. 2-3 shots out of 12 or 13 land in #7
2. 3-4 shots out of 12 or 13 land in #8
3. Rarely the wrist "jumps" up at release
4. Now the "surprise" shots land in #8 - why do they not move a bit towards the center, I dunno

I know that I should not be scoring, but sometimes I use this as a measuring tool rather than temptation to check the new baseline I can set for myself.

1. Three days back I shot 8 cards with H & N Finale Match - in the first 4 averaged out 89% (357) and the next 4 averaged out 90% (362)

2. Two days back I shot 8 cards with H & N Finale Match - in the first 4 averaged out 90% (360) and the next 4 averaged out 91% (365)
In both the cards above, one card out of four stayed in 88-89.

3. Yesterday, found it tough to concentrate and keep those interfering thoughts out of my mind. Since I had no intention of scoring, shot like 13-15 shots on every card. By the time I was done with sixth card I realized that there were 4 #7s on each of the cards. Plus the grouping observed on two previous days had now widened. No shots in white area though a few #7 were on the external side - just cutting the #7 ring. So I decided to pack up but now more out of temptation and curiosity (and anger at self) decided to shoot one more card for the heck of it and if it went flop then there would not be the 8th card. Now interesting thing happened. After the first 5 shots, I kept the AP down and the range colleague in the next lane said "Solid yaar". I looked up surprised and then fetched the card to see all the five had cut out a tight hole around #10. Five #10s in a row !!! I was elated and send the card back and shot another five. 2 of those in #10 and the three in #9 ! Another five - three in #9 and 2 in #8. The card was pretty much done around the center. And so I went for the 8th card and shot 13 on it in a row - none in white or #7, most in #9 and couple each in #10 and #8. And the day ended up with a smile after all. Those two last cards made my day.

Today I took a break. Will try to get to the range early in the morning tomorrow and return before the weekend duties as family coolie, driver, watchman, errand boy, cook etc. take over.

[jitu sati]

hey agn nice to see u back in josh. i was also reaching the range off and on due to work pressures. but i couldnt hit the TOPS for a few days.
firstly i need to congratulate Tir for his great performance. wish i could see ya at kolkata. but totally tied up in work so no chance. on line coaching needs to continue.
i am going by the advice given by agn approved by hvj that one needs to mov on to 60 shots. will start from tomorrow.
feeling much more at ease with the wpn and shooting in gen. hope this ease can be achieved during the actual comp. will go a long way in getting better performance.
so here goes now on only 60 for holds, drills, dry fire and actual shoots.

[airgun_novice]

Dear Jitu,

Good to have you back. If I may make another suggestion - try to take the prax sessions way above 60 shots. Be it live or dry fire. Post tirpassion-darshan, I start off with 40 bench shots (seated and with barrel rested) followed by 80+ (either 8 cards * 10 each or 12-15 each). My observation is that now the hand tends to tire out on the third card - so that's past 60 shots! Remember the 40 bench-shots. That's where the dip is observed. But since that's known now I do not take it to heart.

Following a long break and cylinder change the rest of the 5 cards follow. Hand (palm) has started tiring slower and recovering faster now. So in short, I have taken the prax session to around 120 or plus shots. Of course, more time is also invested than before.

Not sure if this is the right approach <- Guruji/ upacharyaji could you please guide us here ?

regs
A.

[major]

Thanks tirpassion da for guiding me.

I have started talking to a few dealers of Pardini regarding its purchase.

Regards,

[tirpassion]

It is my pleasure major! Keep up the good work!!!
best regards
tirpassion