Aim small, miss small?

[vinceb]

One thing that was sorta confusing me was my inability to shoot 10-yard, 5 shot groups at under about .75" from my recently acquired "refurbished" Beeman S1. Especially since this thing has nooooo problem consistently pegging a soda can at almost 60 yards.

This is all with open sights.

On a hunch, I made up some targets with much smaller bullseyes than I'm used to and shot a couple of groups with them. All of a sudden, my group sizes shrank in half or better... .25"-.37".

Just a fluke? Or am I just finding it easier to draw a consistently placed bead on the smaller target? The Beeman sight is a non-FO square notch and post, no "dots" like the Gamo's. Maybe that makes it harder (along with my aging eyes) to properly center the sight on a larger target.

I might find out tomorrow, with my old B19. I was kinda having the same sort of trouble with that gun.. and the sight picture is very similar.

It works that way for me too.

All the targets I print and use have a 1/2 inch bullseye.

makes you concentrate harder I guess when you miss by a little, and 10 shots complety removes the bullseye. Thing looks real small out at 50 yards.

[IJL]

I can live with that, In my youth, many years ago now, I used to shoot .22 rimfire in indoor 15 yard competition. The sights we used utilised a ring foresight and selection of the correct size was paramount in hitting the bull time after time.
Supports the theory.

Ian

[shadow]

Yes, always aim for the needle not the haystack. Always aim for the "O" in coke not the can. When I'm hunting I always try to find a pinpoint mark on my target and forget the mass around it. I see the eye not the rabbit,works for me. This guy here could really help you out, sent e-mail to deadwood no reply as of yet he he he . Ed

[claird]

Basic marksmanship instruction is to not aim at the target but aim at a place on the target.  When I first heard that I was doing large bore target and it was a struggle to keep the bull over a Garand's front sight much less aim for the V ring. The whole thing seemed perfectly absurd.  You have to have a spotting scope to even see the V ring. However, it is a mental discipline that forces you to work harder on every shot, to focus, focus, focus. You can't settle for almost perfect body position, almost perfect head position, almost perfect trigger pull.  I just got my first springer and am finding that in order to shoot this precise piece accurately, almost does not work.  Jeez, she's a demanding piece.  I get fliers that make my jaw drop.