Getting Used To A Rifle

[shepp 2,285]

I was thinking today that if a soldier in the army wants to become a sniper then he will be given a gun and that is the gun he has to get good with.

He wouldn't have the option to chop and change until he finds the right one.

Would I be right to think some may not give a gun enough chance to feel right to them and maybe you can grow into a gun?

Just a thought.

Andy

[secretagentmole 1,701]

What like trousers? I can still remember the buying of the school uniform when I were a lad, sigh, "You'll grow into that!" was the tagline to any purchase! I thought by the time they were soldiers they have finished growing!

[hogdog 61]

The plus side being that if you get good with the gun you're given you may end up with a £13,000 50 cal sniper rifle...good enough for picking off the taliban at a mile and a half...it's not all bad.

 

I get what you're saying though, some people just like shiny things, nothing wrong with that if you have the money.

[secretagentmole 1,701]

Hey that rifle you bought off me had some nice shiny bits on it! The scope glass for a start!

[hogdog 61]

Hey that rifle you bought off me had some nice shiny bits on it! The scope glass for a start!

 

I like shiny things too but I don't think I'll be upgrading it for a while yet

[darren watson 14]

hmm. i was warned against getting a TX 200 as my first "proper" rifle due to its weight, I didn't listen and im sure i said something along the lines of "at least i'll build strength in my weaker arm". It never happened. I had that rifle for about a year and never got used to it. mostly due to the fact i do a lot of walking when im out and mostly shoot pigeons and squirrels. trying to track a fast moving squirrel through the trees until it stopped with that gun after lugging it about for hours was impossible. I now have a rifle that suits my style of shooting. so i dont think theres any harm in going through a few rifles until you find one that suits you. im sure there are people out there with collections of rifles with, say, One for HFT, one for rabbits, and one for close range ratting etc. "growing into" a gun that doesn't suit the way you want/need to use it would be like trying to use a plastic chippy knife and fork for carving a roast, possible with practice, but why bother when you can just get the right tool for the right job and save yourself the hassle.

[clubshot 22]

As stated many times - aware that majority of Board users are not Club Shooters

 

But looking for a New Air Gun - Well worth a trip to local Air Gun Club to see what is about and why others are using them -

 

From my distance times in TA - Only choice of Gun was - if a Rifleman or a specialist / Machine Gunner

 

I personally was a Machine Gunner -

 

BOB/R

[zini 1,939]

To shoot any rifle well you need to know how to shoot in the first place. Most (not all) of us on here are using rifles with the minimal bit of recoil caused by a hammer.

 

Shooting to a good standard with these rifles is pretty easy for the most inexperienced shooter. I proved this when LJ shot my r10 for the first time. She was taking shots with it that I was 100% sure that she wouldn’t hit with my old HW95K and she couldn’t when I tried her.

 

I believe that fit has a lot to do with how well you shoot with a rifle and getting a rifle that feels right in your shoulder and is the right weight helps promote confidence in your equipment and improves your shooting.

 

I have personally witnessed 2 lads from this site shoot better than me with their old in some cases 20 year old springer and I was using a semi recoilless r10. Why?

 

Well that’s because their rifles fit great and they have spent time practicing and learning the correct ways to shoot. Note ways in the plural form as there is more than one way.

 

Regarding snipers, I know quite a few of them myself and they never blame their equipment. They take their equipment and shooting very seriously and pride themselves on their learnt ability. Practice is the key for them and the more that they do the better they become.

 

I think that if a rifle fits you well or pretty well a rifle can be made to shoot well with practice and time and help from better shots in the form of advice and instruction.

 

Si

[Born Hunter 17,787]

IMO a rifle either fits right or it doesnt. You can learn to shoot with a badly fitting rifle but why put yourself at a dissadvantage? Some rifles I pick up just dont sit right, practice brings it together but the feeling of knowing everything is 'right' gives the shooter confidence and confidence is an underated aspect of good marksmanship, something I dont hear mentioned very often.