Bullseye Shooting questions??

mikej959 · December 3, 2012, 10:24 PM

So I have started shooting the NRA Postal league at my local gun club. As of right now I'm using my Kimber Raptor II for centerfire and my S&W 22A 5.5" for rimfire. I want to start shooting bullseye competitions. I just want to get started in it and work up from there, right now I'm pretty sure I'm not going to be able to outshoot the guns that I have.

My S&W 22A is a factory Talo 22A with a Sightmark Sure Shot sight, I also shoot bowling pin league with this pistol. My Kimber Raptor II is all factory with some worthless night sights that it came with. Right now I'm in the process of buying a friends old High Standard 380 that I believe would be a great pistol for centerfire.

What things should I do to the pistols I currently have for bullseye competition? As of right now I am not reloading but I have a large brass collection that I'm adding to every week, hope to buy a press within the next month or so.

I don't have much money but I am able to do a little at a time. I do have a great gunsmith in my area called Cylinder & Slide in Fremont, NE that I plan on using for any gunsmith work that might be needed.

From your expirence where should I start??

Creeper · December 3, 2012, 11:06 PM

Cylinder and Slide huh? Congrats, you have one of the best in the country... and they can hook you up with anything you need or want to do.

g.willikers · December 4, 2012, 09:44 AM

Due to the nature of Bullseye matches, lots of trigger time is going to be important.
Since you are not in the position to spend a lot of money, how about getting a suitable air gun for home practice?

spacecoast · December 4, 2012, 10:30 AM

I mostly shoot revolvers in Bullseye, but if you are going to shoot semis it's pretty critical that you have at least three magazines that are extremely reliable for your chosen gun/ammo combination. There's nothing more vexing than being forced to refire a string, and it almost always lowers your score on that round and puts you in a bad mood for subsequent rounds.

Dry firing is helpful to develop a steady trigger pull. Read up as much as you can on Bullseye for proper stance and breathing techniques, doing everything the same every time, etc. This is a good site - http://www.bullseyepistol.com/

Good luck, Bullseye is a great competition that will make you a better shooter.

Old Grump · December 4, 2012, 01:52 PM

If you start reloading load a light match load for your 45, put in a lighter recoil spring if you have to. Many of us old timers just use 4.6 gr of bullseye behind a lead bullet RN or SWC and it makes us look better than we are but there are other powders and loadsm pick one and go for it.

If you don;t have them then get Snap Caps and do a serious amount of dry fire with the 45. Do most of your live fire bullseye practice with the 22. If and when you can start shooting expert with that gun your 45 will soon follow.

Blank piece of paper, black ink pen. Make a 1" horizontal line in the middle of the paper. Then a 1" vertical line making a cross. Put the paper on your wall at shoulder height. Load your snap cap, get in your normal shooting position, find your natural point of aim then shift your feet around till you have the muzzle 1/2" away from the paper. DO NOT lean forward or backwards or turn at the waist to shift position.

The top of your front sight goes on the horizontal line the vertical line is centered. Think of your front sight being attached to your trigger as a single steel bar and when you pull the trigger back you are drawing the front sight back through the notch of the rear sight. Any grab, heel, palming, jerking, anticipation or forcing the shot in anyway will show up like a 7.5 earthquake on a seismograph. Your sight and the cross will depart company big time. When you complete 10 perfect shots that session is done, put the gun away and go do something to relax.

It's the way we did it a hundred yeas ago give or take a couple of decades and I haven't seen any better methods yet.

darkgael · December 5, 2012, 09:37 PM

What he said ^^^^.
Add this idea. Instead of a snap cap, put a sharpened lead pencil into the barrel. Full length wooden pencil with a full eraser. Drop it in through the muzzle. The eraser should rest against the breech/firing pin hole. Stand so that the point of the pencil is about 1/2" from the paper. When you dry fire, the firing pin will pop the pencil forward, leavingma dot on the paper In addition to the advice before, when you are done, you will have a group of dots. Ideally, you will have one single dot instead of ten widely spaced.
Pete

December 3, 2012, 10:24 PM	#1
mikej959 Junior Member Join Date: August 21, 2012 Location: Sioux City, IA Posts: 5	Bullseye Shooting questions?? So I have started shooting the NRA Postal league at my local gun club. As of right now I'm using my Kimber Raptor II for centerfire and my S&W 22A 5.5" for rimfire. I want to start shooting bullseye competitions. I just want to get started in it and work up from there, right now I'm pretty sure I'm not going to be able to outshoot the guns that I have. My S&W 22A is a factory Talo 22A with a Sightmark Sure Shot sight, I also shoot bowling pin league with this pistol. My Kimber Raptor II is all factory with some worthless night sights that it came with. Right now I'm in the process of buying a friends old High Standard 380 that I believe would be a great pistol for centerfire. What things should I do to the pistols I currently have for bullseye competition? As of right now I am not reloading but I have a large brass collection that I'm adding to every week, hope to buy a press within the next month or so. I don't have much money but I am able to do a little at a time. I do have a great gunsmith in my area called Cylinder & Slide in Fremont, NE that I plan on using for any gunsmith work that might be needed. From your expirence where should I start?? __________________ NRA Life Member

December 3, 2012, 11:06 PM	#2
Creeper Senior Member Join Date: September 9, 2008 Location: Woooooshington Posts: 1,797	Cylinder and Slide huh? Congrats, you have one of the best in the country... and they can hook you up with anything you need or want to do. __________________ Shoulder Drive Nicholson Club

December 4, 2012, 09:44 AM	#3
g.willikers Senior Member Join Date: September 28, 2008 Posts: 10,442	Due to the nature of Bullseye matches, lots of trigger time is going to be important. Since you are not in the position to spend a lot of money, how about getting a suitable air gun for home practice? __________________ Walt Kelly, alias Pogo, sez: “Don't take life so serious, son, it ain't nohow permanent.”

December 4, 2012, 01:52 PM	#5
Old Grump Member in memoriam Join Date: April 9, 2009 Location: Blue River Wisconsin, in Posts: 3,144	If you start reloading load a light match load for your 45, put in a lighter recoil spring if you have to. Many of us old timers just use 4.6 gr of bullseye behind a lead bullet RN or SWC and it makes us look better than we are but there are other powders and loadsm pick one and go for it. If you don;t have them then get Snap Caps and do a serious amount of dry fire with the 45. Do most of your live fire bullseye practice with the 22. If and when you can start shooting expert with that gun your 45 will soon follow. Blank piece of paper, black ink pen. Make a 1" horizontal line in the middle of the paper. Then a 1" vertical line making a cross. Put the paper on your wall at shoulder height. Load your snap cap, get in your normal shooting position, find your natural point of aim then shift your feet around till you have the muzzle 1/2" away from the paper. DO NOT lean forward or backwards or turn at the waist to shift position. The top of your front sight goes on the horizontal line the vertical line is centered. Think of your front sight being attached to your trigger as a single steel bar and when you pull the trigger back you are drawing the front sight back through the notch of the rear sight. Any grab, heel, palming, jerking, anticipation or forcing the shot in anyway will show up like a 7.5 earthquake on a seismograph. Your sight and the cross will depart company big time. When you complete 10 perfect shots that session is done, put the gun away and go do something to relax. It's the way we did it a hundred yeas ago give or take a couple of decades and I haven't seen any better methods yet. __________________ Good intentions will always be pleaded for any assumption of power. The Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions. There are men in all ages who mean to govern will, but they mean to govern. They promise to be good masters, but they mean to be masters. --Daniel Webster--

December 5, 2012, 09:37 PM	#6
darkgael Senior Member Join Date: February 9, 2006 Location: Homes in Brooklyn, NY and in Pennsylvania. Posts: 5,473	Y What he said ^^^^. Add this idea. Instead of a snap cap, put a sharpened lead pencil into the barrel. Full length wooden pencil with a full eraser. Drop it in through the muzzle. The eraser should rest against the breech/firing pin hole. Stand so that the point of the pencil is about 1/2" from the paper. When you dry fire, the firing pin will pop the pencil forward, leavingma dot on the paper In addition to the advice before, when you are done, you will have a group of dots. Ideally, you will have one single dot instead of ten widely spaced. Pete __________________ “Auto racing, bull fighting, and mountain climbing are the only real sports ... all others are games.” Ernest Hemingway ... NRA Life Member Last edited by darkgael; December 5, 2012 at 10:26 PM.

December 4, 2012, 10:30 AM	#4
spacecoast Senior Member Join Date: October 14, 2009 Location: Sunshine and Keystone States Posts: 4,461	I mostly shoot revolvers in Bullseye, but if you are going to shoot semis it's pretty critical that you have at least three magazines that are extremely reliable for your chosen gun/ammo combination. There's nothing more vexing than being forced to refire a string, and it almost always lowers your score on that round and puts you in a bad mood for subsequent rounds. Dry firing is helpful to develop a steady trigger pull. Read up as much as you can on Bullseye for proper stance and breathing techniques, doing everything the same every time, etc. This is a good site - http://www.bullseyepistol.com/ Good luck, Bullseye is a great competition that will make you a better shooter.

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