Pulse control

[SerenityNetworks]

I understand the need to diminish the impact of my pulse. However I'm not all that keen on getting a shooting jacket, especially for hunting. What alternatives are there for pulse control when using a sling?

Thanks in advance,
Andrew Lindsay

[jimbob86]

What is it you are hunting? Gnats?

I seriously doubt the POI difference between systolic and diastolic pressures are going matter enough to take your bullet out out of the vitals ...... if you do everything else right.

[CTS]

Relax, take deep breaths. Let your breath out about half way, hold it and squeeze the trigger.

[B. Lahey]

Breathe slowly and deeply from the gut, letting your diaphragm do the work. Expand your belly out on the inhale, contract it on the exhale. The total cycle should take 20 seconds+ once you settle in. This will reduce heart rate, aid relaxation, and also counteract "buck fever."

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diaphragmatic_breathing

[4EVERM-14]

A lot depends on position.
Pulse control can be improved by adjustments to the position. Avoid rolling forward at the stomach and keep the sling high on the arm. Avoid the arteries in the arm. Breath normally watching your aim. When you are near the trigger release point stop breathing and you will be calm for about 6 to 8 seconds before your brain thinks you're dead and makes you shake to wake up.

[SerenityNetworks]

JimboB, :-) No gnats. But a tight sling its a good sling and the brachial pulse does make a noticeable movement of the barrel. This is especially true with a 4.5 lb Marlin 795.

4everm, thanks for the belly and high on the bicep tips. I can see how that would make a difference.

I see they make "pulseless" slings, but I'm too cheap to buy one.

Thanks,
Andrew

Andrew Lindsay

[jimbob86]

But a tight sling its a good sling

If it is so tight that it is cutting of your circulation for very long, then that's not a good thing.....

What is it that you are shooting has such a tiny vital zone that it will be missed if your heart beats in mid-shot? It cannot be small due to distance, as you are going after it with a .22 ......

[5RWill]

Heart beat control should probably come before pulse control. I've honestly never heard of pulse control. And it's hard enough keeping my heart rate down especially when doing a stress shoot. If there is a way to control your pulse thats indeed interesting.

Before any of that is really taken into consideration though a couple of things have to be established. Proper trigger manipulation, shooting during your respiratory pause, and then the large part in precision shooting, consistency. Being able to replicate the first action over and over to produce the same results.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUEzz...elU2D1Z34L_2AW

[arizona98tj]

Relax, take deep breaths. Let your breath out about half way, hold it and squeeze the trigger.

Consistency is key to shooting. The more consistent you are, the better you will shoot, shot to shot. Proper breathing is one part of being consistent.

That being said, all of the training courses I've attended state to NOT try to guess where "50%" is on your breathing cycle. Instead, fully exhale and then take the shot. You'll have multiple seconds before you will need to start another breath....plenty of time to accurately break the shot.

Just saying.....

[Art Eatman]

Olympic shooters learn to shoot between heartbeats. You have almost a fulll second to finalize the sight picture and send the "Do it!" command to your trigger finger. Gotta remember that there is an 0.2-second time lag between thought and action.

[Big Shrek]

Few average folks have the same low heart rate as Olympic-class athletes

Heck, most of the folks you see at the range try like heck to shoot at Olympic levels, but are hampered by their physical condition.
The guy below is NOT what you are looking for in an Olympic Contender...but...I want his gun


The rest tend to be hampered by their mental condition...


That being said, a too-tight sling can cause as many issues as a loose one.

[CTS]

That being said, all of the training courses I've attended state to NOT try to guess where "50%" is on your breathing cycle.

Makes sense. The point is to hold on the exhale and do it consistently every time.

[SerenityNetworks]

I entered this post via Tapatalk on my phone, so I was too brief in starting the post and the title is certainly bad.

I'm not asking about controlling my pulse, as in reducing my heart rate. I'm asking about controlling the transmission of my pulse though the sling to the rifle. Sporting jackets have some sort of mechanism built into the sleeve to dampen the pulse. But I've never seen this type of jacket, nor would I be inclined to get one. So I am asking if there is another equally effective method.

I plan on attending an Appleseed course soon and a jacket of this type comes highly recommended. I'm trying to avoid buying a jacket, yet fully adhere to the objective.

Thanks,
Andrew

[jimbob86]

When hunting in November (when it matters most), I have 3-4 layers on that do a fine job of damping my pulse ......

[rickyrick]

Big beefy arms, LOL.

Probably should relax. If shooting iron sights you shouldn't notice it. I've noticed it in a scope a few times, but not enough to change impact.

[Art Eatman]

SN, if you're going to use a sling, and so far that use has caused "bump" problems, it seems to me that you're going to have to learn to shoot between the bumps.

Some sort of padded-sleeve shooting jacket could reduce the problem, but I doubt that it would take it to zero effect.

[SerenityNetworks]

Art, I imagine you are right, but I guess I'll need to get to training to know the details.
Andrew

[MrBorland]

I'm asking about controlling the transmission of my pulse though the sling to the rifle

I'm no expert, but I do best when the sling is tight. Not necessarily tightened around my arm (though that's tight, too), but "tight", as in the sling pulling the rifle tightly into me.

When seated, I'll sling up, then use my strong hand to place the butt of the rifle at my shoulder. This alone has the rifle against me pretty tightly. As I lean forward into my final (seated or kneeling) position, the rifle is really pulled in. The rifle and I feel like 1 piece. I've already set my position so that I'm indexed on target, so once in position, I get my sight picture, breathe normally, and let my subconscious break the shot at the natural pause between heart beats and at the end of my exhalation.

I don't yet compete with a rifle (pistol's got me plenty busy), so I don't own a shooting jacket. In the interim, I wear several layers of clothes up top to help buffer my pulse further. And I wear a ski glove on my support hand.

[4EVERM-14]

The one question not yet asked of the OP is What type sling are you using. Is it a double buckle,modified M1 web, 1907, cuff? If any of these are excessively tightened on the arm there is a high probability of transmitting the pulse to the rifle. There is a balance between tight enough so as not to fall off the arm and loose enough to allow circulation.

[Slamfire]

Pulse control. Eh Gads!

Wearing a shooting jacket is the easiest and best way to reduce the pulse down the sling.

Having a great cardiovascular system is very important. Shooting is an athletic sport, working on the tread mill, jogging, will do it. Gary Anderson, http://www.odcmp.com/comm/Director.htm, ex head of the CMP, he was into jogging and other physical activities when he was winning National Championships.

Don’t shoot in hot weather. My pulse rate spikes and everyone else does in hot weather. Groups are much tighter in cool weather. Cold weather, group size goes up again, but it must be due to the discomfort and dry eyes. Plus the fact you can’t feel your trigger finger. I will wrap my hands around the barrel after rapid fire, let the warmth of the barrel defrost my digits.

In cool weather you can “calm” yourself down. I have seen it., I have done it. You sort of calm relax, think about slowing your pulse, and for a second, you see the front sight stop moving. That is when you pull the trigger. Does not last long, pico second or so. I calm relax when having my blood pressure and pulse checked. It is cheating but it works.

[SerenityNetworks]

The sling I have now is a basic M14/M1, 1.25" wide, 46" long, cotton web, military "style" sling. Now I need to learn to use it properly. I appreciate all the input.

I also appreciate the CMP link. I'll be checking that out further.

Thanks again,
Andrew

[TPAW]

Keep caffeine down to minium and don't smoke. The booze as well. Guns and alcohol don't mix!

[Bart B.]

Art Eatman claims:

Olympic shooters learn to shoot between heartbeats. You have almost a fulll second to finalize the sight picture and send the "Do it!" command to your trigger finger. Gotta remember that there is an 0.2-second time lag between thought and action.

Please, Art, don't be foolish. Nobody at the top of the competitive shooting sports for rifle or pistol does that. Such "now" mental commands are only used in shotgun sports where the shot charge pattern's big enough to cover it. Such behavior makes a rifle and pistol's aiming point jump out of the holding area and the shot's in the 9 ring for sure.

From the prone position, the best shooters hold an area on the target about 3/4 MOA and try to get shots off inside a 1/2 MOA area. They apply pressure to the trigger gently increasing it but will hole its tension if the aiming area gets bigger. Their sights make sort of a double figure 8 pattern on the target that looks much like an EKG display on those machines at the hospital. They apply a constant squeeze to the trigger and might be able to slow it down a bit as the sights go off center. But they never use a mental "now" thought as that'll surely jerk the aiming point outside of its normal area. Note that aiming point goes through two figure 8 cycles in a second (first one's larger, second one's smaller) with a pulse rate of 60. Go figure how far it moves in 1/5th of a second.

Then they've got to hold still while the bullet goes down the barrel until it exits; then they can flinch, barf or do whatever they want.

[TPAW]

+1 for Bart B.

I could not agree more. Furthermore, you should not anticipate the shot going out.

[velocette]

Bart B, has it right.

Roger