Shooting a "Springer" Accurately                                       by Larry  Gibson
Airgun shooting techniques                                                by Eric A. Schwartz]

The problems begin when you get home or wherever your range is and set up a target. A few pellets are fired and you find the holes are everywhere! The more you shoot the more frustrating it becomes. After all, Joe Snuffy said in his article he was shooting dime size groups at 20 yards with this model rifle. The salesperson said this model was "reported to be wonderfully accurate". So why can’t you shoot a group smaller than wallet size? Heck, right now you’d settle for silver dollar size, wouldn’t you? Well let’s discuss the situation and see if perhaps we can learn a few things. Then maybe the smaller groups will come.

First question, CAN you shoot? Now don’t get all huffy and upset. I know you’re an All-American born and bred to shoot deer at 1000 yards across a canyon while at full gallop shooting under the neck of the horse with your trusty hoop-leever thutty-thutty! After all we are a nation of rifleman, right! WRONG! Rifleman, read that marksmen, are trained to shoot. No one is born with that skill. Nor will you acquire that skill reading about it, not even this article, watching others shoot or from the movies. You will acquire that skill only when you know, understand and can apply the fundamentals of marksmanship. The best way to learn and acquire the skill of marksmanship is with proper instruction.

I remember my first "lesson" in marksmanship. I was six years old and wanting to hunt some gophers with an old Benjamin pellet rifle we had. My Dad who was in the army in WWII gave me the first lesson. We all know everyone who was in the army can shoot, right? After all we did win the war! Anyway the lesson went something like this; " Son ya put the front sight in the rear sight and squeeze the trigger. Got it? OK, go get one"! That was it! And I’ll bet many of you reading this haven’t had much more.

My point is, be honest with yourself. If you can’t shoot now, admit it. Get some proper instruction because if you don’t you will never shoot well. I would suggest your local rifle range/club. They generally have a smallbore program or may even have an air rifle program. If you start at the beginning of their "season" they usually provide excellent instruction to novices. Admit to them that you are a novice. Believe me it will be apparent to them and they will be glad to help you.

So, OK for the sake of argument let’s assume you can shoot. Spring-piston air rifles (springers) like every firearm require the application of the fundamentals of marksmanship if you are going to shoot them well. But before the shooting begins there is the preparation of equipment; is the rifle in good repair, are the sights well mounted and all screws tight, do the pellets properly fit the breach to seal the bore, do we have a selection of proper pellets to test, and do we have good targets with a well defined aiming point? Have we really read the owners manual and do we understand the accuracy capabilities of our rifle? Do not expect an "entry level" rifle to shoot as well as a "top of the line" model. It just won’t happen.

How do you know what is "accurate" for the rifle you have just bought? For the purposes here let’s stick with "field" rifles to be used for plinking, casual target practice and small game (or pest control) hunting. Target rifles are another story and another article. Let’s say you have just picked up a new Beeman R1 .22 caliber and you went whole hog, at the dealers advice, and had a Bushnel 3x9 air rifle scope installed on the rifle in Beeman’s two piece mount. Not a bad setup! Now the question here is what kind of accuracy should we expect?

Beeman states in their catalog a center to center (c-t-c) accuracy of 0.21" at 10 meters (about 11 yards) which was probably shot with match pellets. How can you interpret this to give an indication of accuracy at our maximum anticipated range of say 50 yards? First remember that because a particular pellet may be accurate at 20 yards does not mean it will be accurate at 50 yards, but a pellet that is accurate at 50 yards will be accurate at 20 yards. There are many reasons for this, which are beyond the scope of this article. This is why you must test several pellets at the maximum anticipated range you will shoot to select the most accurate pellet for your rifle.

If you take the group size of 0.21" and multiply it times five (10 meters goes roughly 5 times into 50 yards) you have a group size of 1.05". But it really doesn’t work out that good. Groups generally open up on a parabolic curve as the range increases and not as a straight progression. Therefore, you should expect your new R1 to shoot groups with some pellets of 1.5 to 2" groups at 50 yards. A reasonable and realistic expectation of usable accuracy. If you have another rifle for which there is no published accuracy data to interpret then testing is the only way of determining the rifles accuracy potential.

You now have an "idea" of what to expect. Test shooting should be done from a solid bench rest position when at all possible. If that is unavailable then a prone supported position should be used. If these are unavailable then you are not testing, you are merely shooting. The idea is to eliminate as much "shooter error" as possible. To reach any valid conclusion as to which pellet is the more accurate you must test and assess the accuracy of the rifle, not yourself. But you still have to know how to shoot, even from the bench, so let’s review the fundamentals of marksmanship as they apply to shooting springers.

First and second of the five fundamentals of marksmanship are position and grip (or how you hold the rifle). The position you should use is the bench rest position. Make sure that the bench is of correct height so you are sitting comfortably and not scrunched down all bent over. The bench should be solid and wobble free. Remember the key to any position be it standing, sitting, prone or bench is that it must provide a stable platform. There are basically 3 shooting techniques or methods of gripping and holding springers when shooting them. Which one you use depends on the shooting situation, i.e. bench or field and the individual likes of your rifle.

The Beeman technique or as I call it the "field " hold is described in the Beeman catalogue as; "Hold your airgun loosely against your should and let it jump around when you fire it. Don’t pull it in hard into your shoulder or strangle its forearm and don’t rest the forearm on a hard surface. Let it recoil and vibrate freely – don’t try to prevent it."

The "hard" hold is described as; "grasp the end of the forearm with the non firing hand so the thumb and index finger are along each side of the barrel pulling the rifle back into the shoulder hard. The firing hand should grasp the small of the stock firmly and pull back hard also".

Bench rest position (also used in the prone supported position with a forearm rest) is when the forearm is laid into a grove formed into the front sandbag. The non-firing hand does not support the forearm but supports the rear sandbag onto which the toe of the stock rests. The non-firing hand adjusts the elevation by sliding the sandbag back or foreword. Merely squeezing the sides of the rear sandbag can make fine elevation adjustments when aiming. The firing hand grasps the small of the stock very lightly, only enough to just hold the rifle into the shoulder and steady the hand for a smooth trigger pull.

When a rest is used with either the field or hard holds the back of the non-firing hand or forearm is laid over or against the rest. Never lay the stock or barrel against the rest (solid object, tree log, rock, etc) as it usually changes the point of impact dramatically and you will miss. There are variations to the above three positions, which mostly are dependent on shooter physique or the style of stock used.

The third fundamental to discuss is aiming or sight alignment and sight picture. In your case with the R1 and the Bushnel 3x9 riflescope you are going to set the power at 9 and adjust the AO to focus at 50 yards. Remember to read the instructions that came with the riflescope. You will need to know how to properly make adjustments to zero the rifle. If you are using the iron sights there should be some instruction in the rifle owners manual. If not, well that’s the subject of another article, remember that you move the rear sight in the direction you want the shot group to move, i.e. if you are hitting low move the rear sight up. How much to move it you will have to discover.

To shoot well with iron sights you must align them correctly. The manuals usually have a picture of correct sight alignment but they fail to mention the most important thing. You must FOCUS on the front sight. To do this correctly, hold your trigger finger out at arm length. Now FOCUS on it hard enough to see your own fingerprint! That is how hard you must focus on the front sight! Yes, I know the target has your attention or it may be blurred but if you expect to shoot well FOCUS on the front sight. It’s OK for the target to be blurred because you’ll aim at the same spot on the blur and will therefor shoot good. If you lose your focus on the front sight and look at the target your groups will open, every time!

With either iron sights or a scope do not just aim at the target. For a proper sight picture, to enable you to shoot the smallest groups, you must aim at a "point" on the target. With iron sights a black bullseye is the best target. It should be just large enough that it is slightly wider that the width of the front sight. But you must still aim at a point and not just at the bullseye. You should use a "6 o’clock hold" meaning that the bullseye is sitting just on top and centered on the front sight. The point you are aiming at is the very bottom of the bull, or "6 o’clock" if the bull were a clock. When using a scope I like to draw small plus signs on the backs of target paper. I do this with a Magic Marker and they are about ¾" by ¾" which is good for 9x scopes. I can then square the reticle over the plus sign very precisely. If we want to shoot precise (small) groups then we must aim precisely.

Whether using a scope or iron sights your "eye relief" or stockweld must also be consistent. Your eye must be the same distance from the rear of the scope or from the rear sight for each shot, this is "eye relief". The stockweld is the placement of your cheek on the stock at the same place and with the same pressure for each shot. Do not press down hard on the stock with your cheek, only use enough pressure to steady your head on the rifle. Proper and consistent stockweld will ensure consistent "eye relief".

All scopes have a specific amount of "eye relief" required to have a full field of view. The head should be placed at the proper position on the comb of the stock (stockweld) and the scope should be moved forward or backward to obtain the proper "eye relief". With the factory iron sights the importance of the consistent stockweld is paramount. If mounting an aperture (receiver sight) rear sight mount it as far to the rear on the receiver as practical. The closer to your eye the better. Note how match rear sights extend out over the back of the receiver.

Breathing is the fourth fundamental. Here too, there are several different techniques. When bench shooting the best technique is to take several shallow breaths as you refine the sight picture. Then when it starts looking good let your breath out normally until you reach what is called "the respiratory pause". That is when you are neither breathing in or out. When this happens stop breathing, however do not hold your breath for more than 8-10 seconds. If you do your eyes will begin to blur as your brain is losing oxygen, yes it happens that fast. If you have not fired the shot in those 8 seconds stop – take a few breaths – and start the sequence again. The first few times you will probably continue to hold your breath and fire the shot anyway, it will not be a good one, until you learn.

The above breathing technique is not very useful when hunting or exerting yourself. Here the proper technique, and it is only learned through much practice, is to stop breathing when you begin the trigger pull regardless of whether you’re breathing in or out. This technique must be developed so it is almost second nature. It’s successful use depends on you mastering the next and most important of the fundamentals.

The most important fundamental is trigger pull. Do all the other fundamentals to perfection then jerk the trigger and you will miss! Notice I have said trigger "pull". Trigger "press" is another correct term. Trigger "squeeze" is not. We do not "squeeze" triggers! Point your trigger finger in the air. Now grab hold of your forearm with your other hand. Now squeeze the trigger. Notice the finger could squeeze nothing by itself. You had to clench your hand in order to satisfy your mind’s perception of "squeezing". When you "squeezed" you felt, with the other hand, the large muscle in your forearm flex. This muscle flexing will cause the rifle to move and disturb your aim and you will not shoot well. Now, just pull or press back with the trigger finger alone and you will feel very little muscle flex in your forearm. That is what we’re after, a good smooth trigger pull. A good smooth trigger pull may be the gradual application of pressure on the trigger until the rifle fires or it may be done very quickly. Either way it must be a smooth pull. No jerk, no slap and no squeeze!

Applying the fundamentals of marksmanship correctly and consistently shot after shot will increase the odds of shooting good groups. However there is one very important aspect of the fundamentals of marksmanship that cannot be over looked. That is FOLLOW THROUGH. Follow through is the continued application of the marksmanship fundamentals immediately after the rifle is fired through the recoil. You must continue to maintain the same grip of the rifle, you must keep the trigger pressed to the rear, you must continue to look at the sight picture and be able to "call the shot" (know where on the target the reticle or front sight was at the moment of firing), you must not tense up anticipating or reacting to the recoil and you must release the trigger only after the recoil has stopped. Using good follow through will allow the rifle to fire and recoil naturally and consistently. It all adds up to shooting good groups.

As an example of how all this works I recently ran a series of tests with a Webley Hawk MKIII .17 caliber spring-piston (springer) rifle. This was my "entry level" air rifle I got some 25 odd years ago. This barrel-cocker was purchased new from Beemans. It was made for a Middle Eastern country (Iran?) that because of political turmoil had cancelled the contract. The salesperson at Beemans told me at the time I should expect about 1 ½" groups at 30 yards, such a deal. Since I was only going to be shooting 20 yards in my backyard that was close enough. With Crow Magnums it does in fact shoot 1 ½" at 30 yards. The test I was conducting was to see if inexpensive (don’t want to say cheap) pellets purchased at a local chain store would shoot "reasonably" well at 20 yards.

The pellets to be tested were CopperHead .177’s. There were the Wadcutter Pellets and the Pointed Pellets, both 7.9gr. As many springers sometimes like a different "hold" for different pellets I would test the new pellets with all three holds, bench, field and hard. The test would be from a solid bench at 20 yards. When using the field and hard holds the back of my non-firing hand would rest firmly on the sandbag. My elbows would also rest firmly on the bench. On some days I shoot well and on others … well like they say "some days are diamonds, others are stones"! That being the case I always like to shoot a "control" group or two. This is done with pellets of a known accuracy level. Gives me a "standard" to make a valid comparison. For this test I would also shoot Crow Magnums and Beeman’s H&N Match Wadcutters as "control". All groups would be 10 shot strings with each hold.

Group size results:

Crow Magnums; Shot as well as they normally do. This is my "preferred" pellet so far. I normally use the field hold with this rifle/pellet. The hard hold was strung vertically indicating I was not consistent. Also the POI was 1" lower than the field hold. I also tried a variation of the hard hold using just enough grip with the firing hand to effect a smooth trigger pull – no good, group strung vertically 2.7" Will stick with field hold – has worked for 25+ years, why change.

H&N Match Wadcutters; Field hold was normal group size. Hard hold strung vertically – not consistent hold.

Copperhead Wadcutters; On par with H&N’s at half the price. May be good alternative. Will have to see how they perform loaded backwards on slugs.

Copperhead Pointed Pellets; Not good! Will use for trade.

So there you have it, nothing "magical" about shooting springers. So take the R1 and head to the range. Just remember, prepare your equipment, select proper pellets, apply the fundamentals of marksmanship, follow through and have reasonable expectations of the accuracy your rifle may be capable of. Oh yeah, one other thing, have fun!

The above article was originally  posted on the Airgun Letter Forum

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That would depend somewhat on the gun. With good target guns, (especially in regulated matches) the positions are pretty much standardized.  Either UIT,  Shooting USA, or the NRA would probably have pamphlets available detailing the positions. I know the NRA used to, but they are no longer the official governing body for airgun matches, so they may not have the pamphlets any more. Basically:

Prone:
     Lie on your stomach, strong-side leg bent forward to widen your base of support. Gun should rest in the weak-side hand, and be completely supported by   your sling. If you are using any effort to hold the gun in place, make the sling tighter. You should be able to take your dominant hand completely off the  grip, and the gun will stay perfectly in place against your shoulder. Both elbows should be planted firmly, and you should be angled slightly towards your  dominant side, so as to compensate for the rifle's tendency to aim slightly towards the weak side, relative to your body's axis. The natural point of aim   when you are completely relaxed in this position should be exactly on target.

Sitting:
     Sit cross-legged, with your ankle bones directly under the knee joint. Place elbows directly into the cleft between the bones of the knee. Essentially, support bone directly on bone, for maximum stability. Advice in sling tension is the same, as is the idea that the natural point of aim should be right on   target. If not, get up, and get back into position, rotating yourself appropriately to make sure it is.  Some people with long legs or arms cannot fit in this position, so the alternate position is to cross your ankles out in front of you, and force your legs to   spread by the weight of the gun, with your elbows in the knee joint, as before. This is less accurate and more tiring, so if you fit in the other position, it's   better.

Kneeling:
     Same about sling and natural point of aim. The position is to stand facing the target straight-on, then step your dominant foot back 45 degrees, pivoting on    the weak foot. Place your kneeling cushion in front of the dominant foot, and kneel over it, supporting your ankle directly on it. The heel should support the   buttocks firmly, heelbone against tailbone. The toes should point out to the rear, or slightly towards the non-dominant side. The other leg should be bent so   the calf is perfectly vertical, and you should rest the bone of the elbow directly into the slight cleft between the two lobes at the base of the femur on the   knee.

Standing:
     Face 90 degrees away from the target, legs shoulder-width apart. Place the butt of the gun to your shoulder first, to ensure consistent positioning, then    place the forearm of the stock on top of your hand. I used to place the gun on top of my fist, and that is a good position, but I've personally found that    holding my hand as if I were a waiter carrying a tray and placing the gun on the heel of my palm works best. This position is much less standardized, so   play around and find what works best. Feel free to change if you find that what worked best when you were a novice isn't working as well as it should   once you get better. Place the elbow of that hand across your chest, so as to support the bone of the elbow directly against the ribs and sternum. You   should now be aimed about 45 degrees off-target. Swivel your entire upper body about your hips to bring yourself on-target. Keep your legs and upper   body rigid, but not tense, or you'll shake. Only the spine should swivel.

All positions:
     Do NOT grip the gun, as that will destroy accuracy. It should merely rest on the hand. This is especially important in standing. Note again that this is for target guns. Common sporters won't be equipped with the kind of sling mount that can support the whole gun like that, so you may need to grip it, but you should still keep the grip as loose as possible. Squeeze the trigger in a pincer grip, moving the index finger towards the thumb, which should be on the tang of the gun behind the trigger. Breathing was covered extensively in a separate thread, so I won't repeat that here. Go for perfect consistency in position;    place the butt against your shoulder first, and make sure it's in the same place on the shoulder each time, make sure you put your hand on the same part of  the stock's forearm, and make sure your cheek rests on the same part of the cheekpiece every time. That's especially important since it will directly affect sight alignment if you move your head around between shots.

Pistol:
     This is even less standardized than rifle, so pick a position you like. You may want to face straight towards the target (this is best for people with strong eyeglasses), or a full 90 degrees away from the target, with only your arm and head aimed at it. Or anything in between, whatever's comfortable.  Feet should still be about shoulder-width apart. Grip the gun lightly; the purpose of the grip is to tighten and lock up your wrist, not to hold the gun. The gun should rest on your middle finger mostly, and should balance fairly well between that and the heel of the palm. The tighter you grip beyond what's needed to lock the wrist, the more you will vibrate and ruin accuracy. Lock the elbow and shoulder out likewise, with as little muscle as possible to do the job. I find it's easier to aim somewhat above the target, and let the sights walk themselves down on target as my arm stretches, but some people prefer to aim low and lock up on the way up to the target. Whatever works best for you. Six-o'clock sighting (where you set the sights so that lining them up on the bottom of the bullseye puts the pellet in the center) works best for targets since it gives a more consistent reference point than dead-on sighting, but doesn't   work as well for rapid-fire or if the range to target is unknown or variable.

Boy, this got long...But I suppose that's proof that guns are no where near as easy to use as Hollywood would like to think.

Good shooting!

E.S.

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