# Shooting: Variables to Constants (PDF aid)



## lightgeoduck

Must of us remember when we started shooting slingshots. For some it came natural, or was an easy transition from other shooting sports that one was active in (rifles, bows, etc), for others.... well it seemed like an uphill battle to hit the target more than miss it. We read hand watch videos on how to hold the slingshot, how to aim, anchor points, pouch release, so-on-and-so-on and we think we have it down. We read about matching bands with ammo, and different styles of shooting OTT, TTF, gangstar, and we try to find what suites us.

Now we have all the information, and the eagerness to get to it. First draw, release.........and "Thud" which isn't the sound of a can being hit







.. we start out becoming familiar with the "Thud" and excited when we here the occasional "Plink"... which causes us to chase after that "Plink" again only to be followed with that dreaded "Thud".

So to help eliminate the "guess work" on where to aim next after the previous shot I am offering this target to assist in "zeroing in" on your aim.

For it to be effective,, you aim/shoot in sessions and with in each session you do not change your aim/anchor/release until you find where your hits grouped from that ending session. Meaning how you aim at the center target should be the same for the first session of shots and adjusted at the next session.

Since people tend to shoot differently you may need to make an additional mark on the target as a reference point. example you are aiming with your top fork.. you reference with the bottom fork so you know what grid to move to after your adjustment.

This is only a suggestion, and after you work it a few times you will be the best judge on how to gauge your progress.

here is the image: ( a PDF is attached as well for download.... courtesy of Hwark who did the work of putting my thoughts into a document usable to all.... Thanks a bunch Hrawk)










Thank you for reading, and hopefully some find this helpful.

LGD


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## Ry-shot

good idea !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Charles

Thanks for sharing your ideas, LGD.

Cheers .... Charles


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## M.J

Looks great, man!
Thanks!


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## lightgeoduck

Thanks for all the comments and target downloads.

Its actually an idea that I got from back when I was in the military. we use to use a paper target to help us zero our M16s, of course there was more to the target in aiding the adjustment of our sites where each grid off would be one turn of the site post. I figured this would be somewhat helpful for slingshots as well, not only for new shooters, but for when ever one uses a new type of slingshot.

LGD


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## lightgeoduck

OH and thanks goes to Hrawk again,, for making the PDF and Jpg for me to share...

LGD


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## SlingGal

Great target.... Will be downloading when I get to the studio.


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## JustDavid

I like the idea of not adjusting for the session. That gives you a chance to see how far off you are on average, not just on the last shot.
And you can see how consistent you are.

V cool.


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## lightgeoduck

First I forgot to mention that the center target is 2" dia and each minor grid is .5" with a 1" major grid

Below is an image of a quick session I did after work, ideally if I had time I would do another session making the compensations that I feel are needed

20 shots 5/16 steel @ 25-30ft aimed center of target no adjustments

(holes are not labeled in any particular shooting order)

holes 1-3 were fliers, and most likely have to do with poor pouch release and flubbed grip.

Holes A-D were not bad but most likely due to pouch release

The marked square is my 2" shot group and since it was upper left, I am lead to believe I was not tilting my head where my eye was directly above my top band. so that caused me to move my slingshot inwards (towards the left of my body) I also should try to aim towards the bottom of the target at this distance.










Next time I will do at least two sessions on the paper target.. and a third one to shred the paper... after that I should be "zeroed"







and go back to the wonderful sound of plinking..

LGD


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## Dayhiker

Thanks for this target, LGD. I intend to use it. I think it's a good idea.

Edit:
Okay, I decided that I would take a small number of shots every day for 5 days. I decided on only 6 shots. Before I tried this, I have evaluated myself as roughly hitting the target at ten yards 40 to 50 percent of the time, but my misses are so erratic that I can't figure out how to improve from here. This first target bears this out, I think. What's my problem?

3 in and 3 out but widely distributed.


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## Knoll

were the 3 ""outs" the 1st 3 ya shot?


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## Dayhiker

No they were the 1st shot on the left, the other two were interspersed in the shooting.


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## lightgeoduck

DH.. Thanks for downloading the target, and thanks for using/sharing your trial.

If I had to guess, since I believe you shoot OTT vertical (right?) that it could be one of two things

1) a slip on the pouch release, I came to find out that pouch release can send the ammo off in an unpredictable manner
2) that one of your forks are more forward/back than the other, i.e. your holding your fork a tad off.

This is just a guess, since slingshots don't provide the evidence like rifles do..

Try this the next time you are out shooting intentionally make "off" shots, holding your slingshot in incorrect positions, releasing the pouch improperly, etc.. and see the results.. In fact the next time I use this paper target I will see as well.

(One curiosity is what the shots would look like when verying how long one holds their draw.. would there be a difference in target hits between a long pause vs a short pause)

Ok I am starting to ramble









LGD


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## Dayhiker

Actually, LGD, I shoot with the the fork canted about 45 degrees and OTT is correct. I will do this several days in a row to see if I can pick up a pattern.


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## philly

Head position can be critical as Duck pointed out in one of the earlier posts. Try this Bill, get your stance comfortable then holding your sling at low ready look at the target and move your head till you feel you are comfortable and locked in. Don't move your head as you mount and draw and keep it steady after release. With my style of vertical fork shooting I find this very important. Give it a try can't hurt. This may eliminate some of the fliers.
Philly


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## Dayhiker

I will use this technique tomorrow morning Philly.


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## Knoll




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## lightgeoduck

Ok.. I tried it again, when time wasn't so pressing... I followed the actions Dayhiker took and had did 6 shot sessions, which is most likely the most suited way of doing it,, its enough to get a general sense what your are doing and more than sufficient time to make adjustments IMO.

As you will see in the 1st try,, I was sort of all over the place, and the reason I came to find was I wasn't holding my slingshot properly. 2nd take I ensured I had a proper grip, and performed at the best of my ability.

both sessions was at ~10m

session one










Session 2: much better, but still have to work on my breathing and pause.


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## Hrawk




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## Dayhiker

I took my targets down with my morning coffee and took no warm-up shots. Using 7/16th steel at ten yards. 
Remember that my problem is that I cannot find a pattern to my crappiness.

1. First target just aiming naturally at the center of the bull. (wtf!)









2. Second target taking Philly's advice about head position. (little better but still defies analysis)









3. Third target just shooting in a relaxed comfortable way. (chaos as usual)









This is why I rarely attempt to apply scientific analysis to my shooting. The more I do the worse I shoot. The only thing that's ever improved my shooting is practice. But I seem to have hit a wall at this point.

I should add that after shooting for analysis, I shot way better and hit the can at a better than 50% average (approx., I didn't count).


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## philly

Dayhiker said:


> I took my targets down with my morning coffee and took no warm-up shots. Using 7/16th steel at ten yards.
> Remember that my problem is that I cannot find a pattern to my crappiness.
> 
> 1. First target just aiming naturally at the center of the bull. (wtf!)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 2. Second target taking Philly's advice about head position. (little better but still defies analysis)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 3. Third target just shooting in a relaxed comfortable way. (chaos as usual)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This is why I rarely attempt to apply scientific analysis to my shooting. The more I do the worse I shoot. The only thing that's ever improved my shooting is practice. But I seem to have hit a wall at this point.
> 
> I should add that after shooting for analysis, I shot way better and hit the can at a better than 50% average (approx., I didn't count).


Bill, something else to try, with the head steady, try to keep the holding hand steady after the shot, no drop or flip. Also a good release tip I picked up from someone on here is to slightly pull back as you release, seems to smooth things out. Lastly, get down to one of our Long Island shoots, we all work with each other and it has helped all of us to shoot better.
Phil


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## Dayhiker

I think that's my best bet, Philly. Too bad I work on the weekends.


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## slingshotwannabe

thanks a lot lgd.


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## stej

Please, is it possible to create the target with smaller bulls eye or with a small white circle inside? I shoot only indoors now and the target is too close. This would help..


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## Cjw

How heavy are the bands your using. Start with light target bands . Then as your fundamentals get better you can use heavier bands . Plus how much do you tilt your head. Remember your inner ear controls your balance if your heads tilted a lot your inner ear perceives your out of balance and you will have slight muscle tremors as the body is trying to correct. This I learned from doing Olympic style shooting.


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## M.J

Cjw said:


> How heavy are the bands your using. Start with light target bands . Then as your fundamentals get better you can use heavier bands . Plus how much do you tilt your head. Remember your inner ear controls your balance if your heads tilted a lot your inner ear perceives your out of balance and you will have slight muscle tremors as the body is trying to correct. This I learned from doing Olympic style shooting.


Jack Koehler put it this way in his book "Slingshot Shooting":

"You spend your whole life looking at everything with your head upright, why would you want to tilt it to shoot a slingshot?"


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## Incomudro

Excellent idea and target - printing a 1/2 dozen right now!


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## Incomudro

Hey, wait a minute...

You mean you expect me to hit that little black dot in the middle?! :rolling:


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