What's "good" off hand shooting

Back in the 1975 deer season, I missed a nice buck because I could not "work it out" for the offhand shot. I had just climbed a pretty steep hill, and the doggoned rifle just felt way to heavy.

So, I bought my self a weight set for Christmas. Aside from many other exercises, I got to where I could curl 100 pounds ten times before I got all red-faced and weird. Amazing what creating a bit of upper body strength can do! My offhand shooting definitely improved. I gained 22 pounds, to 195, but only one inch of waistline.

The drawback was, folks kept asking me to help move furniture...

As for rifle weights, I think it's less the gross weight--up to around a max of ten pounds--than it is the balance. A relatively light rifle which is slightly muzzle-heavy is easier to hold than one which balances to the rear. One way to put it, lightweight stock and medium barrel is better than dense walnut and a thin barrel.

FWIW, Art
 
I have always considered small groups from a hunting rifle, from any position, to be irrelevant except for bragging rights. If you can keep all your shots within the known size of the vital area of your smallest intended game animal at your expected normal shot distance, you have the required accuracy.

OTOH, any smaller groups attainable are a great boost to the mental conditioning which can be as, if not more important than the physical ability.

Just MHO. I've been known to be wrong, but not often. :D My off-hand groups at 100 yds appear about equal to my 25 yd 12ga. patterns. :(

And to clarify: Col. Cooper has always said if you can get closer, get closer. If you can find a rest, use it. Sound advice.
 
It is generally agreed that the kill zone of the whitetail is 12". So why not strive to keep your groups below that size?
In general my groups are pie plate size at 100 yds, no slings or rest, no scope. On a good day (I know when to stop shooting) I have pulled off 3" 5 shot groups with a scope.
 
I try to "wobble" on purpose. I've found it easier to keep the group size down if I swing the rifle slowly from one side of the target to the other, and fire when the crosshairs pass the same point. On a good day, I can get a 1" group at 25 yds. (I'm a squirrel hunter, no rifles for deer here.) On a normal day, they're more like 2". Bad days I try not to think about too much.
Eric
 
"Offhand" is different from "standing" and a sling is of no value offhand, as it is a completely unsupported position. Offhand is justified only for quick shots.

Standing uses the offside hip to support the elbow and so benefits from a sling.

I like the "max effective range" idea, tailoring my MER to weapon, caliber, quarry etc. Big-game with a scoped .308 in rested field position with sling I can keep 9 of 10 inside 5-6" at 200 yds so thats my MER for those conditions. Squirrel hunting offhand with a .22 revolver my MER is about 10 yds for a 1" target (headshots); with a scoped 10/22T from a sitting position with a sling my MER is about 75 yds for squirrels.

This is just a long-winded version of Art's "range at which you can hit a beer can" method.

Still trying to improve on my offhand with the .308, currently no barn door is safe inside of 50 yds ! Trigger control is paramount shooting offhand.

-ric
 
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