proper technique for shooting a pistol rested.

Been workin on my revolver loads..and Ive seen the gun do under 1'' at 25yds ....but my results are inconsistent...either my groups move around or the groups gets blowed open without changeing a thing....Ive been useing the range's MTM rest it has a adjustable pad to get your gun on target and a base pad .....Ive been laying the barrel of my revolver on the upper pad and the bottum of the grip on the base....should I be letting the bottum of the grip touch the rest? I think this may be why I'm inconsistent results....What is the proper why of resting a pistol for sight in and load development ? I wish I had a ransom but gotta make do with what I have. any help is alaways very appreciated. for example ....today I shot 2 groups both where under 1'' but the 2nd group was 1'' lower and to the right ....then I shot another group same load and the group was blowed open .....the load was 148gr HBWC 2.8 BE ......then I shot some with 2.7 WST , a few groups where nice then they blew open....I dont think I'm useing a good technigue for resting the gun... to much inconsistence...Ive seen the gun do under 1'' with remington factory loads and my BE loads so I think its the way I'm shooting that is giveing me trouble...I plan to get some sand bags of my own .....but I still need to know the correct way of resting the pistol for this purpose.

No part of the gun should be resting as I learned it. Use the bags to rest your wrists with a strong grip and follow through.

Shooting from a rest requires you do everything the same each time. The pistol has to be on the rest in the same place. You have to hold it the same way. meaning hand placement and grip pressure. I had to look up the MTM rest. It looks like it is designed for the grip to rest on it. If the grip does not rest even then you will have problems. It seems if you have tight groups generally and they move around that it is your bench technique rather than load or pistol. If you ever shoot over a bag be mindful of the gasses from in front of the cylinder. I have seen them cut a bag open easily.

I agree with Jerry. Rest your arm or hand - not the gun.

+1 ... get seated at a comfortable height bench with the bag(s) positioned under the wrist such that you can still freely pivot your hands up-down without the wrists lifting. In that position the gun's butt should be just in front of the bags.
/B

I spent a lot of time and powder trying to find a good load for a gun and blaming poor results on some part of the load; until I quit trying to shoot sitting down off of bags. I went to a sort of "supported" standing position with wrist resting on a bag, standing up and the bag of course on a sturdy bench that is now on top of the shooting bench. It is exactly like my standing position but with the wrist supported to shrink groups and achieve usable data. I even stay with ten shot groups. I do this because even the act of sitting afected consistency. Now my load testing gives larger groups of course but amazingly consistent results.

I can shoot better offhand than rested for the most part. Only way I've had good success is with the Elmer Keith method. Edit: standing supported seems to work good too.

Thx for the reply guys ....Ive seen the gun do under 1'' at 25yds one group ...then the next is all over the place.....I'm at the point now that I know the gun is good I'm just gonna go with a known load and practice....(2.8 BE or 2.7 WST) ...last session I was able to put 4rds into the 9-10 ring at 50ft only to throw the last rd out ....as far as rested goes I was doin it all wrong the butt and the barrel where on the rest which resulted in a mess...

Try marking each cahmber in the cylinder and then shoot groups only using the same chamber and see if some chambers are consistant and others are not.

Until you really understand sight alignment and trigger control, and then can be consistent about them and gripping, your rested groups will vary.

Jerry Goldfarb wrote:Try marking each cylinder and then shoot groups only using the same cylinder and see if some cylinders are consistant and others are not.

You mean each chamber in the cylinder?

I only suggested the gun on the rest because it looks like it is designed that way. I actually use a heavy tripod adjusted to a standing height with a bag on it and rest my arm on it. It is also easier to deal with at an indoor range that way.

Just like offhand, there is a hand/arm rest setup that will work best for you. And it still takes perfect grip, trigger and sighting.

Jack H wrote:Just like offhand, there is a hand/arm rest setup that will work best for you. And it still takes perfect grip, trigger and sighting.

aint that the truth

Come to think about it, looking back at past great groups off the arm rest, there is another factor. A clean mind (you know what I mean) was always present on the rare occasions I got a fantastic group. Like 50 yd 1/2" with the 41 arm rested. One time, with 900B, then you try to do it again, but your mind is different now. Even offhand, when I get a great string, I can review and recognize having had a clean mind.

You think "relaxed mind" might describe this?

Us dirty minded old guys got a problem.

Jack H wrote:Come to think about it, looking back at past great groups off the arm rest, there is another factor. A clean mind (you know what I mean) was always present on the rare occasions I got a fantastic group. Like 50 yd 1/2" with the 41 arm rested. One time, with 900B, then you try to do it again, but your mind is different now. Even offhand, when I get a great string, I can review and recognize having had a clean mind.

You think "relaxed mind" might describe this?

Us dirty minded old guys got a problem.

I think I can relate to what you are saying Jack .....my best targets rested or off hand have always happened when I was relaxed and not trying so hard , almost at the point of not really even trying to shoot well....the first timed target I ever cleaned happened that way......But most of the time I try to hard to shot well ....