[NH_Plinker]

I just got into target shooting about a month ago. I rented a Ruger Mark I from a local indoor range and liked it enough to go out and get a new Mark III Hunter. I've been out to the range three times now and shot about 600-700 rounds total and want to know how to improve my markmanship. I read up on some reviews on the Mark III before I purchased it and the reviewers were claiming/bragging they to do 1.5" groups at 25 yards. That's gotta be with their arm on a rest and with a scope right? I'm currently shooting more like 9.5" groups at 25 yards and wondering if I'm comparing apples to apples.

Here's my grouping from today. Indoor range, two hand standing position. Putting through at least 20 rounds a target and measuring distance furthest distance between two shots.

5 yards = 2.5"
10 yards = 4.75"
15 yards = 6.5"
25 yards = 9.5"

So, is this good for a beginner? What kinda of groupings would someone at a competition level be shooting?

I do notice that I have a tendency to shot a little high so I plan to adjust my sights the next time out.
Also I may want to swap out the Hi-Viz light-pipes sights for 3 dot iron sights
at least for indoor shooting. The range I'm at doesn't have the best lighting and the high viz sight seems to be more at place outdoors in the daytime. For ammo I've been using a mix of winchester, federal and remington ammo and some pricier CCI mini-mags so I know what ammo my guns likes. Had three jams with the cheap remington and winchester ammo. Flawless with the CCI and Federals
If anyone has more advice on how to become more accurate I'd like to here it.

[SilverRun]

Well, I guess that is not that bad groups for a beginner with those cruddy fiber optic sights. But the Mark III Hunter will do much better than that. I can hit golf balls at 50 yards with mine. Now that is scoped and rested - basically takes the human error (Me) out of the picture. An adverage shooter would be about shooting groups about half the size of yours. A competition shooter would have one ragged hole out to at least 15 yards - maybe further. You have a very nice pistol - keep practicing and you will notice your groups shrinking - by the way you are on the right track replacing those sights. If I had not put a scope on mine, I would have replaced the sights ASAP. You may very well cut those groups in half by getting ride of those crappy fiber-optic sights they stick on there. In my opinion, those are to sell guns, not to shoot them - they suck. Did I mention that I really didn't like those sights?

By the way - Welcome to G&G!

[ArkansasHunter]

1st decide on the best ammo of all you've shot, and stay with that one. Sometimes if the same ammo has a different lot number it may pattern differently.

If your not happy with the sights then change them, But it's time to clean your barrel so do that too and your good to go. Do expect your new barrel to break in over time and shoot better groups...A.H

[lefty o]

thats acceptable from a newbie. when you go shooting, at least for a while slow down and concentrate on nothing but accuracy. burning up lots of ammo will only accomplish 1 thing- burning lots of ammo with limited improvements. work on slow fire accuracy, nice slow controlled trigger pull, and work on controling your breathing.

[Full MeTal Jack]

Welcome newbie plinker. Here is a thread we dicussed accuracy a little.
http://www.gunandgame.com/forums/gen...ccuracy-4.html
Check it out.
FMJ
If your on a bench rest, for god's sake keep your left hand/arm off the rifle(providing your rthanded).
What is your sight picture? Are you shooting a "full tire" a "flat tire" or "half tire" this is what your front sight looks like when aiming.
Is your ammo all the same?
Focus on the front sight. Don't worry about the target, it'll be a blur anyway.
Flinching???
Have someone help you with this. Have a bud load several rounds single fired or does the magazine have a last round hold-the-bolt-open? If it closes after last shot, have someone load several rounds but keep the number of rounds hidden from you. You'll fire and if your on the missing round your shooting buddy can watch to see if you flinch.
Sorry for being wordy, it's bedtime .

Newb, is all your shooting off hand? That is, from standing position? ie: indoor range. The indoor ranges I've seen are all pistol type and no benches.
Check CMP Home under coaching tips.
Coaching Tips and Ideas
Check out "Principles of Marksmanship"
check-n-c

let us know how the progress is comming.
If you find a liking for competitive shooting, gooogle it. there are small bore competitions around.
If you like that, there is high-power competitions. 200, 300 and 600 yards followed by 1000 yard long range competions.
First things first: Have fun and be safe
The Full MeTal

[NH_Plinker]

Thanks for the tips. Got back out to the range today and put some of them to use. Didn't measure my groupings but they were noticeably better than the last time out. I'm waiting to hear back from Ruger about ordering traditional iron sights. However I did switch the Hi-Viz light pipes from red to green at the range and it made a big difference under the poor indoor lighting conditions.

I'll likely stick with CCI mini-mags (36 grain high velocity HP) for ammo. I'm not noticing a marked improvement in accuracy but the remmington and winchesters rounds sure do dirty up the gun a lot quicker.

[dave375hh]

So you want to know how a competitive shooter shoots? My friend is a Capt. in the Boarder Patrol. He shoots on their pistol teams(PPC, IPSC, & Bullseye) The BP Rifle team, and on the USMC Reserve rifle team. I have seen him shoot 1"-1.25" groups off hand at 25yds in 3-5 seconds with his Nastof .45acp.

He was reciently promoted in grade to the new BP academy in New Mexico as a Firearm inst/armorer. Anyone who spends 8 years in Laredo deserves a reward.

[Full MeTal Jack]

Hey Dave, ask your buddy if he knows John Pool from Texas Border Patrol. John is the guy to beat.

Plinker, keep up the shooting. I can't hit a barn door with a pistol myself. No practice.