Steve - we've spoken about those 'voices in your head' before
Shooting -
Things vary from course location to location. Usually we do the shoot test one on one, but if the centre works well then the effort is made to foster a spirit of all candidates being on the same team and bolstering each other.
After years of doing this, I can honestly say that the best shooting performers tend to be those that never shot before the course and trust the advice from the instructor at the practise session.
If using the centre's rifle then the stress should be more on them - to provide you with a good tool for the job - and everyone in trade that I know takes that obligation seriously.
If you have a rifle but no easy way to use it, then ( with proper thought to safety and neighbours etc ) never under estimate the value of dry firing; or even just practising the various positions.
Everyone is different, but the most common pointers are -
Prone - ( assuming on rucksack or bipod ) place non trigger hand at the toe of the stock and get a good comfy arm position - rather than have the hand forward of the trigger on the stock. With a bit of practice with arm position you can really lock in a solid hold. Occassionally a bit of pipe insulation over the sling at the rear swivel - about 6" worth can help - as by grabbing this it acts like a rear 'sniper sock'.
Sitting/ Kneeling - the lower you are the better. Sitting tends to ace kneeling. If your bipod allows or you use sticks the front of the rifle is taken care of. Wobble comes from the shoulder/stock side of the equation. If you can get the elbow on that side ( ie right for r/h shooters ) in contact with something - knee, thigh etc - even lightly - stability really improves.
Standing - if you can use sticks and use quad sticks at that. If not, dont over linger. We are all conditioned these days to rock steady prone/rested sight pictures. The swaying and wobbly free hand hold can come as quite a shock and the more you fight to get it rock steady still the worse it gets.
Just remember you are trying to hit an area not a pin point. Dont fight movement - direct it. Bring your sight picture down from above or up from below steadily. I think the best is from below as the natural check as you press the trigger helps things - but try what works best for you. As the cross hairs reach the desired target area press the trigger.
Safety Walk through -
Seasons are not tested as part of this. The shoot/no shoot cut outs can be male or female - the Assessor as part of their standard chat should highlight it is the situation you are assessing not the sex etc. The critical thing is identify the safety ( or otherwise of the shot ) - there's no marks deducted for mentioning seasons etc if you wish though!
It is the safety test that benefits most if you have been out already - in which case you can visualise things and just talk through that mental image as you replay it. This tends to be much easier to recall than simply learning lists etc. The Assessment form allows comments by the Assessor and as standard I make note of whether the candidate was speaking from the 'heart ' or 'mind'.
Deer ID
The most common issue with the ID pictures is leaping in. You glimpse the animal and decide what it is. Human nature kicks in and you then spend time trying to validate your first opinion. Try to pace yourself and look at the key areas - form an opinion rather than jump to one. Once you got that in the bag then by all means look at the wider animal and not least the setting - not many CWD's on a bleak heather /snow swept hillside etc.
Steve really did hit the nail - no, not voices
- relax and enjoy!
