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That is SO TRUE!  I play golf once every ten to 15 years.  In the in-between I shot M14's on the Division team for 6 years.  I was amazed at the next occurance of golf - locking in a stance was just the same as in shooting!

Still shooting in the high 90's though (9 holes).

boats, i also golf andf flyfish and if you approach your shooting the way a golfer approaches golf , one of the things you'll hear a swing coach tell you is "TRUST YOUR SWING"!!! this is where that whole confidence issue comes into play.flycasting requires coordination brought about by repetition of motion.once mastered it's kind of like riding a bicycle. when i shoot, i try to put myself on "auto pilot" and let the muscle memory and mental part "click"....unfortunately, sometimes it "clicks" better than others........usually predicated by if i bothered to shoot for 10 or 15 minutes a day for about a week prior to the match with my .22 or air rifle......thanks...blue

Love all the post as usual..I aint knocking anyone's advice or ideas..But when shooting black powder rifles off hand,one doesn't have the advantage of a straight jacket to aid in his body being more ridged,etc..I am a very poor off hand shooter and will admit to it..I can't seem to get it together.Seems like I am always yanking the darn trigger at the wrong time.
Another thing I think is important with black powder is the lock time and time the bullet is in the barrel, So when I fire of the shot,I NEED to know how much follow through is need before coming off the target..So much to remember and so little time left to do it in..Practice is the key thing here..So I guess I better get out there...Jr

There are NO born or natural off-hand shooters! Anyone whom has been able to shoot winning scores, whether from the past century or the present one, is an individual that has had #1 the DESIRE to excel at shooting standing and #2 the tenacity of the proverbial bulldog to put in the time to attain their intended goal! Few...are willing to do this! In America today there is a mindset of..."I want this RIGHT NOW!" Well...if that's your attitude toward wanting to shoot good offhand scores....you may as well quit and take up bowling, tiddley-winks, knife/hatchet throwing...or take up playing 5 stud poker because then....you can depend upon luck to help you! There is NO LUCK in obtaining consistently good or great offhand scores however! Great scores come from dedication, tenacity, and devotion to a well laid plan of attack to attain the intended goal!

Why is repetition so important toward developing into a great offhand shooter? Basically...because it's a MENTAL GAME! When the eye observes what appears to be a perfect sight picture....there is an electrical circuit that is transmitted from the eye (along a neural highway) to an area at the rear of the shooters brain that we'll refer to as the VIC aka Visual Identification Center! At this time there is a neural impulse that is transmitted to the upper portion of the shooters brain, along another neural highway, that is "targeted" for a particular set of motor cells that control nerves and muscles which are responsible for the timely movement of your trigger finger! The only problem is....when the neural impulse is sent along the highway coming from the VIC up toward the correct set of motor cells that we want to get to..(the ones that control our trigger finger)..the "signal" gets robbed by billions of other motor cells that are awaiting in the same area and rather than our trigger finger being flexed....a signal (which is weak) gets sent to another area such as the thumb which tightens up...or maybe a shoulder muscle twitches!! The GOOD NEWS is.....that with constant training/repitition in shooting standing/offhand....the neural impulse sent from the VIC becomes STRONGER & STRONGER over time so it won't be "kidnapped" by those other billions of motor nerve cells and this is why constant training is necessary! What the shooter is attempting to do in shooting offhand is similar to thinking of TWO DIFFERNT THINGS at the same time aka paying attention to their HOLD on the target and obtaining a timely trigger release! This is particularly true of new shooters and this is the reason for the "yank" on the trigger; they're trying to grab a shot! And this is the reason (trying to think about two different things at the same time) why it seems to the shooter that it's so difficult to obtain trigger release at the proper time! Don't think so? Well....try this little test: Sit in a straight-backed chair upright and pick your right foot up off the floor and start rotating it in a clockwise motion. While your foot is moving clockwise.....with your right hand and index finger....draw the figure 6 in the air out in front of you and see what takes place! Now...you get the idea!! So what must the offhand shooters goal be? Simply this: When the shooters eye observes perfect sight picture....the trigger finger "works" automatically (auto reflex development) without having to be thought of!! All GREAT SHOOTERS of standing/offhand had or have developed this learned process through constant training and dedication to their intended goal!!

Are you willing to pay the price??