Author Topic: How to become a better shot (Read 1810 times)

summit · « **on:** May 25, 2008, 06:03:50 PM »

It's hard to admit, but I'm not the world's best shot. I'm not the worst, either. Thing is, I'd like to get a lot better. I know a key to improvement is practice, but are there any secret rifle techniques to help you shoot better from field positions?

Sweet 6.5 · « **Reply #1 on:** May 25, 2008, 06:58:07 PM »

Hi

Practice - shoot alot with a rifle that doesn't scare you. You need to
concentrate on the target and the trigger, you don't have time to
worry about the recoil.
It is like most things, the more you practice the luckier you get!

Cheers
Sweet

nilescoyote · « **Reply #2 on:** May 26, 2008, 12:46:13 AM »

If you are going to use optics invest in good ones. Repeatable adjustments, solid tracking, stability, quality of glass and its coatings do not come cheep. But they let you find your target and zero easier and adjustment stay put. Ive seen first hand where replacing low/value priced scopes have turned a rifle struggling to maintain 1" groups into a 1/2" dependable grouping rifle.

As for positional shooting, dry fire practice as often as possible in the positions you would shoot from in the field or on the firing line. Practice your breathing and trigger control while remembering your consistent cheek weld. Shooting is a game of consistency, consistently doing the same thing again and again. Dry fire practice is great for this as you do not have to spend vast sums of money on ammo while developing muscle memory.

flintlock · « **Reply #3 on:** May 26, 2008, 01:57:25 AM »

Get you a .22, scope it and learn to squirrel hunt, head shots only...Or buy you a .223, scope it and ground hog hunt...

Once you get a rifle sighted in, get away from the bench and go hunting, that's the best way to learn to take a rest in the field...

victorcharlie · « **Reply #4 on:** May 26, 2008, 03:37:52 AM »

I think one of the best ways to practice off hand shooting is to bounce tin cans down a dusty trail with a .22 rifle.

summit · « **Reply #5 on:** May 26, 2008, 07:14:09 PM »

Here's a stupid question: Do I shoot when I've let a breath completely out or as I'm releasing it?

nilescoyote · « **Reply #6 on:** May 26, 2008, 07:38:57 PM »

Many prefer to exhale half a breathing, hold and then fire. Truth is you just need to find out what works best for you.

corbanzo · « **Reply #7 on:** May 26, 2008, 09:36:40 PM »

I was always taught that you take a breath, let it half out, then hold it.

I don't do that. I breath while I take my shots, full in, and then shoot on the exhale, I breath with my stomach, not my chest, so it doesn't move my aim. If I try and do that hold the breath thing, it makes me a little more unstable. You just have to try it and see what works best for you.

Rangr44 · « **Reply #8 on:** May 27, 2008, 02:38:50 AM »

Improve your technique with a .22 rifle (it's cheaper) - and stay away from any high-tech scopes, etc.
Those can come later, with more experience/training.

In fact, if you have a .22 with iron sights, it will serve you best for training yourself.

Start shooting at large cardboard squares, fairly close - say, 25 yards away.
Practice on those, using a different position (sitting/standing/kneeling) on each target - until your groups are consistantly smaller.
Don't shoot so much at any one session, that you start to lose concentration and/or fine muscle control. Quality is more desireable at this point than quantity.

Repeat, at a longer distance and/or with a target that's half the size of the first.

Stay with that regimen, until you see some improvement, then make it slightly harder for yourself - until you get to a point of diminishing returns, which we all hit, although at different levels.

summit · « **Reply #9 on:** May 27, 2008, 05:39:24 AM »

When I was in high school I'd go rabbit hunting 2 or 3 times a week using my iron-sighted .22. I'm a lot better with that than a scoped rifle.

jmayton · « **Reply #10 on:** May 27, 2008, 05:53:04 AM »

If you can get to the range a lot, do it. Shoot from as many different positions as possible. Shoot as many different rifles as possible. I wasn't real good with a rifle and spent a year shooting various positions with a open sight .22 and a peep sight M1 carbine. Both helped me get a deer that year. I left the blind and was out walking, and shot him off-hand at 85yds with my scoped 30-06. Put it right where I wanted it.

If you can't get to the range, dry-fire exercises are great. Better with scoped rifles. Pick a small aim point, the get to where you can fire without moving your point of aim. This is a great way to determine what breathing method, hand position, and trigger hold work best for you. Work for consistency. Get to where you can bring the rifle up as you take a breath, hold, then fire and keep the crosshairs on target. What you do after you pull the trigger is as important as what you do before.

LHitchcox · « **Reply #11 on:** May 28, 2008, 04:22:16 AM »

Most folks who have problems with shooting either have not developed the proper form or are flinching- either from noise or recoil. As has been stated, get a .22 and a brick of bulk ammo. Use hearing protection- I am amazed that more people seem to flinch from noise than from recoil. Since a .22 will not have any recoil, you will be able to concentrate on form.

Leon

Freezer · « **Reply #12 on:** May 28, 2008, 05:22:08 AM »

I'm in with the .22 also but if your like me living in a city a BB gun makes allot of sense. You can even pratice in the garage

1) Let half my air out then squeeze the trigger.
2) Squeeze, don't jerk.
3) Use only the tip end of your finger on the trigger.
4) If your long distance shooting listen to your heart beat. My son is a distance shooter and consistently out shoots me. He'll listen
to the lub-dub of his heart and shoots on the Dub(resting position of the heart) but this is only practical for long distance or
bench shooting.

In my scout troop I was the only avid shooter/hunter. One way I used to demonstrate the importance of trigger control was with a long stick or pencil. I would have the scout hold it tight in his fist with his arm straight out and stiff. This is an imaginary trigger. Then I would lock my fingers into his and jerk the trigger back. A shock wave went up their arm. I would repeat the exercise squeezing the trigger. The effect is dramatic. Like wise I repeated the same steps using the knuckle of my finger and the end of my finger. Using the knuckle the stick would pull to the right while using the tip would bring the stick straight back from the center of his arm. A right handed shooter who has poor trigger technique will almost always pull their shot high right.

charles p · « **Reply #13 on:** May 28, 2008, 02:34:22 PM »

I was once a Coast Guard officer is it amazed me how much easier it was to teach a female to shoot than the typical male. Most enlisted men had handled a firearm at some point in their lives and already had some bad habits. That was not the case with the females. The girls listened and did exactly what they were instructed to do (within their capabilities - some were very recoil shy). The fellows didn't listen very well. We probably had a much higher percentage of expert rifle and pistol shooters among our female trainees.

beemanbeme · « **Reply #14 on:** May 29, 2008, 06:16:12 PM »

dry firing and lots of it is one of the best practices you can do to improve your marksmanship. Few men will voluntarily endure the drudgery and disclipline needed to do it however. They want the excitement of firing a live round which distracts them from trigger, eye, and breath control. Each person can learn to overcome some interesting distractions but if you are breathing your body is moving. Thus your sights are moving. I was taught to draw in a normal breath, let half of it out, and squeeze the trigger. If it becomes uncomfortably long to get the shot off, take your finger off the trigger, and breath in and out an time or two and start over. Do not tough the trigger until you are ready to begin your trigger pull.

A crisp, consistant trigger pull is important to accuracy. And the best optics YOU CAN AFFORD will help too. But you cannot buy your way into the winners circle so to speak. It still takes practice, practice, practice.

When you first sit down at the bench for live fire, take a moment to practice a few rounds of dry firing. You want your sights to remain rock steady when the trigger breaks. If the sights move when the trigger breaks when you are dry firing, it is moving when you are live firing.

kevthebassman · « **Reply #15 on:** May 29, 2008, 06:21:44 PM »

I would say stay away from the bench. Get good with a .22 offhand. If you're going to hunt with open sights, use open sights. If you're going to hunt with a scope, use a scope.

RaySendero · « **Reply #16 on:** May 30, 2008, 03:33:44 PM »

Quote from: summit on May 25, 2008, 06:03:50 PM

It's hard to admit, but I'm not the world's best shot. I'm not the worst, either. Thing is, I'd like to get a lot better. I know a key to improvement is practice, but are there any secret rifle techniques to help you shoot better from field positions?

Look around for some rifle matches in your area. Compete! You'll learn from the other competitors!

burntmuch · « **Reply #17 on:** May 30, 2008, 05:38:07 PM »

Dont try to muscle in your shots. Be comfortable behind the gun dont shoot in an awkward position. As soon as you pull the trigger your body will relax. that will effect your shot. I was tought to applie pressure to the trigger at the end of your exhale. If your comfortable. there will be a natural pause.. Something I do is get into the scope & watch my cross hairs move up &down with my breathng. If their not moving straight up & down , I reajust my position. With me the crosshairs move up the target as I exhale. So when I shoot off hand. I start low & bring my cross hairs up to the target I pull the trigger as the crosshairs approach the bullseye.

Last week I took a buddy to the range, he never fired a gun before that day. Hes been wanting to get into shooting. So the only guns I had ammo loaded for was my 35 whelen. Not the gun to learn on ,I know. I explained to him how I shoot, He dry fired 5 or 6 times. Then shot. His first 3 were in a 3 inch group. After that his groups opened up. Im letting him shoot my 22 next time. If the guns got any kind of recoil at all , Im only good for 12/ 14 shots. Anything past that Im wasting my time. Good luck & have fun. Thats the point of it all . & if the best you can do is a 3 inch group at 100 yards, You re probaly more prepared for hunting than alot of guys

Tom W. · « **Reply #18 on:** May 30, 2008, 06:14:30 PM »

If you are shooting from a bench and have a rest like "The Rock" that Midway sells make sure that you don't put your front swivel stud on the rest. Let it be beyond the rest. The closer it is to the rest, the worse your groups will get....And don't ever rest your plain barel. Always rest on the forearm, and use a decent bag for your rear bag.

lilabner · « **Reply #19 on:** May 31, 2008, 01:04:23 PM »

What worked for me was buying an inexpensive (but accurate) air rifle - a Daisy 853 - and practicing with it. I could shoot it in our fenced back yard, and I could shoot it in the garage. I wanted to improve my shooting from standing position, and a good pellet gun shot daily - upwards to 50 shots (if you are in the mood to concentrate on each shot) can do the job. Breathing, trigger control, stance, hold - it is all transferable to shooting firearms. The daily practice can get you where you want to be much more quickly than a weekly trip to the range. Also, it costs less than shooting a rimfire.

Sitting Duck · « **Reply #20 on:** June 03, 2008, 10:16:06 AM »

A lot of good advice here. Additionally, right or wrong, I was taught in the service to exhale half a breath hold and squeeze of the round. Another point of interest is that the same Drill Instructor said that every shot should come as a surprise when squeezing the trigger. This, I assume, was geared to eliminating jerking of the trigger.

To this day, I'm still surprised when that puppy goes off and I'm still surprised at the results. Usually, pretty good.

I like surprises.

kevthebassman · « **Reply #21 on:** June 03, 2008, 02:04:02 PM »

Your DI knew what he was talking about.

beemanbeme · « **Reply #22 on:** June 04, 2008, 04:50:56 AM »

Yes, I've heard that and it may be good advice for a beginner to help avoid flinching but I want to know exactly when that trigger is going to break. That's also why I suggest a little dry firing snapping-in before each firing session to get yourself mentally attuned to that rifle and that trigger. Even though my hunting rifles have about the same weight trigger pull, each is slightly different. While it makes little difference in the field, we're talking about being able to shoot small groups in paper.
No one can hold a rifle in a rididly fixed position. Even with the best set up the sights are gonna wonder. Knowing when the trigger breaks allows you to hold what you've got when the sights wonder off and continue your squeeze when they come back online. This may make little difference when shooting at a 8" kill zone but it can be the difference between a .25" group and a 1.25" group.

slim rem 7 · « **Reply #23 on:** June 16, 2008, 05:09:45 PM »

the first thing id do is get an 22 and scope combo that is good enough to
allow you to shoot well, as your skill developes..then just practice and let it come to you..

Mikey · « **Reply #24 on:** June 17, 2008, 01:38:50 AM »

Adjust your body position (direction facing the target), grip and sight picture so that when you exhale you have a perfect sight picture (on target) and a relaxed yet firm stance. This is good for 3 seconds only, then you have to breathe again or you start wobbling and shakin' all over.

If you shoot when you are exhaling your body is still moving and it might throw your shot. I don't know if you target shoot, as with a shooting jacket and the like or if you just shoot from a bench (like many of us do now) but you want to wait until you are finished exhaling, but don't wait longer than 3 seconds before either pulling the trigger or inhaling again.

Always use the rifle you intend to hunt with as it helps with familiarizing yourself with its operation and feel. If possible, try and obtain a sub-caliber device for practice - this is a chamber adapter that will allow the use of some pistol cartridges in some rifles, such as a 32 acp from a 30-06, 308 or other 30 caliber bore. Or, if you reload try some light loads just to keep you familiar with how the rifle functions.

I am a great believer of practicing whith what you are going to hunt with, in both the same caliber and power levels but I also have my shooting techniques fairly well developed and that has helped me previously. HTH. Mikey.

SDS-GEN · « **Reply #25 on:** June 17, 2008, 04:59:12 AM »

I'll add to the good advise that others have written. Learn to use a sling to support your rifle when you shoot from field positions without a rest. Even better use a rest whenever possible. A field rest can be anything found in the field to help support a rifle. I've used trees, fenceposts, packpacks, bushes, rocks, logs, even my fist under the forearm in terrain with no cover. The key is, like many others have said, practice using the sling and improvised rests.

slim rem 7 · « **Reply #26 on:** June 17, 2008, 10:25:15 AM »

im thinking all but the well off gonna be hunting with 22 anyway in a few years..
just hide your bicycle in some bushes and go get supper with your 22..
to be honest i long ago started stock piling my 06 and 30 30 ammo.. but
who knows might have to use it up pretty quick..hope not tho..
this day an time it could all get stole by desparate thieves ..they would of course take all my ammo also..imagine what that stuff would be worth on the black market,when the time comes..by the way since thieves read also..you gotta get by black jack
and you still very cold if you broke in my house looking for a payday..the only thing here is a 22. and old worn our 20 gage.. the latter being the main reason you might be in the wrong place at the wrong time..

but black jack will take you dn .. cut all you want, but hes pit and will still be shaking his holt out when he breathes his last[or you do]

Sitting Duck · « **Reply #27 on:** June 18, 2008, 01:08:43 PM »

Slim Rem 7: What kind of language is that? I know it isn't urbonics.... Maybe GBOnics?

Just having fun.

slim rem 7 · « **Reply #28 on:** June 18, 2008, 04:32:54 PM »

not urbonics for sure .. not for this country boy..if i had to live in an city ,id just as soon they put dn now and no embalming fluid either..i ll never understand the reason we don t jus let our remains fertilize a nice flower as god intended . dust to dust .. now thats just my opinion.. if you gonna honor you mamma or daddy or something like that ..do it while they alive...dont want my kids puttin me in no 10.000 box and
hole in the grnd..that don t honor me any .. im gone ..thats just the dust i was made out of still holdin my shape..leave my carcas alone plant something pretty over it..slim

IOWA DON · « **Reply #29 on:** June 19, 2008, 04:26:47 AM »

The owner's manual for the .20 cal Sheridan pellet rifle I got when around 12 or 13 had a lot of good instruction for marksmanship. I think it talked about taking a couple deep breaths and exhaling half a breath and practicing trigger control. I got to be a fair shot with it but I don't think it was all the practice I got. The Sheridan rifle was a little muzzle heavy, had a light trigger, and did not make a lot of noise. It was easy to shoot it well. I still much prefer muzzle-heavy rifles and need a good, light trigger. I think lots of practice with a hard recoiling rifle without ear protection is counterproductive as that is a good way to develope a flinch. I shoot deer at long range with a .338-.378 Weatherby (without a recoil brake) but I don't practice with it. My practice is with a 7X57, rimfire rifle and air rifles. Most of my practice is with air rifles shooting pest birds in my backyard. Yesterday I got 3 pest birds and that is fairly typical for most of the year, so I am never really out of practice. Also, I think shooting a few shots every day is a lot better than shooting 100 shots once per month. Once one gets tired out, practice is less effective. And, if shooting with open sights, shoot with both eyes open. And use a scope of low power for offhand shooting. High magnification just magnifies your wiggles and makes trigger control more difficult. Finally, use the steadiest position possible when shooting at game, practice range estimation, and know exactly the trajectory of your rifle.