“The truth is that any good modern rifle is good enough. The determining factor is the man behind the gun” said Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States.
This saying really shoots the point of owning a rifle. How?
You can spend hours researching for the perfect rifle, buy the one with the best features, and that still doesn’t mean you`ll know how to use it properly.
The equipment and specifications of the gun are important factors, but for the complete shooting or hunting experience, your shooting skills are equally important. If you keep missing shots, you can get frustrated.
To avoid that, keep reading, and discover shooting tricks for improving your shooting experience.
What you will learn:
- Rifle shooting positions
- Ways to become a more accurate rifle shooter
Rifle Shooting Positions
1. Standing
This position requires support and muscle strength, so it’s not as easy as it seems. It provides you with the greatest visibility of the target but is least effective for long distances, and it’s better for short-range shots.
What is the correct standing position?
First, you should stand with your feet roughly shoulder-width apart.
If you are right-handed, the left hand should hold the forestock of the rifle and the elbow should point down. The right hand should hold a grip, and the elbow should be pointed out but not too much. The butt of the rifle should be leaning back on your shoulder.
If you are left-handed, it’s inversely.
2. Kneeling
If you want to take this position correctly, you must stick to the following rules.
The rear knee should be placed on the ground, and the other leg should support the elbow of the forward arm.
Avoid wobbling by placing an elbow on the muscle, not on your bone.
3. Sitting
This is a good position because both arms are supported but avoid elbow-to-knee contact. It’s best to sit with your legs crossed.
Many hunters use this position while aiming at their target when hidden behind a tree.
4. Prone
Prone positions are the most stable positions for long-range shots. The flaw is that you can be distracted by dense vegetation.
For a great field shot, get down on your stomach, plant your left elbow, put the gunstock against your cheek, and plant the other elbow on the ground.
It’s wise to use the elbow of the non-dominant hand as a fixed brace in this position, so your dominant hand remains free to shoot.
Ways To Become A More Accurate Rifle Shooter
1. Find Your Shooting Position
Practice different shooting positions to find what works best and is comfortable for you.
For instance, the seating position may be most comfortable for some people, but uncomfortable for you because of bad hips.
If you are right-handed, your right hand should be a fire hand, but eye dominance is also an important factor. Why?
When you fire from a shoulder-fired weapon, you line up on the side of the dominant eye.
This is valid even for “cross-dominant” shooters—people who can fire from both hands left or right, but are dominant in the opposite eye.
2. Aim Your Rifle At The Target
When you find the right position, the next step is to orient yourself in the general direction of the target with a relaxed body and your rifle in your hands.
This is called the “natural point of aim,” and it’s part of proper shooting technique.
If you have to expend an effort to twist your body around even slightly to get sight directly on the target, you need to reposition yourself.
Remember, your muscles must be relaxed, and you must be maximally comfortable when you aim your rifle at the target.
3. Align The Rifle Sight
Your eye must be at the proper distance from the scope, far enough to avoid recoil, and properly aligned, so you don’t see any shadows in the scope`s vision.
Make sure your scope is properly sighted before you fire, and that the rifle’s front sight post is matte and blackened, not reflective.
4. Master Your Rifle Sight
Focus your eye on the front sight post. How?
By focusing on the bead, not the target. If you are in the proper position and you have already aligned the sight, your target should be in the aperture. The target may appear blurry to you, but focusing on the bead ensures proper sight alignment, which leads to a more accurate shot.
5. Learn To Breathe Properly
While practicing, you will notice how your breath affects your shooting skills. It is important to breathe fully and naturally. If you hold your breath, you will feel discomfort, which leads to inaccurate shots.
How to breathe?
It is important to catch the right moment. How? You need to empty your lungs of air, but before it becomes unpleasant for you, and needs to take a new breath.
This may only be a second, but it is the perfect second for a shoot.
6. Pull The Trigger
Although you think that you have done the previous steps perfectly and that pulling the trigger is the easiest part, that is not so.
All of that can be undone if you pull the trigger, like pulling a gear. Simply apply slow, steady pressure on the trigger until the gun fires. Relax and practice; it will pay off in the end.
Conclusion
From all of this, we can see why shooting is such an appreciated skill. There are many factors and personal skills that a good shooter must balance.
In addition, a good shooter must know the features of a rifle, such as the size, caliber, and type of ammunition for that specific rifle. As for ammunition, shooters highly recommend Natchez shotgun ammunition.
We hope our article helped you improve your accuracy when shooting. If you apply these rules and practice regularly, over time, we are sure that you will build muscle memory and don’t even have to think about all those steps; they will come naturally to you. When that happens, you’ll know you’ve become a good shooter.
No Comments