I am always looking to improve my shooting abilities. From bow, shotgun, and now on to rifles. For improving my shotgun shooting I joined at a local range shooting league and got private help 1:1 on the side. With my bow,I shot daily as much as I could and practiced my accuracy in judging distance.
Now for rifle: How have you improved your shooting, for both small and large bore shooting? I feel like I am decent to good as it is, but I really want to be able to pound great groups for all shooting positions. Would you just recommend that I simply shoot a lot of small bore, because of the price of ammo? How would that translate into shooting better with large bore rifles in the .338 range?
So, what i really want to know is, How have you personally improved your shooting ability?
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-Idaho State 5A FB Champ 06
"If you're not first, you're last"
work on form, breathing and trigger control, shoot groups farther than you normally shoot , when you see how bad they are, you'll concentrate harder. I've shot long range all year, the epitome of my year was my 3 shot 1 7/8's" group fired at 660 yds.
RR
When I have helped someone learn to shoot ,they would most of the time need work on trigger pull and breathing. For me when you can master those two things it will help you alot. It takes alot of rounds to do it. I know I have said it here before but here it is agin. Take a ball point pen in your trigger hand and using your trigger finger squeeze the trigger. that is the motion you need for good trigger pull. It has helped alot of my friends shooting with me . And you dont have to be at the range to practice. Get some of those shoot and see targets and stay sitting at the bench or have a friend walk to the target to see where you are hittting. It may not seem like it but just that little walk can change your breathing and throw you off. And one other thing ---relax when you are shooting, Dont hulk hogan your grip.
I'm by far not an expert on this subject. I do know what has worked for me however.
1) Proper equipment! If you want good groups, your rifles and scopesmust be able to shoot that quality of group.
2) Like RR said, Form, Breathing, and Trigger pull need to worked on. Shooting longer ranges does indeed help.
I prefer a heavier rifle than most. My 243 weighs in at 8 3/4 pounds bare. The cross hairs are a LOT steadier in the field than a ligher 6 lb gun. Its made a huge difference in my shooting. A lot of folks don't like the 2 or 3 extra pounds. Come on folks, I get 2 to 3 pounds mud on each boot!! If you can not carry 2 or 3 extra pounds then you are going to have a hard time getting a deer out of the woods!
Reloading might also help your shooting ablities. Its cheaper and would allow you to shoot more. It would also allow you to find the right bullet and power combination for your rifle. There by increaseing accurarcy.
When it comes to good shooting form, esepcially in a prone or sitting position, try to use your bones as support, versus using your muscles. A good supportive position will greatly help you shoot. For example, if you're sitting indian style, try to get your elbows to be supported on your knees. If you can take a breath and close your eyes, then open your eyes again and you're still on target, that's when you know you are in a good shooting position. You can also use your sling to support your shooting position.
Like mentioned above the two things that have improved my shooting themost is breathing and trigger control. I got 2 3/4 lb timneys on all of my rifles and that has helped me immensly. Now for breathing, I shot with a friend of mine who was in training with the local county swat team. He showed me how they were taught to breathe by inhaling and then exhaling to half lung capacity. By doing this your lungs dont feel like they need to get or dispell oxygen so that is when you are the calmest.
Okay, I've seen 2 schools of thought on breathing. I've always held my breath after the inhale. I've also read that you shouldn't hold your breath at all but time your breathing so that your trigger pull will be at the slack time in your breathing pattern. I guess now there is a 3rd option of holding your breath after 50% of your exhale. I've always found holding my breath after inhaling works well for me personally. I think quality equipment is a big issue personally. After that I would say the most important thing is practice.
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Live on 51 acres in Lubbock county.
Own and hunt on 160 acres in Fisher county.
Make your practice as realistic as possible. Shoot the gun and load you will be shooting hunting, at the range you anticipate your hunting shots will be, in the conditions you anticipate...wind, cold, snow, heat whatever. Shoot in the positions, off your day pack, off hand etc. Alot of times you have to shoot when you just climbed a hill and may be out of breath. To simulate this I run to whatever range I'm shooting at (200 yards, 300 yards etc) when I check my targets so that my heart rate is up when I get back and then I shoot to simulate maybe having to shoot during a steep rigdge climb.
This is assuming of course you have the basics of breathing control and trigger control down. Really concentrate on your breathing and pay attention to when you seem to jiggle most. Really concentrate on trigger control and getting that slow squeeze down and being suprised by your shot. Then work on staying in the scope (if you can) and getting prepared for a follow up shot and on target quickly.
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Never trust anyone that wears velcro shoes.
Remington 700p LTR .308, Leupold Mark 4 Tactical PR, DPMS Tactical AR-15 sling, Federal Gold Medal Match 168 gr., Federal High Energy 180 gr.
Improving your overall shooting
