how to improve shooting
 

Ok first some history. I am a 95% self taught shooter. Be it target or hunting. I got my first gun at 18 and have went from pistols, shotguns rifles, and Ar rifles plus muzzelloaders.

My taught not me the basics but he is not a big gun guy and the only gun we ever owned when I was a kid was a 22.
I do good get the rounds on the target most of the time. I can hit 75% if I shoot clays off a mound from 25 to 30 yards with my glock. I do good with rifles. though not as good or great as I would like.

I was thinking about getting a large cal AR or bolt gun the other day if our trip to florida fell out but it is on and the rifle will need to wait. Though I want to improve my shooting with my handgun now.

My thought was put up a couple targets and go from one to the other and do some draw and fire drills. I think i might be getting ahead of my self and think I should go with the basics.

SO figure starting from near scratch what should I shot with and move on to

Are we talking handgun or rifle here?

I had some training in law enforcement. This biggest thing I learned... don't jerk the trigger. This is the #1 reason people aren't good shooters.

Try this.. look at your front sight, crosshair etc.. and say in your mind over and over front sight.. front sight... while slowing squeezing the trigger. The reason to say front sight.. front sight.. is so you occupy your mind and you're not concentrating on pulling the trigger. Don't worry about when it's going to go off. I have a slow trigger pull, especially while hunting, but this made a huge difference for me.

I will try that, I am going to go out tomorrow and do some shooting. I got lucky and wally world had a 100 round box of 45s for 34 bucks.

Also for the first post. Talking hand gun semi auto 45 glock

Practice practice practice. Don't be afraid to go out and burn through a few hundreds rounds in a day. I am sure there are plenty of videos on YouTube that you could watch to help you improve your stance and form.

I think one issue is when I go I normally take someone and it seems everyone has some idea of how to shoot or do this or do that even though they have had less rounds though a gun then obama has. SO when I go out this time I am going by my self and going to have the place to my self with no distractions

when your are talking the shot, keep your sights on target before and after the shot. this simple tip got me from winning small local .22 prone events to winning provincial and national 300 meter prone competitions. so many guys will have good follow through but after the bang they try and "watch the shot" instead of keeping the rifle inline where its supposed to be. this technique also works really well with a bow and crossbow.

I'll keep this short and sweet. A 22lr with thousands of rounds is the best teacher you can have. I practice with my 22lr rifle and 22lr semi automatic pistol all the time. If you can make five shots from the 22lr look like one hole then you can do it with every gun you own if all things are working right. The rest is in the mind.

Dylan: just wondering, why after the bullet has left the barrel, does it make a difference if a shooter tries to "watch the shot?"

If you’re really serious go to school;

http://www.jamesrussellpublishing.biz/trapschools.html

The cost of a good gun !

to put it simply, it has to do with follow through. as many have found out, rifles poi can change from one shooting position to another and that rifle average velocity can change up to 50 fps. i cant scientifically explain thing extensivly but the transverse harmonic waves are effected by all the obvious things (barrel stiffness, overall rifle weight, bullet weight and velocity, etc.) but they are also effected by the shooter and how the shooter resists the recoil. thus is why perfect follow through is needed. now obviously theres nothing wrong with watching the shot after the bullet leaves the barrel if your followthrough is good but if the shooter needs to take there eye out of line with the sight (out of the field of view of the scope, peep, irons) then something is really wrong with the shooters rifle, sighting or shooting technique.

Dylan: Thank you for that explanation.

22 rimfire or 17/22 cal air guns. More shooting/more learning.

You have had much advice already. I will add some of my own, some of which may be duplicative.

(1) Shooting is a physical, an athletic endeavor. Eating right and physical condition will have an effect on your shooting. Increase your strength, and you are liable to find that your shooting improves. How and what to condition? Improving your general physical strength, endurance, and cardiovascular efficiency will pay dividends. More particularly, work on your upper body strength -- for example (but not the only possible path) sit-ups, push-ups, back arches, biceps curls, lifting weights out with straight arms sideways, lifting weights out with straight arms in front. Running or swimming for cardiovascular health. If you are wanting to shoot from a sitting position, practice assuming and steadily holding this position -- no shooting, not even necessarily holding your rifle (but this is not forbidden). Seems simple. Do it for 5 minutes straight and you'll find there are some specialized muscles involved that don't typically get worked. Likewise with prone, kneeling, and off-hand positions.

(2) Be consistent. Consistency has many, many aspects, any of which can alone improve your shooting. Use the same catridges in your rifle. Different cartridges are going to shoot to different aim points. Different cartridges are going to shoot more or less accurately in your rifle, so find the cartridge loading (manufacturer, bullet weight, bullet type) that shoots accurately in your rifle. Focus on holding your rifle the same way when you shoot. If you think your posture or hold is wrong, change it, but then stick with the new posture/hold for awhile. If you are not using the same posture and hold from shot-to-shot, my guess is that you are going to put your bullets in different places. Focus on your sight picture. Make this consistent. Focus on what you are doing. Control your breath and be consistent how you control your breath.

(3) Avoid flinching. This may be easier said than done. I have often heard it recommended that you should squeeze gradually and when the gun fires it should be a surprise, and if a surprise, you don't have the opportunity to flinch. Personally, I have a hard time with that. I try to do it, but with uncertain success. I think a possible alternative approach may be to squeeze the trigger quickly . . . but without jerking. Don't focus on squeezing slowly but instead on a fluid continuous squeeze. To some extent this is just words, and I'm not certain I can convey in words how to do this. I'm not sure I have mastery of this myself. Trigger control is important -- how you master this is another question. These are just a few thoughts. You can practice trigger control by dry firing -- ****ing your rifle and triggering the firing pin when the rifle is not loaded (AND FIRST MAKE SURE IT IS NOT LOADED!!!!). Do this over and over again. Do consult someone you trust on this recommendation. Some people say that this practice can damage the firing pin. I've never gotten consistent guidance on this point.

(4) This is not my idea but that of Jim Carmichael, shooting editor of Outdoor Life (maybe retired now?). Carmichael was a highly skilled competition shooter and also a very accomplished hunter. I read in one place that Carmichael thought the "slowly and continuously squeeze" approach to trigger control not entirely on target (sorry, couldn't resist). He suggested that you can see your cross hairs wander across the target -- sometimes more on aim point than others -- and you can time your trigger fire to when the cross hairs are on the aim point. I find this a pretty interesting proposition. It seems like good advice to me. I think it may be a technique that would pay benefits when practiced.

(5) Practice. Because this is an athletic activity, practice makes perfect (or at least makes better). Lack of practice is going to be associated with atrophy of skills and ability. We aren't born marksmen, we have to work up to it, and it is work.

carmichaels technique is called "settle in" or "settle on" shooting. its extensivly used by target shooters that are winded, younger, not in peak physical condition or those who have suffered from seizures. its a good technique to learn as a hunter. when i was young i couldnt settle my buck fever whenever a deer found its way into my sights so i often used "settling in" rather then waiting for my nerves to calm down. its also easy to learn because its technically a self taught technique as the shooter is simply learning the trigger of there rifle and how to work with there body for a better shot rather then slowing heart rate and "deadening" ones self on the shooting position

Control your breathing (in fully, half out, hold) and then "time" your heart beat..........1,2,3 squeeze

Follow through by keeping your cross hairs on target !!!

What,You going for 2000 yards?:D

When shooting a rifle..I don't worry one bit about recoil..I don't care what i'm shooting..I'm so relaxed I'm almost sleeping because you don't want any movement in the rifle when you squeeze the trigger..
#1 REEEE LLAAXX ...I take a short breath and hold it till the shot is fired...100% focus on the bulls eye FORGET RECOIL



Pistol..you get what you pay for most of the time..The better pistols have an adjustment in the rear of the firearm..the cheap ones..do the best you can..
Relax and aim small