One of the drills we use with my daughter, is I have a bore sight it is a sightmark I believe that is magnetic, this is attached to the barrel of an unloaded rifle, set up a target about 15-25 yards, when she pulls the trigger and uses good breathing and a smooth trigger pull the laser does not move on the target. When her breathing is off or her pull is jerked or is not smooth,the laser on the target will move, if the technique is real bad sometimes the laser sight would fall off of the barrel. This really helped her with the muscle memory and getting and keeping a sight picture., while pulling a rifle trigger. I do the same when I get a new rifle and/or new scope or if I change the scope of an existing rifle before I go out, and if I haven't gone to the range in a while. I am surprised how with my bad neck and back how I can use bad technique now if I don't check myself.
Proper trigger pull and shooting technique
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A/1-61
Well-Known Member
Another good idea
Dry fire practice. Shooting a 22 or 223 something with low recoil helps. We start all our kids on a 22. Point is your mechanics of breathing and trigger press or pull should be automatic, muscle memeory. That lets you focus on the sight picture and follow through. When hunting I usually go into automatic mode. Everything happens without me consciously making it happen.
Kiowa Cowboy
Well-Known Member
Like many of you, I am a lifelong hunter. And like many of you, I have killed countless coyotes, pigs, and deer. Last year I took the long-range rifle course at Badlands Tactical in SWOK. The course was outstanding. It was a "you don't know what you don't know until you take the course" type of experience. As a lifelong hunter, I wasn't sure about how much I would learn. Boy was I mistaken. I learned a lot about the mechanics of good shooting, dialing adjustments, determining unknown distances, reading the wind, etc. The training was fun as heck. I can see why long-range shooting is an addiction for some. My only regret was not taking the class earlier. Some people had uber-expensive gear and some people like myself used a borrowed 308 and factory ammunition. There were Savages, Remingtons, customs, and semi-customs and one semi-auto. Some people had gear issues that they did not know they had until it was diagnosed and corrected by the instructors. Attendees included law enforcement, military, competitive shooters, and hunters. At the end of the training, everyone was able to connect out to 1,000 yds. I don't know that the training will lead to more kills because most of my shots are within 300 yds. but I certainly feel more confident at further distances. For anyone new to long-range shooting/hunting I echo the recommendation of others that good training is just as important (maybe more important) than the right gear. You can certainly learn good trigger mechanics through practice and training videos, but if you are interested in the other aspects of long-range, IMO if there is a good course nearby it is probably worth it.
FireFlyFishing
Well-Known Member
This.
Trigger time will help always. Find a way to hit the range more.
Get off the bench once your rife is sighted in. Unless of course, that's the only shooting you will do.
Crap triggers make life hard. Why make life hard? Buying a good trigger is like a cheat code for shooting. Same for stocks.
Unless you're planning on shooting irons, invest in the best optics you can afford and mount them properly. Then learn how to use them by my first comment of a lot of trigger time.
Wow! A stiff breeze would concern me. Definitely not trying this wearing gloves or carrying with one in the chamber.
ObiWanKannoli
Well-Known Member
Consistent pull, light as possible with being safe in the field. Manage recoil but don't wrestle the gun. Lots of dry fire.
Lots of good answerers. I try my best to get a steady cross hair reticle on my target, close my eyes and touch that hair trigger. Hopefully when I open my eyes from the recoil the animal is gone from the sight picture due to a perfect hit and the animal is down and with a steel target I usually get a ring tone from a hit.
gohring3006
Well-Known Member
I agree, I was going to respond to the thread with, the key to trigger technique/control is recoil management and losing the fear of it.
FireFlyFishing
Well-Known Member
Define perfect practice.
I'd rather shoot my hunting rig in less than ideal shooting positions and conditions to manage the weapon when needed for most situations likely to occur in the field. And…shoot it a lot!
Unless it's your first time firing a rifle and you absolutely don't know how to shoulder a rifle, I think proper initial setup of the rifle and lots of reps will get most folks where they need to be.
My job gobbled up about 10 years of my life where reloading and shooting took a back seat. Eventually I noticed I wasn't as good as I once was (RIP Toby). This last summer I decided that was enough of that and I buckled down and spent a ton of time behind my magnums. Boy, did that make a difference. Knocked the rust off and I gained new skills as I started challenging myself in new ways.
Granted I spent some money on one rifle to get it where I wanted. Bought a new scope, stock, threaded the barrel, and installed a brake. Turned a thumping 300 WSM into a very manageable rifle.
I harvested a nice whitetail and elk this year as a result. My confidence was there after slinging lead…and copper all summer.
Here's another thing to add to the mix. How 'bout the guy on the firing line next to you with some Gawd-Awful .338 Macho Mag who sends concussion 50 feet down the line with every round he touches off? He's just there to get his Jollies but you are there to test a charge ladder! Now, not only do you have to anticipate getting punched by your rifle, you have to worry about getting smacked by his. This doesn't happen very often at my range and most members have the courtesy to volley shots and let's face it, you have to wait for barrels to cool as well, but sometimes it can really mess you up. I am a member of a good range but I still avoid going there on weekends for this reason.
A/1-61
Well-Known Member
A long long time ago I took a shooting course through CMP with a friend, which was in conjunction with purchasing an M1 for a whopping $126.00-- a very good one which I still have. A command sergeant major from Fort Devens taught the 6-hour classroom with 2 hours at a 200/600-yard range at the Reading Rifle Club. We were taught a shooting position called sitting/prone. While sitting cross-legged you swung your upper torso groundward so that your left elbow and chest actually touched the ground. Of course I was 40 years old then. If I tried to do that now at 76, I probably would dislocate multiple joints.
I took two full pages of notes that day which I still have and is in front of me right now. As I read through it, I see terms like lollipop, line of white, navy, and frame; all site pictures to use in different types of weather. And there are other phrases-- like, lights up, sites up. I am glad that I wrote it all down because I would have forgot three quarters of it. I still have the original copy and I probably read it a thousand times over the years. That course is what got me into long-range shooting. That, and registering a two MOA shot group at 600 yds with steel sights really hooked me. Taking a course like that cannot be beat.
