Rifle shooting tips that helped you the most

[eric308]

I like to squirrel hunt with my scoped CZ 452. Small, frequently moving targets from field positions, I think its wonderful practice.

 

[cahunter805]

Many great tips already given. Cheek weld and proper scope height make a huge difference in shooting and comfort especially from prone and other field positions. I mount my scopes as low as possible and have found it's much easier to shoot and improve accuracy.
Another tip I got from a buddy is to get on target and then close your eyes for a few seconds. When you open your eyes if your crosshairs have drifted off target then your grip/body position/rear bag support needs to be adjusted. This has REALLY helped my shooting especially at longer ranges.

 

[cahunter805]

Another good tip is make sure your parallax is properly adjusted and set for you and your eyes. Don't just trust the factory setup.

 

[Brian in Montana]

Dry fire practice is money.

 

[nrpate05]

Aim small, miss small....

 

[MJE2083]

As others have said, trigger. Yes practice practice practice, but having a good, crisp, light trigger is one of the things that I look for. I have shot too many rifles with heavy, creepy, gritty triggers and I was never able to shoot any of them as well as I would like.

 

[BAKPAKR]

I have a fairly lightweight 270 Winchester - 6 pounds, 6 ounces scoped. Even though it has a 2 pound Jewell trigger, I cannot shoot consistent groups with it unless I really have it pulled into my shoulder tight and have a good solid cheek weld. On the other hand, with my 16 pound braked 338 LM and a 3 pound trigger, I get my best groups when I am barely touching it.

 

[BucksnDucks]

You guys are on target with the tips- trigger, sight alignment, dry fire. My $.02 is to practice mounting the rifle or getting into prone (or other shooting position) with eyes closed to check placement on cheek weld. Basically learning where your face needs to be for proper sight alignment, parallax free field of view. I have found after adjusting my cheek weld, a small piece of moleskin placed on rifle butt as a reference for cheek bone helps.
Another tip for prone shooting is insuring an angle to the rifle in order to allow belly/chest unobstructed movement to breath and hold steady.

 

[Gunner46]

Don't get yourself lost in the mind set of trying to pick a single hair for an exact shot. I've been guilty of it at times and it has never proved worthwhile. When your sight picture is in the kill zone, Take the shot !

A classic example was my black bear dog hunt. The bear would not tree. He'd run, stand his ground & fight for about a minute, then run. When we finally caught up with him & the dogs I wasn't going to have a luxury shot. The Instant I was on 'kill zone' the shot was taken. Mr Bear did a 270 degree horizontal, mid-air, flip and hit the ground to not nudge another inch forward.

My pride disallows me to discuss my 'exact' shot blunders. There are more than a couple...........

 

[Mallardsx2]

I practice freehand at 50 yards religiously with my .22 rifle. This makes shooting off of the sticks almost like cheating.

Get to were you can hit a note-card every shot with a .22 freehand at 50 yards...

Get solid and squeeze. Its the only way.

Most people overthink things. Its a rifle.

 

[Jape]

All good ideas. To help with trigger pull, it can also be beneficial to continue squeezing the trigger after you have fired. That further emphasizes the need to slow and consistently squeeze the trigger instead of slapping it.

 

[7Remmy]

Dry fire practice is money.

+1. If you shoot enough,you will start to anticipate the shot. Trap shooters are prone to flinching,to the point of installing release triggers. Same goes for bench rest. Believe me,even with 2 oz triggers,you can get flinchy. Dry fire helps to curb the anticipation reflex.

Interactive targets are also money. I like shooting steel. Clay targets too,except for the mess. Once the paper target work is done,get out and shoot some interactive targets,in field shooting positions.

 

[Deleted member 38069]

1. Don't rest your barrel directly on the rest. Rest on the foregrip instead.
2. Establish your routine while shooting. Consistency=accuracy!

 

[JLS]

All good ideas. To help with trigger pull, it can also be beneficial to continue squeezing the trigger after you have fired. That further emphasizes the need to slow and consistently squeeze the trigger instead of slapping it.

Actually, this can be counter productive and lead to poor trigger press. If you are applying a proper trigger press, adding only enough incremental pressure to "break" the trigger, consciously trying to keep the trigger pinned can interfere with the trigger press process and contribute to less than optimal trigger control.

 

[Brian in Montana]

I haven't done this for years, but I used to set up a target at 200yds, prop my rifle on the ground over a backpack or on a bipod, run down the hill and back up to get my heart rate and breathing elevated, flop down at my rifle, steady, control breathing, and squeeze off a shot. Repeat.

 

[RobG]

Without a doubt dry firing.

 

[The Hedgehog]

don't look at the antlers

 

[antelopedundee]

All good ideas. To help with trigger pull, it can also be beneficial to continue squeezing the trigger after you have fired. That further emphasizes the need to slow and consistently squeeze the trigger instead of slapping it.

Triggers are pulled; NEVER squeezed.

 

[Nate Mode]

I routinely have my daughter do this.

Same here and it works.

 

[Jape]

Actually, this can be counter productive and lead to poor trigger press. If you are applying a proper trigger press, adding only enough incremental pressure to "break" the trigger, consciously trying to keep the trigger pinned can interfere with the trigger press process and contribute to less than optimal trigger control.

You could be correct that continuing to squeeze the trigger can lead to poor trigger control, torquing, etc..., but it has been tremendously helpful for me. It helps me to stay on my target and not anticipate the shot. I respect that it may not work for others.