Shooting skill depends on maintaining the right position and developing skills that can ensure stability and accuracy. Read this article to find out the tricks the pros use to always hit the target.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Hold the Shotgun
Step 1. Learn to hold a stable position
In the military, soldiers who pass the basic marksmanship exam must have learned to hold their rifle steady enough to keep aiming straight even if the barrel is suddenly struck by a hammer. By mastering these basics of maintaining a stable stance, you should be able to keep aiming steady in any stance.
- Try multiple positions to find out which one works best and which one is most comfortable for you. The seated position, comfortable for some, is uncomfortable for shooters with hip problems.
- If you are right, the hand that shoots will be the right and the hand that does not shoot will be the left, and vice versa.
- In any case, the dominance of one eye or the other also plays an important factor in vision. Generally, the weapons that are held on the shoulders are positioned on the side of the dominant eye. This is even more true, however, for those who are left or right but have the opposite dominant eye.
Step 2. Secure the grip with your non-firing hand
You have to hold the shotgun with your hand so that a "V" forms between your thumb and forefinger. The grip should be soft, like a weak handshake, and the wrist should be straight to the fingers that spontaneously bend around the barrel cover.
- The non-shooting hand must hold the shotgun still, like the non-shooting hand in basketball should hold the ball steady. Most of the rifle's support must come from your firing hand and stance, but the non-firing hand must provide stability.
- Be careful to always keep this hand out of range of the rifle and fired bullets.
Step 3. Hold the butt of the rifle firmly under the armpit of the firing arm
Make sure the calcium is stable in your armpit and not on the fleshy part just below it, or on your collarbone.
Keeping the butt steady in the armpit causes the recoil to be absorbed by your entire body, rather than your shoulders, resulting in a painful and imprecise blow
Step 4. Grab the grip with your shooting hand
Depending on the type of shotgun you are using, you can opt for a full grip or a sharp shotgun style grip. Either way, your grip must be firmer than that of the non-firing hand, like a business handshake. The grip should provide stability to the rear and keep the gun still in your armpit. This ensures that when you are ready to fire, pulling the trigger the shotgun will not move and will not affect accuracy.
The trigger finger must be straight. Don't fold it around the trigger until you're ready to fire. Leave it next to the safety, or use it with your other fingers to grab the butt
Step 5. Keep your elbows down and in
Your elbows will position themselves differently depending on your position: sitting, standing or face down. In any case, however, your elbows will need to be under the gun to support its weight. Imagine a rope tying your elbows to your hips, pushing them towards your center of gravity.
Step 6. Relax your neck and let your cheeks spontaneously rest on the butt of the gun
This position is sometimes called "cheek-to-butt union" and can be achieved in some shotguns by placing your nose next to the magazine. Having a good "cheek-to-butt union" will ensure that your eyes line up well to aim and that you don't have to use peripheral vision to aim.
Step 7. Relax your body
With the right technique, you will be able to relax your body and have a calm breathing rhythm. Your grip must be firm on the shotgun, without being too tight. If you are using your muscles to hold the shotgun steady, they will likely tire and your accuracy will suffer. Taking a comfortable, relaxed stance is the best way to shoot accurately.
Part 2 of 3: Shoot with Accuracy
Step 1. Check your natural line of sight
If you orient yourself in the direction of the target, relaxed and in a steady position, you will in turn point the rifle towards the target without the need for too much extra effort. This is called "natural line of sight" and indicates good technique.
If, when you relax your muscles in your immobile position and let your cheeks rest against the butt of the gun, you have to force yourself, even just a little, to bend your body and aim directly at the target, that means you have to reposition yourself. Leave your position and rearrange yourself in a better way
Step 2. Align the rifle sight
A rifle with an open sight (for example there is no front sight in the rifle) - often called an "iron sight" - consists of two parts, a front or "sight" near the end of the rifle barrel and a opening or "hook" more or less in the middle of the barrel. Before you worry about the target, you'll need to line up the sight in the hook to make sure the rifle is well calibrated. Any misalignment will be multiplied exponentially when the bullet is fired.
- If you have good cheek union with the butt, the aiming should line up with the opening without too much difficulty. Slightly reposition your neck if needed.
- If you are using a telescopic sight, the process will be more or less the same. Make sure your eye is at the right distance from the viewfinder, enough to avoid recoil, and that it is aligned correctly so that there are no "shadows" in the viewfinder view.
- Make sure your sight is well calibrated before shooting and that your front view is black and a little dull, non-reflective. Use a gun blackener or pencil lead to darken it.
Step 3. Focus
Align your eye with the front view and focus on it. When you are trying to balance with your elbows on your knees, breathing evenly, holding the butt steady, and trying to line up a small crosshair into a small opening on a small target 50 meters away, it can get frustrating. What to focus on? The answer is simple: the sight, not the target. Make sure you are in the right position, relax and focus the viewfinder.
If you are in the right position and have your line of sight aligned, your target should be in the opening, but it will still appear blurry. Focusing the scope will ensure that you maintain proper line-of-sight as you shoot, and will therefore allow you to shoot better
Step 4. Check your overview
A well-aimed shot implies that the front view, aperture, target and your eye are perfectly aligned (or if you're using a crosshair, the reticle and target). This is called the "overview". Take a second to switch the focus back and forth between the target and your line of sight, making sure everything is aligned.
Finally, the more you practice your aim, the more you will be able to do this without changing the focus, which in the long run strains the eyes. Practicing joining the cheek with the butt and aligning will lessen the strain your eyes will have to make when aiming
Step 5. Check your breathing
Shooting is a pinpoint skill, and when you practice your vision you will find that your breath can damage your aim. Therefore, it is important to breathe spontaneously and completely. Holding your breath is annoying and leads to imprecise strokes. In your breathing, learn to feel the moment immediately after exhalation, when you have completely emptied your lungs of air, but before you need to take a new breath. It is a very small amount of time, but it is the most stable and therefore the best time to pull the trigger.
Step 6. Pull the trigger
Everything you've done to position and aim will have been useless if you pull the trigger like you do to shift the gear of a car. Instead, you will have to pull the trigger as if you were moving your finger towards your fist, completing the business handshake we were talking about earlier with a gentle grip.
At first, anticipating the kickback and recoil of the rifle causes many shooters to wobble when they pull the trigger. It is difficult to stand still the first few times; being comfortable with your rifle is the only way to shoot accurately. It takes a long time to improve your strokes and learn to relax, but all this work will pay off
Step 7. Accompany the movement
As in basketball or golf, proper balance and positioning must continue while shooting. Raising your head suddenly to see if you've hit the target is the best way to avoid hitting it. Relax your muscles, let your cheeks rest on the butt, the grip under the armpit and keep your eyes focused on your front view. Take a few breaths and you're ready to either check how your shot went, or to fire again.
Part 3 of 3: Becoming Precise from Every Position
Step 1. Shoot mouthfuls
Make a line with the leg and elbow of your non-firing side approximately 25 - 30 degrees to the right of your target. Rest the rifle under your armpit so that your natural line of sight falls into the target. Keep the handle high enough to allow your head to stand straight as if you were standing. Use your left hand to bring the rifle to the same level as the target.
- The prone position is the most stable of all because the shooter's elbows and the weight of the rifle are supported by the ground. You can also use a biped, a sandbag, or any other type of gear that can give some stability to this position.
- Watch out for the hot casings of your shells. Since you are face down, freshly fired hot shells can roll on your skin or fall on your body. This can happen, less frequently, also in other positions.
Step 2. Shoot while seated
In this position, you will sit cross-legged, at a right angle to the target. Leave your elbows on each knee to support the rifle butt, keeping your back as straight as possible to improve your accuracy.
This position is very comfortable for some shooters, but can be significantly impaired by breathing. You need to maintain good breath control when shooting in this position
Step 3. Shoot standing with your feet at the same distance as your shoulders from each other
Leave your non-firing side hip pointed at the target. Your goal is to distribute the weight of the rifle evenly on both feet to ensure an accurate shot. To do this, keep your elbows down and your weight balanced on your hips.
Firmly hold the shotgun forming a straight support column with your body. The shotgun must balance comfortably over your entire body and this must require as little muscular effort as possible
Step 4. Shoot on your knees
Professional shooters use an object called a "kneeling roll" to support the ankle of the leg on the shooting side, but you can also use a rolled-up shirt or any other support. Kneel on the support, keeping the ankle on which you sit straight and the other vertical. You can rest the elbow of the non-shooting part on the knee, but you can also use the kneeling position as a modified standing position and keep it that way. Either way, your elbows will have to bear the weight of the shotgun.
If you rest your elbow on your knee, be sure to avoid precarious "bone-to-bone" contact. Instead, place the "flesh" of your arm on your knee. Try placing your knee on your left triceps 3 to 4 cm above your elbow, and then make small adjustments to find the most stable and comfortable position for you
Advice
- Knowing how much recoil a shotgun has is key to making accurate shots - you'll get more accurate shots when you're more comfortable with your shotgun.
- Compensate based on distance. Your scope is usually designed for a specific range and is best used with the ammunition the shotgun was made for. Refills are designed for certain types of distances. A 22 lr cartridge is not as accurate at 100 meters as a 7.62x34 and the latter is not as accurate as the 223, etc. Take this fact into consideration when you are aiming. What is accurate to 50 meters will not be accurate to 100. This difference increases the further the target is from the shooter.
- Very strong wind can damage your aim. This effect increases with distance.
- If your shots go off target but you are sure you did everything right, your line of sight or sight may not be aligned well. Try adjusting them (read: Shotgun Aiming) or, if you can't, counterbalance your aim.
Warnings
- Always, always, always hold your weapons securely. If you don't, it could be fatal. Always imagine that the weapon is loaded, even if you think it is not. If you are not 100% sure how to handle a firearm safely, read the Handling a Firearm Safely article before continuing.
- Never put your eye on the sight when the rifle is firing - the recoil could damage the eye socket and cause you, at best, a black eye, and at worst, send you to the hospital.
- Never leave your firearm loaded and unattended when you go to retrieve your target. Put the safety on if you have to let go of your gun - this way, even if the trigger is pulled, the bullet will not be fired.
- Most shotguns, especially semi-automatic ones, are designed to release shells fired from the side. If you are firing from the left or right using a left handed weapon, be careful not to get the shells fired in your face.
- Always use ear and eye protection when using a firearm.
- Practice by carefully observing all rules and safety distances.
