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6 Rifle Shooting Mistakes You Can Fix Right Now

Shooting is only enjoyable when you can hit your target accurately. While you may struggle a bit at the beginning, you can try to improve your shots from the get-go by learning about some common mistakes which people make when shooting with a rifle. Keeping these in mind may help you ensure that you work on these flaws right away.

By Garry MitchellPublished 4 years ago 4 min read
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Don’t fall prey to these mistakes!

Practice makes one perfect, band when you are the range inaccurate shots are a learning opportunity. However, unless you are aware of where you may be gong wring, it will be hard for you to rectify your mistakes.

Along with that you can follow some good blogs and Youtube Channels so that you keep on learning the things. Gunreloading101 suggests some good list of blogs related to firearms where you can learn all shooting related skills along with some good tips of maintaining your firearm.

Here are some common mistakes, and why you should correct them:

Don’t Hurry:

To be consistent with your shot, you must be patient. While experts can get a shot in quickly and accurately, for beginners, or even those who have had some practice, hurrying their shot is the biggest mistake they can make.

Take a few deep breaths as you focus on your target and only fire after you have exhaled. These few seconds allow you to focus on your shot better and ensure that you hit your mark more accurately.

Mount Your Scope Correctly:

it is crucial to ensure that you know how to mount your scope the right way. An improperly mounted scope will lead to an inaccurate shot. There are guides as well as tutorials on how you can ensure that your scope is mounted properly.

From ensuring that you have the correct ring for your base, to securing the scope in place and positioning it at the perfect distance, mounting your scope requires some detailed instructions.

Wrong Ammunition:

Finding the right ammo for your rifle is not an easy task. Try firing a few shots with different types of ammunition to see which one fits your rifle the best. Additionally, you should also ensure proper reloading procedure.

This way, you will know that any inconsistency in hitting the target is due to the combination of your rifle and ammo, and not because of poor reloading skills. With the help of gunrelaoding101, you can learn how to accurately and consistently reload your ammunition.

Improper Positioning:

With inconsistent and inaccurate shots, it is a slippery slope. As you continue to hit the target inaccurately, your positioning also suffers; especially if your pitfall is that you are hurrying the shot. You may find yourself leaning unnaturally, or in a stiff and awkward posture.

You may not be doing it consciously, but whenever you detect that you are awkwardly positioned, ensure that you correct your form. The range is the best place to practice your form, and with enough practice, the right posture will be ingrained into your muscle memory.

Even when you are in the field, and trying to shoot moving targets, you can maintain proper form in unorthodox positions, to help with the accuracy of your target.

Lack of Following through:

A common mistake that most people make is that they do not follow through with the shot. Your shot is not complete until you feel the impact.

Hence, you must continue to maintain your position even after you pull the trigger, until after you feel that the bullet has hit the target. Role-playing or practising at a range helps improve this flaw pretty quickly.

Trigger Pull:

When people think trigger pull, they think about yanking the trigger button. However, the reality is that a proper trigger pull is not much of a pull, but rather a controlled pressing of the trigger. It refers to pushing the trigger to the rear smoothly.

From incorrect positioning of the finger to using too much force, the incorrect trigger pull can make the accuracy of your shot suffer. You must practice pulling the trigger without it affects your sight picture. This can be practised at a range, or home with snap caps, or even without loading anything into your rifle.

Bottomline

While there are many more mistakes that one may be making when they are shooting their rifle, these are the most common ones. Even seasoned shooters sometimes fall prey to these common mistakes.

However, most of these are easy to correct with the right amount of practice. With successful and consistent practice, the right positioning and form become ingrained in your muscle memory, allowing you to make more accurate and consistent shots over time.

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About the Creator

Garry Mitchell

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