Advice For a Novice Rifleman Trying to Get Good

[mordechaianiliewicz]

Folks, I've finally got serious about shooting rifles. I've been going to the range every other week, and I've discovered that I suck. Really bad. It takes a scope to make hits at any significant ranges for me (by significant I mean past 100 yards), and I can't shoot well at a 100 to save my life. Any advice for a guy trying to get good with rifles?

I began with pistols, and now I'm quite good, but I think the rifle thing could take a long time.

[Venison_Jerkey32]

Dry fire. Get some snap caps and practice. One time I was shooting for groups and I forgot to load the magazine into the gun...lined up the sights, tried to control my breathing, squeezed the trigger and FLINCH click. That is when I relized I needed more practice. Also, are you using sandbags? out of curiosity what rifle is it?

[rrp]

You didn't state if you were shooting off hand or with a rest at a bench. But along time ago when I was first able to shoot at a range, Camp Edson at Camp Pendelton, Ca. another square jawed Marine with a smokey the bear hat pounded it into my head,quite literally, every time I fired my M-14 rifle, to THINK BRASS. That means before every shot breath, relax, aim, slack, and squeeze that trigger. Just remember take a deep breath, let half out and relax, aim, take the slack out of the trigger,and sqeeze the trigger. After a few hundred times of snapping in,dry firing ,it became second nature. Heck, now after forty years of practicing weekly, this old jar head does it without even thinking. Think Brass on every shot "unless you are returning fire".

[faust]

Get a good bolt-action .22 rifle with a peep sight.

The bolt action reduces your tendancy to just start squeezing 'em off, makes you want every shot to count.

You didn't specify what kind of shooting you're doing, benchrest, sling, prone, or what, but you can shoot a heck of a lot of .22 for practice. You're right about the scope. If you learn to shoot iron-sights, your technique will carry over easily, but few people who learn to shoot with a scope will do well without it.

Don't bother with a rear sight notch and front blade. Get a round peep sight on the rear, with click adjustment. This will help you center your shots repeatedly and make you focus on the front sight.

Get a regimine and do not allow yourself to "graduate" until you've mastered the basics, i.e.
Prone position: 10 rds. @ 50-75 yds.
Sitting position: 10 rds. @ 50 yds.
Kneeling: same
Standing: 10 rds @ 25 yds.

You should keep all 10 rounds in a 2" circle before you move up to the next position. Every time you go to the range, start at prone position, stay there until you get your 10 rds in your circle, then move to the next position up.

Learn to use your sling properly. Get it tight on your upper left arm (if right handed) wrap your left arm clockwise around it once, then grab the forestock as far back as you can. Make sure everything is *tight*. Don't forget to rest between shots. A bolt-action makes you have to reset your position every shot... this is a good thing. The repeated action builds muscle memory. Soon you'll be able to get in the right position even in your sleep.

Trigger control. Breathe in fully, let out a breath or two, hold! Squeeeeeeeeze the trigger more and more, like an anaconda. You're not trying to pull it to make it go off. You want to give it more and more pressure until BAM! it goes off. If it's not a surprise, you're doing something wrong. If you start anticipating, stop and rest a second. Make every single shot count. (A semi-auto is a liability to learning proper technique, it makes you want to just start throwing lead, especially when you pull a round, just to "get done with this 10 rounds").

Here's the secret that no one apparantly talks about. It's impossible to keep that front blade directly dead on over the bullseye. Non-shooters think that excellent shooters somehow are "more steady". This is not necessarily the case. Watch the front blade as you're holding position. When it passes directly over the bullseye, apply more trigger pressure. Once it has passed over the bullseye, stop applying more pressure and *HOLD* the same amount of trigger pressure. Wait until the blade passes back over the bullseye and add more pressure. Eventually the trigger will break, but with this method, it'll only break over the bullseye.

Watch the tip of the barrel of an excellent marksman compared to a novice. They'll probably both be moving around about the same amount (If anything, the novice might be moving *less* since he's trying to force that blade to always be in the same spot). But when they retrieve targets, the marksman somehow got a ragged hole, damn him! He's only applying pressure when that blade passes the bull. And he's using less muscle, that means it takes longer to get tired and therefore less shakiness.

Also make sure in your position, even if benchrest, you're keeping as much of your weight as possible on bone-to-bone or bone-to-ground. Let your bones do the work, not your muscles. If you're holding a shot and you're squeezing, and you need to breathe or you get tired.. just stop, pause, reset and try again.

Try 30-40 rounds of this before you get out the centerfire out at the range, otherwise you'll get tired and shakey and after that, more practice doesn't help. Accuracy first, then speed. No one gets better by shooting fast and trying to get more accurate. You start slow and accurate, then speed up until you start pulling shots.

**Note: this is all just my own opinion. I spent 3 hrs a day in the summers practicing with a very heavily used Marlin .22 7 rnd magazine bolt action for years and years. I can still shoot well if I actually take the time to do it right. Good luck and have fun.

[mordechaianiliewicz]

Although I own a couple of semis, I ain't using 'em to try and get good. I'm using a 6.5x55 mm Swede Mauser. It's the most accurate rifle I own, and also the least recoil of my rifles other than an AK I got. I use a sandbag rear rest and a bipod, and shoot prone and benchrest 90% only.

Although my AK and my Saiga are fun, they aren't precision rifles, and are just combat weapons adjusted.

I feel I have to earn a nicer rifle like a Savage target rifle.

[springmom]

I think you might get more ideas if you posted on "The Art of the Rifle". Just thinking...

Springmom

[Eghad]

http://www.globalsecurity.org/milita...2-9/index.html

try the chapter labeled the four fundamentals.

[AK103K]

Sign up for the high power or CMP matches at your local range. You will get plenty of hands on help. The CMP shoots usually have rifles to lend, if you dont have one, and ammo is either issued or cheap. You also will be shooting with people of all levels, so you wont be the only one there that is "learning". Truth is, you never stop, regardless of your ability.

One thing I might suggest is, dont get caught up in the gear end of it all. Get yourself a decent rifle, learn the basics, and do it in your street clothes. If you want to spend a little extra on anything, a good mat and a decent spotting scope make things a little easier and more comfortable, but really are not necessary. Spend the money you would spend on any of the other stuff on ammo and practice, practice, practice. You will be better off for it, and if later on, if you feel you need the crutches, you can move into them as you feel necessary. They wont help you shoot better, if you dont have the basics down first. If you really get into it, they may be of a help once you are.

[oldbillthundercheif]

Stay away from caffeine in any form. When you are strapped to your rifle with a sling the little twitches and increased heart-rate are very bad for accuracy. Learn to control your heart-rate by breathing deeply from the diaphragm (middle of the gut) and relax to the point of almost falling asleep. One fine shooter on the Army Marksmanship Unit once told me that if you have never fallen asleep while shooting prone you are not nearly relaxed enough.

Build a "bone-bridge" for the most steady position you can get yourself into. Try to think with x-ray vision as you build your position and try to get as much weight as possible to transfer from the rifle, through your bones, to the ground.

[mordechaianiliewicz]

I like what I'm hearing so far. The toughest thing I've noticed is being calm enough. I'm a fairly high strung person anyway. But, shooting is one of those things I do that calms me down.

I'm looking for a bolt action .22 by the way faust.

By the way, what is the correct sight picture for a peep sight, a post and v, and a post and u sight. I know of course to focus on the front sight, but how important is alignment?

At the range, I find myself having to aim off the targets in order to hit them with iron sights, and even then it's with minute-of-man accuracy. Obviously some of this is a matter of ballistics charts, but so far, I'm not talking about any range past 200 yards.

[bartonkj]

By the way, what is the correct sight picture for a peep sight, a post and v, and a post and u sight. I know of course to focus on the front sight, but how important is alignment?

Sight alignment and sight picture are very important:

Sight alignment is having the tip of the front sight post aligned vertically and horizontally with the rear sight (what this means depends on the rear sight). Sight picture is having sight alignment 1st, and then, the in focus tip of the front sight center mass on the target.

Sight alignment (what you called sight picture) for a peep sight is pretty easy since you naturally want to place the tip of the front sight post in the middle of the rear apurature.

sight alignment for a v and/or u rear sight is to have the tippy top of the front sight even with the top of the v or u - and the front sight post should be centered from left to right in the opening of the v or u.

[bartonkj]

By the way - go to this link and download these files for the USMC rifle marksmanship manual:
http://www.biggerhammer.net/manuals/...a/template.htm

[guntotin_fool]

I would also add that getting some kind of regular practice really helps. Working at it is easy if you get a .22 or a good pellet gun and work on the basics. I lived on the edge of town when I was a kid and shooting the .22 for hours was common, I now have a really basic range in the basement. I shoot .22 shorts or CB's all the time. My son and I go thru 300 rounds or more down there a week.

[tulsamal]

Have you tried the dime/quarter/washer drill yet? When I had Basic Trainees that needed more trigger time, I used to use and teach it a lot. Get in your shooting position with an empty rifle. Have somebody else balance a coin or washer on the very end of the barrel. (Behind the FS on a military style rifle like an M16.) The idea is to dry fire the rifle and the coin stays put. If you are yanking or doing something funky, it will slide right off. The really bad ones can't even keep it on the end of the barrel _before_ they release the trigger. But with most people, the hard part is getting past the "click" and having it still there. Teaches you a gentle release and follow through. I really think that simple drill helped trainees faster than anything else we did.

And try different sizes and weights of coins/washers. Some are easier than others.

Gregg

[oldbillthundercheif]

You beat me to it, Tulsa. The coin drill is one of my personal favorites as well.

[Buckythebrewer]

Venison jerky32 has the right idea IMO..Honestly the best way to see your errors is with a high magnification scope at 100yrds on sandbags or bi-pod.DRY -fire and watch how much your crosshairs jump(AND THATS ON SANDBAGS!!).NOw take away the sandbags and add all the other variables into the mix .Its real easy to shoot bad.I would try practicing without firing a shot until you get a consistent trigger pull down(and by gosh wear all kinds of hearing protection when you shoot,,That helps alot)also make sure you are not trying to practice with a cannon because you will learn to forget about the smooth trigger pull when you know you are going to get nailed by the rifle when you pull the trigger(FLINCH!).Like already mentioned use something with little recoil to learn accuracy.If you shoot without a rest get a sling and try prone shooting.or kneeling with elbow supported by your knee..
Also what kind of accuracy are you getting under what conditions.Your not trying to get benchrest results without having a benchrest are you?? .Im just saying that maybe your being to hard on yourself and maybe your shooting better than you think under the conditions,,I don't know just a maybe.One other possibility to mention to you,,Are you resting your rifle on something hard like wood or on the top of the hood of your car???!!THAT WILL KILL ALL HOPES OF ACCURACY!!sandbags are great,even if you make them out of something around the house if you have too.My Cheap(thats what its worth)recommendation is get some sandbags (and rest if possible)and support them so they won't slide around,cover them with baby powder aim your rifle into the target using the sandbags(not your body)until they line up on the target and use your rear sandbags for slight changes by moving side to side and then pinching them to get your final adjustmenst.This is not all 100% proper ( what im telling you) but it will help you get started cheap to know what you and your rifle are more capable of.Then in the future you know what to aim for in your real world shooting conditions.But like I said never rest on something 2 hard(at least put your hand under the rifle if possible then rest it ) because it kills accuracy.Well good luck

[dfaugh]

ACCURATE .22 Rifle, bolt action preferred, but not necessary.

GOOD Rifle rest---Yes, the best setups (adjustable from bags, w/ rear "bunny" bags) are expensive. But they take alot of the variables out of the equation, and allow you to concentrate on your shooting.

You NEED an accurate gun, w/ accurate loads, other wise you'll never be able to gauge your progress.

.22 is great, no recoil, and you can shoot all day for $10-15 worth of ammo.

For the past year I ALWAYS take my uber-accurate .22 to the range with me, and I shoot it more than all my others guns combined. Besides being able to shoot really good groups with the .22, my shooting with ALL of my other rifles has improved a great deal.

P.S. Many will tell you you need to learn to shoot with open sights---and if you can that's all good. However, I've never, ever been able to shoot nearly as well as I can with a scope, so I resigned myself to scoping all my rifles, a long time ago. Now that I'm older, its an absolute necessity--can't focus at all on rear sight, although I can use a peep fairly well.