How to Shoot a Gun Accurately

Shooting accurately is a skill that requires proper technique and practice. There are different techniques for shooting handguns, rifles and shotguns. This article applies to handguns and rifles.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• gun
• ammunition
• targets

1. The first step to any shooting activity is to master and practice the rules of safety: 1) all guns are always loaded; 2) never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy; 3) keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target; and 4) identify your target and what is behind it.

2. Accurate shooting requires an accurate firearm, a steady hold, and a surprise trigger break on a crisp trigger.

3. Most firearms produced today from reputable manufacturers are accurate and some are more accurate than others. But generally speaking, good firearms are usually more accurate than the shooter, which means that if the gun is secured to a shooting bench rest, the gun will shoot more accurately than the shooter is capable of shooting.

4. A steady hold is most easily achieved by resting the gun on a stable platform like a tree or a bench. When doing so, make sure that your hand or forearms is between the gun and the rest. Resting the gun on a hard surface will produce vibration that can affect accuracy. If no rest is available, then you shoot off hand, i.e. with no support. In any event, try to even your breathing and smooth out your heartbeat to reduce tremors.

5. As you place your sights on the target, you will see that the sights are moving or "dancing" over the target. Your job is to pull the trigger when the sights are on target. This is not easy and takes practice.

6. Pulling the trigger properly is key to accurate shooting. The goal is to create no movement of the gun between the time when the trigger is pulled and the when bullet leaves the barrel. This only takes a split second, so any jerking of the gun while pulling the trigger will throw off your shot.

7. To pull the trigger without creating any movement requires an acceptable trigger and a surprise trigger break. An acceptable trigger is one that is not excessively heavy and breaks crisply, like breaking a glass rod. A crisp trigger has almost no movement in releasing the hammer. Note that this is different from "take-up", which is the slack prior to the trigger engaging the hammer. A trigger with "creep" will have excessive movement once the hammer is engaged and will feel like you are pulling against a spring with stacking pressure.

8. The act of pulling the trigger is sometimes described as a squeeze versus a pull. If you try to pull the trigger at a particular instant, you will jerk the gun and throw off your shot. You want to be smooth. To smoothly pull the trigger, practice a slow and gradual pull until the trigger breaks by surprise. Gradually, speed up the squeezing of the trigger to compress the time required to obtain a surprise break.

9. In addition to technique, accurate shooting requires lots and lots of practice. Shoot economical calibers like .22 LR to allow yourself thousands of rounds of practice.

[mikana]

on 12/18/2008 Good tips. Good job.

[GreenGardenChic]

on 11/4/2008 Great tips for someone who has no training like myself. Someday I'll take a class, until then, thanks for the advice.

[wytetyger059]

on 10/2/2008 Very informative. I learned a lot.