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As a concealed carrier, it is important that you are efficient and accurate with your firearm. Active shootings can begin and end in the blink of an eye. When faced with a deadly threat you will need to draw and incapacitate that threat as quickly as possible. A missed shot could be the difference between life and death. Furthermore, a stray bullet could accidentally harm or kill an innocent bystander. Guns are not toys. Accuracy is key.
Learning how to improve shooting skills & accuracy is something that every concealed carrier needs to do. You never know when a threat might appear. Becoming an accurate shooter will allow you to confidently carry and be ready in an emergency. So here are some tips on improving shooting skills & accuracy.
COMMON SHOOTING MISTAKES THAT AFFECT ACCURACY
In order to be successful with how to improve shooting skills & accuracy, you’ll need to correct your shooting mistakes. If you find yourself not hitting the mark when shooting, don’t worry. It’s all a matter of practice and correcting mistakes. Try to analyze your shots. Once you identify your problems, it’s just a matter of time before you will overcome them.
Bad Stance
Shooting stance is crucial for accuracy. Make sure that both of your feet out a bit wide are planted firmly for stability. Bend your knees a bit so that your butt is bent back and your shoulders leaning forward. Both arms should be straight out to form an isosceles triangle with your chest. Try these tips and see if they help your accuracy. Changing your stance will feel unnatural at first but eventually you’ll build the muscle memory to make a proper stance comfortable and effective.
Bad Grip
How you grip the gun makes a huge difference. When paired with a good stance, a good grip will do wonders for your accuracy. First, make sure that your thumb can reach the magazine release, safety, and side lock without having to reposition your hand. Keep your wrist straight and aligned with your firearm. This allows for more control and better recoil absorption. Remember, press the trigger, don’t pull it. If you’re finding it difficult to press the trigger you might want to try using a different firearm.
Scope Is Off
When was the last time you sighted your scope? If it’s been a while you should probably do it now. Readjusting your scope takes some time but it will definitely be worth it. One of the best tips on improving shooting skills and accuracy is making sure your equipment is in proper order. Your scope is an important piece of equipment and it will need to be in tiptop shape for you to be accurate.
Wrong Ammo
Just as there are many types of guns, there are many types of ammo. Quality and materials differ from one manufacturer to another. If you notice that your accuracy is a little off when switching to a new kind of ammo, make note of that. Always try to buy quality ammo. Cost should not factor in when we’re discussing something as important as accuracy.
Bad Follow-Through
One common mistake you have to correct for when learning how to improve your shooting skills & accuracy is to not allow your gun take control of your shot. Start by training yourself not to anticipate your shot. Anticipating your shot could cause you to flinch and ruin your accuracy. Use a smooth movement when firing, do not yank the trigger, and keep your gun steady throughout the entire shot. Avoid making sudden movements after taking a shot. Steady as she goes.
Inconsistent Shoulder Pressure
Take note of shoulder pressure when in your stance and firing. Make sure that you are exerting the same amount of pressure with every shot. You’ll want to calibrate your stance and style so that it is always uniform. This way your shots will be uniform, and hopefully accurate.
Barrel Too Hot
Your accuracy can suffer due to an overheated barrel. Try to keep your barrel in the shade if possible when shooting outdoors. You might need to cool it down with a fan from time to time. This is a simple yet important thing to be aware of.
ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS THAT CAN AFFECT SHOOTING ACCURACY
Don’t underestimate the environment. It affects everything we do, including our shooting. Environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, elevation, barometric pressure, wind, and light can all affect your accuracy. By becoming aware of your environment you’ll be able to identify the slight changes you need to make to achieve a more accurate shot.
Temperature
Temperature can affect shooting in a variety of ways:
It can affect bullet trajectory
It can affect barrel temperature
It can affect ammunition
It can affect shooter performance
Be aware of the temperature and the effect that it’s having on your shots. Log temperatures at the range and see if you can find any correlations between temperatures and your accuracy. If you find any correlation, try to accommodate for that.
Humidity
When learning how to improve shooting skills & accuracy, you have to keep in mind that humidity can also impact your accuracy. This is because air containing a high degree of moisture is denser than drier air. As a result, there is more resistance on a bullet when shooting through moist air. When air becomes saturated with moisture, the trajectory of your bullets becomes flatter, bullets travel faster, and they retain more energy upon impact.
Elevation and Barometric Pressure
Elevation and barometric pressure can affect air density and the amount of resistance it exerts on bullets as they travel through the air. Your barrel load will perform differently at 5,000 feet above sea level than it would at sea level. It is, therefore, important for hunters to re-zero their rifles when traveling to higher elevations to hunt for game animals such as elk, caribou, bear, and moose. Elevation is definitely something to keep in mind when shooting.
Wind
Many shooters immediately grimace at the thought of having to deal with wind when shooting as it can compromise their accuracy, especially when shooting long range. When steady and predictable, wind can be a good thing. You can easily calculate its effect on the flight of your bullet and make the necessary adjustments to compensate for it. But when the wind is gusting and rising, problems can and do arise. Reading the wind is a skill that must be developed over time through experience and practice. If you’re interested in this area of marksmanship try reading Reading The Wind and Coaching Techniques by M/Sgt James Owens USMC (Retired).
Light
The quality and amount of light illuminating your target will affect your ability to clearly see the target. The farther away you are from your target, the less definition the target will have. Changing light conditions will definitely have an impact on your accuracy. Be aware of changing light when lining up your shot and be conscious of when you’ll need to readjust your lighting or readjust to changed lighting.
TIPS FOR IMPROVING SHOOTING ACCURACY
When you are faced with an aggressive adversary who is out to harm or kill you or your loved one, you might not get a second shot. Accuracy will play a vital role in any such encounter. You do not need fancy upgrades or sophisticated gear to become a good marksman. Although these tools can help, constant practice at the range is enough for you to become an accurate shooter. Here are some tips for improving shooting skills & accuracy.
Trigger Control
Trigger control is one of the first things to talk about when we’re speaking about accuracy. Guns are designed to be accurate, it’s humans not using them the right way that throw them off. Here are some drills to help you improve your trigger control.
Penny on the Front Sight – You can do this drill with a partner. Unload your weapon and remove the magazine. Reset the action on your pistol and have your partner balance a penny on the front sight. “Shoot” the unloaded gun and observe the penny. If you do this properly, the front sight will not dip or move and the penny will stay in place. If the penny falls, it means that the trigger is jerking and causing the gun to move. This will cause you to miss your shot. To keep the penny steady, go for a smooth and continuous trigger press with a clean “break” at the end.
Keep the Slack Out – The more we move the trigger, the more likely we are to miss our shot. The trigger press is composed of three stages: the stop (distance the trigger travels to the rear before encountering resistance), the slack (distance the trigger will still travel while under tension while firing), and the shot (the finishing point of the trigger before firing the weapon). Practice being conscious of all of these stages.
Pencil Drill – Another common problem is not pressing the trigger directly to the rear. In most instances, the firing-side hand over-grips the gun causing the finger to arc as the trigger is pressed. This is called smearing the trigger and it results in shots breaking to the support side. The trigger should be pressed with direct and careful motion. Practice this motion by using a pencil placed in the web of your thumb with the eraser on your trigger finger. Slowly and smoothly press the pencil towards you with the intention of keeping it on the web of the thumb. This will not only help you visualize a good press but create strong habits as well. Muscle memory is key.
Follow-Through
To be successful with how to improve shooting skills & accuracy, you need to enhance your follow-through as well. Follow-through is the act of maintaining a steady platform to send follow-up shots on target. What prevents a good follow-through is anticipation or flinching. This is especially true for newer shooters. Anticipating a shot can cause you to flinch. Be aware of this and overcome it. Here are two proven drills for improving follow-through:
Ball and Dummy – This drill is designed to eliminate flinching and it is done with the help of a partner. Have your partner load your gun with a mix of live and dummy rounds. This will help you become aware of your anticipation of recoil. Use this drill to overcome the urge to anticipate recoil and always follow through with the shot.
Single Shot Drill -Like Ball and Dummy, the aim of this drill is to eliminate shot anticipation. You can do this without a partner which makes it easy to manage. Only load one round. Fire, observe, and repeat. Get used to the recoil and knowing how it works. You’d be surprised to see how quickly this will help you improve your follow-through.
Sight Picture & Alignment
You’ll want to align your sights on target while intently focusing on your front sight. The rear sight should be slightly blurry. However, the front sight should be crystal clear. Here are some drills to help build your confidence with slight alignment:
Bench Shooting – This is one of the best ways to learn certain components of shooting. Here, you eliminate the need to stabilize yourself to make good shots. Bench shooting helps you build confidence and build good sight alignment habits. Sit on a bench with your arms resting on a shooting bag. Take your time and fire shots to develop perfect sight management.
Figure Eight Drill – At about 6 yards, point in at your target, then take all of the slack out of the trigger. Intentionally move the front sight 6 to 8 inches in a figure eight over the bullseye. Break your shot and reset your trigger to shoot again. Continue for 5 or 6 shots. Take note of your accuracy and continue to adjust until you improve.
Master Class
The goal of these drills is to bring all your shooting components together. Unless you are a static bullseye shooter, there will be many moving parts to making a shot. Here are some drills to help you gain confidence in mixing components:
Ragged Hole Drill – From 6 yards, slow fire five rounds into a single point on your target. Do your best to focus on a small portion of the target. Get a target that has 1-to-2-inch dots on it as focus points. Take your time and use the exact same point of aim each time. Do not chase your shots or try to make corrections.
Shrinking Targets – The goal of this drill is to start shrinking shot groups. Look for a target with three or four circles on it, each a little smaller than the previous one. From 6 yards, fire 5 rounds into each circle. The goal is to have the rounds land inside the circle. After mastering one circle, move to a smaller circle and so on and so on.
Single Shot from Draw – This drill brings all your fundamentals together. From a holstered position, smoothly draw your weapon and fire one round into a bullseye. Practice your after-action drills and then re-holster. Repeat this 10 times and then reset yourself. The goal is to shoot solid shots while also focusing on drawing and re-holstering. Slow down when your groups begin to open up. If you are shooting ragged holes, increase your pace.
We hope these tips on improving shooting skills & accuracy will be helpful. Remember to always keep in practice because if you haven’t shot in a while your accuracy will suffer. Accuracy is a part of gun safety, so never slack off on your shooting drills.
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How to Improve Shooting Skills & Accuracy
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As a concealed carrier, it is important that you are efficient and accurate with your firearm. Active shootings can begin and end in the blink of an eye. When faced with a deadly threat you will need to draw and incapacitate that threat as quickly as possible. A missed shot could be the difference between life and death. Furthermore, a stray bullet could accidentally harm or kill an innocent bystander. Guns are not toys. Accuracy is key.
Learning how to improve shooting skills & accuracy is something that every concealed carrier needs to do. You never know when a threat might appear. Becoming an accurate shooter will allow you to confidently carry and be ready in an emergency. So here are some tips on improving shooting skills & accuracy.
COMMON SHOOTING MISTAKES THAT AFFECT ACCURACY
In order to be successful with how to improve shooting skills & accuracy, you’ll need to correct your shooting mistakes. If you find yourself not hitting the mark when shooting, don’t worry. It’s all a matter of practice and correcting mistakes. Try to analyze your shots. Once you identify your problems, it’s just a matter of time before you will overcome them.
Bad Stance
Shooting stance is crucial for accuracy. Make sure that both of your feet out a bit wide are planted firmly for stability. Bend your knees a bit so that your butt is bent back and your shoulders leaning forward. Both arms should be straight out to form an isosceles triangle with your chest. Try these tips and see if they help your accuracy. Changing your stance will feel unnatural at first but eventually you’ll build the muscle memory to make a proper stance comfortable and effective.
Bad Grip
How you grip the gun makes a huge difference. When paired with a good stance, a good grip will do wonders for your accuracy. First, make sure that your thumb can reach the magazine release, safety, and side lock without having to reposition your hand. Keep your wrist straight and aligned with your firearm. This allows for more control and better recoil absorption. Remember, press the trigger, don’t pull it. If you’re finding it difficult to press the trigger you might want to try using a different firearm.
Scope Is Off
When was the last time you sighted your scope? If it’s been a while you should probably do it now. Readjusting your scope takes some time but it will definitely be worth it. One of the best tips on improving shooting skills and accuracy is making sure your equipment is in proper order. Your scope is an important piece of equipment and it will need to be in tiptop shape for you to be accurate.
Wrong Ammo
Just as there are many types of guns, there are many types of ammo. Quality and materials differ from one manufacturer to another. If you notice that your accuracy is a little off when switching to a new kind of ammo, make note of that. Always try to buy quality ammo. Cost should not factor in when we’re discussing something as important as accuracy.
Bad Follow-Through
One common mistake you have to correct for when learning how to improve your shooting skills & accuracy is to not allow your gun take control of your shot. Start by training yourself not to anticipate your shot. Anticipating your shot could cause you to flinch and ruin your accuracy. Use a smooth movement when firing, do not yank the trigger, and keep your gun steady throughout the entire shot. Avoid making sudden movements after taking a shot. Steady as she goes.
Inconsistent Shoulder Pressure
Take note of shoulder pressure when in your stance and firing. Make sure that you are exerting the same amount of pressure with every shot. You’ll want to calibrate your stance and style so that it is always uniform. This way your shots will be uniform, and hopefully accurate.
Barrel Too Hot
Your accuracy can suffer due to an overheated barrel. Try to keep your barrel in the shade if possible when shooting outdoors. You might need to cool it down with a fan from time to time. This is a simple yet important thing to be aware of.
ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS THAT CAN AFFECT SHOOTING ACCURACY
Don’t underestimate the environment. It affects everything we do, including our shooting. Environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, elevation, barometric pressure, wind, and light can all affect your accuracy. By becoming aware of your environment you’ll be able to identify the slight changes you need to make to achieve a more accurate shot.
Temperature
Temperature can affect shooting in a variety of ways:
Be aware of the temperature and the effect that it’s having on your shots. Log temperatures at the range and see if you can find any correlations between temperatures and your accuracy. If you find any correlation, try to accommodate for that.
Humidity
When learning how to improve shooting skills & accuracy, you have to keep in mind that humidity can also impact your accuracy. This is because air containing a high degree of moisture is denser than drier air. As a result, there is more resistance on a bullet when shooting through moist air. When air becomes saturated with moisture, the trajectory of your bullets becomes flatter, bullets travel faster, and they retain more energy upon impact.
Elevation and Barometric Pressure
Elevation and barometric pressure can affect air density and the amount of resistance it exerts on bullets as they travel through the air. Your barrel load will perform differently at 5,000 feet above sea level than it would at sea level. It is, therefore, important for hunters to re-zero their rifles when traveling to higher elevations to hunt for game animals such as elk, caribou, bear, and moose. Elevation is definitely something to keep in mind when shooting.
Wind
Many shooters immediately grimace at the thought of having to deal with wind when shooting as it can compromise their accuracy, especially when shooting long range. When steady and predictable, wind can be a good thing. You can easily calculate its effect on the flight of your bullet and make the necessary adjustments to compensate for it. But when the wind is gusting and rising, problems can and do arise. Reading the wind is a skill that must be developed over time through experience and practice. If you’re interested in this area of marksmanship try reading Reading The Wind and Coaching Techniques by M/Sgt James Owens USMC (Retired).
Light
The quality and amount of light illuminating your target will affect your ability to clearly see the target. The farther away you are from your target, the less definition the target will have. Changing light conditions will definitely have an impact on your accuracy. Be aware of changing light when lining up your shot and be conscious of when you’ll need to readjust your lighting or readjust to changed lighting.
TIPS FOR IMPROVING SHOOTING ACCURACY
When you are faced with an aggressive adversary who is out to harm or kill you or your loved one, you might not get a second shot. Accuracy will play a vital role in any such encounter. You do not need fancy upgrades or sophisticated gear to become a good marksman. Although these tools can help, constant practice at the range is enough for you to become an accurate shooter. Here are some tips for improving shooting skills & accuracy.
Trigger Control
Trigger control is one of the first things to talk about when we’re speaking about accuracy. Guns are designed to be accurate, it’s humans not using them the right way that throw them off. Here are some drills to help you improve your trigger control.
Follow-Through
To be successful with how to improve shooting skills & accuracy, you need to enhance your follow-through as well. Follow-through is the act of maintaining a steady platform to send follow-up shots on target. What prevents a good follow-through is anticipation or flinching. This is especially true for newer shooters. Anticipating a shot can cause you to flinch. Be aware of this and overcome it. Here are two proven drills for improving follow-through:
Sight Picture & Alignment
You’ll want to align your sights on target while intently focusing on your front sight. The rear sight should be slightly blurry. However, the front sight should be crystal clear. Here are some drills to help build your confidence with slight alignment:
Master Class
The goal of these drills is to bring all your shooting components together. Unless you are a static bullseye shooter, there will be many moving parts to making a shot. Here are some drills to help you gain confidence in mixing components:
We hope these tips on improving shooting skills & accuracy will be helpful. Remember to always keep in practice because if you haven’t shot in a while your accuracy will suffer. Accuracy is a part of gun safety, so never slack off on your shooting drills.