Skip to main content
Realtree Mobile Antler Logo
  • Camo
  • Hunting
  • Fishing
  • Store
  • About
×

Camo

Shop Camo

Realtree Products Realtree Licensed Products Where to Buy Realtree

Editorial

Articles Videos Galleries Wallpapers Blogs About Realtree All Camo Content
Can't find what you're looking for?
Realtree Camo Guide

Camo Patterns

Realtree Timber
Realtree Excape
Realtree Max-7
Realtree Edge
Realtree Aspect
All Camo
Patterns
Can't find what you're looking for?
Realtree Camo Guide

Hunting

Air Fryer Chicken Fried Backstrap with Bacon Gravy

February 8, 2023   |  Timber 2 Table Wild Game Recipes

Breakfast Sausage Seasoned Backstrap and Eggs

February 3, 2023   |  Timber 2 Table Wild Game Recipes

Categories

  • Deer Hunting
  • Turkey Hunting
  • Waterfowl Hunting
  • Bowhunting
  • Big Game Hunting
  • Fishing
  • Predator Hunting
  • Small Game Hunting
  • Guns and Shooting
  • Food Plots / Land Management

Editorial

  • Articles
  • News Articles
  • Photo Galleries
  • Videos
  • Quizzes
  • Blogs

Community

  • Trophy Den
  • Hunting Forums
  • Forum Registration
  • BUCKMASTERS
  • BONE COLLECTOR
  • Seek One Giveaway
  • Waffle House

Timber 2 Table

  • Venison Recipes
  • Wild Turkey Recipes
  • Upland Game Bird Recipes
  • Duck and Goose Recipes
  • Elk Recipes
  • Moose Recipes
  • Bear Recipes
  • Pork Recipes
  • Squirrel Recipes
  • Fish Recipes
  • Rabbit Recipes
  • Wild Fruits and Vegetables
  • Raccoon Recipes
  • Beaver Recipes

Shows

  • Spring Thunder
  • Black Cloud
  • Bill Jordan’s Realtree Outdoors
  • Monster Bucks®
  • Realtree Road Trips®

Brand Ambassadors

  • Hunting
  • Fishing

Resources

  • Outfitters
  • State DNRs
  • Promotions
  • Fish & Game Forecaster

Fishing

Store

About

  • Guns and Shooting
  • Articles
  • Videos
  • Galleries
  • News
  • Blogs
  • Quizzes

6 Rifle Shooting Mistakes You Can Fix

By Kristin AlbertsJuly 30, 2019
Share

A little extra trigger time at the range can help fix most of these accuracy-robbing problems

Whether hunting or target shooting on the range, few things are more frustrating to a rifle shooter than hitting off-target. Even the most accomplished shooters sometimes find themselves falling victim to these common rifle-shooting mistakes. Here’s how you can recognize — and repair — the problem and get back into the bullseye. 

1. Hurrying Your Shot

© Bill Konway photo

While hunters can be quick on the trigger, rushing to make any shot seldom ends with the most accurate results. When you find yourself struggling to hit dead center, slow things down. Focusing on your breathing is often the best way to combat rushing. Train yourself to take a couple deep breaths, and then fire in the first few seconds after exhaling. That extra time, partnered with attention to breathing/body/calmness, will make you a better, more consistent shooter. 

2. Poor Positioning

© John Hafner photo

One rifle-shooting mistake often leads into another, and odds are good those who are rushing to get a shot off may also find themselves in an uncomfortable position on the gun. Whether leaning at awkward angles or creeping up on the scope, pulling the trigger from a poor position can lead any shot astray. Just as it’s easy to remedy the error of rushing, so it is with getting into proper alignment on the rifle. Even hunters who by necessity find themselves shooting in unorthodox positions in the field can still train themselves to do so with proper form. Learn those mechanics and muscle memory on the range by practicing shouldering the rifle and visualizing the same sight picture each time.  

3. Not Following Through

© Kristin Alberts photo

Even when the stars of rifle accuracy seem to be aligning, you’re taking your time, controlling breathing, and in proper position on the rifle, there’s yet another pitfall to avoid. There can be a tendency to pick the head off the stock and do the “bird-dog peek” before the shot. Whether it’s a subconscious desire to see the impact on the target or shooting a rifle that doesn’t fit, raising your cheek from the comb will result in larger group sizes. Luckily, there are several solutions. If your rifle fits well, the fix is as easy as retraining yourself to be mindful of the proper cheek weld on the stock every single time. In addition, focus on the follow-through, which means continuing to focus on the sights through the shooting process and only moving your head off the buttstock once you’ve reacquired a sight picture on the target.

4. Lousy Trigger Control

© Bill Konway photo

When all other variables come together in timing and proper mechanics, a lousy trigger pull will ruin the day every time. Whether jerking the trigger or using the wrong part of the finger, the fix is quick and can even be practiced in the living room using snap caps. Ensure a consistent, even pull rearward on the bang switch using the pad of the index finger forward of the first joint. The correct mechanics on a rifle trigger, in fact, is not a pull at all, but rather a controlled squeeze. Master the slow squeeze by dry firing without the worry of recoil and then move that training to the range. You’ll find practice makes perfect when everything culminates in sub-MOA groups.

5. Fear of Recoil

© John Hafner photo

Whether or not we’d all admit it publicly, even the best shooters among us will fall victim to the effects of stout recoil at one time or another. Aside from downsizing calibers — which is seldom ideal — there’s no way to remove recoil, but it is possible to minimize its ill effects and subsequent flinching. The easiest way to retrain is either with dryfire or rimfire practice. But getting back in the recoiling rifle saddle is a necessity, and a proper-fitting rifle helps, as does shooting from a position that allows the body to roll with the recoil, lessening felt impact on the shoulder.  

6. Inexperience with the Gun

© Kristin Alberts photo

Of all the pitfalls for rifle shooters, inexperience is the easiest — and most enjoyable — to remedy. The answer? Go shooting! Practice all the aforementioned fixes. Take your time, use the proper body mechanics, breathe, and squeeze that trigger. The best practice is sending rounds downrange in a controlled environment, using a solid rest. But finally, before heading out to hunt, shoot from the positions in which you intend to make shots on game and you’ll find yourself blissfully on target. 

Any day on the range beats a day at work, so use our solutions to spend more quality training time behind the rifle, making yourself a more accurate shooter and confident hunter.

Build Your Own: 7 Tips for an Ultimate Home Shooting Range

More Realtree guns and shooting. Follow Realtree on Facebook.

Kimber Hunter Rifle in Realtree EDGE  Preview
Kimber

Kimber Hunter Rifle in Realtree EDGE

$973 Learn More

Get the latest guns and shooting news, tips and tactics in your inbox!

You Might Also Like

  • Gallery
    Realtree EDGE Camo Hunting Gear Gifts for Deer Hunters

    November 21, 2018   |  From Galleries

  • 10 Best Guns for Hog Hunting

    June 16, 2014   |  From Articles

  • Mountain Lion Attacks Young Boy on California Road

    February 8, 2023   |  The Realblog with Stephanie Mallory

  • Gallery
    The Story of Whittaker Guns

    July 16, 2019   |  From Galleries


Realtree EDGE®Big GamePredators & Small GameNorth AmericaFallWinterCroplandsHard Woods / Mixed ForestMountains / RockyOpen / Arid / BrushyPine / ConiferousRiver BottomWetlandsRifle
Realtree.com
  • COMPANY HISTORY
  • MEDIA ROOM
  • ADVERTISE
  • WALLPAPERS
  • FAQ & CONTACT US
  • ACCESSIBILITY
  • LEGAL
  • EXTRANET
  • LICENSING
  • COMPANY HISTORY
  • MEDIA ROOM
  • ADVERTISE
  • WALLPAPERS
  • FAQ & CONTACT US
  • ACCESSIBILITY
  • LEGAL
  • EXTRANET
  • LICENSING

Realtree is committed to providing an inclusive and accessible experience to everyone, including those with disabilities.
©2023 Jordan Outdoor Enterprises, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
Site by Gray Loon.

  • Realtree