6 Rifle Shooting Mistakes You Can Fix

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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