Learning to shoot a rifle well

[huzar]

There seems to be no shortage of training materials, both on the internet and otherwise, that deals with how to get better at shooting a handgun. Lots of videos on grip, draw, trigger pull, gadgets and doo-dads... you name it. There's also lots of courses that cover how to shoot a handgun. I'm no expert with the handgun, but at this point I probably have something like 10 or 15K rounds of various calibers downrange, so let's be generous and say that I'm adequately proficient with one. What I'm looking for are good materials or courses on how to shoot a rifle well. My current goal is getting better with my various bolt-action rifles, so let's say these are hunting and target shooting applications. My rifles are definitely more accurate than I am, so I'm looking at pointers, materials, and courses to help me get focus my training better rather than just spending 3-5 years and 10 or 15K rounds.

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[Member 5605]

22LR's are great. Get quality ammo and practice at 100-200Y, your errors will show. helps to have you work on breathing, trigger pull and not flinching

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Shoot a rifle well..?

Practice....practice doing what is safe and what works well for you , often.
Don't worry 'bout how the other guy shoots and what works for him.
Concentrate on making your next shot better than you last shot.
Andy

 

[huzar]

Thanks, @Dyjital and @Andy54Hawken -- I'm already more than happy to invest the time and money. I have several 22LR rifles, and they're part of my existing training regimen. My favorite for some reason is a CZ452 Scout -- normally a kids training rifle, so much fun to just point and click. My goal with that one is to have it be a tack driver at under 50 yds.

What I'm hoping for in this thread are explicitly NOT shortcuts -- I don't think there are any -- but rather, pointers to or instruction on technique and what I should be paying attention to from the start.

 

[DirectDrive]

From the bench, with good equipment you should be able to shoot inside of an inch (with optics) at 100 yards.
It's about controlling your breathing, the rifle and your finger all at the same time.
Let the report of the rifle surprise you with each press (trigger pull).

If you can shoot a pistol well, a rifle is much easier in my opinion.
I have rifle shooting buddies that are terrible with pistols.

 

[Ura-Ki]

It's all about learning the basics of marksmanship, learning how the sights work, learning how the rifle responds to YOUR actions, such and the trigger pull, breathing, shooting position, range, angles, and such. Learn to shoot first with Iron Sights, scopes don't teach the needed skills and are often a crutch that can really leave you hangin later, and they allow bad habits to form! Learn the basics with irons, and ballistics, what is the bullet doing once you squeeze the trigger, both inside the barrel and on it's way to the target and how that can all be effected by all the other factors! Practice, Practice, PRACTICE! There is no right way, each person learns differently and in different ways at different times! Finally, find an Apple Seed Course near you and attend the entire course, it will set you on the true path to Marksmanship. Once you have completed that, find an old U.S. Army field manual from the 20's to the 50's and follow that using your rifle and irons! Become the Rifleman at one with his rifle in all conditions and all situations! Practice, Practice, Practice!

 

[Member 5605]

you work on breathing, trigger pull and not flinching

@huzar these are the three things that will screw anyone up if not mastered.
I'd say these are the most important, with these mastered you can shoot ANY rifle or pistol well. I mean we can add secondary things along with tertiary items to this list but the time I've spent shooting and watching others shoot, these three things screw up novices with Flinching being the top.

I'm adding 'anticipating recoil' into flinching even though it's a prior action reaction.
it doesn't matter grip strength, grip style etc. if you can't remove the flinch or get a smooth trigger pull.

That's $.95 of my $1.00

I spent two hours watching 10 kids shoot 22's in a controlled manner. Some were first time shooters and some it was second or third time. The ones who controlled these three things had the prettiest targets with the centers missing.

 

[Bluesteel9]

Take your time with one that you want to excel on. The rest... have fun and enjoy. I have a 6.5 CM that I only have about 500 rounds in but I'll bet I can nail a nats bubblegum to the point on an ice pick easily at 100 yards. That's not much to be said other than I enjoy it. Then I go have a little fun with those other beauties. Have fun...

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Take your time with one that you want to excel on.

This is very good advice.
I am often asked :
"How can you shoot your Hawken rifle so good...?"
Simple answer is lots of loading , carrying and shooting practice with it.

As far as pointers or instructions on techniques go :
I can only repeat what I said earlier:
Find a way to shoot that is safe and works for you...
Practice that...
And concentrate on making your next shot better than you last shot.
Andy

 

[orygun]

One word;

APPLESEED.

Wanna learn to shoot your rifle? this is the place to go.

 

[orygun]

I "cheated" and skipped the rimfire event, heading straight for the two day Known Distance shoot. It wasn't really cheating. The rimfire event is highly suggested and would be THE best place to start for a new shooter. And while I wasn't the oldest guy there, I've been shooting a long time.
These pictures are from the one day KD Qualifier event and were taken by another member who happened to be there that day. The course of fire at these shoots is 100 yards standing, 200 yards kneeling, 3 and 400 yards prone. All with different time frames, all of which are very difficult to do with a blind magazine hunting rifle. Life's gotten too busy to attend any other Appleseed events, but I am going to change that, and I'm going to take my grandson with me.

 

[No_Regerts]

Shooting a rifle has some similarities compared to a pistol, but there are other considerations regarding equipment setup and fit. I'd start with finding material that helps you ensure the rifle is setup correctly. This includes proper optic mounting using parts that are proven to maintain zero, stock fit, stock bedding, and the ability to diagnose common gremlins that keep you from shooting your best. A good book that helped me is "Make it Accurate" by Craig Boddington. This book deals mostly with hunting rifles.

After you've got your rifle set up, you have to put yourself in the best place to succeed. People argue whether the classic shooting positions are obsolete or widely applicable due to an individuals body limitations, but spend some time examining writings about these positions. You may not be able to assume all of them, but the mechanics of them are applicable. "Hunter's Guide to Long Range Shooting" by Wayne Van Zwoll provides a lot of that information and a bunch of ballistics gack.

Then it comes down to selecting the right ammunition for your desired purpose and your rifle. Then, lots of practice.

 

[joshkk]

I have attended the Appleseed event twice and benefitted tremendously from it. The single biggest take-away for me, which has also helped improve my handgun and archery skills, is understanding and finding your "Natural Point of Aim." Once you understand that and how to adjust your body to achieve it, your groups will tighten dramatically and you will feel more comfortable at all practical distances.

Here is youtube playlist you can watch and dry-fire practice along with at home (videos 12-17 are best for practical advice.)

 

[bbbass]

Shoot benchrest first.

Do NOT lay the barrel on the front rest... it will bounce and cause you to be off.

Some say to hold the fore-end of the stock, some say don't. I have found it doesn't matter... for me. But I like laying the off hand on the table under the rifle.

Snug the rifle into the shoulder firmly... not too much, not too little.

Yep, don't flinch or anticipate recoil... squeeze SLOWLY, the trigger break should surprise you.

If your rifle has a stiff, gritty or sloppy trigger, FIX IT. A new trigger or a polish job. In my experience a good rifle trigger is a major factor!!!

The sights will wander a bit on the target, don't worry too much... that will decrease over time, keep squeezing!

Learn to gauge the wind along the path of the bullet. A varying wind is worst for accuracy, you have to use some external indicators and try to time the wind. Our range has some of that plastic tape hanging from the target frames... can see them blowing/moving with any wind.

Don't worry about whether you shoot iron sights or optic/scope... if you will never use iron sights in the future, it won't matter. Just shoot!!!

For the utmost accuracy, start reloading. Testing loads is fun and gets you shooting more. If not, buy several brands/loads and find out what works best, what your rifle likes. As No_regerts suggested.

 

[ron]

Highpower Rifle is one of the oldest rifle shooting disciplines for over 100 years. Great group of shooters that
welcome and help first timers. You will learn to shoot, standing, sitting, prone, slow fire and rapid fire, natural point of aim,
using a sling, reading the wind, trigger control, pulling targets in the pits, windage and elevation corrections. Classification
system allows you to compete against people of your own skill level. In the beginning of the year they have several
'Clinic Matches' . Coached shooting for beginners shot at 100 yards. Check the schedule. Loaner rifles are available
juniors take priority. DRRC 'Service Rifle' Matches are a good way start too. AR rifles dominate. Garands are used in
"Vintage" matches.

Highpower

The high power rifle course of fire is based on the NRA National Match Course. Rifle types include: Service rifle: M1, M14/M1A, and M16/AR15. NRA Match rifle: Cal .223 to .30-06 metallic sights...

www.ossa.org

Douglas Ridge Rifle Club - Service Rifle Program
Slow fire prone at 600 yards.


Rapid fire sitting at 200 yards.

 

[thorborg]

For me rifle shooting is all about the steady. Chronic back issues precluded the much touted and extremely effective ground sitting position much of my life and I never mastered the sling for quick and omnidirectional shots when in close brushy quarters. Lastly, the areas I have hunted never seem to have afforded a clear sight in the prone which I can do well if it were to ne available. While I've done pretty well within about 100 yards free standing for those surprise or running shots, I've gotten very good at finding trees, branches, boulders fence post and the like for standing and kneeling positions.
Beyond the obvious needs of breathing and trigger pull practice, I would recommend fortifying your rifle hunting expertise using a 22 and in the woods similar to the terrain you intend to hunt. Look for, and learn to find natures supports as you encounter them. I believe you will benefit more than the stark and sterol environment of a shooting range. Just a little helpful support will do wonders for increasing your accuracy. unless you are a stand shooter I would forgo mechanical shooting aids.

 

[bbbass]

For me rifle shooting is all about the steady. Chronic back issues precluded the much touted and extremely effective ground sitting position much of my life and I never mastered the sling for quick and omnidirectional shots when in close brushy quarters. Lastly, the areas I have hunted never seem to have afforded a clear sight in the prone which I can do well if it were to ne available. While I've done pretty well within about 100 yards free standing for those surprise or running shots, I've gotten very good at finding trees, branches, boulders fence post and the like for standing and kneeling positions.
Beyond the obvious needs of breathing and trigger pull practice, I would recommend fortifying your rifle hunting expertise using a 22 and in the woods similar to the terrain you intend to hunt. Look for, and learn to find natures supports as you encounter them. I believe you will benefit more than the stark and sterol environment of a shooting range. Just a little helpful support will do wonders for increasing your accuracy. unless you are a stand shooter I would forgo mechanical shooting aids.

Yep!

Once benchrest is learned, a "hunter" needs to move on to shooting from ALL the other positions. Including use of sling or no sling. Several posters mentioned meets that are great for teaching those skillz.

I've harvested game from offhand, but mostly from sitting... since I prefer to sit in a likely spot and let my group drive game to me. That said, I have had to take shots from other positions when hunting alone... kneeling is probably the one I've used to most, since it can be established quickly and gives a good view vs prone. Your advice about natural aids is well taken (I've used stumps, logs, and heavy branches). I've looked at various stick/support aids, but never tried any.

 

[Tacos4me]

Ryan Cleckner videos on YouTube and his book are full of good objective information.

 

[ma96782]

Well.....you know who and a little more than half the country does NOT want a "well regulated militia".

So.....maybe it's something to consider? Before you take the plunge.

You can tell something, by the amount of Parks and Rec. Public Shooting Ranges in comparison to the support that the "other sports" get.

Aloha, Mark

 

[Pepe-lepew]

If you want to learn how to shoot a rifle better the try small bore and high power rifle games. They have been around for over a century helping make rifle marksman.