Improving marksmanship is not about building up a bare skill. It's about building good habits, getting rid of bad ones, and proper training. It's even the way you hold your rifle.

We have prepared tips for those of you who choose to practice your accuracy. It should be noted right away, however, that depending on your purpose, you might prioritize one of these indicators.

Tips for Accuracy

Shooting seems easy. A shot, a hit, or a miss... A miss is always an annoyance. Knowing how to shoot well does not come by itself, nor is there one solution that can instantly turn a loser into a champion shooter. Shooting speed and accuracy depends, first and foremost, on doing a number of basic things right:

Shooting Stance

A proper shooting stance is important for accurate shooting. As in golf and other sports, the stance is the foundation of the game, so make sure you are standing correctly. The right stance will allow your body to absorb recoil and stabilize you for your next shot.

A proper shooting stance provides stability to the weapon, which has an impact on marksmanship. The stance includes your body position for firing, how you load the weapon, and how you lay the weapon against your body.

To do this quickly and accurately, learn to shoot at the direct range and from the knee. It's very rare that you have a chance to lie down and take good aim unless you're waiting for your prey.

Many experienced shooters prefer the sitting position to the kneeling position. However, this technique is often difficult to do when shooting in the undergrowth or in a field with tall grass. Switching to a lap stance solves the problem.

If you can, the best option for accurate shooting is the prone position. In this position, the body is most relaxed and there is less opportunity to move and throw off the sight.

The scope

It's not just the ability to shoot more accurately and collect a tight group of hits. An unsuitable scope is also a potential problem, ranging from installation and operation errors to hard-to-find defects. We shouldn't forget about such a "dark horse" as the bracket and its mounting bar. Often a single loose or jammed screw can be the cause of malfunctions, inaccurate shots, and sometimes a complete disassembly of the shooting complex and even a big loss of nerves.

So, choose the right scope. What's important for marksmanship:

- Reticle. The target is in the crosshairs of the telescopic sight - perhaps the ultimate symbol of sniping. The crosshair is formed by the reticle - thin strands that are built into the scope and can move when the correction mechanism is engaged. It's great when you can choose a reticle that's comfortable for you. To give you an example, the AGM Secutor TS25-384 reticle, has five reticle options and even a color change.

- Magnification. It would seem that the bigger the optical magnification of the sight, the easier it is to see the distant target. But practice tells us about something else. Already after 12x magnification clear vision of the target is noticeably hampered by flicker-refraction of light.

- There is no definite answer to the question of what is better for accuracy: a fixed or variable magnification sight. Their reliability (because of less number of moving parts) speaks in favor of the former. On the other hand, the shooter is "tied" to the same field of view, which can complicate the task.

However, as experience shows, it does not make much sense to chase the maximum settings, if we are talking about the accuracy of shooting. Much more important is the quality of your sight's optics.

Hold the rifle correctly

Press the rifle firmly against your shoulder, so that it does not dangle when you shoot. But it is not necessary to press the buttstock strongly into the shoulder and cling to the weapon by a death grip. Everything should happen smoothly.

If you shoot lying down, a shooter can take the rifle, rest it on his shoulder, press the cheek to the buttstock and his eye will be exactly on the optical axis of the sight. If the sniper needs to extend or retract the neck to aim, then an additional adjustment is required.

Do not pull your weapon back

Keep aiming even after the shot has been fired. The processes in a shotgun are somewhat slower than, for example, in a pistol. Do not pull the barrel away immediately after firing.

 

Mistakes that affect Rifle Accuracy

It's always frustrating to miss. If someone else was next to you, a miss can be harmful to a person. What can keep a shooter from taking good aim and making an accurate shot?

A poorly prepared gun

First, the reason for your miss may be that the stock locking screws are not tight enough. It is worth making sure that these screws are tight. But remember not to over tighten them. And yes, you cannot tighten them with the usual screwdriver, so it is worth getting a tool that will fit such screws.

Don't forget about the cleanliness of the barrel. The barrel of your rifle gets dirty not only with lead residue. Oil splashes can also cause clogging. Therefore, the barrel should always be kept perfectly clean.

If you are not sure of your skills as a gunsmith, give your rifle to a specialist and ask him to perform routine maintenance . Preferably not a week before the opening of the season, but earlier.

Poorly attached  optics

The next reason could be a loose scope mount. If you have an open sight, check if the front sight and reticle are firmly fixed. You should do the same with the optics. Just make sure that the optic is firmly fixed to the gun.

 

Don't forget that, for example, buying a Steinway piano won't make you a great pianist by itself. Likewise, the perfect sniper rifle and the most accurate optics that money can buy will not replace great marksmanship. Everyone understands that skill is achieved by training, and the more you shoot, the better you do.