Firing techniques or marksmanship is one of the most essential skills every shooter needs to master.
It doesn’t matter if you’re in law enforcement, or a professional or recreational shooter, there are some rules of marksmanship you need to follow if you want to go to the range. You need to practice them to increase your skills so that you can shoot under pressure.
Being well versed in shooting can help your performance in combat or in a tournament. You need to be subconsciously aware of the dos and don’ts to shoot accurately at any given situation.
Shooting Technique: Rules You Should Follow
Starting from the fundamentals to ensuring firearm safety, there are so many things you need to consider to improve your accuracy.
Here are some of the techniques that will help you to become a perfect shooter.
Get The Right Gear
Before you start shooting, you need the right gun You can’t shoot at your target without the right gear at your hand, no matter how much of an expert you are.
Even the best shooter can fail without the right firearm. That’s why you need to do proper research on which one is perfect for you and your profession. You can also look into the hunting gear reviews by Mike Salcedo to get an idea about different types of shooting and hunting gears.
Practice The Fundamentals
There are five fundamental elements of firearm shooting that must be followed to make sure the bullets go where you want them to.
All these elements should be practiced together since they work as one process.
Aiming
Being able to hit the target should be first priority while shooting. That’s why aiming is the first fundamental you need to practice.
To aim perfectly, align your sight with the target and keep both of your eyes open. It will reduce your eye strain and make focusing easier. To become more effective, keep your aiming time short.
Breath Control
It’s important to hold your breath while shooting since it can move the gun enough to throw off your shot. So, before you shoot, take a deep breath and exhale half of it.
Now, stop breathing momentarily as you squeeze the trigger. However, don’t hold your breath for too long cause it will make your heart beat faster, which will increase your pulse and move your gun.
Hold Control
Learning to hold the firearm steady is a must since it lets you maintain proper sight picture and sight alignment while shooting.
However, it’s a bit challenging as you need to hold your body still. Since you can’t eliminate every movement, you must focus on any necessary movement on your target and minimize it.
Trigger Control
Trigger control is the most difficult fundamental to master, meaning that you need to practice daily.
Poor control can increase the unavoidable movement of a pistol, thus reduces the accuracy.
To avoid such movement, place the trigger between your fingertip and the first joint of your index finger. Press the trigger straight rearward in a smooth continuous movement.
Follow-Through
In gun firing, follow-through is basically to maintain the other fundamentals of shooting until the firearm settles back into the aiming after firing.
It means you’re not finished just after the moment you fire the shot. Your concentration should be on the front sight, the grip must be steady, the trigger finger should come to “reset”, and you need to restart your breathing and prepare for the next shot.
Don’t Be Intimidated
Firing a gun requires you to be relaxed. No matter how much you practice, things can go wrong if you feel threatened by your firearm.
Remember, there’s almost no chance for you to get injured as long as you’re on the opposite side of the barrel. Although there will be a slight kick when you fire, it’s quite normal.
Don’t worry too much about the kick since doing so will ultimately ruin all the fundamentals and you will end up missing the target.
Wear The Right Attire
Most people don’t understand the importance of the right attire during a firearm shooting. However, wearing a tight-collared shirt is essential, especially when you’re shooting indoors.
After each shot, pistols and semi-automatic rifles eject spent brass cases that are extremely hot. They can bounce on the wall and land almost anywhere, even on your skin.
To protect you from this injury, always wear a shirt with a closely cut collar. Instead of flip flops that leave skin exposed, try to wear proper shoes with socks.
Use Cloth Tape
You may have seen sports trainers use a cloth tape on ankles and such. It can be an excellent item to keep in the bag when you’re off to shooting.
Longer firing sessions can cause blisters on your hand. That cloth tape can protect your damaged skin and handle minor cuts, letting you enjoy the rest of your outing.
Clean Your Firearm Afterwards
It’s essential to clean every single crevice of your gun. These weapons are made of many tiny and precise mechanisms. Even a small carbon build-up can ruin the chamber of your firearm, causing a malfunction. That’s why you need to perfectly clean the gun every time you use them.
Also, don’t get nervous if your weapon jams and prevents you from putting more round. Just slap the bottom of your lowest-bidder magazine and help the next round to enter the chamber.
If this process doesn’t work, don’t panic. Just clear your gun and take it to the safety officer.
Get Yourself Cleaned After The Shooting
While you’re busy cleaning your weapon, don’t forget to clean yourself up as well.
Lead residues from the bullet dust will be on your hand and body and there’s a high chance of the residue to get in your food if you don’t wash up after shooting.
Also, don’t touch your face or eyes without washing your hands since the residue can cause a burning sensation.
Final Thoughts
Dealing with firearms require a lot of attention and practice. Since it’s a bit risky, taking enough precautions can help you stay relaxed and focus on your target.
Most recreational shooters don’t even practice the fundamentals properly and end up being frustrated due to their lack of accuracy with the firearms.
If you properly follow the above techniques, you will be able to shoot accurately, regardless of shooting position or range.
