Becoming a better marksman?

[Luke The Drifter]

So I've been out shooting a bit lately now that its warming up and its become pretty obvious to me that I need to step up my game in the marksmanship department. I know that practice, practice, practice is a big part of it, along with knowing what your rifle can do and your load's characteristics. But what about stuff like breathing, becoming more steady etc? I'd like to hear some of your guy's techniques and such. Currently I'm shooting a Ruger M77 Mark II in .300 win mag with 180gr Hornady sst's and a bushnell 3200 3-9x56mm

Thanks guys

 

[mountainbigbull]

I think it best to practice with a small caliber like 22 then shoot your big caliber only handful of times to avoid a flinch or pulling your shoots and cheaper too. Take you shot on the exhale, squeeze your whole hand not just your trigger finger. Pull your rifle tight to your shoulder. That seemed to work for me. Maybe someone else has some more tips?

 

[H2SNOW]

apparentlty you can buy all the goodies ..and all the high tech sh1t ...but at the end of the day ..you are either a shooter or not ....

to some of us it comes natural ....I know that you are up on all the balistics,weights and loads ...but that don't make you a sniper in the end does it ....

some guys can afford Porches ..but couldn't drive a stick up a dead dogs *** ..

just a shot because you always yip about rifles ..sorry if it offended you...try the breathing technique with a slightly lower caliber .......and hammer it

just maybe your buddy from he Yukon may be a little more seasoned than some
PS this message will self destruct in T Minus.....36 hrs

 

[Wade]

Heck, get yourself a nice Pellet Rifle, and practice until you can cut a dandelions from across your yard. Then see if you rifle skills improve. Nice part, there still legal to shoot in most places.

 

[Luke The Drifter]

apparentlty you can buy all the goodies ..and all the high tech sh1t ...but at the end of the day ..you are either a shooter or not ....

to some of us it comes natural ....I know that you are up on all the balistics,weights and loads ...but that don't make you a sniper in the end does it ....

some guys can afford Porches ..but couldn't drive a stick up a dead dogs *** ..

just a shot because you always yip about rifles ..sorry if it offended you...try the breathing technique with a slightly lower caliber .......and hammer it

just maybe your buddy from he Yukon may be a little more seasoned than some
PS this message will self destruct in T Minus.....36 hrs

Never said I had anything fancy, hell I bought the gun used off of my cousin. I'm gonna start putting more rounds through my .22, seems like I got a ton of .22 rounds kicking around anyways.

Thanks folks!

 

[Motley Doo]

Yeah, I started off with a CZ 452 in .22lr, LOT cheaper to learn on. I've improved a ton from just getting out and shooting, and and I'm still learning, but getting comfortable with your gun makes it a lot easier! Now, I strike fear into barn sparrows from 100 yds away.

 

[Supplicate]

I think it best to practice with a small caliber like 22 then shoot your big caliber only handful of times to avoid a flinch or pulling your shoots and cheaper too.

Bah.

The only reason to shoot a rimfire more is the price. Only way I've ever seen anyone successfully get over flinch is to work their way up the calibers and then shoot the hell out of the big boys.

That and getting scope kissed for not paying attention

 

[MPS]

I think it best to practice with a small caliber like 22 then shoot your big caliber only handful of times to avoid a flinch or pulling your shoots and cheaper too. Take you shot on the exhale, squeeze your whole hand not just your trigger finger. Pull your rifle tight to your shoulder. That seemed to work for me. Maybe someone else has some more tips?

this is exactly what I would tell you too....and I have the same rifle....Ruger M-77 300 win mag....im gonna lighten the trigger pull on it...pretty stiff.

 

[snopropanther]

start running and build your cardio up.

 

[Meatman]

screw it....get a street sweeper


on a serious note here are some basics. As stated before, shoot on the exhale, but maintain a natural breatthing pattern. Sight picture is important, always make sure that you are holding the rifle or looking through the scope/sights the same way everytime. For instance, when I qualify on my M4 I always keep the tip of my nose touching the charging handle. If you are working with iron sights, keep the front sight post in focus and center mass on whatever you are shooting at. This works for all the way up to at least 300m I've taken shots at 400m and can knock it down half the time. If you are in a supported prone position make sure to keep as much of your chest off the ground as you can, **** your body sideways towards your non dominant side....every breath you take will change your sight picture vertically when you inhale and exhale. I haven't had much oppurtunity to work with a scope but will be practicing a lot more this summer once it gets nicer and I can find a long enough range.

 

[MARV1]

Can't argue with you H2SNOW, well put. I shoot my Ruger M77MarkII only when needed and that is to fill the freezer. I'll shoot the crap outa the .22's .22wmr and .223's before any of the bigbores. Price of ammo is ridiculous no matter how you put it plus you can't eat the paper you shoot or the steel targets.

 

[Blu Du]

300 is pretty spendy to shoot. i agree get a .22 my dad shoots 20,000 rounds a year of 22. he had a friend that worked at federal and would bring him 10 gallons of 22 that was swept off the the floor at federal every year

 

[Ollie]

3 things
BREATH, long and slow. I generally fire on the exhale.
RELAX. if your tense, you will flinch
SLOW DOWN. Take your time. there is no hurry.

Relax and just think about your target, once on your tager, slowly pull the trigger while you exhale. Start out by taking at least 3 or 4 long full breaths while you are on target. You will get a feel for how the rifle moves with your breaths, once you get that figured out, the rest is easy.

Other than that, prectice.

 

[spring snow hero]

improvise a rest.......backpack, bipod, fencepost, tree.......someting solid. that will help a ton. learn how to dope the wind.....critical. know the range you are shooting every time. find a load and stick to it, don't be the guy that has 40 different loads for everything from earthworms to elephants. have a buddy load your rifle for you as you shoot, tell him to load a spent round randomly.......that will show your flinch.

I used to be all about the biggest rifles I could buy. last couple years I have gone on elk killing sprees. in the end, my 257 worked as well as my ultramags. if you live in big bear country go big, if you want to shoot beyond 6-700 yds.....go big, but otherwise it is unneeded.

practice practice practice

 

[HeadLever]

I would add to get a good trigger and become familiar with it.

 

[Supplicate]

I would add to get a good trigger and become familiar with it.

A person that has the skill to do a steady and even trigger pull on any trigger will shoot better then a person without the skill with a Jewel/Rifle Basix/other trigger.

The easiest thing to do, rather then buy a new trigger, is just do a trigger job to the OEM trigger. Consistency is the goal....

 

[Supplicate]

if you live in big bear country go big

.223AI kills em just as dead as a .300RUM if you have the stones to back it up.

I should try and find the video that was posted on another forum of that exact match up (.223AI meets blackie).

 

[diggerdown]

One of the most important things is to practice on small targets. A 6" bullseye will result in a 6" shooter. I use 1" dots with a 1/4" mark in the center. I started with an old .22 and kept practicing by shooting spent .22 casings of the ends of twigs. Bumble bees and flys make good targets too.

 

[xrated]

good ideas guys. after this year deer hunting cluster I'm gonna be spending some time at the bench with an old trusty duece duece and soem time with da turdy turdy.

 

[spring snow hero]

.223AI kills em just as dead as a .300RUM if you have the stones to back it up.

I should try and find the video that was posted on another forum of that exact match up (.223AI meets blackie).

heck a well placed pellet from an air rifle would do just fine in the right place......but I would not go hunt brownies with a 223....ai or not.