Going inside a gun range to practice shooting is both exciting and intimidating. However, feelings of frustration can easily take over when you keep missing. That’s why, in this article, we’ll give you easy, doable tips to help you improve your firing.
Ready? Shoot!
5 Beginner-Friendly Steps to Improve Your Shooting Skills
1. Stabilize
Fix your stance so you don’t stumble after squeezing the trigger. There are two types of stances you can do when you shoot: the Isosceles stance or the Weaver stance.
The Isosceles stance is when your feet are shoulder width apart. Slightly bend your knees, hinge forward at the hips so you lean a bit towards the front while pulling your butt a little bit backward. Extend your arms out to aim.
On the other hand, the Weaver stance is having one foot slightly backward than the other (approximately a 45-degree angle), still keeping the feet shoulder-width apart. Lean your upper body a bit forward to stabilize yourself.
Need some visuals? We got you! Check out this video demo by Top Shot Champion, Chris Cheng:
2. Aim
Focus on your target closely. Align your sight with the target while keeping both eyes open. Doing so can help you get a good depth perception, keep your field of view wide open, and have good balance overall.
Learn more about this and additional sight alignment tips by Champion Handgun Shooter, Doug Koenig in these videos:
3. Breathe
Did you know that how you breathe can affect your accuracy in shooting? In the range, you have to relax and control your breathing. Inhale and exhale in a slow and steady manner as it can throw you and your alignment off easily. Some would also say to breathe with your belly, not by raising your shoulders.
To give you more context and awesome tips in breathing, watch this video by Chris Sajnog:
4. Squeeze
Hold the gun comfortably and, whenever you’re ready, squeeze the trigger slowly. The trick is to apply slow and steady pressure onto the trigger until the gun fires. Make sure to stand firm so you don’t fall back. And if you’re hitting multiple targets while being timed, follow-through and refocus to shoot the following targets.
Here’s a video with trigger control tips by a champion handgun shooter, Doug Koenig:
5. Follow-Through
Managing recoil and follow-through essentially means realigning the sights to prepare you to shoot the next target. Recoil happens after pulling the target when the gun or your arm slightly moves up. Meanwhile, follow-through means pushing the gun back down and going back to your starting position.
To give you some more visuals, watch this helpful video by Smith and Wesson:
Other Tips to Improve Your Shooting Experience
Try shooting with various tools
Practice makes perfect, they say. If you truly want to improve your skills and be a versatile shooter, we recommend shooting with various weapons and tools such as multi-caliber 2rds bullet holder, silencers, scopes, and other attachments.
Related Article: Everything You Need to Know About Multi-Caliber 2rd Spare Holder
Build a pre-shot routine
Do you have a pre-shot routine? If you don’t have one yet, it’s best to start building one now. This helps you focus on your task and target, and allows you to double check for issues that might be affecting your sight alignment and shooting.
Not sure what you should do? Here’s an example:
- Inspect weapon and calibrate if needed
- Load the bullets and disengage the safety
- Get into your shooting position
- Control your breath
- Align your sights and focus
- Relax your arm and shoulders
- Prepare for recoil and follow-through
Train with Friends
Lastly, don’t forget to have fun! And what better way to do that than by doing it with your friends? Not only will you guys bond over learning a new hobby together, but make some memories, too! Perhaps you could even have a friendly competition to see who can hit five targets the fastest!
Final Thoughts
No matter your skill level, practicing how to shoot is an enjoyable activity no matter what. It allows you to take part in something you wouldn’t normally do on a regular basis and immerse yourself in a completely different world for a few hours. Moreover, you leave the range with a renewed sense of focus and discipline that we can use in our daily lives!
