Shooting technique: the fundamentals of marksmanship
Every shot at a paper target asks two things of you: point the gun at the middle, and let the shot go without moving it. The fundamentals of marksmanship are the parts of those two jobs: the sight picture, a position that points where you aim, a steady hold, breathing, the trigger and the follow-through.
This part of the blog takes them one by one, for pistol and rifle, airgun and firearm, on paper targets. The card shows how it went, and the last posts read the card itself.
Sight picture and sight alignment: how to aim with iron sights
Line the sights up with each other first, then put them on the target, with your eye on the front sight: a sight out of line costs more than a wobble.Eye dominance in shooting: which eye to aim with
Find your dominant eye with a quick test and aim with it if you can; if it is on the other side from your shooting hand, screen it, bring it to the sights or switch sides.Natural point of aim: let your body point the gun
Natural point of aim is where the gun points when you settle and relax: find it with your eyes closed, then move your body, never the arm alone, until it sits on your aim.One-handed pistol stance and grip for target shooting
Stand turned well away from the target, feet about shoulder width apart, arm and wrist locked without strain and the free hand parked, and grip the pistol the same way every shot.How to hold a gun steady: the wobble, and why it is normal
No hold is ever still: let bone carry the weight, fire in the first seconds after the hold settles, and train until the wobble is small.Breathing when shooting: when to stop, and for how long
Stop breathing only to aim and fire, at most 8 to 10 seconds for a single shot: a rifle shooter in the relaxed pause after a breath out, a pistol shooter with the breath timed to the lift.Trigger control: pressing the shot without moving the sights
Trigger control is firing without moving the sights: only the finger moves, straight back, with pressure that builds through the steady part of your hold.Follow-through in shooting: hold on, then call the shot
Keep aim, breath, hold and trigger going until the shot has left and the gun has settled, about two seconds for a rifle shot, and call where it went before you look.How to stop flinching when shooting: catch it, then train it out
A flinch is bracing for the bang before the shot has gone: prove it on an empty chamber or a dummy round, then train it out dry, with better ear protection and less recoil.The pistol correction chart: why you shoot low and left
The pistol correction chart for both hands: where it came from, and why a wedge only suggests what to check, while calling your shots and ball and dummy test it.Reading your shot groups
Measure a group’s size before its place, move the sights only for a tight group off the centre, and judge progress over weeks, not one card.