It has been said that without the correct training, 99% of firearms are more accurate than there handlers. With this in mind it demonstrates just how important training is for first time gun users; it demonstrates how important beginner shooting tips are. So to help you make the most of your firearm I have complied 10 top tips that you can’t afford to do without!



First things first – Safety

One of the most important things that you need to learn when it comes to shooting is safety. Firearms don’t shoot on their own; only you can shoot a gun and to stop this happening unintentionally you need to make sure you keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction and keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot. Also you need to treat all guns as though they are loaded and be certain of your target and what’s behind it.

Right now let’s get to grips with the firearm

If you are going to shoot correctly to hit your target you need to be holding the gun in the right position. A lot of people overlook how important it is to gain a good grip on their gun as they see it as something that is easy to do when in reality it is an aspect that could make or break your perfect shot.

To get the correct grip on your firearm you need to hold your gun in the same hand you write with and point the gun at the ground at a 45 degree angle. You should then place the web between your thumb and first finger as high as possible on the gun; however it still needs to be low enough in order for your hand to not come in contact with any moving parts. Now place your other hand over your strong hand with the tips of your fingers at the knuckles of your strong hand. Right now you need to extend your arms away from you and close your eyes. With your eyes closed you should raise the gun in front of you and then open your eyes without moving the gun. You need to practice this to ensure that the firearm aligns correctly with your sight when you lift the gun up.

Next sort out your Line Up

Aiming is everything when it comes to shooting. You need to line up your shot so you aren’t in danger of flying bullets around everywhere. So to line up your shoot you need to line up the front and rear sights. You should be centering the front sight within the rear sight to make sure your aim is perfect. This is known more commonly as sight alignment.

Now; Focus

Now that your sight is lined up you need to bring it onto the target. To do this you should focus your eye on the front sight. This may be a little hard to do at first as you will naturally want to look directly at the target but make sure you focus on the front sight.

Shooting Stance

When you start looking into your shooting stance you will soon discover that there are literally hundreds of magazines and websites dedicated to finding you the perfect stance. What you need to keep in mind however is that a lot of the shooting stances that you will come across aren’t suitable to a beginner. When you are learning to shoot you should stick with a simple yet sturdy stance that will give you the best control over the gun. A prime example of this is the weaver stance.

This stance involves standing with your feet apart and placing one foot slightly in front of the other. If you are holding the gun with your right hand then it will be your left foot that is slightly forward and vice-versa. As a beginner you should adopt this stance to give you stability and to make sure your aim remains focused.

Holding your Gun

We have already covered how to grip your firearm and how to stand with your firearm but to carry out these two steps you need to ensure that you hold your gun correctly in the first place. For example with say a handgun you should grip the gun firmly with your strongest hand and support it with your weakest but ensure that you hold the gun firmly away from yourself. With a rifle however you should grasp the wrist of the stock firmly with your trigger hand and pull the rifle back so it is in your shoulder. Your cheek should then be pressed firmly against the stock. The type of gun you have determines how you will hold the gun to carry out your perfect shot.

Control Breathing

You may be thinking what does this have to do with shooting but when you breath in your chest move, which in turn moves your arms. So before you take your standing stance you should start taking deep breaths and only shoot when you exhale as your chest won’t move like it would when you breath in, meaning your shot won’t be interrupted.

Trigger Control

What you need to basically be aware of here is that the trigger should be squeezed slowly, smoothly and evenly. You need to gradually increase the pressure until you reach breaking point and the hammer is released to hit the firing pin. If you press down to harshly you are going to move the muzzle of the target.

Now your ready to Shoot

When the hammer falls make sure you keep your eyes open and hold the trigger back. You will now want to quickly observe the impact of the bullet on the target. If the shot is a miss, try to spot any bullet splash so you can correct the next shot.

Practice

Keep all of the above in mind and practice your aim, focus, grip and trigger control etc as well as your actually shooting. By practicing and putting into play the above tips you will turn from a beginner into a professional in no time!