4 WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR LONG-RANGE SHOOTING SKILLS

Ever since mankind has had the weaponry to go after long-range targets, there has been a need and a desire to improve accuracy so as to ensure greater success. If you’re a hunter or a subsistence dweller, accuracy at long ranges is critical to your success, and possibly even to your survival. Basically, success at hitting long-range targets all boils down to having the most advantageous setup. Here are four points you should keep in mind, so as to help you hit your target more frequently, either on the range or out in the woods somewhere.

Prone position is best

The prone position provides the most stable platform for your body, and the one in which you’ll experience the least amount of shaking or movement in the arms and hands. Keep your legs aligned with the target, because splaying them out at an angle can throw off your aim. Now, support the gun with your shoulders and either your backpack or some other object which it can securely rest on.

Get the circles aligned

In order to avoid parallax error, you’ll have to align the objective lens with the ocular lens, which are the front and back lenses on your rifle’s scope. Make sure the diameter of the objective lens is just a bit larger than that of the ocular lens. This process is what’s known as ‘lining up the circles’, and if you don’t execute this properly, it’s quite likely that your view will be somewhat distorted, and your aim will be negatively impacted.

Set the proper elevation

To set the elevation, you can use either of two methods, either minutes-of-angle or milliradians. Both are effective, so it’s really just a matter of which method you prefer. The milliradians uses the metric system, while minutes-of-angle uses the imperial system, and this is the one used by the majority of Americans. When using minutes-of-angle, you’ll find that alignment comes at just over an inch per 100 yards, and in most cases, you’re safe in rounding it off to one inch.

Ease the trigger straight back

Now you’re ready to pull the trigger. Of course, you should be holding the gun firmly enough to handle the recoil, but don’t get white knuckles holding the gun, because that can affect your aim too. Take the safety off, and use the flat part of your finger to squeeze the trigger straight back, making sure to continue pulling straight back even after the gun initially fires. This will prevent any jerking motion which can ruin your aim. The whole motion should be smooth and without any kind of jerking, and that will always give you the best chance of hitting your target.