How to Improve Your Long-Range Shooting Abilities

Whether you have professional experience in long-range shooting or just enjoy shooting your Barrett 50 cal for fun, there are few feelings as satisfying as hitting a target 800 yards out. But as any experienced sharpshooter will tell you, accurate long-range shooting requires a little more than just lining up the scope and pulling the trigger. From the gear you bring to the range to your breathing technique, here are a few things to consider if you want to improve your long-range shooting skills.

Make Sure You Have the Right Gear

While your gear will not necessarily make you an expert marksperson, the wrong gear could hold your accuracy back. Many experts recommend high-caliber rifles for long shooting, but it is up to personal preference whether you use a bolt action hunting rifle or an AR-15 chambered for 50 Beowulf cartridges. In addition to a high-powered rifle, you will need a quality scope that allows you to see long-distance targets clearly with repeatable turret adjustments to account for wind, drop, and other factors. With the right tools, you can begin focusing on your actual shooting technique.

Focus on Your Breathing Technique

Breathing plays a crucial role in how accurate you are from a distance. That is because your breathing can affect your heart rate and how steady you are through the trigger pull. There are a few schools of thought on this topic, but the most important thing is you follow a consistent approach that helps you relax before pulling the trigger. Often, shooters will recommend pulling through at the end of the exhale. Take a deep breath, let it out steadily, and when your lungs bottom out, take your shot.

Keep Follow-Through in Mind

In golf, basketball, and many other physical activities, follow-through is important. The same is true for long-distance shooting. These guns typically give quite the kick, so it is all too easy to want to brace for impact excessively. Instead, you want the rifle to go straight back, following its natural recoil. Keep a firm grip on the gun but focus on allowing the gun to move straight back. Any lateral movement during the shot, no matter how minuscule, will affect the trajectory of the bullet, which can make a huge difference in accuracy and when you are trying to line up a follow up shot. Stay calm, let the gun recoil naturally, and it should return back to position with your target still centered in your optics.

Remember to Practice

Practice makes perfect. Along with heading to the range to improve your technique, you can also practice at home by dry-firing your rifle. At home or the range, double and triple-check that no ammo is near you and the firearm is 100% safe, unloaded, and pointed in a safe direction. Then, focus on a target and pull the trigger, emphasizing a smooth follow-through. If you can do this perfectly and continue practicing, you should see this smooth, stable shooting translate in live-fire situations while also training your body not to anticipate the noise and recoil.

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