How to Improve Rifle Accuracy

Jumping Targets offers several helpful tips to boost rifle-shooting accuracy, which is essential for gun enthusiasts, shooters and hunters alike.

1. Scope – Make sure the scope is properly mounted. Shooters may need to refer to the scope mounting directions, bring the weapon to a gunsmith or check the manufacturer’s website for specific instructions. When mounting a scope use high-quality rings and bases and always make sure the scope is level before securing it. Use a torque wrench, which helps to tighten screws and only tighten to the manufacturer’s specific recommendations.
2. Rest – For shooters that may not be able to hold a long rifle steady, use a stable bipod, tree trunk or heavy bench for shooting.
3. Bad Conditions – When practicing with a weapon, always test the accuracy of the sight in the morning on very calm days. Avoid high temperatures, which can cause confusing mirages. Shoot on low-temperature days for even more accurate results.
4. Shoulder Pressure – One of the most common errors novice shooters make is applying inconsistent shoulder pressure. Uniform shoulder pressure ensures shooting success at both short and long ranges.
5. Trigger Pull – Rifles’ designs require trigger presses, not pulls. It takes significant dry-fire practice to master this technique, which involves moving the trigger to the rear without marring or disturbing the sight’s picture. Because rifles have slack, shooters should practice removing the slack and holding tension in the trigger before compressing.
6. Barrel Heat – Some rifles require barrel cooling off periods. Ensure that you provide enough time between shots to allow you barrel to properly cool. This is especially important if you are shooting high power calibers.
7. Follow Through – Shooting a rifle is not about having partial focus, but full focus, down to inhaling and exhaling. Sometimes it is difficult to accurately shoot at a target, which may take a little role-playing. Hunters recommend looking at targets as though they are live animals, which allows for a more intense physical and mental connection between the rifle’s trigger and shooting the rifle.
8. Ammunition – Shooters that use the wrong ammunition are setting themselves up for disaster. The type of ammunition is gun specific and crucial to obtaining quality, accurate results. Hunters and shooters should test-fire five to six loads of different ammunition to determine which one offers the best performance.

Jumping Targets specializes in offering metal spinning targets. These challenging steel rifle targets are ideal for shooters, gun enthusiasts and hunters. Hunters can practice their rifle shooting skills year-round, and with the added benefit of moving targets, results are immediately viewable, making it easy to know when to adjust sights, change shoulder pressure, adjust barrel pull, change ammunition, etc.

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