So....I'm a terrible shot. Help?

C

Carmike

New member
Hello all,

I am a bit embarrassed to admit it, but I really am a terrible shot. I inherited some guns from an uncle who passed away (I'm 35 years old, by the way) and I had never fired a gun until I recently took some of his guns to a friend's land for some shooting. No one else in my family owns or shoots guns, so I guess the opportunity for practice never really came up.

I'd really like to get into deer hunting, but I can barely hit the paper with a 30-30 from 25 yards away while standing. My friend put two nearly in the bulls eye, so the rifle is fine...and while it was my first time ever firing a rifle, it doesn't seem *that* hard to hit a 24'' target from 75 feet away. And my misses weren't consistent, so it didn't seem like I was making the same mistake each time.

I also shot his little pocket-sized Taurus .380. It's got a looong trigger pull, which I didn't know, and the first time I pulled the trigger, I flinched so much I might've shot myself in the toe (not quite, but it was quite the flinch) had I actually fired the gun. I was a bit more accurate with a .22 Single Six, but I was far, far from competent.

I'd really, really like to become more competent...especially since I'd like to go hunting this fall. Plus it just sucks being so bad at it. Any advice on what I can do? I am planning to practice, but practicing bad habits doesn't seem all that helpful. One of the guns I inherited was an old Marlin .22, so I'm planning to use that primarily because the ammo is cheaper. I also now possess a Single Six .22, a Blackhawk .44, a Marlin 30-30, a CVA muzzleloader, a Remington 870, and a Ruger Lite 22/45. Not sure if that's relevant, but those are the tools I'm working with.

Thanks for any and all suggestions!


CM
 
The answer is LOTS of range time - preferably with someone who knows how to coach you and correct mistakes before they become bad habits.
 
Pick one (rifle or pistol) and practice, practice, practice. Practice standing and dry-firing in the basement or backyard until you can pull the trigger and keep your sights lined up on bullseye. One thing about recoil is that it is going to occur if you fire the gun, no control over recoil. You do have control on whether or not you're going to hit your target, so focus on that. Be prepared for recoil (getting kissed by the scope is not romantic) but don't fear the recoil ;). Address your flinch first. Your targets will be safe until you get rid of the flinch.
 
Welcome to the world of firearms.
I'd suggest going to a local range or joining a gun club in your area. You should be able to find a firearms instructor that can show/teach you the correct shooting methods,and also how to field strip your weapons for cleaning.
Then stock up on ammo,and practice,practice,practice!

Oh,I'd leave the 44 Magnum alone until you get proficient with the smaller pistol's,or you can develop some really bad habits that will hamper your shooting.
Start off getting good with the 22's,and maybe go buy a 22 rifle to get you going on the long guns.
 
Find a place where you can use a good bench and sandbags. Are the guns open sights? If so consider getting a scope installed because some people have trouble using iron sights. And then just practice. You also didn't state if you were standing or sitting because a first time shooter holding a front heavy gun standing while trying to keep it on target can be a pain.
 
"...bit embarrassed..." Don't be. There's no such thing as a natural shot. Shooting is a learned skill.
I'd suggest you join a shooting club that has instructors(NRA affiliates usually do) and find an Appleseed shoot as well.
http://appleseedinfo.org/
"...dry-firing in the basement..." But not any .22. Dry firing is a long recognised training technique for both long and hand guns, but it'll damage a .22. Won't hurt the .44, .30-30 or 870 though. Kind of fun too. Door knobs at the end of a hall way make good aiming points.
"...flinched so much..." That's mostly from the sudden loud bang. Good ear defenders help.
 
One thing to note, don't dry fire your .22's for practice. Most of those are designed so that dry firing will allow the firing pin to strike the chamber edge, & repeatedly doing do will peen a depression at that spot.

Practice is your best way to improve. And online research & YouTube is useful; pick YouTube posts with high numbers of subscribers. If you haven't found him yet, look at Hickok45's videos on the basics - its as good a place to start as any, particularly for handguns.

The key skills to master are: grip, stance, sight alignment, trigger press. And welcome to the firearms world!
 
I'd suggest going to a local range or joining a gun club in your area. You should be able to find a firearms instructor that can show/teach you the correct shooting methods,and also how to field strip your weapons for cleaning.
Click to expand...

I'd say this advice from Txhillbilly is the best.

I think shooting, like most sports, really benefits from a coach, right there, helping and correcting you. I think the books and videos can be helpful but I think you should start out with a class and a coach.

Next thing, compete! Yep even though you're lousy enter into some kind of competition at your club and you'll be amazed at how quick you improve. Just don't get discouraged. Keep some of your targets from how you're shooting now and take pride in how much you improve!
 
Yes, join a target shooting club where you will get proper instruction as a foundation to build upon. It's not so good to improve a little with improper techniques that you will have to unlearn in order to make further progress. This will help you avoid learning bad habits that can be hard to break away from. Later, if formal target shooting is not your cup of tea, you can move on, but the foundation of good marksmanship will continue to serve you well in the hunting fields.
 
Have your eyes checked out, I have heard of shooters getting glasses ground so they could focus on the front sight of a handgun. Perhaps an experienced shooter can review your form, remember that stance, grip, sight alignment, trigger squeeze and breath control are ALL part of proper form, none can be overlooked or ignored. There are various self-diagnosis targets available.
Stick to the 22, that inexpensive ammunition and low recoil encourage practice.
Also learn to shoot with iron sights, IMHO scopes really are for more proficient shooters.
 
Get good instruction for every type of gun you have.
Instructions unique to the gun makes a huge difference.
Then practice what you learn - a lot.
Trying to learn on your own is frustrating and generally less than productive for most people.
It's hard to practice what you don't actually know.
 
Theres always...
https://2ndswing.azureedge.net/images/Product/large/EYE 2 BECU STS.jpg

I am a bit embarrassed...
Click to expand...
Scope eye? If not you probably don't have much reason to be embarrassed. Nothing like walking down the line towards the bathroom with blood trickling down your face. Even then, a whole lot of us have been there(myself included).

Sounds like you have a serious flinch. Get a 22 LR rifle and become comfortable with it and then move up to the 30-30.

Whether you like the ancillary program/organization/politics or not, an Appleseed shoot has to be the most rifle training for your dollar out there. I think it is very likely you could go to an appleseed with no experience or knowledge and walk out two days later a better shot than many hunters with whom I am acquainted. It won't take much range time to translate what you learned to a 30-30.

Despite what you may see posted on the internet, no one started out hitting playing cards at 1000 yards.
 
+1 Txhillbilly, an instructor is going to help the most. Learning by doing is a quick way to develop bad habits.
 
No one is born knowing how to shoot. We all had to learn. Once we learn we all have to keep going.

A good coach if invaluable. Apple seed is one place. The CMP is another.

I like the CMP Clinics myself. Don't get hung up on them calling them Garand Clinics. You can use any rifle.

You can check the CMP Site to find a Clinic in your area

http://thecmp.org/competitions/club-sanctioned-events/clinics/

If you cant find anything close, or that you can attend, PM me with your address and I'll mail you a CMP Clinic handbook that we pass out to the students of our clinics.

It wont beat a coach, but it will help.
 
If you want to try some deer hunting a good way to practice is with an air rifle. I use a 22 caliber pellet because it mimics the 22lr rimfire in recoil and the trigger is very hard, which forces me to focus on trigger control. Shooting the air rifle allows me to practice in my back yard when trips to the range are not feasible.

The advantage the air rifle has is that a can of 500 pellets is less than $10 and helps you practice your offhand very cheap. You get to practice stance, breathing and trigger control. Your muscles will get strong and muscle memory will be steady your rifle to where you can hit your target at 25 meter with the 30-30. Basically all you need is practice, a ton of it and this is a great way to do it, and than you can move up to the 22 long rifle, and than center fire without going bankrupt.
 
Take your hunters education course online. It's likely needed to get your hunting license anyways. But if its anything like sc, it has lots of useful information about firearms, using sights, scopes, etc.
 
One more recommendation to find a good teacher. You can do it like I did and figure out how to do a lot of things on your own, or from well meaning friends and maybe get pretty good. Getting proper instruction will save you time and money, and you will be much better off in the long run. Good luck. Enjoy the process!
 
Thanks for all the excellent tips, guys. I'll check into some classes around here to see what's available. I know there are a few ranges, and there's a rod and gun club, so I'm hoping something is available. I suppose spending a few $$ on a teacher will be cheaper in the long run than running through boxes of ammunition, ingraining bad habits, and then either 1) missing the deer or 2) having to get a teacher and go through more boxes of ammunition to get it right.

Thank you, too, for the words of encouragement. It's kind of strange to start something from scratch and be so bad at it...but it's also exciting and a lot of fun.

To answer a few of the questions posed:

1) I did take a hunters education course through my state (Minnesota) when I inherited the guns, mostly for safety reasons.

2) I was a bad shot with both open sights and closed ones, but I was worse with the opens. My buddy had a scoped Mini 14 that he let me use.

3) My "missing the paper" experience was with the open-sighted 30-30, standing up.

4) I just had lasik and I'm better than 20/20, so that isn't an excuse. :)

5) I had heard/read mixed things regarding the wisdom of dry firing. I'll make sure to not do it with the .22s.

Thanks again!!!
 
You are receiving a lot of advice to practice. Yep, great idea.

First things first. You have never been told, or shown the fundamentals of firing a gun. Unless you learn these fundamentals of trigger control, sight alignment,hold, positioning, and above all else, learn how to control your muscles, you will simply be wasting time and ammo. You will not get anything out of practice unless you are doing it right.

You can look online, find list of good information about shooting training, but then, you need someone who can guide you through this. A trainer is important. People who are learning from scratch these days are in a real predicament. No places to shoo, no mentors.

Once you have those fundamental needs addressed, your skills will build rapidly and keep building until you reach sort of a plateau, and you will still improve with time but it will be much slower.
 
With practice, starting with a 22 rifle, proper sight picture, pressing the trigger without moving the sights off the target & don't be afraid of the noise and recoil. Its better to learn on the 22 will help stop bad shooting habits. As listed use a fired case to dry fire practice with the 22 Sight picture, where you place your sights on the target. Front & rear sight remains aligned on the target. Probably the reason for your misses. Also knowing when the trigger fires, you just need more time behind the rifle & you'll be fine.
 
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