5 Tips to Improve Your Accuracy with Rifles

Be it a sniper or a hunter; any shooter will tell you that they always struggle with making a perfect shot. Fortunately, there is always room for improvement when it comes to accuracy.

However, improving shooting accuracy is not just about focusing on building strength and improving your concentration. While taking a shot, the overall condition of your rifle also plays a significant role in determining whether you will take a perfect shot or not.

In this article, we will give you five tips on how to improve your accuracy with rifles. If you love guns, then make sure to follow Ready and Armed and stay updated with all the latest tips and tricks.

Ensure your barrel is clean

Your rifle accuracy will drop with time as you continue using it. This usually happens even to the best rifles in the market. One of the best ways to ensure that your rifle maintains accuracy is by cleaning the barrel.

The reason why your rifle accuracy reduces as you continue shooting is because of the residues that form in the barrel or muzzle of your rifle. Regular cleaning of the barrel will help to eliminate these residues, thus improving the accuracy.

Cleaning the barrel is simple. Use a cleaning jag or rod to push solvent-soaked cloth through the barrel with a back-and-forth motion. Let the solvent soak for about 5 minutes, then wipe the barrel with a clean cloth. That is it.

When cleaning the barrel, ensure that the crown is not scratched because it can throw the bullet off course, thus making things worse.

Experts recommend that you clean your rifle barrel at least once a month with a proper copper solvent to remove any accumulated residues and enhance its accuracy.

Check scope mounts and rings

This is another particularly important factor that can help to improve your rifle’s accuracy. Scope mounts and rings usually loosen with time due to various reasons, including the rifle kicking with the recoil when shooting. If these screws become too loose, they may affect the accuracy of your shooting.

Therefore, it is important to check them regularly and tighten them if they are loose. How you tighten the scope and mount rings will also affect the rifle’s accuracy. To boost accuracy, ensure that you tighten the screws in a logical order.

Start by tightening the screw from one side, then turn to the other side and do the same. Also, make sure you apply pressure evenly when tightening the scope mount and ring screws.

Improve stance and breathing

Another incredible way to improve your rifle’s accuracy is by working on your stance and breathing. Stance is a crucial element in shooting and could affect your shooting accuracy.

Note that regardless of how good your sight alignment is, if your stance does not provide you with a stable shooting platform, then your shot placement will be inconsistent.

Consistency in all aspects of shooting is key to improving accuracy, which is where stance comes in. There are three different types of shooting stances, including isosceles, weaver, and fighting.

Isosceles stance is the oldest and the most popular. It involves the shooter facing the target squarely while the feet are shoulder-width apart. Most people like this stance because it is super comfortable and easy to perform.

Weaver’s stance is also very popular, and it is slowly replacing isosceles. The fighting stance was developed in the military and is a hybrid of weaver and isosceles.

Try different stances to see which one is most comfortable and suits your needs. Once you identify your perfect stance, practice over and over to help improve your shooting accuracy.

Your breathing could also affect your shooting accuracy. Proper breathing will help to secure your hold on the rifle as well as help you maintain the right sight picture, thus improving your shooting accuracy.

Practice follow up shots

Working on your follow-up shots will help to improve your shot accuracy. For instance, instead of firing one slow, precise shot at a time, work on hitting your target multiple times quickly.

This skill is crucial for hunters. There are times when your first target will not bring the target animal down, and that is why you need to practice follow-up shots.

The process is simple, load the rifle with at least three cartridges, move to your hunting position and aim your first shot. Give yourself a 5-second break, then shoot your target again for the second time and again for the third time.

When hunting, you should always cycle another round and be ready to take a follow-up shot, just in case the first shot fails to bring the animal down. Practicing follow-up shots will help to increase your shooting accuracy.

Boost strength with exercise

One crucial aspect that many people usually overlook when it comes to improving rifle accuracy is performing an exercise to boost strength. Firing a rifle often requires a lot of energy, and if you lack it, then your shooting accuracy will be compromised.

Therefore, performing regular exercise is highly recommended as it helps to boost your endurance which is vital when shooting. Perform exercise that focuses on strengthening your shoulder, wrists, and lunges for stability and balance. Make sure you exercise regularly on these crucial parts to boost and maintain strength.

Another important exercise to perform involves putting a small weight on the end of the rifle barrel and holding your arms in a shooting position for a short period. This exercise will help build your stamina, thus allowing you to hold the rifle more steadily for precise firing.

Improving your rifle’s shooting accuracy is important, especially if you are a hunter. Sometimes the accuracy of your rifle can be the difference between catching the deer you have been hunting the whole day or going home empty-handed.

Fortunately, improving your rifle’s accuracy is not hard as many people think. You only need to boost your strength and endurance as well as make a few adjustments on your rifle, such as cleaning the barrel, tightening scope mounts and rings, among many others, as discussed above.

source https://readyandarmed.net/5-tips-to-improve-your-accuracy-with-rifles/