I wanted to write up some basic shooting tips for new gun owners. There is a right way and a million wrong ways to learn. Throwing lead down range with no strategy is never going to make you a good shot. You will be paying per squeeze for mere entertainment if you do. Here are some tips that were shared with me that helped me considerably. Opinions may vary, but this worked for me.
I am not going to get into weapon care. I assume you learned how to tear your new weapon down and properly clean/oil it before ever using it. Guns these days have been coming from the factory dry and often with manufacturing debris in critical places. I’ve even found loose screws on new weapons. Get on youtube and learn how to take care of it BEFORE using it.
I will also not get deep into ones stance, but I would recommend starting with the Weaver stance. Your body will tend to rock back and forth perpendicular to a line drawn between your feet, having that line perpendicular to your target, as in the Weaver stance, causes that deviation in aim to be up and down along an enemy body, not sideways and off target. Having one foot behind the other with the body turned relative to a target has its benefits with respect to making you a smaller target, but it has too many disadvantages to try right now. We won’t get into that. Just start with the Weaver stance.
One more point before getting into becoming a better shot fast. Learn how to properly hold the weapon before beginning. There are plenty images online, but here are the basics. The dominant hand that you fire with should not have a super-tight death grip on the pistol, rather a tight but comfortable one with the area between the thumb and index finger firmly seated in the upper back portion of the grip. The dominant arm should not be tense or fully extended (do not lock your elbows) but pushing forward while the non-dominant hand that is gripping the base of the grip is pulling back toward you. With the thumb-index finger area of the dominant “firing” hand snugly seated below the slide on the back of the grip and the other hand gripping from below with that hands’ thumb and index finger essentially wrapping around your other fingers such that they control the front lower portion of the grip, controlling the kickback can be comfortable while not being so tensed up that you lose stability. This plays into the second shooting tip I’d like to offer below.
There are 4 phases (IMO) to get good at shooting quickly, assuming you have your stance, grip and proper muscle groups doing what I said. Let’s get into it.
1 - Load a single round and fire into the target WITHOUT hearing protection. This is so you know how loud the weapon is, and if you get scared and drop it as many do, there will not be another round in it to fire off when it hits the ground. It is vitally important that you are prepared for just how loud your weapon is because you will not have time to put on hearing protection when you really need the gun. Now put that hearing protection on for the rest of the rounds.
2 - Start phase two by having a friend (not you, that’s important) fill the target with holes. It is vitally important that you do not focus on how well you are shooting at this point, so have someone else destroy the target for you. At this point, load a full magazine and aim safely toward the target, BUT MAKE NO ATTEMPT TO SEE EXACTLY WHERE YOU HIT. The only thing you should be concerned with is the firearms’ recoil action at this point. This is where you become intimately familiar with kickback and learn how to let your proper grip absorb the kickback. If the kickback is a surprise to you each shot, you will be anticipating it and trying to compensate with muscle movements. That is the first bad habit you WILL have and WILL NEED to break before worrying about precision or accuracy (very different things, we will get there). The muzzle will come up when you fire, do not make an extraordinary effort to stop that from happening. Let your grip absorb it, not try to fully counter it.
3 - This is where precision comes into play. Put up a new target and load just 6 rounds. Pick a spot and carefully fire at just that spot. Take your time and and relax, but DO NOT try to see where you hit at this point, doing so will mess you up. Pick a spot and stick with it. Aim exactly the same way each shot and DO NOT try to see where you hit. When you finish the magazine off, then go look. What you are hoping for is a tight grouping, regardless of where that grouping is on the target. The grouping is your precision and it allows you to take the center of that group and build a sight picture. If you know that aiming at just the bullseye puts the center of that grouping an inch down and 2 inches to the left, now you know where to aim relative to your intended target for that given gun.
4 - Now, having that sight picture in mind, you know where to aim to nail that bullseye. Again, load 6 more and aim for just one spot, this time an inch up and two to the right. This way, the precision follows you into an accurate shot and all of them should land right about where you want it. And if the grouping isn’t tight, repeat steps as necessary, but do NOT try to adjust between each shot. The wind, your body, the load, it will all combine to have you chasing your goal for hundreds of rounds. Get precise, then worry about accuracy.
Once you become a beast standing still, it’s time to advance on a stationary target while shooting, transitioning between cover and shooting breaking aim between each shot. Then, MacGyver up a way to fire at a moving target while stationary, then later, at a moving target while moving , taking cover and reaquiring aim. If you stand still, you’ll get shot. If you don’t practice on the move, you won’t hit anything. Your enemy isn’t unarmed or stapled to a tree.
Take it slow and become comfortable with each phase before moving forward. Good luck!
I am not going to get into weapon care. I assume you learned how to tear your new weapon down and properly clean/oil it before ever using it. Guns these days have been coming from the factory dry and often with manufacturing debris in critical places. I’ve even found loose screws on new weapons. Get on youtube and learn how to take care of it BEFORE using it.
I will also not get deep into ones stance, but I would recommend starting with the Weaver stance. Your body will tend to rock back and forth perpendicular to a line drawn between your feet, having that line perpendicular to your target, as in the Weaver stance, causes that deviation in aim to be up and down along an enemy body, not sideways and off target. Having one foot behind the other with the body turned relative to a target has its benefits with respect to making you a smaller target, but it has too many disadvantages to try right now. We won’t get into that. Just start with the Weaver stance.
One more point before getting into becoming a better shot fast. Learn how to properly hold the weapon before beginning. There are plenty images online, but here are the basics. The dominant hand that you fire with should not have a super-tight death grip on the pistol, rather a tight but comfortable one with the area between the thumb and index finger firmly seated in the upper back portion of the grip. The dominant arm should not be tense or fully extended (do not lock your elbows) but pushing forward while the non-dominant hand that is gripping the base of the grip is pulling back toward you. With the thumb-index finger area of the dominant “firing” hand snugly seated below the slide on the back of the grip and the other hand gripping from below with that hands’ thumb and index finger essentially wrapping around your other fingers such that they control the front lower portion of the grip, controlling the kickback can be comfortable while not being so tensed up that you lose stability. This plays into the second shooting tip I’d like to offer below.
There are 4 phases (IMO) to get good at shooting quickly, assuming you have your stance, grip and proper muscle groups doing what I said. Let’s get into it.
1 - Load a single round and fire into the target WITHOUT hearing protection. This is so you know how loud the weapon is, and if you get scared and drop it as many do, there will not be another round in it to fire off when it hits the ground. It is vitally important that you are prepared for just how loud your weapon is because you will not have time to put on hearing protection when you really need the gun. Now put that hearing protection on for the rest of the rounds.
2 - Start phase two by having a friend (not you, that’s important) fill the target with holes. It is vitally important that you do not focus on how well you are shooting at this point, so have someone else destroy the target for you. At this point, load a full magazine and aim safely toward the target, BUT MAKE NO ATTEMPT TO SEE EXACTLY WHERE YOU HIT. The only thing you should be concerned with is the firearms’ recoil action at this point. This is where you become intimately familiar with kickback and learn how to let your proper grip absorb the kickback. If the kickback is a surprise to you each shot, you will be anticipating it and trying to compensate with muscle movements. That is the first bad habit you WILL have and WILL NEED to break before worrying about precision or accuracy (very different things, we will get there). The muzzle will come up when you fire, do not make an extraordinary effort to stop that from happening. Let your grip absorb it, not try to fully counter it.
3 - This is where precision comes into play. Put up a new target and load just 6 rounds. Pick a spot and carefully fire at just that spot. Take your time and and relax, but DO NOT try to see where you hit at this point, doing so will mess you up. Pick a spot and stick with it. Aim exactly the same way each shot and DO NOT try to see where you hit. When you finish the magazine off, then go look. What you are hoping for is a tight grouping, regardless of where that grouping is on the target. The grouping is your precision and it allows you to take the center of that group and build a sight picture. If you know that aiming at just the bullseye puts the center of that grouping an inch down and 2 inches to the left, now you know where to aim relative to your intended target for that given gun.
4 - Now, having that sight picture in mind, you know where to aim to nail that bullseye. Again, load 6 more and aim for just one spot, this time an inch up and two to the right. This way, the precision follows you into an accurate shot and all of them should land right about where you want it. And if the grouping isn’t tight, repeat steps as necessary, but do NOT try to adjust between each shot. The wind, your body, the load, it will all combine to have you chasing your goal for hundreds of rounds. Get precise, then worry about accuracy.
Once you become a beast standing still, it’s time to advance on a stationary target while shooting, transitioning between cover and shooting breaking aim between each shot. Then, MacGyver up a way to fire at a moving target while stationary, then later, at a moving target while moving , taking cover and reaquiring aim. If you stand still, you’ll get shot. If you don’t practice on the move, you won’t hit anything. Your enemy isn’t unarmed or stapled to a tree.
Take it slow and become comfortable with each phase before moving forward. Good luck!
