Fundamentals First

Before diving into complex positional shooting or advanced techniques, ensure you've mastered these fundamentals:

Proper Body Position

Your body should form a stable platform for the rifle with minimal muscular tension:

• Align your body behind the rifle with your spine in line with the recoil path
• Keep your shoulders relaxed, not hunched or tense
• Position your support hand under the rifle's forend or on the bipod
• Place your firing hand on the grip with a light, consistent grip pressure

Breathing Control

Proper breathing technique is crucial for consistent accuracy:

• Take several deep breaths to oxygenate your blood before beginning your shot process
• For precision shots, exhale partially and hold at your natural respiratory pause
• Maintain this breathing pause for no more than 8-10 seconds
• If you can't take the shot within this window, reset and start again

Trigger Control

Proper trigger manipulation prevents disrupting sight alignment during the critical moment:

• Place the pad of your finger (not the joint or fingertip) on the trigger
• Take up the slack/first stage pressure
• Apply steady, increasing pressure straight to the rear
• The shot should "surprise" you - don't anticipate or jerk the trigger

Follow-Through

Maintaining your position after the shot ensures consistency:

• Continue looking through the scope after the shot breaks
• Maintain trigger pressure momentarily
• Call your shot - note where your reticle was at the moment of firing
• Observe impact (or where you believe impact occurred)

Dry Fire Practice

Dry fire practice is one of the most effective ways to improve your shooting without expending ammunition. Always ensure your firearm is completely unloaded and pointed in a safe direction.

Basic Dry Fire Routine

1. Set up in your practice area with an appropriate target
2. Establish a stable position (prone, seated, etc.)
3. Acquire your sight picture
4. Work through your breathing cycle
5. Execute a perfect trigger press
6. Follow through and call your shot
7. Reset and repeat

Advanced Dry Fire Exercises

• Wobble Area Reduction - Focus on minimizing the movement of your reticle on target
• Position Transitions - Practice moving between different shooting positions
• Rapid Target Acquisition - Practice quickly finding and engaging targets
• Timed Drills - Set a par time for acquiring your sight picture and breaking a shot
• Balancing Drills - Place a coin on your barrel and try to press the trigger without it falling

Live Fire Training

When you do have the opportunity for live fire practice, make it count with these structured approaches:

Accuracy Development

• Group Shooting - Focus on shooting tight groups from a stable position
• Dot Drills - Print targets with small dots and try to hit each one precisely
• Tracking Drills - Verify your scope tracks properly with box drills or tall target tests

Positional Shooting

Practice these positions in order of increasing difficulty:

1. Prone - The most stable position, perfect for building fundamentals
2. Seated - Various seated positions (cross-legged, tripod, etc.)
3. Kneeling - Both traditional and supported kneeling positions
4. Standing - The most challenging position, using barricades or supports

Barricade and Obstacle Training

Set up various obstacles to simulate match conditions:

• Shooting around barriers
• Shooting through ports or windows
• Shooting from unstable platforms
• Using improvised rests and supports

Wind Reading Practice

Wind is often the biggest challenge in precision rifle shooting:

• Set up wind indicators at various distances
• Practice estimating wind speed and direction
• Make wind calls before shooting and record results
• Analyze the difference between your calls and actual impacts

Mental Training

The mental aspect of precision shooting is just as important as physical technique:

Visualization

Spend time visualizing perfect execution of shots and stages:

• Mentally rehearse your entire shot process
• Visualize successfully engaging targets under pressure
• Imagine overcoming various challenges and obstacles

Match Preparation

Prepare mentally for competitions:

• Develop pre-match and pre-stage routines
• Practice under time pressure to simulate match conditions
• Create artificial stress during practice (e.g., have someone watch and evaluate you)

Data Collection and Analysis

Keep detailed records of your shooting:

• Maintain a shooting journal with conditions, results, and observations
• Record and analyze your performance in matches
• Identify patterns and areas for improvement
• Use ballistic apps to record and analyze data

Physical Conditioning

Physical fitness plays a significant role in precision shooting performance:

Cardiovascular Fitness

Improved cardio helps control breathing and heart rate during shooting:

• Regular cardio exercise (running, cycling, swimming)
• Practice shooting after physical exertion to simulate match stress

Strength Training

Focus on these areas for shooting-specific strength:

• Core strength for stable positions
• Shoulder and back strength for rifle support
• Grip strength for consistent rifle handling

Flexibility

Improved flexibility helps with assuming various shooting positions:

• Hip mobility for stable prone and seated positions
• Shoulder flexibility for awkward shooting positions
• Regular stretching routine focused on shooting-relevant muscle groups

Training Resources

Books

• "Long Range Shooting Handbook" by Ryan Cleckner
• "Applied Ballistics For Long Range Shooting" by Bryan Litz
• "Precision Rifle Marksmanship: The Fundamentals" by Frank Galli
• "With Winning in Mind" by Lanny Bassham

Online Resources

• Sniper's Hide Forum and Podcast
• PRS (Precision Rifle Series) website and resources
• Applied Ballistics YouTube channel
• National Shooting Sports Foundation training videos

Training Courses

Consider attending professional training from reputable instructors:

• Local precision rifle clinics
• PRS/NRL training events
• Professional shooting schools (Gunsite, K&M, etc.)

Final Thoughts

Consistent, deliberate practice is the key to improvement in precision rifle shooting. Focus on quality over quantity, and always have a specific purpose for each training session.

Remember that progress in precision shooting is often non-linear. You may experience plateaus or even temporary setbacks. Stay patient and trust the process.

Finally, don't forget to enjoy the journey. Precision rifle shooting is challenging but incredibly rewarding as you see your skills develop over time.