How to shoot a gun correctly? Shooting courses. Shooting safety precautions
Do you know how to shoot a gun correctly? Where can you learn this craft? You will find answers to these and other questions in the article. Trappers, especially beginners, have a responsibility to learn the best hunting traditions. True hunters enjoy hunting only when it is sportive. This means that you mainly need to shoot at feathered game. This method automatically excludes exposure to young animals. In this case, you can only shoot at a selected single target, and not shoot at a flock of birds.
What is skeet shooting called?
The type of shooting that we have been practicing since Saturday is called sporting. Sporting is not the name of a club, but a type of sporting and recreational shooting with firearms. At the operator’s command, which sounds like “Give!”, a bright red plate flies out, into which you need to hit with a shot from the gun.
As far as I understand, we were engaged in a type of shooting called compact sporting. This is when all the action takes place in a relatively small area of the field. The clearing where we were shooting was about 50 meters wide and long. There is also big sporting - this is when the arrows move between different numbers, stomping with their feet several kilometers a day. There is also Russian sporting - instead of plates, they produce models that imitate the flight of various birds (snipe, duck, pheasant, etc.).
Also, the author of the article tried his hand at doublet shooting. Two targets were released at the same time and you had to try to shoot down both. I didn’t succeed) I still don’t have time to accurately shoot at two at once, and as a result, out of two paired launches, I knocked out exactly zero. I need to train more)
when you didn't hit the skeet
Shooting offhand
How to properly shoot a gun offhand? A person who has learned to use a shotgun makes excellent use of its capabilities and can hit game from afar. Usually with such shooting there are no wounded animals.
Of all the common shooting techniques, in-flight shooting is the most effective. If a hunter cannot learn this method, he begins to feel inferior. He will know that quickly emerging, sudden goals are not for him. In general, this method brings real bliss.
Every shooting instructor will tell you that it is with this technique that you need to start learning shooting. First, you must understand the difference between firing shot at a moving target and shooting with a bullet from a shotgun and rifle. In the first case, we instantly direct the carbine to the point of interception of the game with a shot sheaf and synchronously press the trigger. And in the second, when aiming, you need to combine three points: front sight, rear sight and target and, trying to maintain this combination, smoothly pull the trigger.
Also, in the first version, the gaze focuses on the target, and in the second, on the accurate devices. If a hunter cannot understand the difference between aiming and pointing a gun, he will never learn to shoot offhand.
Shooting technique. Part two
The speed of the jump with any technique will depend on the situation on a particular hunt. The jump must be done in such a way as not to disturb the approaching prey. Depending on the circumstances, this can be a smooth rise, so as not to frighten a walking animal with a sudden movement, or an instant leap at a flashing bird.
Ideally, a very strong shooter should be proficient in all three shooting techniques, each of which may be the best in a particular situation.
For example, for me (a right-hander) the most difficult thing is to shoot at a bird flying overhead, flying from behind, from the right. In this situation, the body simply refuses to work, and overtaking is difficult. I shoot these birds “offhand” .
Smoothly but quickly raising the gun, I stick it into the desired point in front of the bird (depending on the flight altitude), and usually the bird fights. One of the best skeet and hunting shooters I know, Englishman Philip Thorrold, according to him, uses more than twenty different techniques. He hits some targets even in the opposite direction!? movement. I have seen him at the shooting range and hunting and I must say that he is a unique shooter. He showed me some of his arsenal, and I adopted it. For example, in shooting from the “sitting” and “lying” positions .
From time to time, hunters have to shoot while hunting while sitting in a boat, in a hut, from a vehicle (permitted) or lying down in a field (at geese). The simplest thing is to use the leash with your hands, since the body (or part of it), pressed to the seat (ground), remains motionless. Therefore, they say, only hands can work (Viktor Gurov article in ROG). This is not so, since the shooter’s body is precisely the upper part of a person’s torso from the waist down. It is possible to work with the legs when turning the body is not enough, but this is an auxiliary movement. Already working with your shoulders, you move your body. Therefore, you can safely shoot with your body even from a prone position, only slightly lifting your shoulders off the ground. The most comfortable position for a hunter waiting for a raid of geese in the field, in the absence of shelter, will be “lying on his back.” Prone, watch the birds, holding the gun lying on the ground with your hands, and at the right moment either sit down or raise your shoulders and make a leash with them. Attempts to get to your feet before shooting are doomed to failure, as they require a lot of time. The same geese will simply have time to leave the affected area. You can hide behind a small bump while kneeling. From this position it is possible to fire at slight angles. If you stand firmly in the shelter with both feet, then they should also take part in preparing for shooting. Let's say the game appears from an inconvenient side (strictly to the left, right or behind). It is difficult to turn the body in its direction, and it is not necessary. Just step your feet and take a position that is comfortable for shooting from that direction. It won't take much time, and it will be easier to shoot.
One piece of advice I picked up from an American shooter. When shooting at a flying flock (geese, ducks, pigeons), make the first shot from cover so that the birds do not see you before the shot. According to the American, and I agree with him, the same geese, when they see a hunter, very quickly gain height and move away from the subsequent series, and after a shot from cover they react not so sharply. When building a shelter, try to adapt it for such shooting. In this case, the first shot can be fired at a calm flock, and it turns out that it will be a kind of head start, in contrast to the situation when you scare the game not with a shot, but with your appearance. Of course, for the first shot you need to choose the closest and most convenient target, but there are shooters who “take” first distant birds, and then nearby ones that have not had time to fly a significant distance. But this is already aerobatics.
Gun grip
A few words about the grip of the gun. no need to tightly squeeze the neck of the stock and the fore-end with your hands. On the contrary, the hands should be relaxed, and the gun can simply lie on half-open palms. When your arms are tense, your body stiffens, and there is a possibility of “throwing” your arms. And you don’t need to press the butt against your shoulder too much; it’s enough to fix it in the shoulder, but be sure to use the entire area of the butt plate. In this case, the bridle and leash turns out to be soft and, if you like, graceful. Try practicing this trick at home. First, aim at the point where you expect to end your throw. Attention! Not at the point where you are going to shoot, but where you are thinking of finishing your dive. Then, while lowering the gun, turn around to the position from which you intend to start the lunge. Start it and try to arrive at the previously designated point. The movement of the gun after this point will be the leash. Repeat this exercise until it happens automatically and without delay. Vary the speed of the jump and leashes, but do not fall into the “throw”. To avoid getting caught in the folds of clothing on the shoulder when throwing up, you need to move the gun forward slightly (as much as necessary). You must ensure that after the rise you can see only the front sight, and not an open bar or block without a front sight. But in real shooting while hunting, you need to focus your gaze on the target and look not at the front sight or even at the barrel(s). Careful control of the barrel (front sight) is only necessary when shooting at a stationary target. If the gun turns out to be too long for you or you have to wear thick, warm clothing to avoid clinging to it, move your left hand holding the fore-end closer to you. If the butt is short, move it further forward.
Some people find it more convenient to lift the gun by working equally with both hands. The initial position of the gun is characterized by a low position of the end of the barrel.
Some shooters find it more convenient to lift the gun with one right hand.
When a target appears from the left, the shooter’s body works to spin, and if the target moves from right to left, then it spins. Since it is easy to “twist” the body to the left, but it can only be untwisted to the starting point, it (the body) must initially be turned to the right.
Without pressing the butt tightly to your shoulder, when shooting with reinforced loads and magnum cartridges, you will receive a very noticeable jolt to the shoulder. For example, I refrain from shooting cartridges with reinforced powder and shot loads precisely because of the lack of shooting comfort. I think that you should get pleasure from hunting, but what pleasure is there from a headache and a bruise on your shoulder? But this is a matter of taste.
Many hunters who began shooting practice with a semi-automatic weapon use the fundamentally flawed “ area shooting ” technique. Their logic is stupid: “I have five shots in stock, somehow I’ll hit it.” Don’t flatter yourself, you won’t get hit and you won’t learn to shoot. Any gun is designed for a single, targeted shot (ideally a single-barreled shotgun), and additional cartridges are required to hit multiple targets, make adjustments after a miss, and finish off wounded wounded animals. Today there is no need to start hunting with a single-barreled rifle, as we did. Many hunters show an interest in hunting already in adulthood, and appearing in company with a single-barreled gun is not prestigious for them. But the same cannot be said about the double-barreled shotgun. A brand new imported over/under is expensive and looks prestigious, and the whole of Europe hunts with them, and learning to shoot with it is easier than with any semi-automatic machine. If you have significant funds and are ready to spend them on a really worthwhile weapon, then you can buy such a double-barreled shotgun that all the owners of semi-automatic devices from the most prestigious companies and the latest systems around you will seem like beggars. I ask owners of the militarized Saiga not to worry and not to try to learn how to shoot while hunting. This cannot be done from a copy of an assault rifle or machine gun. In addition, we must not forget about the aesthetic side of hunting.
Skeet shooting, training
Now let's talk about bench training for shooting while hunting. As I already said, a “pure” shotgun shooter who does not have shooting practice while hunting will not be able to show his skills on the hunting grounds. The fact is that shooting at clay pigeon sites takes place in almost ideal conditions. The shooter is wearing a sports, tight-fitting jacket, training and competitions take place in full lighting, the athlete has hard ground (asphalt) under his feet, there is no element of surprise, since the target is presented only after the command of the shooter, who is completely ready to shoot, the athlete’s stance (stance) is directed strictly towards a specific target. All these factors that make shooting easier to one degree or another are, as a rule, absent during hunting. An athlete unprepared for hunting may simply become confused or not notice the exit of the game at all. However, these skills can be quickly acquired if desired. If we talk about the benefits of bench training for an already experienced hunter, then there can be no two opinions: it will significantly affect your results. But don’t think that after a couple of training sessions you will become an excellent huntsman. There will be breakthroughs and obvious declines. The main thing is not to despair when you fail; sooner or later the training will make itself felt. Moreover, it is absolutely not necessary to train at professional sites. It is enough to purchase one bench, hand-held throwing machine for the company and train by going to the grounds during the hunting season (this is allowed), or in remote places where you will not disturb anyone. We take this machine on long-distance hunting expeditions. In this case, you have the opportunity to shoot at skeet in the equipment in which you will hunt in a given season. You can use “hunting” cartridges, while shooting with shot larger than seven is prohibited at shooting stands. For clay pigeons, it is more profitable to practice the positions that are most likely to occur during a hunt. For example, when hunting from cover, most shots will have to be made at flying game, i.e. at oncoming targets. They need to be worked out first. Having two machines will be of great benefit; then, placing them side by side, you can simulate a paired parallel raid and practice a doublet. Not the classic “round”, when targets fly towards each other, but the most common raid of a pair of birds during hunting. When changing positions, try different directions of attacks. To practice high-altitude shooting, I recommend installing the machine on a hill or the top of a ravine, and equipping the shooters with a firing line below. During training, do not try to simplify the task by preparing to shoot in the “gun in the shoulder” position. The jump is the main thing you should work on at the first stage of preparation. When hunting until the game appears in the most advantageous killing zone, the hunter keeps his gun lowered, and even more so does not walk through fields and forests with a gun in his shoulder. So practice shooting “offhand”. With a gun strapped to your shoulder, your visibility is reduced, your movements are constrained, and your body is stiff. So start right away with a difficult exercise. And do the training with the gun you intend to hunt with. A good result on the shooting range with a sports sidearm does not at all guarantee decent shooting while hunting with a semi-automatic rifle.
After regular and intense training and a noticeable improvement in shooting results, a sharp decline may occur, both in skeet shooting and hunting (you may stop hitting altogether). This is a normal phenomenon that occurs due to the shooter becoming cold. After constant hits, the shooter stops performing all the required actions prescribed by the technique he has chosen. For some time, “in the old way,” he still hits the target, but suddenly the results drop sharply. In this case, you need to start all over again, as if you were picking up a gun for the first time. Check all stages - stance, grip of the gun, rearing, leash, etc. The result will come back very quickly.
We move on to shooting in flight from a smooth gun with open eyes. The fact that shooting with both eyes open is better, easier and more effective is beyond doubt. Another thing is that a novice shooter always intuitively closes one eye and aims only with the leading one. Eventually this habit becomes ingrained and difficult to unlearn. By closing one eye, the shooter deprives himself of the benefit of binocular vision. Try to look at the world with one eye and you will understand everything. How can one aim with open eyes when the gun doubles in front of them? Just don't look at him. I have already said that you need to look at the target (target, game), and not at the front sight. A person who is already accustomed to shooting with one eye closed can be advised to alternate shots during training. Shoot, then covering one eye, then opening both, gradually increasing the number of shots with both eyes open. After the first experiments you will feel discomfort, but believe me, when you get used to it, you will have a tangible advantage when shooting with both eyes. During home training “idle” you can use this technique. When, when jumping to a point selected on the wall, you see two pairs of trunks instead of one (two trunks instead of one), then try to fix only the left pair, and do not pay attention to the right one. If, of course, your right eye is dominant.
Let's move on to high-altitude shooting . Not to mention the fact that many hunters cannot correctly determine the distance to the target, few people know how to shoot shotguns over long distances. It is believed that the greater the distance, the wider the spread of the shot and, accordingly, the greater the probability of hitting. Everything happens exactly the opposite. Small errors in aiming at short distances are usually compensated by the width of the scree. At long distances, according to the laws of mathematics, they grow exponentially and no spread will cover them. A reliable hit occurs only at the center of the shot shell, and those very slaps on the feathers that you hear when shooting “behind the clouds” are usually side pellets whipping on the flight feathers.
After an unsuccessful doublet on high-flying birds, it is much easier to say that the shot does not work than to analyze the shot itself. While hunting in Germany, where there were many geese and little ammunition, I conducted some experiments in long-range shooting. Even the bench seven stopped killing geese somewhere after 25 meters. But perhaps only hits to the head and neck, hit by a large number of pellets, were lethal. At 35-40 meters, with proper target processing and shooting with goose shot, everything fell. At 60-70 meters, no one fell at all, even when shooting with the largest shot. I, however, did not have the opportunity to shoot hundreds of rounds of ammunition at these distances. I think you just need to decide for yourself: is it necessary to shoot far at all? On the one hand, the probability of catching game at the maximum (exorbitant) distance is very small, and the possibility of catching it later is generally zero. On the other hand, with your shooting you scare off the incoming game “to the extent” and deprive yourself of a good shot. Among other things, you cause, quite understandably, irritation among others. In general, I try to use the smallest shot from the range of shot offered for a specific game. I don’t like to kill wounded animals, and multiple wounds with small shot at the right distance guarantee against them.
Of course, you can and should learn to shoot accurately, but the good thing about hunting is that sometimes it puts the hunter in situations that the most excellent shooter cannot handle. Therefore, when they tell you about a shooter who never misses, don’t believe it, there are no such people.
S. Losev. Magazine "MASTERGUN" No. 160
Shooting technique. Part one
Trigger
So, we continue to figure out how to shoot a gun correctly. In smoothbore carbines, unlike rifle ones, the trigger mechanism is designed so that the trigger comes off the sear without preliminary pulling, instantly when the required trigger force is achieved. This small difference ensures the homogeneity of the time instants from the decision to shoot to the actual shot. It is this nuance that guarantees high performance when shooting at targets moving very quickly.
So how to shoot a gun correctly? What is rifle fire? Using this weapon, the hunter, pressing the trigger, does not know when the bullet will fly out. Therefore, holding his breath, he makes every effort to keep the front sight, rear sight and target in a certain position at the moment of smooth pressure on the trigger. When shooting from a shotgun, the hunter must accurately and clearly determine the moment of pressing the trigger, otherwise the target will not be hit. If a shooter tries to perform this action with a rifle, he will “rip it off” and will not achieve the desired result. These differences are basic for different types of shooting. By the way, very little is said about them.
Studies
Shooting from a hunting rifle is a difficult task. Correctly determining the distance to a moving target is necessary in order to correctly find the amount of lead and not fire beyond the actual range of a shotgun when a miss is inevitable.
Off the top of my head, is it difficult to learn to shoot? First, decide what results you want to get. There are known novice hunters who fulfilled the third category standard after two training sessions on a round stand. The difference in the achievements of an average shooter and a high-class one lies mainly in the consistency of training and strong-willed qualities. In principle, every person with a sporting disposition, normal vision and normal coordination of movements can learn to shoot perfectly offhand and become a master of shooting sports. Of course, for this you need to follow certain rules.
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Rack
Shooting training can be found in every city. What does the stance look like when firing in flight? A good hunter always hits his targets simply and naturally. It seems that the shots are fired simultaneously with the appearance of the target, which seems unattainable to beginners. To get such results, you need to develop a comfortable, correct shooting stance. With its help, the shooter's body quickly turns left and right. In addition, it provides a stable position when you need to take a second shot.
So, let's start shooting training. Place your feet at such an interval from each other that one foot can fit between the heels and a little more between the toes. If the legs are spread wide, it will be difficult to turn the body, and the shooter will have to leash the gun with his hands. Eventually he will miss. If the legs are located close to each other, the hunter will lose stability both during the recoil of the first shot and when turning the body.
You must hold the rifle with your right hand by the neck of the butt so that the second finger of the middle of the right phalanx can pull the trigger. Hold the gun by the fore-end with your left hand. Your body should be at an angle of 45 degrees to the shooting plane. Bend your legs slightly at the knees and lean forward slightly towards the target shot. The hunter in such a stance has already “taken aim” at the game by the position of his body even before the butt touches his shoulder.
Comfortable grip of the gun
If you are interested in how to properly aim a shotgun, then the next step in mastering this difficult art is learning how to grip the gun. Everything is simple here: the right hand (left for left-handers) covers the butt near the trigger. The index finger rests on the trigger. The left hand covers the forend - you shouldn’t grab it too powerfully, the hand is simply used as a support.
But the butt should be pressed into the shoulder as tightly as possible. This is especially true with powerful recoil. Otherwise, the blow will be so strong that a healthy bruise will remain on the shoulder. Under no circumstances should you press the butt against your collarbone - this could result in a fracture.
The left hand must be maneuverable. It is this that performs the main function when aiming. The right one is always motionless.
But at the same time, if you need to turn in the direction of a sound in the forest, try to turn with your whole body, and not just with your hand. Otherwise, the whole posture falls apart, the butt no longer rests on the shoulder, and the shot may well cause more harm to the hunter than to the prey.
Important manipulation
If you take a shooting class, they will tell you how to position the gun when shooting offhand. Of course, you can read about it here. When shooting offhand, a person puts the gun to his shoulder, combining this action with his leash. Very often, hunters use a carbine while turning their body.
Before performing this manipulation, a person must hold the gun so that its weight is evenly distributed between his hands. Once you find the right position for your left hand, you should try to keep the forend in the same place in any situation.
What are the benefits of shooting courses? The instructor will definitely tell you that when attaching a gun, you first need to throw it forward and upward, and then press it with both hands to the shoulder with the butt into the shoulder recess. As a result, the ridge of the butt will press against your cheek under your right cheekbone.
Good shooters perform this action quickly. At the same time, they simultaneously turn the body and look towards where the game may be. As soon as the gun is in place, its barrels are involuntarily fixed in the direction of the hunter’s gaze. And he shoots.
Errors
Everyone can visit a shooting range in Moscow. In this establishment you can learn to shoot. The most common mistakes made by beginners when using a rifle are:
- Pulling the butt from under the arm to the shoulder. This slows down the action and does not consistently hit the same area - the shoulder socket. As a result, many people adjust the butt and shoot incorrectly.
- The rifle's shoulder position is extremely low. As a result, you have to tilt your head really hard so that your cheek rests on the ridge of the butt. Many trainers say: “A good hunter puts his rifle to his cheek, a bad hunter puts his cheek to his rifle.”
- Sometimes the shot is fired before the comb of the butt touches the face. There is such a trend in shooting, but beginners do not need to do this, since this technique requires special skill, which is acquired over time. Inexperienced people should shoot only after the comb of the butt has touched the cheek. As a result, we get a stable position of the rifle barrels, aimed at the same point at which the shooter is looking.
Leash
Skeet shooting is known to help beginners gain experience. When you apply a carbine, its barrels are directed to the point of interception of the game with a shot sheaf and, before pressing the trigger, they are held for a moment in front of the target in a lead format, moving. The leash continues even after the bullet leaves. But all this happens so instantly that it seems as if she is absent when shooting offhand.
When shooting with a short leash, the rifle is applied first, and then the leash begins. When shooting offhand, these actions are combined into one movement.
Conclusions about clay pigeon shooting
Liked. I would repeat it. This is a very interesting experience, and for me, it is no less interesting than our last year’s shooting party at a shooting range using military weapons.
I managed to hit it! And I think that I am far from the most accurate shooter, which means that those who go skeet shooting for the first time in their life have a good chance of at least repeating my result.
Out of my 25 shots, I hit at least 15. For the first time, not bad, I think. In fact, clay pigeon shooting is a whole world with its own rules, features, subtleties and nuances. And I’m glad that I discovered something new in this life, and now I can get together and come shoot with friends and buddies. By the way, this is an excellent gift for a man, regardless of his age and physical condition. You can shoot at absolutely any age, from 12 years old.
Let’s put an end to this in today’s report. If you want to join our movement “On the Edge” and try something new in your life, here is a special link to subscribe to our newsletter on VK. We periodically hold events dedicated to an active lifestyle, extreme sports and adventure. The newsletter will contain all the news, announcements, project history, etc. See you!
Text - rapid-fire Dmitry Pelin (c) adventure project “On the Edge”
Photo - Nikonist Max Levin
And this is a video blog about how the project went to the shooting range at the Gvardeisky shooting club (40 km from Kaliningrad) a year and a half after the first event:
Guns
Many beginners wonder how to properly shoot a sidearm. Much has been written about this technique in hunting literature. What can be said about rifles that are not easy to use and have good butts? Products manufactured at the factory are manufactured taking into account the latest scientific testing and are suitable for most shooters.
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Of course, if you have a stock made to order at the factory, according to your measurements, it will be better than the standard one. But how much? The best shotgun shooters in the world say that carbines with stocks created by famous gunsmiths shoot 2-5% better than factory ones.
For high-class athletes this modernization is noticeable, but it is unlikely that a good shooter will feel it while hunting. After all, there is so much additional interference that it completely absorbs these 2-5% of possible misses. That is why you should not look for the reasons for failures in the rifle’s toughness: look for them in personal errors and correct them.
Aiming
Accuracy of fire is one of the basic indicators of rifle quality. But let's find out another nuance. Many people say about shooting offhand that with this method the hunter fires without aiming, but this is far from the case. Aiming in this case occurs due to the fact that a person usually directs his actions to where his gaze is directed. Many can throw stones quite accurately, score the ball into the goal, and intercept the ball with a racket.
When shooting offhand, you should not squint one eye when pointing the gun at the target. After all, this is how a person deprives himself of the binocular vision gifted to him by nature. As a result, the picture at the moment of the shot will be remembered worse and will not be as clear. Only if the hunter has a commanding left eye, he should either squint it or learn to open fire from the left shoulder.
Shooting offhand: how to shoot quickly without aiming
Imagine the situation: for the first time in his life, a person picks up a weapon at a shooting range, shoots from it, he likes it, and he decides to take up shooting. Where will he start? Of course, from the very basics of working with weapons, from safety precautions, from correct aiming, and so on. Then, as the shooter progresses, he will learn various subtleties and techniques and improve his skills. Until one day he comes across such a skill as shooting offhand , that is, simply, how to shoot quickly without aiming.
Why even be able to shoot quickly without aiming?
There is practical shooting, and there is also defensive shooting (you can read how they differ in this article). Both of these disciplines belong to shooting sports, but people who engage in such sports can be divided into two categories. The first are those who enjoy the shooting community, competition, competitive spirit, participation and winning. The latter mostly shoot in order to improve their self-defense skills - the adrenaline in competitions is so high that the stress is comparable to any critical situation.
So, if the hero of our short story decided to engage in shooting just because it’s cool, it’s unusual, it’s new acquaintances, sensations and achievements - there’s no need for shooting offhand. Moreover, it is even harmful. But what if a person chooses a weapon as one of the ways to protect himself, his home and his loved ones? The ability to shoot quickly without aiming can be very useful to him. Why?
When it comes to survival and the fight for life, delaying even a second can cost a lot. In a self-defense situation, you may simply not have time to take careful aim. And then everything will depend on the ability to fire offhand. Fortunately, this skill can also be practiced.
Offhand shooting - exercises for practicing
Before you start learning to shoot quickly without aiming, you need to properly master classical shooting. At a minimum, this is necessary so that the position of the barrel begins to indicate where exactly the bullet will fly. Moreover, it will be possible to feel this with much more accuracy than simply determining the direction of fire.
In addition, it is worth remembering a rather useful exercise for offhand shooting. To do this we will need a gun, a target and a roll of duct tape. We just take it and glue the front sight. And we begin to practice shooting blindly. First, at the target at the minimum distance for you. In this case, you need to focus not on the front sight, but on the target. If you manage to maintain accuracy, you can increase the distance by 2 meters. Good accuracy again? Great, let's continue to increase the distance. If not, we go back a step and shoot again.
When the distance increases considerably, with good accuracy, it will be possible to master snatch shooting. Yes, those same “cowboy duels”. There is one important point here - you first need to train yourself to fire a shot no earlier than when the barrel is pointing towards the target. To do this, you will have to use an unloaded weapon and an assistant who will observe your movements and indicate when the shooting began too early.
But in any case, it will take a lot of time, effort and ammunition. However, you can cheat a little with cartridges by honing your skills on pneumatics or airsoft models. You don’t learn to hold a weapon and compensate for recoil, but to shoot quickly without aiming. And in this case, at the first stages, non-firearms will do.
Range
Firing accuracy is the ability to group hit points on a target. What is range? This indicator is limited when shooting from a shotgun. The hunter must have time to open fire while the target is in the area of actual destruction. Beginning shooters must train themselves to shoot quickly even when there is time to aim the bird. As soon as aiming begins, the lead slows down, the game flies too far and the result is a natural miss.
If at the beginning of training a person shoots quickly and misses the target, this can be corrected.
Features of shooting a shotgun with a bullet, buckshot
Buckshot is a large shotgun shot, the diameter of which is from 5.25 to 10 mm. Buckshot is produced in diameter: 10.00; 9.65; 8.80; 8.50; 8.00; 7.70; 7.55; 7.15; 6.95; 6.80; 6.50; 6.20; 5.90; 5.80; 5.70; 5.60; 5.25 mm. They hunt wolves, roe deer, and wild boars with buckshot.
The size of buckshot or shot is selected depending on what animal the hunt is intended for, or rather, the size of this animal is important.
The lethality of buckshot fire, first of all, depends on the energy of its pellets or the total impact energy. In hunting, it is believed that if a projectile flies at a speed below 200 m/s, then its lethality is greatly reduced. To test in practice the lethality of a shot with a bullet or buckshot, hunters shoot at a planed board. Quite sufficient lethality if, during shooting, the buckshot entered the board to a depth equal to three of its diameters.
Features of shooting a shotgun with buckshot bullets
Shooting with buckshot and large shot from a shotgun makes sense if the animal is within the range of your chosen shells. For shooting with buckshot, the maximum range is 40 - 35 m, and for smaller shot - 30 m. At a longer distance (more than 40 m), a shot from a shotgun loses its sharpness and accuracy. In this case, a successful result depends not so much on the skill and professionalism of the hunter, but on luck. As a result, when you see game, you need to decide whether it makes sense to shoot at such a distance or whether it is still possible to get closer.
If you are shooting at a stationary target, then you have the opportunity to aim as carefully as possible, so that the rear sight and front sight are correctly positioned, and your weapon is in a vertical plane. The peculiarity of firing a buckshot bullet from a shotgun at a stationary target is that the deviation of the front sight from the vertical line can lead to the so-called “falling of the front sight”, in other words, a correct shot will not be possible. If the shotgun fire is normal, that is, the distance to the target is about 35-40 m, and the aiming point is aligned with the center of the shot, you need to aim exactly at the target. The front sight is aimed below the target (under it) if your gun has an increased fire rate. The center of the shot fall is placed 10-15 cm higher, and if it is low, then you should aim higher.
Hunting in impenetrable dense thickets has its own characteristics. In such conditions, the animal appears in your field of vision for a short time, only 1-2 seconds, and you, in turn, have to shoot without aiming, offhand, while simultaneously putting the weapon to your shoulder. To achieve mastery using this method, you need to train systematically.
The correct stance is also very important, both when aiming and during the shot. The hunter must be in a free position, so that the body can easily turn both left and right, without moving his legs. The left leg should be placed half a step forward, and the torso should also be slightly tilted. It is important that the position of the feet corresponds to the direction of the shot. Shooting at noise or rustling in the direction of domestic animals and people is strictly prohibited.
Features of shooting buckshot from a shotgun at a moving target
To hit a moving target, the hunter must aim not at the animal, but slightly in front of it, as if on its path. This aiming method is called lead. Its value depends on the distance between the target and the shooter, the direction and speed of the target’s movement, the strength and direction of the wind, and the time it takes the shooter to shoot. The amount of lead when shooting with a bullet or buckshot should be less than when you shoot with small shot. It is necessary to take into account all influencing factors in order to theoretically calculate the amount of lead. However, practice shows that most often hunters take into account two factors - the speed of movement of the buckshot and the time it takes for it to reach the target. Some hunters advise calculating the lead by the number of animal bodies to the place of its defeat.
When firing from a smoothbore weapon with a Brenneke, Jakan and other bullet, the reliability of the hit depends on the distance, which should be no more than 50 m.
Shooting ranges
Would you like to visit a shooting range? The underground club “Labyrinth” is located on Kutuzovsky Prospekt in Moscow. There you can shoot with your own air rifles and pistols, as well as those offered by the staff. There is always an instructor in the shooting gallery who provides full training for beginners.
Many people like the world's largest indoor shooting range, located in the Moscow region in the city of Dzerzhinsky. This is a very comfortable facility where shooters practice all year round.
