How do you become a better bolt rifle shooter

[JWCalgary]

OK, here's what I have been doing the past couple of years to get ready for hunting. My practice routine is as follows (all applicable calibers)

100m on a rest (bag or pack), 3 rounds, 3 minutes, sub MOA
100m prone or seated, 3 rounds, 3 minutes, within 4" circle
100m offhand-standing, 3 rounds, 3 minutes within 8" circle

200m on a rest (bag or pack) 3 rounds, 3 minutes, 4" circle
200m prone or seated, 3 rounds, 3 minutes, within 8" circle
200m offhand-standing, 3 rounds, 3 minutes within 12" circle

300m - on a rest, 3 rounds, 3 minutes, within 8" circle
300m prone or seated . . . not for me yet

My questions are as follows for your opinion to become a better shooter:

Would a "good" shooter use a smaller diam. target at the above ranges?

Would a "good" shooter do quick succession shooting like 3 rounds in a minute let's say? or conversely, expand it out to 5 or more minutes . ..

When you shoot off a rest do you use a rest with adjustments screws, etc to really dial it in or do you feel using a pack or bag is better in non-target style shooting

how do you do it? Anything else I should be trying in terms of practice?

thanks all

[shooter12]

Get yourself a good 22 with a lot of ammo, shoot it at a big paper target at 50 -55 yards of hand a lot until have no fliers and as tight group as possible
1' with a heavy barrel or around 2' with light is very doable.
Then get your center fire rifle and try to do the same at 100 yds .
If can put all in say 3-4 " you are doing good
Good luck!

[Big Sky]

I am a regular visitor to my range. What you are doing for practise is way more that what most guys do.

As for not being ready for 300yds, I say let 'er rip.

I don't practise very much with my hunting rifles.
I have a bolt action in 223 that I do a lot of practise with. It's way cheaper than shooting my hunting rifles. I'll shoot from the bench (to verify zero), kneeling, sitting, prone and offhand. I mostly practise at 200 and 300. I don't shoot offhand past 100yds.

I also practise with my 22. I practise at 50, 100 and have just started practising at 200. This is by far the cheapest practise you can get.

[3blade]

Looks pretty good to me, but prone and seated are not equivalent. Wouldn't hurt to do both. Also, kneeling shots are worth practicing and arueably more commonly used than seated. I would also add is a "follow up" shot routine. Two quick aimed shots, then let it cool for 5 min. Simulating an animal that doesn't drop but gives you a second opportunity.

Your routine is probably better than 98% of what most hunters do. good work

Personally, outside 100 I don't shoot unless it's off a pack or bipod/trigger stick.

[cody c]

Good for you to practice, it shows good ethical intent for harvesting an animal.

The three minutes for three shots seems like a stretch, most of the opportunities you'll have will be closer to three seconds to send a bullet off than a minute per shot, unless you only hunt long range from a blind.

I would suggest practicing an offhand kill shot at 50 yards within 3 seconds of being slung over your shoulder may be more challenging but more beneficial, it's a different world all together when you have adrenaline pumping with a huge beautiful animal walking across a gam trail at 30 or 40 yards. And I seem to have more luck walking in the bush than in the open terrain.

[Dean2]

I would add shooting off of sticks at 200 to 800 yards. Very useful tool for hunting and greatly aids in hitting stuff further out. It is among my favourite shooting positions/aids.

[tikka250]

i dont see much wrong with how you are doing it. i find shooting a 22 offhand does wonders for my centerfire rifle shooting. i am fortunate enough to have some good gopher spots so thats where most of my rimfire shooting is but any type of varied distance shooting spots work fine. i used to spend hours at an old gravel pit shooting small rocks or dirt clods on the bank.
as for shooting targets offhand at 300 and beyond i say dont hold yourself back the best way to learn is to push yourself.

[270person]

Good routine imo. Probably not for everyone but I like to bounce from light recoil guns to my larger bores. Then back to light recoil..and repeat the process.

Can learn a lot about technique shooting a 17 - 204/22-250 then moving up to a large caliber.

[Battle Rat]

The old saying " aim small, hit small" is supported by your idea of smaller targets.
Firing 3 quick shots forces you to maintain good position, cheek and gun butt placement during recoil and while cycling the bolt.
Looks like you are shooting better than the majority of hunters now.
Good job.

[58thecat]

Originally Posted by Battle Rat

The old saying " aim small, hit small" is supported by your idea of smaller targets.
Firing 3 quick shots forces you to maintain good position, cheek and gun butt placement during recoil and while cycling the bolt.
Looks like you are shooting better than the majority of hunters now.
Good job.

Aim small, miss small...small fudge factor.

[JWCalgary]

I like the ideas such as unslinging then quickly shooting as well as the Off hand at 50 and 300 as well as sticks. The follow shot is good too. I'm going to add those to the routine. Thanks all!!!

Sent from my SM-G530W using Tapatalk

[gitrdun]

Simply because of the fact that you've included the word "hunting" in your original post. I would forget the 3 minute interval. See what you can do with a single shot, at the various ranges and positions as you've stated. Because in my humble opinion, the first shot in a hunting situation is the one that really counts. You're not going for groups here.

[Redneck 7]

I second the idea of the .22 rifle in the same reloading style as your big game rifle. For me it's pump actions but my pump 22 with iron sights I can free hand 12x16 plate at 100 quite often. My 8" circle at 50 like going out of style. And shoot gophers if you're able too. My longest gopher kill with that pump is 77 paces/ yards. My first deer rifle is a 7600 .243 and I shoot it iron sights but I can hit my gong at 100 like no ones business however I sit and braced. Mostly with a shooting stick.

But still messing around with a .22 gets the muscle memory fit and firm for the big game rifles, still practice with them too but it does make a difference.

Good luck and there's nothing wrong with how you're shooting so far, keep it up and I'm sure it will get even tighter of groups.

[couleefolk]

Originally Posted by gitrdun

Simply because of the fact that you've included the word "hunting" in your original post. I would forget the 3 minute interval. See what you can do with a single shot, at the various ranges and positions as you've stated. Because in my humble opinion, the first shot in a hunting situation is the one that really counts. You're not going for groups here.

I like this idea.

[last minute]

Originally Posted by JWCalgary

OK, here's what I have been doing the past couple of years to get ready for hunting. My practice routine is as follows (all applicable calibers)

100m on a rest (bag or pack), 3 rounds, 3 minutes, sub MOA
100m prone or seated, 3 rounds, 3 minutes, within 4" circle
100m offhand-standing, 3 rounds, 3 minutes within 8" circle

200m on a rest (bag or pack) 3 rounds, 3 minutes, 4" circle
200m prone or seated, 3 rounds, 3 minutes, within 8" circle
200m offhand-standing, 3 rounds, 3 minutes within 12" circle

300m - on a rest, 3 rounds, 3 minutes, within 8" circle
300m prone or seated . . . not for me yet

My questions are as follows for your opinion to become a better shooter:

Would a "good" shooter use a smaller diam. target at the above ranges?

Would a "good" shooter do quick succession shooting like 3 rounds in a minute let's say? or conversely, expand it out to 5 or more minutes . ..

When you shoot off a rest do you use a rest with adjustments screws, etc to really dial it in or do you feel using a pack or bag is better in non-target style shooting

how do you do it? Anything else I should be trying in terms of practice?

thanks all

200m on a rest (bag ) 3 rounds, 4" circle

this is it for me

[Bushleague]

I generally practice from 100 to 300 yards from positions experience has proven I will be likely to use in the field. If I can keep 10 shots within a 8" group from a sitting position at 300 yards, and 10 shots in the same diameter target from a standing position at 100 then I am feeling pretty good. I also practice from the kneeling position and using a tree for support while standing at various yardages, these are a better option to free hand when possible.

Personally, for the way I hunt and the shots I generally take I've found regular dry firing practice to be at least as valuable as range time. Most of my shots in the field are free hand and must be taken quickly. My yard is about 100 meters long with a bunch of trees at the back where I've nailed a 4" circle of plywood and painted it red. I start off with my rifle in a carrying position with the safety on, throw it up to my shoulder, flick the safety off and "shoot" the target. I then cycle the bolt and re-engage the safety before the rifle is lowered from my shoulder... generally this all happens in 3-5 seconds.

Ever since I started doing this most of my kills have become almost reflex. No fumbling with the safety, no moving my head around to get the sights or eye relief just right. I ask myself two questions... do I want to kill the animal, and am I able to kill the animal. If the answer to these two questions is "yes" muscle memory takes over and there is generally a dead animal on the ground, a fresh round in the pipe, and the safety on without me making any conscious effort to take the necessary actions. I never developed this kind of muscle memory from range time for some reason.

[Dick284]

Lotsa trigger time.

Try shooting a flintlock rifle, off your hind legs, this will bring any bad habits you have into larger than life proportions. 50-75 yds, patched round ball, keeping all your shots in a 6"-7" bull will indicate that you've exercised your demons.(it's the lock time that shows your flaws)

Once you've got your bad habits under control, throw a 10-20x scope on a good .22 rimfire and get after those chickens(40m), pigs(60m), turkeys(77m), and rams(100m) off your hind legs, then for kicks and giggles run those chickens out to 100m, and let fly from your hind legs yet again. When your averaging 60%-70% on the 1/5 scale shillouettes. It's time for you to move to your large bore centerfire "bolt gun."

Start by shooting your "bolt gun" at 8" paper plates at 100m, 200m, 300m, 400m, and 500m(or use a 8" steel gong.) Off your hind legs, kneeling, sitting, bipod, rucksack, fence post, mono pod, what ever, when you can keep 80% of your hits on the 8" target from what ever position, then move to the next distance, when you can no longer pull off 80% hits, consider the next closest distance your max distance from the given situation.

[JD848]

If you want to shoot practice your breathing,learn to slow your heart rate down and develop better concentration,when you practice this enough lotsa good things like hand to eye concentration and this will eliminate some shoulder movement and chest , plus lots trigger time,my heart beat is around 65 t0 70 beats per minute ,
With plenty of practice and blocking the whole world out but my target I can get down to 50 to 55 beats per minute in about 2 minutes,if your target is closer you don't have that luxury,so your breathing exercise will come into play ,plus you can also do dry firing as you follow your imaginary target that will help you with flinching while doing all of the above.

Get your trigger time in with a 22lr,but if you reload spend the time getting use to your hunting rifles or rifle and spend countless hours of learning to control all body movements to make that finger squeeze that trigger without even realizing it's was done and your body in perfect timing like a fine tuned watch and your reward will only come with the time you put in all area's I have mention, along with keeping your cardio in top condition.

[catnthehat]

When I am practicing with a hunting rifle, it is already zeroed and ready to go.
Before I shoot my other rifles, I take out my hunting rifle , walk up to the line and shoot the 200 meter silhouette , or steel at 100, or the pig at 300, never in the same order.
Sometimes off one knee, sometimes standing, sometimes off both knees.
Cold barrel to start, no thought , just take it out of the case, sling the gun on my shoulder then take it off and shoot. I fire once with the irons and once with the scope at each distance

Then I get my target rifles ready to shoot.

At the end of the session , I take out the hunting rifle and do the same thing.
At times I shoot the irons first , sometimes the scope first, all depends if the scope is on thee rifle already, but each gets shot once at each distance.

I generally hunt with the irons, with the scope inn my pack in case I get a long shot with time too install it.

Cat

[58thecat]

Another thing most hunters don't practice is setting up a target in a slightly wooded area, walk, identify your target and take a few steps to use a tree as a stable rest, been hunting and see guys attempt to off hand and all I do is whisper use the tree to your side, get a dumb look at first as it is not practiced.
Fence posts too anything to get the first shot in the kill area...