.22 Rifle Help.

Question
Hey Bob. First I just wanted to say thanks for taking my question. I'm currently 17 and have just purchased my first Ruger .22(It's a black composite stock with a stainless steel barrel)about 2 weeks ago. Recently I was watching the Olympics when I came upon the Men's smallbore 50 meter 3 position. watching this has added fuel to the Drive I have to get into the sport of shooting. The questions I have are,first do you have any tips for helping me be as accurate as possible when I'm practicing at the range, and second, how could I find out about any local competitions in my area(I'm in the Salt Lake City Area)that would help me qualify to get up to the national level a few years down the road? also Does the University of Utah have a rifle shooting team that you know of? Thanks again for your time with these questions, I know they may be difficult, but know that your advice is greatly appreciated in helping me get started in this great sport.

  -Thanks Again, Eric.

Answer
Hi Eric.

Congratulations on your first rifle! The Ruger firearms are very good quality and I particularly like the stainless / synthetic combination.

We could discuss the topic of shooting for weeks because there is a lot that you need to know. I have been shooting for over 30 years and I still learn something new almost every month. Ideally you need to take a few classes to get started out on the right foot. This is critical when you are first begin shooting otherwise you will develop some bad habits which are hard to get rid of later. It is not possible for me to learn all the specifics of your situation or provide you with live training so I can only give you some abbreviated general advice but I will give it a shot.

The first thing you should look for is a good basic firearms safety class. This will teach you about how to safely handle firearms and how to identify safe shooting environments. Then you want to look for a good basic rifle class that will go into more detail about how to properly shoot and maintain your rifle. These classes are often taught by gun clubs, state wildlife departments, local police, hunter safety groups, boyscout troops, and private instructors. The NRA has an excellent training program and I am a certified instructor for their classes. You can find information about their training program and locate specific classes via the following links:

http://www.nrahq.org/education/training/basictraining.asp

http://www.nrahq.org/education/training/find.asp

If you have trouble finding classes in your area then call some of your local gun clubs, gun stores, and your state or local police and they should be able to help.

There are also many books and videos published which contain a lot of good information so you may want to check out a few of those. Just keep in mind that this is not a substitute for live training and you should take some good classes first because you will occasionally see some unsafe things in certain books or videos. The following sites contain a lot of good books and videos that will cover more specific training topics and exercises depending on your current abilities and interests.

http://materials.nrahq.org/go/home.aspx

http://www.gunvideo.com/

Another thing to remember is that there is simply too much information for any one instructor, book, or video to cover. Every class that you take will teach you something new and you will find that each instructor has their own opinions. Sometimes the instructors will disagree with each other or recommend something which you do not feel comfortable with. The best thing is to take as many classes as possible from multiple instructors then make your own decisions based on what works best for you.

After you have some training under your belt then you will need to practice as often as possible to reinforce the basic skills and develop advanced skills over time. Ideally you would be able to shoot several times per week for a few hours each time, which may seem like a lot but keep in mind that most olympic athletes and top competitors shoot every single day and often shoot several hundred rounds per session. Your practice schedule will depend on how serious you are about shooting and how convenient it is for you to get to the shooting facility.

I recommend joining a local gun club that has a good safe shooting range, then go there as much as possible to practice. In addition to shooting you will also meet a lot of great people and many of them will be happy to help you. I have learned a lot just by talking to other shooters and swapping guns with them at the range. If you can't find a range in your area then you are left with the option of practicing on your own land, which for most people is not possible given the crowded subdivisions and city ordinances which are so common in urban America. This is where your commitment comes in. Are you willing to travel, move, or buy enough land to live in an area where you can shoot safely and legally on your own land? Most shooters are not willing or able to do this so another option is needed.

When you aren't able to get to a range then you can still practice some things from home if you have the right setup. Start by using a dummy training gun which you can buy to match your real gun, or use an unloaded firearm with snap caps (dummy training ammunition) as long as you are sure that your gun is unloaded and safe for dry fire practice. They also make some nice laser shooting devices that can be added to your gun and work with reactionary targets to build your skills without live firing. Find a safe area and practice from several positions and with targets at multiple distances if possible.

Regarding accuracy, the most important thing is to shoot slowly and deliberately. Focus on each of the fundamentals for several seconds before moving on to the next step. The fundamentals are shooting stance, grip, breathing, sight alignment, trigger squeeze, and follow through. Practice each of these steps over and over again until you can consistently hit your target from a short distance, then gradually increase the distance until you are just as accurate at the longer ranges. Then start the whole process over again using a different shooting position (prone, kneeling, bench, standing, etc.) and possibly move on to use other guns if you plan to shoot in multiple competitions or categories.

In addition to training and regular range practice, it is a good idea for you to participate in competitive shooting events and join a local shooting team if possible. The NRA sponsors many different types of shooting events and they have a great markmanship training program which many olympic athletes have followed. Your local gun clubs, instructors, or range personnel should be able to put you in touch with a few clubs or groups that have competitions.

Regarding the University of Utah, it does appear that they have a shooting team. You can find information about their program at the following site:

http://web.utah.edu/shootingclub/homecoll.htm

Best of luck and stay safe!

Bob