Basic Skills for Long Range Shooting

There are many skills you need to master to become an expert long range shooter. Two basic skills for long range shooting that professional shooter Stan Pate believes are the most important are breathing and trigger control. 

Breathe Easy for Better Accuracy

While there are many methods for breath control while shooting, Pate has his own method that he incorporates into his pre-shot checklist. He starts by taking several deep "hyperventilation-type" breaths to saturate his blood with oxygen. Then he lets all of the air out of his lungs and pauses. It is during that pause that he fires the shot. "I only hold my breath for a matter of a few seconds because there are other physiological things happen during that time," says Pate. The first thing that happens is the oils in your eyes start to dry out within seconds. The second thing that happens is your heart rate starts to increase and you lose the steadiness of your shot. Both of those physiological changes are detrimental to firing an accurate shot.

Trigger Control

The AccuTrigger is an innovation that allows shooters to adjust the trigger pull weight for light, clean, crisp pulls with no creep. It's also a safety feature. If you press on the side of the AccuTrigger, it locks up and won't fire. It is supposed to do this by design in the event that the gun is dropped or jarred. You have to pull straight back on the AccuTrigger blade in order for it to fire. "What it does is it forces you to use the sweet spot on your trigger finger to pull straight back. This is conducive to not only regular shooting, but long range and ultra long range shooting," says Pate. This feature serves double duty as a safety procedure and forces good trigger technique for better accuracy at any distance.