Mastering the art of breathing during the shot process is a skill that separates novices from experts. Understanding how to break a shot during a natural respiratory pause is crucial. In this blog post, we'll delve into the significance of controlled breathing, explore the techniques for optimizing your breath during shooting, and uncover the secrets of breaking the shot at the perfect moment.
The Importance of Controlled Breathing
Breathing is an essential physiological process that impacts various aspects of our well-being, including shooting accuracy. When we inhale and exhale, our body undergoes subtle movements, affecting the alignment of our sights and the steadiness of our hands. As such, uncontrolled breathing can lead to erratic shooting patterns, compromising precision.

When hunting, "buck fever" and excitement definitely affects precision. Learning how to control your breathing will allow you to regain control over the automatic response when excitement sets in.
Understanding the Respiratory Pause
The respiratory pause is a brief moment between inhalation and exhalation when the body naturally holds its breath. During this pause, the body achieves relative stability, making it the ideal moment to break the shot. Identifying this moment is fundamental to enhance your shooting performance, as it minimizes the risk of disrupting your aim due to involuntary body movements.
Breathing Techniques for Precision Shooting

1. Diaphragmatic Breathing: Also known as belly breathing, this technique involves engaging the diaphragm to breathe deeply and slowly through your nose. By doing so, you create a stable platform for your body and reduce the potential for movement while aiming.
2. Box Breathing: This technique focuses on creating a rhythmic and controlled breathing pattern. Inhale steadily for a count of four, hold your breath for a count of four, exhale smoothly for a count of four, and then hold your breath again for another count of four. Repeat this cycle to maintain focus and steady your aim.
3. Natural Respiratory Pause Awareness: Practice awareness of your body's natural respiratory pause by performing dry-firing exercises. Pay attention to your breath and identify the moment between inhaling and exhaling when your body naturally stabilizes. With practice, you'll be able to identify this pause during live shooting scenarios.

Breaking the Shot During the Respiratory Pause
Once you've mastered controlled breathing techniques, the next step is to learn how to break the shot at the right moment during the respiratory pause. This requires a combination of mental focus, muscle memory, and timing.

1. Sight Alignment: Before initiating the shot, ensure that your sights are properly aligned with the target. Focus on the reticle over the target without becoming overly fixated on the sight picture.
2. Mental Preparation: Mentally prepare yourself to take the shot during the respiratory pause. Stay focused and avoid rushing the process.
3. Smooth Trigger Squeeze: Apply steady pressure on the trigger while maintaining your sight alignment. The goal is to break the shot with no disruption to your sight picture.
4. Follow-Through: After the shot, maintain your position and sight picture. Continue breathing. This follow-through helps analyze your shot and identify any potential mistakes for future improvement.

Conclusion
Mastering the art of breathing during the shot process and breaking the shot during a natural respiratory pause are essential skills for precision shooting. By practicing controlled breathing techniques and developing an understanding of your body's natural respiratory patterns, you'll significantly enhance your shooting skills. Remember, consistent practice and patience are key to achieving excellence in precision shooting. So, take a deep breath, steady your aim, and break the shot with confidence!

Master the ability to maintain visual contact with the target throughout the shot process and beyond. Keeping your eye open during the shot and recovering from recoil is an art that requires practice, determination, and understanding of the shooting mechanics. 
Why Keep Your Eye Open During the Shot Process?
The adage "keep your eye on the target" holds true, especially in precision shooting. Closing your eyes or losing sight of the target during the shot process can lead to several detrimental consequences:

1. Reacquisition Time: If you lose sight of the target, you'll need to reacquire it after the shot is fired, wasting precious moments. This is critical when spotting your shots or engaging multiple targets when timing is essential. Hunting and timed competition are the most frequent uses.
2. Shot Follow-Through: Maintaining visual contact helps you maintain proper shot follow-through. Understanding how the bullet impacts the target or misses will allow you to make real-time adjustments if necessary.
3. Calling Your Shots: Keeping your eye open enables you to "call your shots" accurately when you press the trigger and break the shot. This means you can predict where the shot will land before it reaches the target, helping you assess and correct your shooting technique.
4. Enhanced Shot Placement: Visual contact allows you to observe any deviation in the sight alignment, trigger pull, or breathing during the shot process, leading to improvement of your shooting.
5. Consistency and Confidence: Practicing this skill builds consistency in your shooting, leading to increased confidence in your abilities as a precision marksman.

Practical Tips for Keeping Your Eye Open

1. Dry Fire Practice: Start with dry fire exercises to build muscle memory and get comfortable with the idea of keeping your eye open during the shot. Focus on maintaining visual contact without blinking when squeezing the trigger.
2. Use a Spotting Scope or Binoculars: Observe others during live fire. Use a spotting scope or binoculars set up close to a partner's shooting position. This way, you can observe the shots and train to muzzle blast without moving your head or taking your eye away from the scope.
3. Record and Analyze: If possible, record your shooting sessions. Reviewing the footage allows you to identify any lapses in keeping your eye open or other areas that need improvement.
4. Mental Visualization: Mentally rehearse the shot process with your eye on the target before even shouldering the rifle. During live fire, take the time to dry fire to visualize the shot during the shot process. This practice can help solidify the habit.
5. Relaxation Techniques: Prior to shooting, practice relaxation techniques to calm your body and mind. A tense shooter is more likely to blink or lose focus during the shot process.

Conclusion
Keeping your eye open during the shot process and while recovering from recoil is a fundamental skill for precision rifle shooters. With consistent practice, you can master this technique. Remember, it's not just about hitting the target once but maintaining visual contact to hit it multiple times with precision and accuracy.

Happy shooting!

Hitting targets requires a combination of skill, patience, and unwavering focus. Sight alignment through the scope and focused on the reticle is undoubtedly one of the most crucial. A seasoned marksman understands that proper reticle alignment lays the foundation for consistent and precise shooting. In this blog post, we delve into the significance of sight alignment and how it plays a pivotal role in achieving excellence in precision rifle shooting.
The Role of the Scope Reticle
The scope reticle, commonly known as the crosshair, is an integral part of any precision rifle setup. It is a set of fine lines or markings inside the scope that helps shooters aim accurately at their intended target. The reticle's center point typically serves as the reference point for aligning the rifle with the target. But, "Christmas Tree Reticles" or other specialized reticles provide additional aiming points.
Sight Alignment Defined
Sight alignment refers to the correct positioning of the shooter's eye and the rifle's scope, ensuring that the shooter's eye is perfectly aligned with the scope's optical axis. This alignment is vital to eliminate parallax error and distortion, enabling the shooter to acquire a clear and precise sight picture. You know if you are aligned if the sight picture is free of "scope shadow".
The Crucial Steps to Achieve Perfect Sight Alignment

1. Positioning the Eye: Achieving proper sight alignment begins with positioning your eye at the correct distance from the scope's ocular lens. This distance, known as eye relief varies depending on the scope. Maintaining consistent eye relief is essential, as it directly affects the sight picture's clarity and reduces the risk of scope-related injuries.
2. Leveling the Scope: Once you have established the correct eye relief, it is crucial to ensure that the scope is level. Any cant or misalignment can result in inaccurate shots. Utilizing a bubble level mounted on the scope or the rifle's rail can aid in maintaining perfect alignment, especially when shooting on uneven terrain.
3. Aligning the Reticle: With the eye in the correct position and the scope level, the shooter must align the reticle precisely with the target. The center of the reticle should align perfectly with the target's intended point of impact. Even the slightest misalignment can lead to significant deviations downrange.
4. Breathing and Trigger Control: Once proper sight alignment is achieved, the shooter must concentrate on their breathing and trigger control. A steady breath and a smooth trigger squeeze are vital to prevent any unintended movement that could disrupt the alignment before the shot is fired.

Practice Makes Perfect
Achieving consistent sight alignment through the scope reticle is a skill that demands practice and dedication. Frequent range time and dry-fire practice at home can help build muscle memory and refine this critical aspect of precision shooting. Creating stable positions is necessary to always maintain consistent and proper alignment of the eye to the scope.
Conclusion
In precision rifle shooting, sight alignment through the scope reticle is key. By mastering proper eye positioning, scope leveling, and precise reticle alignment, shooters can enhance precision. As skills improve you can unlock the full potential of your rifles and consistently hit targets with unerring precision.

Precision rifle shooting demands impeccable trigger control. In the pursuit of precision, dry fire practice emerges as an indispensable tool. By simulating live-fire scenarios without ammunition, dry fire practice allows shooters to fine-tune their technique, build muscle memory, and ultimately elevate their shooting. In this article, we will delve into the benefits of dry fire practice for precision rifle shooting and explore effective tips to enhance your trigger control.
The Essence of Trigger Control
Trigger control is the art of initiating a shot without disturbing the alignment of the rifle. A smooth and steady trigger press is vital for precision shooting. The slightest jerk or flinch impacts precision. It's essential to maintain control throughout the entire process, from prepping the trigger to the break and follow-through.
Safety First
Before embarking on any dry fire practice, prioritize safety above all else. Choose a safe location with a clear line of sight and a secure backstop. Ensure that your rifle is unloaded, and visually inspect the chamber and magazine to verify there is no live ammunition present. Always double-check and triple-check to ensure the firearm is clear.
Building Muscle Memory
Dry fire practice offers an excellent opportunity to build muscle memory, which is essential for consistent shooting. By repeatedly going through the motions of acquiring the target, aligning the sights, and executing a smooth trigger press, your body and mind become accustomed to the sequence. This muscle memory carries over to live-fire situations, allowing you to perform with more confidence and precision.
The Benefits of Dry Fire Practice

1. Refining Trigger Technique: Dry firing enables shooters to identify flaws in their trigger control technique without the distractions of recoil or muzzle blast. As you practice, pay close attention to any jerking, flinching, or other unintended movements of the reticle during the trigger press. With focused effort, you can smooth out these imperfections and develop a controlled trigger press.
2. Eliminating Recoil Anticipation: Many shooters struggle with anticipation, a natural reflex where they subconsciously brace for the recoil of the shot. Dry fire practice helps overcome this issue by allowing shooters to concentrate solely on their trigger control without the sensation of recoil. As a result, shooters can learn to execute smoother trigger breaks.
3. Enhancing Sight Alignment: Alongside trigger control, dry firing facilitates honing sight alignment skills. By consistently aligning the sights on the target during dry fire practice, shooters can enhance their ability to do so in live-fire scenarios.
4. Cost-Effective Training: One significant advantage of dry fire practice is that it is cost-effective. Ammunition can be expensive, and not everyone has access to a shooting range whenever they please. With dry firing, shooters can practice at home or in a safe space without worrying about ammunition costs.

Tips for Effective Dry Fire Practice

1. Create a Consistent Routine: Dedicate regular practice sessions to dry firing. Consistency is key to developing muscle memory and improving your shooting skills.
2. Focus on the Fundamentals: Concentrate on proper trigger press and sight alignment. Gradually increase the complexity of your dry fire drills as you become more proficient.
3. Use Targets and Props: Incorporate targets or objects that simulate real shooting scenarios. This helps maintain engagement and adds an element of realism to your practice.
4. Incorporate Follow-Through: Pay attention to your follow-through after each trigger press. When the trigger breaks, practice immediately freezing the press. This reinforces your complete control over the finger movement. You'll improve your ability to maintain your shooting position and keeping the rifle steady even after the "shot" has been fired. 

Conclusion
Dry fire practice is an invaluable tool for precision rifle shooters seeking to enhance their trigger control and overall shooting performance. Through dedicated practice, shooters can refine their technique, build muscle memory, and eliminate unwanted habits that can compromise accuracy. Remember, safety should always be the top priority, and regular, focused dry fire practice can take your precision rifle shooting to new heights. So, embrace the power of dry fire practice, and watch your shooting skills soar!

Regenerate response

When it comes to precision shooting, one of the most critical factors is trigger control. Proper trigger manipulation creates consistent shots free from any disturbances caused by jerky or hasty movements. In this article, we'll delve into the importance of trigger control and provide valuable tips on how to press the trigger slowly and steadily, without disturbing the rifle, to improve your shooting prowess.

1. The Significance of Trigger Control

Trigger control is the act of consciously and smoothly pressing the trigger of your rifle to initiate the firing sequence. It is a fundamental aspect of marksmanship. The way you interact with the trigger directly affects the rifle's alignment, which in turn dictates the bullet's trajectory.
Establishing a Solid Grip
Before focusing on trigger control, it's essential to ensure you have a positive grip on the rifle. Proper grip provides a foundation for better control throughout the shooting process. Additionally, a consistent grip helps maintain control and minimizes movement that might disturb your aim.
Smoothly Engaging the Trigger
To press the trigger slowly without disturbing the rifle, follow these steps:
a. Place Your Index Finger: Position the pad of your index finger, or just behind the pad but before the joint where you can feel the pressure onto the bone on the trigger. Avoid using the joint or the very tip of your finger, as this can lead to jerky movements.
b. Apply Gradual Pressure: Begin to apply pressure to the trigger in a smooth, gradual, and controlled manner. The motion should be steady and deliberate. An observer should not see the finger moving. Focus on the sight picture and maintaining alignment with the target.
c. Avoid Snatching the Trigger: Jerking or snatching the trigger, especially when anticipating the shot, is a common mistake that disturbs the rifle's position. Maintain a steady pressure without flinching or anticipating the recoil.
e. Trigger Break: For a new shooter the shot breaks almost as a surprise. By maintaining a slow, steady press on the trigger, you eliminate the chances of any sudden movements that could throw off your shot. An experienced marksman will have an intimate knowledge and feel when the pressure is adequate to break the shot. This gives the marksman the ability to stop the shot process at any time, because it is an intentional process.

Conclusion
Experience shows that mastering trigger control can reduce groups between 1/4 and 1/2 depending on how poor the technique is to begin with. Mastering trigger control improves precision and consistency. By employing a slow and steady trigger press, you can stop moving the rifle when you initiate the shot. 

Happy shooting!

Camo is -mostly- man fashion. At close range, camo that breaks up human forms and pattern is helpful, even if it is orange and green. But, at 400 yards, your super secret stealth camo could be making you glow like a scorpion during the day or night. Are you making that mistake? Keep reading to see if you glow like an alien in the woods. 

Deer eyes are completely different than human eyes. Sure, all the structures are the same, but its like the difference between a sports car (human eyes) and a 4x4. 

• Deer eyes take in more light. Deer eyes have horizontal slots that the light passes through, not round like human. They get more light than human.
• Deer eyes absorb more of the light that enters. The back of deer eyes are reflective, human eyes are not. So, when light misses human rods/cones that light is gone. But, the light reflects back across the rods/cones of deer, so deer absorb a greater percentage of the light that passes through the retina.
• Deer have more rods (night vision) than humans. 
• Deer have less cones (day vision) than humans.
• Deer can see blue and green, which are the short wavelengths on the bottom of the rainbow. But, they don't have the red cones, so they essentially see blues and greens, and mixes of them into tans and browns. Deer can't see red or orange, it just appears as another brown color to them.
• Deer can see colors that extend below the violet in the rainbow, because they have no UV filter in their eyes, which means they can see at night. UV is the short wavelength in a blacklight that makes scorpions glow. Humans have a UV filters that reduces almost all of the UV light that reaches our eyes, which is why we need a blacklight with lots of UV before we can see a scorpion "glow". Deer can see scorpions glowing without the extra shine of a blacklight.
• Deer have a field of view that is 310 degrees wide with their eyes on the side of the head, so they only miss what is directly behind them. Because their field of view is wide, deer can't "focus" on a fine point like humans. Essentially, their vision could be compared to human vision that is just outside of the "focus point" where our peripheral vision begins.
• Deer vision is attuned to movement, just like we more easily see movement in our peripheral vision.

CONCLUSION: So, when deer are a medium distance and farther,  their vision doesn't have sufficient clarity and focus to "see" a human shape or distinguish between a solid red, orange, green, or brown clothes.

Deer can see blue and the UV enhancers that are put in clothes detergent. So, make sure you don't wash with scents or "color enhancers" in your detergent.

https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1279&context=icwdm_usdanwrc

Recoil management separates the experts from the amateurs.

And, it punishes experts that get lazy...

Recoil management is essential for staying on target before the bullet leaves the muzzle, and maintaining the target in the scope. Consistent recoil management is one of the most important skills for precision rifle, and has a bigger effect than the ammo you shoot or the rifle itself. Without the ability to control the rifle, you cannot reach consistent precision shot to shot, group to group, day to day and from position to position. 

​We've all experienced shooting great groups behind the bench in perfect conditions, and then missing "the same shot" in field conditions. Shooters in precision rifle competitions, especially NRL Hunter matches know that the crosshair can be on the target, but the shot can miss big targets for lots of reasons that have nothing to do with the gear. Long-range precision shooting demands exceptional marksmanship skills, and one crucial aspect that sets the experts apart from the amateurs is the ability to manage recoil. 

HERE IS THE NUGGET OF KNOWLEDGE: Recoil starts and the recoil impulse is already moving the rifle when the bullet leaves the muzzle. This is the first and shorted part of the recoil impulse as the energy begins to move the rifle. The second part of the recoil impulse is the longest and continues from the time the bullet leaves the barrel the rifle until the recoil impulse ends and the rifle returns to rest. 

Let's talk more about two "portions" of the recoil process to understand. And, the first is the most important to precision and "group size".

1) BEFORE the bullet leaves the barrel

Brakes and suppressors DO NOT change the recoil impulse while the bullet is in the barrel. They work because the expanding gasses behind the bullet are hitting the surfaces, which pushes the rifle forward to counteract the recoil impulse that was already moving. 

Overall, the greater the recoil impulse, the harder it is to control the rifle. So, your recoil management matters much more between a .22 long rifle that requires nothing compared to a mountain rifle in 300 RUM. The bigger your rifle, the more you need to consistently and competently control recoil from the moment the primer pops until the bullet leaves the bore. If you don't your groups will be larger as a result of how much the rifle moves.

Yes, I know the bullet is only in the barrel for a fraction of a second and the majority of recoil happens after the bullet leaves the  bore. But, when we are talking about precision, it takes very little from the shooter to induce the smallest movements in the rifle to open groups and start stringing shots..

Consider how much we can see our heartbeat moving the rifle: isn't it self evident that a hard recoiling rifle is going to move the rifle more than your heartbeat. The bullet is in the bore for about the same time as the actual "pump" of the heart.

I could talk about flinch, but we'll save that for another day. I haven't seen many shooters who have a big rifle and don't have a big flinch, unless they have had specific training. Twice in the last few months, I had two shooters with 300 RUM rifles that complained about groups. I got behind the rifle, managed the recoil, and shot groups under an inch.

Now, my control over the rifle after recoil for spotting my shot and target acquisition was terrible. While I was "consistent" as it related to the shot, my form leaves much to be desired with heavy recoiling rifles. Besides, I am a wimp. I hate recoil and especially the concussive blast of brakes. This sets us up nicely for the next part of the discussion.

2) AFTER the bullet leaves the bore.

Recoil management after the bullet leaves the bore won't affect the precision of that shot you just broke. But, it will affect your ability to spot your shot, watch your game if hunting, and quickly break a follow up if needed. At its worst, poor recoil management leads to scope eye...

The most significant part of controlling the recoil for purposes of maintaining sight picture, is to be squarely behind the rifle and control it with the shooting hand and the non shooting hand. When everything is in alignment the rifle won't deflect at crazy angles, and the grip of your hands will direct the rifle to return to the same position as when the shot was fired.

Here's to better shooting!

     Skinner and I are prepping for another Alaskan adventure. The blacktail in the picture was the first time we went to Alaska. We said we'd be back, and this time we'll be hunting caribou on the North Slope in two months. 
     We've been dreaming and planning for this for more than a year. But, it is now crunch time. We are gathering our gear and asking ourselves questions about what to bring. Limited space and weight limits won't let us take the kitchen sink. Gear goes onto the pile, and gear gets taken out as we ask ourselves some questions. Comfort, survival, glassing, shooting, and more reasons stalk us.

• Do I really need this?
• What is the worst thing that can happen if I don't have this?
• Do I have something else that I can use instead of this?
• Is there a lighter version?

     Besides survival, we think one of the most important questions we can ask is whether a particular piece of gear will be the difference between a successful shot and harvest. If it came down to a decision between success and comfort, we'll just have to suffer. 

We have learned that suffering and challenges are part of the adventure. They will always be there. And, once we put in all the time and money to get there, and then the suffering and work to hunt, we want to make the shot count. We won't regret it if we suffer a little, but we will regret it if we miss the shot because we left out a critical piece of gear that made the difference in success.