Rifle-Firing Techniques: Practicing B.R.A.S.S

Believe it or not, there is only one word that goes a long way to assist you in attaining the desired shooting accuracy you have always been looking for. Simply put, B.R.A.S.S. can give you the confidence to make your shot right.

It stands for:

Breathe
Relax
Aim
Squeeze the trigger
Squeeze more (for follow-through)

These fundamental elements of rifle shooting—breath control, relaxation, aiming & movement control, trigger control, and follow-through all work together as one common process and ought to be practiced together in this way. Let’s understand the B.R.A.S.S technique for effecting rifle shooting:

Control Your Breathing:

The common mistake most shooters make is breathing in an unusual fashion, i.e., holding their breath in an irregular way. This can lead to unintentional muscle spasms and, if held on for too long, muscle tremors since the body cries for oxygen. Your breathing can shift the rifle just enough to discard your shot. These tips will help you to implement the right technique more easily.

When you’re all set ready to shoot, emphasize on breathing in a natural manner, then target to shoot in the usual transition between exhale and inhale. During this phase, breathing can be securely paused for around 5 seconds — longer if you can.

Remember that if you hold your breath for longer time, your heart beats at faster pace, which surges your pulse and causes the rifle to move. If you see this happening, take yet another breath and start over.

Sometimes, the excitement of shooting sport will make it more tough to control your breathing. Try to relax and follow the right procedure.

Relax:

Maybe, there’s anxiety of placing a shot wildly off the target mark. Perhaps that moment of a lifetime has pure adrenaline rushing through your veins. There are various factors that stress the mind and body, and leaves an individual too balled up to remain on target. For freshers, this is a tough nut to crack, because there is a level of apprehension in any new undertaking. But even seasoned players can tie themselves in knots when the tension is on.

From a relaxed mind, comes a relaxed body that gives good target results. Dry fire practice is an ideal opportunity, get extra comfortable before you unleash the storm.

Aiming:

Aiming a rifle seems easy, perhaps even innate. But there are few points where there are more failures in making a right shot. Much of this is due to the player not taking the time to correctly understand their normal point of aim, sight alignment, and how to form a sight picture. 

Align your sight with the target. Here are three guidelines when you aim.

· Keep both eyes wide open to get comfort in focusing and decrease eye strain.

· Cancel shot if sight picture is not clear.

· Keep your aiming time brief.

Squeeze the Trigger: 

Jerking the trigger or snappishly tightening the trigger hand can move the rifle enough to lead towards a miss. To evade these motions, hold the rifle comfortably.

Clutch the wrist of the stock firmly.

Position your fingertip restfully on the trigger. The trigger must hinge on the end of your finger—amid the first joint and fingertip.

To squeeze the trigger without vibrating the gun, just apply slow, steady pressure until the rifle fires.

Squeeze Through:

Once the bullet fires, be sure to continue the squeeze or follow-through to evade jerking the rifle before the bullet leaves the barrel.

Final Note:

By making use of right shooting techniques, you will be able to stabilize the rifle for the most accurate shooting. Remember that these are only the fundamentals. By studying further, it will help you understand various other factors that can have an impact on your accuracy that includes wind, heat, and parallax.