Shotguns, AR-15s, pistols, even 3D printed guns flood the streets. Firearms and shootings are hot button topics these days.
If there’s one thing the world knows about Americans it’s that Americans love guns! Recent surveys show that 30% of Americans own a gun and 43% live in a home with a gun.
Some people own guns for protection, while others take a more collector approach to gun ownership. No matter the reason for owning a gun, if you own one, you should know how to use it.
We put together a quick draw guide to teach you how to shoot a gun and some important tips and tricks. Keep reading to learn everything you need to know before you head to the shooting range.
Table of Contents
Shooting Stance Tips
The first thing you should know is how to grip the gun the right way and how to stand and position your body when you shoot it. If you hold the gun wrong or stand in the wrong way, you won’t aim well and you could hurt yourself! These helpful body position and posture tips should help you get into a proper (but comfortable) shooting stance every time you raise your weapon to shoot it.
Arm Position
Stand with your arms extended as far in front of you as you can without locking your elbows. Keeping your elbows bent allows you to absorb the kinetic energy from the gun’s recoil when it fires.
Position of Your Legs
There are a couple of ways to stand that will give you a proper shooting stance. You could put your dominant foot about a foot behind you. But, be careful not to put your foot so far back that you lose balance.
The other way to stand is with your feet about as wide apart as your hips perpendicular to the target.
In either stance, you may lock your knees or keep a slight bend, whichever is more comfortable for you!
Torso Position
Your torso (or the core of your body) should always point perpendicular to your target and you should lean your shoulders forward a tiny bit, but not too far forward. Never lean your torso away from the target because you will lose your balance as soon as you fire the gun!
Proper Gun Grip
This should go without saying, but you need to grip the gun tight. Hold your gun even tighter than you might think. One of the most common mistakes a shooting novice makes is not holding the gun tight enough when they fire it and then dropping the gun when they go to fire it and it recoils.
Aiming Tips
When you know how to adjust and aim the sights on a gun, you will see the exact path of the bullet and its intended target all lined up when you hold the gun in shooting position. The trick is knowing how to use the sights the right way.
While holding the gun in shooting stance, look at the gun and align the front sight post in the rear sight notch. The rear and front sights should match up with each other and the gap between the sides of the front sight and inside vertical edge of the rear notch should be equal all the way around.
After you have the sights on the gun aligned with each other, adjust the sights to point to the intended target. Double-check that the alignment of the front and rear sights on the gun still line up and then that they both align with the target, then squeeze the trigger and shoot!
How to Shoot a Gun in 5 Simple Steps
1. Hold the gun and take your stance
2. Aim the weapon
3. Place the pad of your trigger finger on the trigger of the gun
4. With a smooth and slow movement, squeeze the trigger without moving any other part of your body
5. Keep ahold of the gun as the gun fires and the bullet leaves the barrel
Practice Practice Practice!
Practice makes perfect, as the adage goes. But, when it comes to shooting guns with live ammunition, practicing often enough could mean the difference between life and death for you and/or your family! You can get more info here about the different types of ammunition, and which one is better for your needs.
When you start learning to shoot a gun, you should be at the shooting range as often as you can! Once you get the hang of shooting your weapon, your muscles will start to remember what to do and you won’t need to think as much about every little step when you shoot the gun.
Another way to learn how to shoot is to take shooting lessons. Most gun ranges offer classes for every level of shooting skill. If you still need more help, check out these tips for firearm training.
But keep in mind that even a seasoned marksman needs to practice from time to time to make sure they don’t get rusty. Make sure you take out your guns and put a few rounds in the target to make sure you and your gun both function the right way.
If Knowledge Is Power, Let’s Turn on the Lights
Remember, knowing how to shoot a gun is only good if you keep practicing and maintain your gun(s). You can’t expect to climb Mount Everest if all you have is experience from a book!
But, knowing what to do is the first step. Be sure to do your research before you try to shoot any gun.
We hope you enjoyed reading this article and that you learned a thing or two about shooting guns. If you need more how-to and DIY articles about everything from finances and family to lifestyles and travel, check out the rest of our blogs today!
