Basic training tips for rifle and pistol shooting:

Conditioning:
A shooter should be physically fit and mentally strong. Strength training is recommended for all shooters. Balancing exercises prove quite useful for a shooter. Youngsters are recommended to strengthen the abdominal and back muscles.

A shooter should train on his stamina at least twice a week by means of running or swimming. In weight training a shooter should use light weights with more repetitions. Along with stamina, balancing some stretching exercises are also required. A shooters muscles should be flexible and not rigid.

Dry Firing:
Highly praised by coaches. Dry firing means training with the rifle without actually firing a live shot. It can be done at home, or on the range itself. There are three important principles for successful dry firing: Dry fire with complete shooting equipment, Dry firing requires full concentration, Use smaller aiming marks placed at the right height. Dry firing does not only help the shooter follow the techniques but also saves on the ammunition cost.


Aiming:
To aim correctly a shooter should get the rifle or the pistol on the centre of the target. For target Rifle shooting disciplines there are two aids available to this end the back sight and frontsight. The shooter must bring these two aiming devices and the aiming mark into line.


Follow Through:
The aiming and firing process is not ended when the trigger finger pulls. The shooter should not put the rifile or pistol down immediately, but continue and aim for at least one or two seconds. The follow through prevents the possibility of the gun being put down or moved too early after firing.

Match preparation:
The eve of the competition should be used for relaxation and diversion. Shooter should be cool and try to go out for a movie or play with friends. It is not advisable to sit at one place and talk about the competition endlessly.
A walk before sleeping provides you with the necessary oxygen for a refreshing sleep. With regard to bedtime, it is recommended that you keep to your usual habits or even go to bed an hour later. It is useless to go to bed earlier then usual only to toss and turn restlessly when you get there.
The competition day should begin at least three hours before the event starts. Most of the top shooters have a very exact and individualized plan.

These there hours could be as follows:

07.00 get up 07.10 walk or easy jogging and stretching exercises, 07.30 shower and dressing, 08.00 breakfast, 08.30 to 08.45 leave for range, 09.00 to 10.00 equipment control, check in etc, praparation at the range, 10.00 start.

COMPRESSED AIR USAGE

Air guns using compressed air (CA) technology are currently the most popular equipment in 10-meter events. Along with the purchase of the CA guns themselves, coaches must also purchase the means to fill the cylinders, something that is not often considered when pricing out a conversion to CA guns. There are a number of confusing options, and often it is difficult to get good advice due to the relatively obscure nature of our particular usage to the dive shop industry that we must deal with. Safety is also a big concern with CA usage. Too often it is taken for granted by shooters, primarily because they are not aware of the potential danger and the need for safe handling procedures. In today’s lawsuit riddled society, it is imperative that coaches and match officials understand and enforce recommended SCUBA safety procedures. This brief is an attempt to make you aware of some of these issues. For brevity and clarity’s sake, SCUBA tanks will be referred to as tanks and the small cylinders that remove from the air gun (rifle or pistol), as cylinders.