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  • Post last modified:March 23, 2024

Learn how to stop shaking when shooting a rifle requires proper breathing and rifle stabilization for steady aims.

It's impossible to completely get rid of the tremor without using a sturdy tripod, but here are some tips to follow:

aiming with one eye open

Running, weight training and endurance exercises help a lot to avoid fatigue.

Recommend using a heart rate monitor when you shoot to get an idea of what your body is doing.

Train hard and try the following techniques

  • Breathe in, exhale and hold your breathe
  • Trigger squeeze between heart beats

Trigger Squeeze

holosun hm3x with leupold lco pov

You may hold the rifle steady, but the finger tension on a heavy trigger can cause the rifle to move slightly especially the shooter is anticipating recoil.

Before upgrading to a lighter trigger pull weight to lower trigger finger tension, the best thing to do is practice dry fire so you understand what the trigger is actually doing, and these include:

  • Trigger pretravel
  • Trigger wall
  • Trigger break
  • Trigger reset

It's the same thing when shooting a pistol, and that's going to help send an accurate shot down range and set up for follow-up shots.

Yes, most pro shooters will upgrade to an aftermarket trigger with a smoother and lighter trigger pull.

Use A Tripod

Tripod makes steady aim so much easier, and it also helps zero the optic with much more accuracy.

deathgrip tripod

For beginners, we recommend the BOG DeathGrip tripod. It's durable, sturdy, and affordable just under $170.

Use A Sling

A rifle sling is a great shooting tool to help the shooter stabilize the rifle in unsupported positions.

Exerting sling tension on the rifle combined with tripod and posture techniques can eliminate barrel flutter motion. Techniques like this vary from person to person, shooting postures, and locations.

If there is any tremor, it will be visible through the long range rifle scope to help you tweak the aim.

Overall, mastering the sling technique is very useful to stabilize a rifle.

Improve Physical Fitness

Strengthening your overall body is the most important thing, but people often neglect it. Physical fitness affects many areas of your life including shooting an 8 - 12 lb rifle

scar17 shooting in low light

Any time a shooter can reduce body motion or microtremor, the steadier the aim. Every heartbeat makes your body move slightly, and your breathing technique can control it.

Elite shooters are physically fit, and they have a strong core and legs with an average resting heart rate in the 50s. Even under an adrenaline rush, these pro shooters can get their breathing under control, and a lot of it has to do with physical and mental focus training beyond just shooting on a flat range.