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Shoot Like a Marine Sniper: 5 Tips for Improving Your Marksmanship

By September 4, 2014No Comments

Christensen Arms

Shoot Like a Marine Sniper: 5 Tips for Improving Your Marksmanship.

Christensen Arms recently sponsored competitive shooters Jim Staley and Russ Wallace in the Vortex Extreme, a long range shooting competition held in Tremonton, UT this past July. Out of a field of 50 teams and 112 shooters, the team placed a respectable 5th. Jim was a Force Recon Sniper in the Marines and Russ is a competitive shooter, as well as a former Marine. Russ and Jim also work for Deliberate Dynamics where they teach classes on marksmanship.

Christensen Arms provided Russ and Jim with two carbon fiber 20″ 6.5 Creedmoor rifles. “In a competition like this with small targets, difficult shots and long distances to travel, the gun has to be ultra-light but still shoot straight – that’s why we use Christensen Arms. Their guns are light as well as extremely-accurate,” said Jim.

Shoot like a Marine sniper with these 5 tips for improving your marksmanship from Jim & Russ:

Man Up

It’s important to be able to make the shot when it matters, so train under stress and shoot from positions other than prone.  It doesn’t matter if you are training for a competition, a deployment, or to have a better chance at landing a buck, odds are you are going to be in a difficult shooting position, out of breath, short on time, or all three!  Get out of your comfort zone. This is what separates the men from the boys and makes a man able to fire his rifle accurately and make the shot when it counts.

Get a Grip

Instead of wrapping your thumb around the grip, if you float your thumb, or bring it to the same side as your trigger finger, you can create a better wrist angle and help isolate the trigger finger for a smoother trigger pull.Christensen Arms

Don’t forget to breathe

Break the trigger on a respiratory pause. Exhale and break the trigger as soon as you’ve let all the air out of your lungs and before you began to inhale. It’s important to be consistent and do it the same way every time, but don’t hold your breath for too long. It’s always better to take that extra breath than to power through and break a shot that leaves you breathing heavy.

Brace Yourself

Stability is key. Make sure to build a stable platform for your gun to rest on with a bipod. However, a backpack or trekking poles will work in a pinch if that’s all you have.

Ready… Aim… Fire!

Like anything in life, being a great marksman requires shooting a lot of rounds down range. Get out there and fire your gun as much as you can. Practice like a basketball player who is great at shooting free throws. Learn the proper techniques and come up with a shooting checklist, then follow the same routine every time. With enough practice you’ll become a confident and consistently accurate marksman.

BONUS Tip from Russ:

Bring an EpiPen if you’re allergic to bees. No, seriously, just do it. Trust Russ, he knows from experience. (Russ was stung by a bee during the competition and broke into hives and even experienced difficulty breathing. Despite his allergic reaction Russ soldiered through the competition like a true Marine.

Another team of shooters from Deliberate Dynamics are planning on using Christensen Arms to participate in the 24-hour Sniper Challenge this September. Stay tuned to our newsletter to see how they do.