Many airgun shooters have problems with break barrel airgun accuracy. This simple Hard Air Magazine guide will help you identify issues and guide you in overcoming them.
So here are HAM’s Top 10 Tips for obtaining better break barrel airgun accuracy. Some of these are “one time” tips – for example, always shoot the same pellets that you sighted-in with.
But most of them are simple techniques that are not difficult in themselves. You just need to know about them and use them every time you shoot.
Practice and apply them consistently to improve your air rifle shooting accuracy.
Tip 1. Don’t choose a break barrel air rifle with the maximum FPS as your first airgun! The higher the FPS, the longer and heavier it will be. The recoil increases with FPS, too. You need to be big, strong and experienced to shoot accurately with a powerful break barrel air rifle.
Choose a smaller, less powerful model like this.
Tip 2. Check all screws on the gun and scope mounts are tight. (But don’t over-tighten them). Over time they loosen, ruining accuracy. Sometimes they’re even loose on a new gun straight from the factory…
Tip 3. Buy quality pellets! Airgun pellets are cheap compared to firearms ammo, so don’t buy junk pellets and then expect to shoot accurately. Check out Hard Air Magazine’s pellet test reviews for Gold Award recommendations.
Tip 4. Sight-in your riflescope at about 30 Yards. This will give effectively “flat shooting” from around 15 to 40 Yards with many .177 and .22 caliber air rifles and pellets. Don’t fail to also use Tips 8 and 9 (below) when sighting-in, too.
Tip 5. ALWAYS shoot the same pellets you sighted-in with. Different pellets hit in different places so if not, you’ll likely miss the target. Check out the test targets at the end of every HAM air rifle test review to see how the Point Of Impact varies with different pellets.
Tip 6. Before shooting take a deep breath. Exhale gently as you pull the trigger.
Tip 7. Pull the trigger steadily. Don’t snatch it.
Tip 8. Rest the forearm on your open palm. Holding it tight (like a firearm) ruins accuracy. It’s counter-intuitive but true!
Tip 9. Shoot from a position of maximum stability. Kneeling is better than standing. Rest your body – NOT the gun – against a tree or wall if possible.
Tip 10. But DON’T rest the gun DIRECTLY on any hard surface. Rest the back of your hand on the surface and lay the gun LOOSELY on top of your open palm.
Well, OK, there’s actually 12 tips in this “Top 10” list! But these two bonus tips are really the most important of all…
Tip 11. Always hold your air rifle in EXACTLY the same way every time you shoot.
Tip 12. PRACTICE until you can place 5 consecutive shots on target inside 1-Inch at your typical shooting distance. Don’t go hunting with your air rifle until you can do this.
So there you have Hard Air Magazine’s twelve Top 10 Tips for better break barrel airgun accuracy. We hope you find them useful. Using this knowledge and applying HAM’s simple tips will help you to enjoy shooting much more.
Have fun and – above all – shoot safely!
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