7 Common Shooting Mistakes (and How to Fix Them as You Build Strong Fundamentals)

At Range Arts, we’ve helped more than 10,000 people build their shooting fundamentals. Along the way, we talk a lot about what to do — and what not to do — when developing safe, consistent technique.

While we believe in “failing fast,” and learning through experience, there are some less obvious mistakes that — if we simply told you — would accelerate your progress dramatically.

With that in mind, here are a few mistakes you can easily avoid as you continue building your fundamentals.

Accidentally voiding a firearm warranty

Picture this: you’ve just received a new gun and you’re excited to start working with it. You open the box at home and immediately begin cleaning and lubricating. You get a bit carried away and start disassembling parts to see how everything functions.

Depending on the manufacturer, you may have just voided your warranty by disassembling past a certain point. Always read your firearm manual carefully right after opening the box. Look for field-strip or takedown instructions and learn how to disassemble, clean, and lubricate the firearm as the manufacturer intended. This is one of the most common gear-related missteps we see. Easy to avoid. And, of course, if you’re comfortable going deeper and don’t mind voiding your warranty, go ahead and disassemble completely.

Canting the gun without realizing it

A small tilt — even a few degrees — can shift hits left or right at longer distances. It’s a common issue for people still developing their sight alignment and consistency.

To help correct this:

• Keep a solid but relaxed grip.
• Manage recoil instead of anticipating it.
• Relax, breathe, and avoid over-focusing on the target.

Each of those points can be research deep dives. To get started, even a bit more awareness here can noticeably improve accuracy.

Not leaning forward (improper shooting stance)

Nearly everyone who comes through our courses starts off standing too straight with their feet too close together. We’re exaggerating slightly, but the point stands: you can adopt a deeply athletic shooting stance.

As you shoot more, you’ll naturally adapt, but starting with a forward, athletic lean helps immediately.

If you’re familiar with an athletic stance — use that.
For everyone else, that means:

• Bend your knees more than feels natural
• Widen your stance more than feels natural
• Lean forward more than feels natural

Look like you’re ready to move in any direction. Adjust from there as you develop better recoil control.

Misaligning the shoulder pocket

The shoulder pocket is the meaty area between your pectoral muscle and shoulder. Incorrect placement of a rifle or shotgun here can lead to increased felt recoil, poor recoil management, and slower follow-up shots.

Common issues include:

• Mounting too far out (you’ll feel that mistake immediately)
• Mounting too far in, which disrupts your cheek weld

We recommend practicing repetitions of shouldering the gun so the correct placement becomes instinctive through “muscle memory.”

Poor or no cheek weld

Counterintuitive as it may seem, you want your cheek firmly connected to the stock — hence cheek weld. Your stock should sit in the meaty area just under your cheekbone.

Many people worry recoil will hurt their face. But the opposite is true: if there’s a gap, the gun can slap your cheek. Gap = Slap.

A proper weld allows your whole body to move with the recoil. When mounted properly, your cheek connects naturally to the stock and your eyes align with your sights effortlessly.

Wrong target focus (sight alignment issues)

A common challenge while developing fundamentals is focusing too much on the target and forgetting how the sights are meant to work.

Rules of thumb:
a) Iron sights: focus on the front sight; the target should blur slightly.
b) Red dot: focus on the target and place the dot on it; let the dot blur a little.
c) Magnified optic: focus on the reticle.

Correct focal discipline is one of the fastest ways to tighten your shot groups.

Practicing at too great a distance

Distance adds unnecessary complexity early on. Counterintuitively, if you get solid up close, you’ll have an easier time getting solid at distance.

Build your shooting fundamentals at close range first, then increase distance as your consistency improves. Don’t beat yourself up over long shots on day one — that’s part of the natural learning curve.