Download this chart. Live by it. It will help you.
As you can see above, the vast majority of shooting errors are caused by the hands, not the eyes. Trust me, you can only aim so hard.
It’s quite common for newcomers to make any number of these errors. The most common is anticipation. The gun jumps in the hand, and it makes a noise few other things do. This can be incredibly intimidating. You get jumpy and nervous, and the body starts compensating without telling you.
Don’t worry, it happens to everybody. The trick is not to let it become habit.
Whenever your shots go wide, stop shooting and reassess. Check your grip and sight alignment. Take a deep breath, and start again. I can’t over-stress the importance of breathing. If you get nervous, you’ll hold your breath, depriving your body of oxygen.
As a result, your hands will start shaking, and you’ll get even more edgy. Then your shooting gets even worse, which leads to frustration, and the whole thing becomes a vicious circle.
Shooting should not be a stressful thing. Keep your breathing steady and deep. Practices vary, but for most people, you should take a deep breath before firing. As you line up the sights, exhale a bit, hold your breath and squeeze the trigger. If you can do that, your shots will go exactly where you planned.
See? Easy, right?
Of course, the animal part of the brain doesn’t learn to like the easy way at first. The subconscious brain is a slow learner, and the best way to teach it is slow, patient practice. Yeah, the moron next to you is blowing six rounds a second, and it can be hard to concentrate. I know–those guys annoy everyone, not just new shooters.
But you’re not him. (Chances are, he’s not hitting anything, anyhow) Relax, and take your time. Speed will come later; bear in mind that the NRA considers “rapid fire” to be one shot every three seconds.
Trust me: deliberate, accurate fire is much more admirable than sloppy rapid fire. What’s more, it’s more satisfying to the shooter.
Essentially, marksmanship boils down to three things: breath control, sight alignment and trigger pull. Breathe in, out, focus, squeeze. The calmer you are, the easier it is to line up these factors.