And Breathe!

I am not here to tell you to breath – we all do that every day, it is natural, we need to do it to survive, but have you ever thought about how breathing can affect the accuracy when you are shooting?

In all exercise we are told to concentrate on our breathing, but `i wonder how many of you have never given this a thought to being a contributing factor to your accuracy – or lack of it as it may be for some?

It stands to reason when you think about it….

Consistency is one of the key components when it comes to shooting, and consistent breathing will also have an impact. Next time you have a shot lined up, watch how your sight moves up and down as you are breathing. Ultimately this also means your point of impact is continually shifting.

Think about that for a second… as we breathe our aim is essentially moving.

The answer is NOT to stop breathing, well hold your breath. If we do this we have less oxygen in our system, this means we will not be at our optimum, in fact it is between 5 and 7 seconds of lack of oxygen before our sight is affected. Essentially what this means is holding your breath will have a adverse effect. We are looking for a consistent flow of oxygen. You need to work with your natural respiratory flow.

This is easily achievable in a few simple steps.

Get ready
Be in position, aiming and ready to fire

Inhale
As you breath in you will notice your reticle will start to lower

Relax
Naturally let out your breath

Shoot
Fire within the natural pause between breaths (this is roughly 3 seconds) and you should have noticed the reticle has stopped at your natural point of aim

Reset
If you miss that natural window – WAIT – another few seconds and you will be ready to go again – do not rush….

Unless you are aiming for a moving target (which is a whole different ball game) not panicking or rushing the shot, talking yourself through the above stages should really see an improvement in your accuracy.