Best videos to look at for gun handling

[tigris115]

So if I wanna either learn good gun handling for when I get into shooting or if I want a reference to art/animation (IMO, references are king), what are the best videos and images of proper gun handling and safety.

I find that for the latter purpose, this video by Fieldsports featuring Kevin Robertson works wonders

 

[375Fox]

If you already understand basic functions and gun safety, The best videos will be your own. If I suspect an issue I want to improve on, I record myself with my cell phone, and watch it for where I need to improve. It helps a lot.

 

[PARA45]

Interesting and informative video about working the bolt on a rifle. I've read here not to bring the rifle off your shoulder, and on this video it states the opposite. Maybe it is when shooting off sticks, not sure. Thanks for sharing.

 

[375Fox]

Interesting and informative video about working the bolt on a rifle. I've read here not to bring the rifle off your shoulder, and on this video it states the opposite. Maybe it is when shooting off sticks, not sure. Thanks for sharing.

I made that observation too. My style has always been to bring the rifle off my shoulder and it works for me, so I’ve always stuck with it even though I read otherwise. Something else for me (maybe a carryover from bird hunting) I seem to shoot better/more instinctively when I reshoulder a rifle. Both these reasons are part of why I think your own videos are always best, everyone has a unique style that will work best for them.

 

[Andrew Short]

I made that observation too. My style has always been to bring the rifle off my shoulder and it works for me, so I’ve always stuck with it even though I read otherwise. Something else for me (maybe a carryover from bird hunting) I seem to shoot better/more instinctively when I reshoulder a rifle. Both these reasons are part of why I think your own videos are always best, everyone has a unique style that will work best for them.

I completely agree! This video reinforces what I’m already doing.

 

[Jfet]

If you already understand basic functions and gun safety, The best videos will be your own. If I suspect an issue I want to improve on, I record myself with my cell phone, and watch it for where I need to improve. It helps a lot.

The video function on your phone is a great tool for letting you see what you are doing. I had a football player of mine that didn’t believe his knees were bending inwards while squating during weight training. I took out my phone and videoed him. He was amazed.

 

[Jfet]

The instructor references European shooters about how they keep the rifle shouldered while working the bolt. Could this be the shooting style that is developed for driven boar hunts in Europe?
Bringing the rifle down to work the bolt, keeping your eyes up, and seeing the spent cartridge eject in your peripheral vision makes a great deal of sense to me for the hunting style of Africa.

 

[chashardy]

I saw this video a while back and agree that it makes a lot of sense to work the bolt as the instructor demonstrates. Especially with a big bore rifle, the recoil is going to take your eyes off the target for a moment anyway and reshouldering the rifle while you work the bolt allows you to see better.
With small bore, light recoil rifles it might be better to keep the rifle shouldered while you work the bolt.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

Mark Sullivan, love him or hate him..............

Google

Handling a Double Rifle, by Mark Sullivan, USA, 2013​

 

[375Fox]

The instructor references European shooters about how they keep the rifle shouldered while working the bolt. Could this be the shooting style that is developed for driven boar hunts in Europe?
Bringing the rifle down to work the bolt, keeping your eyes up, and seeing the spent cartridge eject in your peripheral vision makes a great deal of sense to me for the hunting style of Africa.

Straight pull actions are probably also much more common in Europe than USA, could explain the reference too

 

[Aussie_Hunter]

Each to their own but it will take you you probably twice as long to reload bringing the rifle down off your shoulder and you can still short stroke the bolt.............
Also I can't see how bringing the rifle down off your shoulder gives you a better field of view, when I work the bolt with the rifle still mounted on my shoulder I lift my head up. Anyway again each to their own, I'm sure these guys can shoot very well with their style.

 

[Wyatt Smith]

I work the bolt while shouldered.

 

[Tra3]

I prefer to keep my rifle shouldered and cheek to the stock when I work the bolt. I believe it is faster.
+2 on phone videos of your own shooting. Make sure to video your stance too, foot position is important, especially so as recoil increases.

 

[sureshot375]

Man, the best thing you can do is get a BB gun or maybe a .22 or and shoot thousands of rounds. It’s the best way to get comfortable handling a rifle.

 

[cal]

Mark Sullivan, love him or hate him..............

Google

Handling a Double Rifle, by Mark Sullivan, USA, 2013​

Surely no one loves that idiot!?

Regarding working the bolt while shouldered or as shown in the video. It’s obvious that the fastest way to work the bolt and get another shot off is if the rifle butt remains on the shoulder. Less movements, less time. On a magnum length action the hunter needs to be careful he doesn’t whack himself in the face though! I’m not saying the way shown in the video is wrong, it’s definitely better for a less experienced shooter or someone who hasn’t had a lot of practice (I’m not saying everyone who does this method is not experienced, only that it is better for less experienced hunters in my opinion). I think the hunter is less likely to short stroke the bolt when it’s not moving towards his face. Not taking your eyes off the animal is crucial in my opinion, especially if the animal you have now shot is part of a herd. As far as seeing the brass fly and feeling in the action goes I’ve never done that while hunting DG. I think an experienced hunter knows what a proper reload sounds and feels like, he’s done it enough times.
Whichever way you choose (and especially if you choose to leave the rifle shouldered) just practice, practice and practice some more. It needs to become muscle memory, not something you need to think about. Practicing with a .22LR etc is great and I do it but for this reloading and getting back on target ‘drill’ nothing will beat practicing with the rifle you are going to be using on the hunt.

 

[BeeMaa]

The instructor references European shooters about how they keep the rifle shouldered while working the bolt. Could this be the shooting style that is developed for driven boar hunts in Europe?
Bringing the rifle down to work the bolt, keeping your eyes up, and seeing the spent cartridge eject in your peripheral vision makes a great deal of sense to me for the hunting style of Africa.

I agree with @Wyatt Smith and @Tra3 on working the bolt while shouldered. However, this is a result of using a straight pull action.

When my wife and I had traditional bolt actions, we did it the way it was described in the video. Because it's extremely difficult to keep the rifle shouldered while torque is applied to the bolt and twisting the rifle against your shoulder. Its too much for your support (non-shooting) hand and arm to prevent the rifle from turning and altering the sight picture as the bolt is turned up and down.

Straight pull actions like the Blaser R8, Merkel Helix and Heym SR 30 are nearly free of that torquing action. And this is one of the reasons a follow up shot can be so much quicker. Especially with non-magnified optics or open sights with both eyes open.

 

[Wyatt Smith]

@BeeMaa I know it is not proper, but I lose the sight picture as I work the bolt. With my left hand I rotate the rifle clockwise as my right hand rotates the bolt counterclockwise, then vise versa on closing.
I never take my eye off of the target and that makes it very easy to get the scope back on target.
I’m with you on the straight pull rifles being easier, I love mine, it’s a K31 7.5x55.

 

[Forrest Halley]

I'm not sure what this thread is about in reading the title.

Gun handling in the original title sounds like we're looking for some basic hunter safety course instructions for carrying the gun in such a way as not to endanger ourselves or others. That's shocking in a forum where one would not expect to find inexperienced shooters. It's hard for me to believe that a person sniffing around a. 375 has little clue about guns or a person deciding to hunt africa has no prior experience afield.

As far a weapon manipulation goes, here is where I see the greatest avenue for improvement. There are some folks with a great deal of experience with this rifle or that rifle and they make a definitive statement about how it should be done. More power to them. When it comes to a rifle, in my experience, the fastest way to put hits on target is keeping the gun on your shoulder as much as possible.

For a bolt action it is best cycling the bolt from the mounted position no matter how long the action. From there the recoil dictates how much the firing hand must grip the stock or whether we let go of the bolt or which finger is operating the trigger. You cannot make a cohesive argument for breaking the shoulder mount to cycle the rifle. This is a crutch or an excuse used by someone who cannot control their chosen caliber and is so far off sight plane that they just abandon the mount and cycle the rifle during the remounting and reacquisition of the sights. The argument that this is more reliable is yet another bolstering of poor technique. The magnum length action being short stroked is a failure of the man to train properly and not a weakness of the rifle.

The area where I see gain to be made in breaking the mount of the rifle is in the falling block single shots. The muzzle must be pointed down to ensure a positive reload. I've tried to establish a technique where I can reload from the shoulder and this depends heavily on the cartridge and projectile used. The .375 or any bottlenecked case is an easy day to reload while mounted with the muzzle down, but .458's and other straight wall cartridges become projectile specific quickly and it is much easier achieved from the hip trapping the stock under the arm.

This same method is true for a non-detachable magazine reload for a bolt action rifle where the rounds really must be seated to the rear of the magazine box in order to go down. For a single round in an empty magazine it doesn't matter as long as the rear of the casing is mostly down in the magazine lips and not wildly cocked out of line with the chamber. This will ensure that the round is picked up regardless of CRF or push feed bolt.

Double rifles suffer from expensive ammunition and rifles limiting the proficiency of the user. For a double rifle the user does not need to remove the rifle from his shoulder to extract the cases or reload the rifle regardless of extractors or ejectors. The firing hand should maintain grip on the rifle at all times. The support hand should break the action and hold it open as quick jerk of the rifle is made to the rear to ensure the clearance of the spent shells. The support hand then breaks grip to retrieve fresh shells. Any straggling shells can be swept away by the support hand smartly in the course of reaching for the fresh ammunition. The shells should be arranged in pairs on the belt and grasped with the thumb and middle finger with side of the index finger across the case head. The ammunition should be presented projectiles downward across the chambers and almost perpendicular to the barrels. As the eyes look the shells into the chamber they are aligned smartly to parallel with the chambers and driven home with the index finger of the support hand. The support hand returns to the fore stock and completes closing the action as the rifle is raised back on target. I believe the same holds true for a break action single shot.