Pre-Season Rifle Training, There’s More to Shooting than Squeezing the Trigger!!!

COLD ZERO vs HOT ZERO vs HUNTING ZERO

All the talk these days is about Sub-MOA and shooting tight groups and buying that “Super Rifle” that will shoot a buck at a thousand yards. Personally, I love a sweet shooter, a rifle that you can consistently shoot all day and never have a miss. They are rare, very rare, no matter what you pay for them, and truthfully speaking most modern-day rifles will shoot Sub-MOA for the first 20 shots or so without a hitch. It's the shooter that usually loses his Sub-MOA ability after about 6 or maybe 10 shots.

Prior to the 1990s unless you purchased a high-end Remington, Sako or other top shelf rifle you usually had a rifle that shot about 2-inch groups at 100 yards. Even a high-end rifle of that era usually had to have a lot of custom work done to it. Usually a trigger job, a floated barrel, glass bedded action or all of the above. You still ended up with a rifle that could easily go out of tune because the scopes of yesteryear were nothing like the scopes of today.

Today a lower priced rifle such as a Ruger American or a Savage 110 or even a Savage Edge or Axis, in the right hands can easily achieve Sub-MOA groups, as long as you have an adequate scope. It doesn’t even have to be a high-end scope; it can be a Cheap-o Charlie scope and you can still shoot Sub-MOA. Rifles are just made better. Sorry, but it's just the truth, I like my old rifles too, but time stands still for no one, or thing.

To understand the whole MOA craze, you must first understand MOA. Now to explain MOA or Minute of Angle it's best for you to research it online or on YouTube, there are many people who can explain it better than I can and to tell the truth it's just too much to explain in a short Blog. But in short, MOA equates to 1.05 inches at 100 yards and is then multiplied by distance at specific ranges. Examples being 1.05 inches at 100 yards, 2.10 inches at 200 yards 3.15 inches at 300yards and so on and so forth so that when you reach 1000 yards one minute of angle is 10.5 inches.

By todays modern standard a true good shooting rifle should be able to shoot 3 rounds within a 1-inch group at 100 yards. This is measured from the center of the farthest shot apart to the center of the farthest shot apart with no consideration on any shots within those shots. In other words, only the two farthest shots apart are measured, the rest have no value. I often see people on YouTube videos measuring the two closest shots, this is the absolute opposite of what you measure. If you shoot a 3 shot group, measure the two shots farthest apart. if they are only one inch apart it's a 1-Inch MOA Group. If they are 2 Inches apart this is a 2-inch MOA Group. If you shoot 10 shots, you still only measure the two shots farthest apart from each other. And they're never measured from the point of aim, only from bullet hole to bullet hole.

Now, if you are able to obtain that accuracy of 1 MOA, that group should then be adjusted to zero for your rifle.  So, to be correct, if you want your rifle to shoot dead-on at 100 yards that group should be absolutely dead center on the target at 100 yards. Or if you want to be 2 inches high at 100 yards that group should be adjusted to the spot on the target that is 2 inches high at 100 yards.

A huge mistake I see people making every year is having a nice tight group, but that group is still off to the left or right side or even high and low of their zero. Thinking that a tight group is Zero with no actual relationship of where that tight group needs to be hitting on the target. An example would be that your group is 2 inches high and 2 inches right at 100 yards, this would be an incorrectly zeroed rifle or basically a rifle that shoots good groups but the rifle itself is not zeroed.

The second mistake, which is made by almost everyone, including myself, is when a rifle is Hot Zeroed as opposed to a Cold Zeroed rifle.

A Hot Zero is when you go to the range with a freshly cleaned rifle. You take your first shot, and the bullet hits the target in one spot. This is often called a “fouling shot” because now your rifle is fouled from powder residue and the barrel is warmed up and not cold as it was just before the shot. Now you take three more shots, and the bullets are hitting close together in a very nice group but significantly far away from that very first shot. This is called a Hot-Zero because your rifle is now warmed up and the barrel is dirty or fouled. You now go home thinking your rifle shoots correctly but in actuality the next time you shoot, your fist shot will more than likely hit back at where your original shot was taken prior to your Hot Zero. This shot is what is known as your “Cold Zero”

With some rifles the difference between a Cold Zero and a Hot Zero can be several inches. I have had rifles that only shot good groups when they were dirty and one in particular that only shot well with a cold barrel.

A good way to fix this is to know both zeros and take that mathematical difference into account on your following shots or if need be, on your fist shot depending on the Zero you have decided on for yourself.

Personally, I Cold Zero all my hunting rifles. It's very time consuming but very important to know both zeros. I do this by first shooting a Hot Zero and sighting in the rifle for the correct Zero using that Hot Zero. 

After achieving a Hot Zero, I take the rifle home and then clean the rifle top to bottom. I then return to the range a few days later and I take just one shot, this would be a Cold Shot. I then let the rifle cool off. I usually end up not even shooting a second shot. I just take the rifle home; I don’t clean it or anything.

The next time I go to the range I take another Cold Shot without cleaning the rifle. In theory this next shot should impact almost exactly where my prior Cold-Shot impacted a few days earlier. I then take the rifle home and do not clean it. I will leave it as is until the next time I go to the range. When I arrive at the range, I repeat the process and take just one Cold Shot. I will do this several times and after five six or even ten trips to the range I know where my Cold Zero is located on the target and for this particular rifle.

After I am satisfied with my Cold Zero, I adjust my cross hairs to my Cold Zero and this is my Hunting Zero. I personally do not care about my Hot Zero because that zero was conducted with a Hot Fouled weapon while sitting on a benchrest or while prone under ideal circumstances. What I need is a rifle that will kill an animal with the very first or second shot with no regard for what my point of impact is when I am under perfect conditions with a hot barrel. The only exception to this is a rifle used for prairie dog hunting or something similar where you spend long sessions just shooting one round after another with an extremely hot and fouled weapon.

If you have a weapon that shoots a Hot Group and a Cold Group in the same location, you have a Good Shooter, and that weapon should always be considered as your go-to rifle for complicated big game hunts where you may need to make that very long, precise shot.

If you have a rifle that shoots a Hot Group and a Cold Group in nearly the same location on the target you can split the difference and use this as your Hunting Zero as long as the difference is somewhat close. Anything more than an inch would be unacceptable, and you should work through the process and try and figure out your Zeros, so you know your math.

Honestly, this is probably the cause of most long-range misses. Long range sessions using the wrong Zero and writing your dope chart using bad math.

TRIGGER CONTROL

Prior to hitting the range there are many shooting drills you can do at home to help alleviate poor shooting form and trigger control.

The old military guys will remember this one. It kind of takes two people and your kids can help. It goes without saying it, but I will say it anyway. Make sure the weapon is unloaded.  Have your wife or responsible person like a junior hunter learning how to shoot place a target about 20 to 50 feet out in front of you. Something small like a dime or even smaller. Better yet use an old hunting magazine and put a broadside picture of an elk or deer out in front of you. Something to aim at and really focus on. Again, the rifle is UNLOADED!!!! Have your assistant place a flat washer on the top of your barrel all by itself not touching anything but the barrel, as close to the end of the barrel as possible, and then sit beside you. The washer should not be touching the scope or the muzzle break. Now take a few deep breaths in and out. Aim and squeeze, dry firing the weapon. Continue holding the weapon for about 2 seconds after the shot staring through the scope at the target (follow through) If the washer falls off, you failed the squeeze test. This is a great way to train yourself or younger shooters to squeeze the trigger and to have follow through to watch the bullet impact the target. Don’t cheat and place it next to the receiver! Place it as far away from the shooter as possible. When you get really good at this, you will be able to pull the trigger, and work the bolt for a second shot and fire without the washer falling off.

RIFLE HANDLEING CONFIDENCE

Have you ever noticed that you can usually spot a guy who truly knows how to handle a rifle and one who doesn’t. Often these guys are just old timers who grew up with a rifle and it's second nature. But some people have never been able to achieve rifle handling skills. They look awkward and the rifle and them just don’t seem to jive. They are clunky and bang their rifle against things and generally put everyone around them in an uncomfortable situation and on high alert.

I met a guy once who was a pretty good hunter. But he told me he can't get anyone to hunt with him, so I stupidly volunteered. By the first morning I was done, barrel swinging everywhere, dropping bullets and awkward unsafe rifle handling it became apparent that people were flat out scared to hunt with the guy. I tried to talk to him, but he just didn’t get it. He thought he was fine. I never hunted with him again.

In the military you learn to handle a rifle. This absolutely boring activity is conducted several times a day and often times it is conducted literally for hours as punishment. This torcher is called “Rifle Drills”. This activity is not understood by non-military people and often they are not understood by many veterans, to them it was just punishing harassment.  To watch it on TV in movies like Full Metal Jacket which is a prime example it just looks unnecessary. But to a person who has spent a very large portion of their life training these green recruits who have never even held a rifle, it's a necessary tool used to build confidence in handling a firearm, it develops firearms safety and muscle memory.

Learning to handle a firearm doesn’t just happen. It takes years of learning and developing muscle memory and swift solid movements that will allow you to grasp your firearm, shoulder it and fire and repeat and to handle your firearm with one hand in a safe manner without dropping your rifle. You can Google or better yet YouTube videos of military rifle drills (Rifle Drills and Close Quarter Marching Drills are not the same). Give them a try, for about an hour at a time. Sure, go lift some weights too but learn to handle that rifle delicately and with solid confidence. It may also make your friends feel better.

 If you think you don’t need to do rifle drills and that it’s a stupid idea then don’t do them, but you might be that guy that everyone else is scared of, so it couldn’t hurt. Better yet test yourself, clear your rifle making sure it's unloaded. Walk out into your messy garage or stand in the kitchen, turn the lights off or have your wife blindfold you and video tape you and watch how awkward you look trying to do those rifle drills you watched on YouTube. I’m sure she will get a laugh out of it!

Just a note: That guy that you see in deer camp that seems to really know how to handle a rifle with confidence is probably an old Army or Marine Corps vet that got drilled for 8 weeks at Ft Jackson or Parris Island!

Enjoy your training,

Ken