What do you do before you squeeze the trigger?

I always tell myself don’t screw this up take a breath and then exhale while I pull the trigger… is this weird?

Just wondering what others do to make themselves relaxed and make a good shot. Im sure there are some weird hobbits people go through before they shoot you know the whole (superstation)
do share lol

negative thoughts like "don't screw this up" probably aren't the best thing to think about during the shot.

catch my breath, calm down, exhale as I squeeze....

close my eyes

Take a big breath, hold it and squeeze...

I found what works for me is to think about pulling the trigger so slow that it is a surprise to me that the gun went off.

As long as I am keeping the crosshairs on my target I will hit where I am aiming.

I used to try and pay attention to breathing and all that, but really to me the two important things are the aiming point and the trigger pull so, for me at least, thinking about breathing just complicates matters.

I have taught my 12 y/o daughter to shoot this way also. She has shot two does so far and has not missed her target by more than an inch.

I think it's a great way to teach kids to shoot. Made total sense to her about how slowly to pull the trigger.

I take the first shot I'm given so I don't have time to get "nervous".

Well…. When I went through sniper training (In all the military branches) they taught us how to breath, slow your heart down and squeeze…. (and if you believe that…. LMAO)

"Sight alignment & trigger squeeze"

Exhale

and set my spit cup down...ha

I'm usually shooting at big ol monster bucks So I'm shaking and breathing pretty hard. I just try to catch the crosshairs going over the area I want to hit, close my eyes, and squeeze. It works some times , those deer are big targets and I got several bullets in my gun .



No I just try and relax, breath normal and wait for a good shot. Keep it simple and don't over think it.

Aren't all hobbits kinda weird?

I smile...

Well I'm not at all religious but before and after the shot I pray "PLEASE let him be 13"!"

Ok now to really answer the question... I'll focus on the area of the body where I want to shoot the deer, then I focus my mind on down to the exact 1/4" spot where I want the bullet to hit and fire.

I also visualize the bullet path from entry to exit.

When I shot my 8 pt. this Thanksgiving, I distinctly remember saying quietly, "B-R-E-A-T-H-E" as I was exhaling, & the the rifle went off!! My heart was POUNDING, it didn't matter that is was a nice buck, or a doe! I'm always shaking, breathing hard, with a pounding pulse rate!!! Afterwards I always say a little prayer thanking God...

All these but usually in different orders Thank the Lord for the shot opportunity , hope he is 13" , set my beer down , and exhale .

What you don't jump on them and pull out the old trusty tape measure???

I usually sharpen my knife some more and go ahead and cut the dates out on the tag and fill in the info... It's calming.

Sometimes I will even pull my feed hand back from the deer's mouth & untie it.... Depends on the situation.

Not sure why, but I almost always apologize if it's a deer and make a snide remark if it's a pig.

"Sorry, old girl." - Doe

"Eat atomic death, you sniveling cur." - Pig

slow my breathing way down, and shoot between heart beats, and squeeze as slowly as possible. Atleast that is what I tell myself to do, doesnt always work that way.

I take a deep breath, let it out, take another, let half of it out, hold it, squeeze slowly & hope the rifle goes off before I pass out.

Set my beer down.

Turn the safety catch off...

If I have to think about what I need to do to make sure I get off a good shot, then I haven't been practicing enough.

A firearm is like any other tool. Its use will only become free and natural to you through frequent and repeated use. In fact, strong confidence created through frequent practice is the best medicine to calm the nerves once that bruiser steps out from the brush. While on the other hand, a gun that doesn't feel familiar to the hands has just the opposite effect.

Just compare the carpenter who swings a hammer every day to the guy who doesn't and see which one never misses a nail.

I had a gnat fly up my nose once during mid-squeeze but I can't print what I was thinking that time. The rest of the times I'm just making sure the sight stays on the spot till I hear a bang.

wake up grumpy.. she hates to miss the shot either that or she finds it hard to go back to sleep after bein startled by BANG..

same here, then I thank God for allowing my shot to be true

I mentally tell myself to watch for the bullet to hit it's target. Be it bow or rifle hunting. Good follow through almost always insures a good shot. Every time I've done this resulted in the bullet/arrow hitting exactly where I wanted. There were times that I didn't do this had varied results.

First shot to get there attention. Second shot to get them running. Third shot pray. Got Letem have a sporting chance. Ha ha

Slam on the brakes, tell my buddy "hold the light on him", roll the window down, and let'er fly

Hold my breath. Never been through a hobbit...

I shoot after exhale. But if its a trophy its a matter of shooting thru the movement even if everything is comm. LOL

Pull the but of the gun tight against my shoulder look at my target in my crosshairs, exhail then fire

I call this "seeing the shot".

It's a dead give-a-way the shooter failed to do this and had his/her eyes closed when they can't tell you which way the deer ran and want you to help them find it.

X2 and have NEVER missed

take a deep breath, exhale forcefully, then make sure the spotlight is still lighting the deer's eyes up, and take the shot.

Hold my breath, thank God for the chance of killing the deer.

Only thing I do before squeezing the trigger is settle the crosshairs on his shoulder.

Observe the target animal to see if it is nervous or calm. Hope you aren't hunting with a model 700 rem cause when you take the safety off everything within a 100 yards heads for the hills at the loud sound of the safety. Prefer win or ruger 3 position safety. Pick out target animal, imagine sign on meat animal saying ground meat $2.99 per pound. Pick target part of animal, for doe or spike, head or neck. give a sharp baah (like sheep) and take the shoot within 2 seconds. For me the shot is auto pilot since I shot on college ROTC rifle team. Boom, bloop. Rifle like 270 or 243 you should see the animal drop in the scope.

Shoot em in the head or neck and keep the meat lead free. Lung/heart shots are fine too for longer shots.

If it's a buck, I make damn sure his antler spread is legal, then still pray that it is as I squeeze the trigger.

I would like to say I fart loudly...however...since I hunt Tyler Co. I wouldn't know, I never pull the trigger! (AR country)

Aim

Am I the only one that just shoots the deer? If you have practiced enough it should be done without haveing to think about each and every step. Maybe its just me.

I agree, but I shoot...allot with my primary gun specifically. May sound a bit stupid, but I typically have the same routine for the range as I do on a deer or whatever I'm shooting at. I look through the scope (safety on), go through the shot process (breath, squeeze, etc), then take the safety off and repeat. For me, it's all about the process and repeating the process. Works for me, but at extended ranges (400+) it becomes allot more serious as far as my timing heart-beats, etc. Typical shots at 100-200, I just do my regular routine as described above. If the deer I'm targeting gets out of range or moves between an obstruction and I while I do this, good for him/her, I'll just wait for the next oportunity or let the deer walk.

I thought you had to wait for bobo to run out of bullets ?

You forgot putting the beer down!!!

+1

i say "freeze gopher"!

If I went through the long routines that some of yall do, I would have missed the shot at the two biggest deer I have ever shot plus a few more.

I draw my katana blade (don't use guns).

just run um down in tha pasture and have a shoty out tha window