Precision rifle shooting - a typical training day at the shooting range

Precision rifle shooting - a typical training day at the shooting range

Precision rifle shooting requires a lot of training, and before a typical day of long range training there is a lot of preparations to be made. Ammunition must be prepared and loaded if this has not previously been done. This preparation takes some time as there are several steps to be carried out. Cartridges must be calibrated, firing caps must be fitted, gunpowder must be dosed and filled the cartridge, and last but not least the bullets must be fitted.

The caliber we shoot with is 6mm NORMA Br. NORMA's Diamond Line 105 grain bullet and NORMA's 6mm Br cartridges work perfectly and we have used NORMA's products for many years without encountering any "hiccups".

Our bags must be checked so that everything needed is included so that you are not standing on the shooting range without a magazine, for example.

Most of our long range shooting training takes place at a shooting range in Rättvik, Dalarna. This is our so-called home track. The range has two different shooting locations. A 300 meter firing range and a 500 meter firing range. We have chosen to shoot in Rättvik because it is possible to shoot up to 500 meters and because this range belongs to our shooting club Dalarna's military and police shooters (Dala-MP). We also have a fantastic training buddy from Rättvik who is a really driven shooter and who often gets us to the shooting range when we don't really feel like training - everyone needs a friend like that!

We also train on a 300 meter track outside Borlänge sometimes, since it is a little closer and sometimes we don’t have enough time to go to the shooting range in Rättvik. We also like when we get the opportunity to visit other shooting ranges around Sweden, such as Västerås or Tyfors.

Once at the range, we make the ballistic adjustments we need for the particular range we are shooting from and other surrounding factors. Most often, we practice various long range exercises from several different positions. The different positions consist of posts, oil barrels, tank traps, ladders and prone shooting. These different positions are pretty much exactly what they sound like; we climb, crawl, run, move in different ways, shoot high and low on different surfaces and different types of support for the weapon. The big challenge is to quickly get into the right position, stabilize the around 10 kg heavy weapon, find the target and fire before it is time for a new position or a new target again. Everything is done on time during a precision rifle shooting competition, and therefore a central part of the training is the speed. Concentration on achieving good firings and recoil control is also in focus.

Over time, we have come to the conclusion that it is most effective for us to have clarity in how we should train at each training opportunity so that you don't just throw away a lot of shots unnecessarily without having a thought behind it. For example, we plan the order of the firing positions, what time we may have when we shoot the various moments, whether the focus is on movements, firing, distance adjustment or recoil absorption.

After a training session, we evaluate what we have done, how it went and how it felt. Based on this evaluation, we then shape the plan for the next training session.

We aim to practice long-range shooting once a week during the off-season and intensify the training before the competition season. A training session lasts anywhere from just over an hour to almost a whole day, depending on what we do and where. We try to shoot from as many different positions and barricades as possible during a pre-season but we are limited with how many barricades we have on our range. To develop to the next level, you need to go to as many competitions as you can.