Bruce Piatt is one of the top 3-gun shooters in the world, and he spent a little time teaching me a few tricks about rifle shooting. "Most shooters stand up too straight when they are shooting," he said. "Even though a .223 Remington cartridge has light recoil, it's still enough to throw you off for a fast next shot. Pull the rifle tight and snug into your shoulder and then lean forward into the gun so that your weight is forward of the center of gravity. Put your body weight behind the stock. That way it's harder to push you back. If you are standing up straight, your body weight is pretty much centered—it's easy to rock you back—but when you lean forward your weight is hanging forward of the center of balance, and it is much harder for the recoil to push you back.

"Reach out and grip your rifle at the end of the handguard. Too many shooters hold the rifle in front of the magazine well, which is a mistake. Stretch your hand out and grip the rifle out in front. This forward grip position also puts your hand out closer to the muzzle, which reduces the length of the fulcrum of the barrel when it tries to rise in recoil and gives you more power to control the gun," said Piatt. "By the way," Piatt added, "These things also apply to shooting your shotgun."

Transition Time
Deb Cheek is another Team DPMS shooter who is very willing to share her knowledge. She showed me some tricks for transitioning from one gun to the next in those stages with multi-gun requirements. "Think it out ahead of time," she said. "Plan in your head what you are going to do so you have best use of movement. For example, if you are switching from a long gun to a pistol, use your left hand (if you are right-handed) to stage the long gun in the safe location while your right hand is drawing your pistol. The key is economy of motion and to always have both hands doing something. Plan out how you will shoot the entire stage and what each hand will be doing at any given time. Go over that plan in your head until you have it memorized and then stick with the plan."

"Your hands follow your eyes, so as you transition to the next target, keep your eyes focused on the target. Bring your gun to your eyes and start shooting when they all are in alignment. Plan your reloads, especially with the shotgun. It may make sense to stop and load the gun well before it's empty. You don't want to be caught with an empty gun at the wrong time. I sort of remember seeing a guy standing with an empty gun as some aerial clay targets fell to the ground unbroken. Come to think of it, he looked a lot like you!" said Cheek.

One last tip: If you don't practice, all this means nothing. That's from me, but the pros agree. I was struggling to find a close for the "American Rifleman Television" episode when Piatt walked by. I called out, "I need help, give me a quote!" "Three times the guns—three times the fun!" He shouted out without breaking stride. That about covers it.

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