Breath Control

[jwsmith1959]

I used to shoot a lot of bench-rest and after a fairly long lay-off have found my breath control and technique is not what it used to be. Maybe because ranges are much busier and there are rounds going off more often than I used to have. Any techniques or suggestions? Or should I try and find a time when the range is less busy?

I used to be a Run a rifle range in the 70's and could work on my shooting during off hours. I don't have that luxury anymore, so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Having a black rifle .308 going off 8 feet away can take away from concentration somewhat.

 

[Racer88]

Bear in mind, I'm a relative beginner, but I'll give it a go:

Good ear pro. I double up with plugs and muffs.

Acclimation - with experience / exposure, you will get used to the noise.

Breathing - I find that getting into a breathing rhythm while on the rifle helps. We know (assumed) that we're supposed fire in the respiratory pause (between breaths). So, I get into my rhythm... in... out... in... out... in... out... BANG... in... out... in...

 

[Snuby642]

I have the busy range blues also.
Custom made ear plugs and muffs.
I sit next to guys with big bore's and brakes.

I take my time and nearly go to sleep between shots.
Pretty soon the drone of thier concussion gets regular and I shoot between that.
It's all a mater of timing between little bore mag changes and big bore recuperating.

I close my eyes and wait for a rithem to show up.
When I open my eyes if the reticle is there I press , if not I adjust and close my eyes again.

 

[...]

i do squared breathing.....breath in for 4 seconds.....hold for 4 seconds......exhale for 4 seconds.......hold for 4 seconds.

i will generally fire my shot on the second hold (after the exhale)

its a breathing habit i got into....and i honestly dont think consciously about it anymore.


whatever you do, just dont hold your breath......thats the worst thing you can do.........your eyes are very sensitive to the amount of O2 in your blood.....and they are among the first things to fade when you stop breathing.

 

[seansmd]

Squared breathing is also a stress reducing technique. 16 seconds between shots might be situationally challenging.

 

[jwsmith1959]

Thanks for the excellent advice. I know I am rusty however "a little rust turns to durable bluing". I will stay at it and keep ya'lls suggestions in the forefront.

 

[Niles Coyote]

No reason to hold your breath, breathe normal and fire on your respiratory pause (exhale side). If your sights are not where you want to trigger the shot, fix that and fire on the next cycle. This works relaxed or after running. Your pause is just shorter after exertion. If gun fire is breaking your concentration, put plugs in under your muffs.

 

[Racer88]

No reason to hold your breath, breathe normal and fire on your respiratory pause (exhale side). If your sights are not where you want to trigger the shot, fix that and fire on the next cycle. This works relaxed or after running. Your pause is just shorter after exertion. If gun fire is breaking your concentration, put plugs in under your muffs.

Squared breathing is also a stress reducing technique. 16 seconds between shots might be situationally challenging.

i do squared breathing.....breath in for 4 seconds.....hold for 4 seconds......exhale for 4 seconds.......hold for 4 seconds.

i will generally fire my shot on the second hold (after the exhale)

its a breathing habit i got into....and i honestly dont think consciously about it anymore.


whatever you do, just dont hold your breath......thats the worst thing you can do.........your eyes are very sensitive to the amount of O2 in your blood.....and they are among the first things to fade when you stop breathing.

I'm a new guy here, so my advice / comments are worth the price paid.

I mentioned a "rhythm" earlier. I think the above quoted comments all have value. I say just find your rhythm or develop a cadence. Whether your pauses are 4 seconds or 2 seconds or 1 second... find what works for you. Get that rhythm going and find your "happy place."

 

[LucasJ1990]

I try to shoot at the end of my exhale, but it is easier said than done sometimes. I need to learn patience and not be so "antsy" behind the trigger.

 

[Diver160651]

Note that much of this stuff is not entirely how it seems...

A lot of this is clouded in the definitions.

Pausing after an inhale is not natural AKA "Holding your breath". Like when you dive into a pool, we take a deep breath and use muscles to hold the air when were underwater. This is what causes tension, and ocular fatigue in shooting.

However, pausing during the exhale is natural. This can also be a deliberate and drawn out exhalation and include a slight pause. This is where the trigger brake comes.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that you need to breath in and out and immediately slap the trigger on the microsecond of exhale.

The easiest way to think about this is by just sitting around the house relaxed and seeing how much longer the respiratory pause is at the bottom versus the inhalation.

My 2 cents is you don't want to develop some long drawn out nutty breathing routine that keeps you from making quick accurate shots.

mcameron explained the his process well-- Be very careful with the "terms" like "Squared" breathing.. I don't think he meant it literally as equal top and bottom.

Remember the reticle and to call your moment of brake (call your shot) ~ soon as you focus too much on breathing the reticle may not be where it needs to be..

sorry for the edits, Siri is not nice to me this morning-

 

[seansmd]

Not trying to put words in @mcameron 's mouth, squared breathing is a growing stress reducing, performance enhancing technique. Very long between the same spot in the cycle that would be challenging in timed situations, or the need to align to a short window in time.

Squared Breathing link

 

[Lowlight]

You break at the bottom of your breathing cycle and do not focus on your breathing

We are designed to BREATH, not hold our breath. Nothing in our daily life is executed without breathing, except swimming underwater.

You have absolutely no concept of TIME, you cannot estimate, well if I hold my breath for 5 seconds, blah, blah blah, don't hold your breath, breathe, and break at the bottom of your natural respiratory pause.

Regardless of your activity, we breathe, if you are out of Breath and then hold your breath, you create a problem.

it's not so much oxygen deprivation it's our CO2 Sensors that immediately begin to detect the increase in CO2 and the brain hate it.

The funny part is, people wrongly believe holding their breath makes them steadier but in fact, it makes everything worse, but since our brain is highly complex it starts to turn on the steady cam and it appears we are getting steadier, but that is a false impression. I see it all the time during our fundamental Eval, guys will try to get steady, hold their breath, and about 20 seconds later their eyes will flutter, the veins in their temples pop out, we can see it.

I have pictures,

he is holding his breathing, and he has no idea it is happening.

Breathe... if the shot is not there, continue to breathe and break at the bottom.

 

[Lowlight]

Box Breathing issues,

from their site,

If you’re new to box breathing, it may be difficult to get the hang of it. You may get dizzy after a few rounds. This is normal, and as you practice it more often, you’ll be able to go longer without the dizziness. If you get dizzy, stay sitting for a minute and resume normal breathing.

To help you focus on your breathing, find a quiet, dimly lit environment to practice box breathing. This isn’t at all necessary to perform the technique, but it can help you focus on the practice if you’re new to it.

 

[...]

mcameron explained the his process well-- Be very careful with the "terms" like "Squared" breathing.. I don't think he meant it literally as equal top and bottom.

i keep it roughly equal at the top and the bottom.......but im not dogmatic about it.......i do whats comfortable......if that means changing it up, i do it.

really the key is to not overthink things......its breathing, our body does it naturally.

the main benefit of any breathing regiment isnt the specifics of it......but the fact that you are doing it......because as has been said before, the natural tendency is to hold your breath, and this breaks you of that.

 

[Lowlight]

This is also the main culprit when people say they see their heartbeat in the reticle.

usually, they are gripping too tight plus holding their breath and everything starts to pulse after a few seconds, and as it gets worse the shooter will try holding their breath more making it even worse.

Breath, breath the air, don't be afraid to care

 

[ShtrRdy]

I use the continous breathing method. When I dry fire practice I can break the shot at the bottom of the breathing cycle. When I have ammunition I expect the shot to break but my trigger finger doesn't apply enough pressure to fire the shot. I must be anticipating the noise and recoil. How can I get my live fire behavior to be like my dry fire behavior?

 

[...]

I use the continous breathing method. When I dry fire practice I can break the shot at the bottom of the breathing cycle. When I have ammunition I expect the shot to break but my trigger finger doesn't apply enough pressure to fire the shot. I must be anticipating the noise and recoil. How can I get my live fire behavior to be like my dry fire behavior?

On a live range... have a buddy load a magazine with snap caps and 1 live round, ensure you dont know where the live round is in the stack....run through the course of fire...this will help expose any hesitation and help you to stop anticipating

 

[Dthomas3523]

I found myself with some of the issues Frank laid out in above posts.

What a drill I do is set up the rifle on the kitchen table with bag and bipod.

I will find a spot on the wall on neighborhood across the street that has a vertical and horizontal L shape so I can see movement either way.

I will focus on breathing, breaking the shot at the respiratory pause, then as I’m breathing in I am cycling the bolt. On the very next respiratory pause I am breaking the shot. I keep going with this pace.

I don’t rush anything and make sure I’m taking normal breaths.

Breath out to pause
Fire
Breath in normally while cycling bolt

Breath out to pause
Fire.

If something happens and I’m not on my L or don’t break the shot, don’t panic or stop, continue the routine, leave the bolt forward, breath to pause, fire, and continue the cycle.

 

[Dthomas3523]

I use the continous breathing method. When I dry fire practice I can break the shot at the bottom of the breathing cycle. When I have ammunition I expect the shot to break but my trigger finger doesn't apply enough pressure to fire the shot. I must be anticipating the noise and recoil. How can I get my live fire behavior to be like my dry fire behavior?

Here is what I did for pistol that broke me on recoil anticipation.

I could sit at home and dry fire all day. My subconscious knew there was no way it would fire as I was inside with no ammo. I literally did thousands.

I would go to range with live fire and fuck me, low left shots.

So, I had a buddy who would take my pistol and make me turn my back. He would turn his back and either load a live or dummy round.

First couple times, I knew I had this. Slow squeeze......then the front sites would dip low left and “click.” Even though I was doing everything properly up until that point, because my subconscious knew the possibility of recoil was there, I anticipated it.

I would go home and dryfire more, perfect.

Back to range, same shit, pre ignition flinch.

We did this drill over and over for months. I can now not remember the last time I pushed a shot low left.

Try this with your rifle. Turn your back and let your buddy load a round or a dummy.

See what happens.

 

[Roo_man]

squared breathing for me works

 

[jwsmith1959]

Thanks for the replies. Concentration seemed to be much better on my next trip at my 100 yd range and my first test load with some new bullets in .270 Win.

Playing with a bunch of new bullets in a 6mm Remington which has never shot as good as I liked. 80 gr. Berger shot better at 200 than it previously did at 100. Go figure.


Appreciate all the advice. The 6mm was stringing some loads horizontally that I don't think was wind related. I will be checking the stock before my next trip to the range to see if I have any weirdness going on there.