Reddit reviews The Art of the Rifle

Art of the Rifle

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You've started out right. Keep safe, buy ammo, use up, repeat.

Read the textbook. Zero your rifle, then get off the bench and get good at shooting from the standard positions.

Once you've done that, you'll be ready to make the most out of a centerfire rifle.

Have fun!

I don't know about videos, but I recently picked up The Art of Rifle by Jeff Cooper. After reading it, I've gotta say it's a must have. It's a short book, but it covers everything the rifleman needs to know. I disagree with him on some points (Scout rifles are really stupid), but that doesn't detract from the wealth of information he offers. It covers proper stances, grip, breathing, all sorts of other stuff, and, perhaps more importantly, mindset. It's exactly what you need. Hell, I wish I'd read it a year or so ago when I got into rifles.

The Art of the Rifle by Jeff Cooper

Here's a great book that a lot of gun fans enjoy.

https://www.amazon.com/Art-Rifle-Jeff-Cooper/dp/1581605927

The NRA offers a solid set of rifle and pistol 101 classes. One of these would be a good way to get started. After that, competition is a great way to meet experienced shooters and grow your skills. The same applies with classes taught by a good instructor. Check out IDPA for practical pistol shooting. You didn't specifically mention what kind of firearm you're planning to learn.

There's a lot of culture and history wrapped up with firearms. Unintended Consequences is a great way to get a quick overview of that. I see that it's now out of print and rather pricey, but perhaps your library has it.

Tactical Pistol Shooting is a good text on serious use of a pistol. After that, Practical Shooting, Beyond Fundamentals is your guide to reaching the stars. The book will make no sense the first time you read it, but keep shooting and returning to it, and it will not only take your shooting to the next level but change the way you experience the world. Gabe Suarez's books are also good discussions on fighting with pistols. The hardware section in In the Gravest Extreme is woefully out of date, but the sections on legal use of lethal force still apply.

FM 23-10 is a good text on shooting a rifle. The Art of the Rifle is a very readable intro text but leaves out a lot of important things. Jim Owens's book on sight alignment and trigger control is a masterpiece, and his others are worth the price. Green Eyes, Black Rifles is the best book I've found for getting down to business with an AR-15.

But really, you're not going to learn all this from books. They'll mostly help once you've reached a level of proficiency where you can begin to accurately self assess your performance. Note that you'll be ahead of 95% shooters at that level. See Unskilled and Unaware of It for an overview of that. I thought I knew how to shoot a pistol when I showed up for my first IDPA pistol class and ended up getting my ass handed to me. It was quite a humbling experience. After that, I took some classes, spent time shooting with master-class pistoleros, and developed my skills. A few years later I was placing at the top of local matches and teaching other newbies to shoot. I've gotten fairly good with a rifle and carbine thanks to a few classes and shooting with guys that have spent time downrange.

Julie Goloski likely wouldn't appreciate the comments on male family members being the only ones qualified to teach shooting ;-)

Can't help you with shotguns.

The bench is great for removing all human error so you can sight a rifle in. After that, it's not much use for building real shooting skills. Ask a soldier or a hunter how many times they've had the luxury of sitting down at a bench to set up their shots.

Jeff Cooper wrote a relatively inexpensive book that covers everything you ever wanted to know about how to shoot from field positions:
http://www.amazon.com/Art-Rifle-Jeff-Cooper/dp/1581605927/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1301327002&sr=1-1

My dad taught me to shoot from kneeling and prone as a kid and I've been doing it ever since, and I still learned more about those positions in that book, as well as others like rice paddy squat, etc. Most outdoor ranges will let you shoot from field positions as long as you don't get ahead of the line of benches. If not, it's time to find a new range.

The Art of the Rifle by Jeff Cooper

NOT the magpul 'art of the precision rifle' stuff, i wont say its shit, but ill spend my time reading cooper over watching that stuff any day of the week.the man is a legend, his writing is surpurb, and the information is timeless.

If you'd like to learn more...

Deep survival

Bushcraft

These are the two that come to mind. Deep survival focuses on frame of mind, and bushcraft focuses on skills. It's a good balance.

Edit: the art of the rifle if this doesn't motivate you to learn about shooting, nothing will.