BEYOND BLASTING BEER CANS...REAL RIFLERY

8/8/2019 BEYOND BLASTING BEER CANS...REAL RIFLERY

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BEYOND BLASTING BEER CANS... REAL RIFLERY!

DATELINE: Butt Butte, MT.The 123rdDisorganized Montana Militia held its bi-annual rifle

marksmanship qualification. The three members, self-dubbed the A-Team, under the command of Obergruppenfuhrer Bubba McCoy,

gathered behind the county dump to ready themselves for the comingbattle with the evil Blue Helmets. Targets [beer cans] were engagedat ranges from 15 to 25 yards, off-hand position, rapid fire. The elitearray of firepower, including a Mosin-Nagant, a single-shot break-

action H&R .410 shotgun and a Marlin .22 semi-auto, devastated theenemy in what Bubba called a realistic representation of the

Normandy Landings. The operation was deemed a great success,and the A-Team began preparations for the next shoot by emptying

plenty of more targets.

Well, if youre actually serious about learning to be a real rifleman,your first step NEEDS to be attending an Appleseed. I didnt learnanything all that great in the Army, and we shot only 40 rounds a yearto qualify. You zeroed (or in some cases merely tried to) your M16A1at 25 meters, then fired 20 rounds from a sandbagged foxhole and 20rounds from the prone at pop-up targets out to 300 meters. You could
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actually miss every single 300 meter target and still qualify. Not thatthis helped a lot of folks. No, zero, nada, zip marksmanship trainingwas conducted past basic training. Bad habits remained bad, andpoor marksmanship remained poor.

This is why Im such an advocate of the Appleseed Program. Eventhe weekend shoots teach you to do it right from the ground up andcan be a quite humbling to people who think theyre crack shots andeven to veterans and law enforcement personnel. If you can manageto squeeze in the week-long Appleseed Boot Camp shoot, you willcome out as the finest form of rifleman (or woman). Its time wellspent, youll be much better for it, and your shooting buddies wontbelieve what you can do.

You could do a whole helluva lot worse than shooting an Appleseedfor an annual or bi-annual rifle qualification. As Fred asks, Are you acook or a rifleman? I did get my rifleman patch, but my score at oneAppleseed made me think I should brush up on my Dutch oven

cooking.

Then, when you take an Appleseed Boot Camp or get to scoring realwell and think youre real hot stuff, take a look at some of thesetraining exercises.
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Rifle Ten

The first test is Jeff Coopers Rifle Ten. This not only tests yourshooting but your physical condition and, since you are advancingtowards the enemy, imbues you with a great deal more offensive

spirit than sitting in a foxhole shooting from a sandbag.

The target used is the IPSC Option Target; a cheap substitute couldconsist of home-made man-sized silhouette target (delivery pizzaboxes work great) with a 10-inch paper plate affixed dead center. Youwould, of course, paint the plate the same color as the silhouette,right? The improvised target would require another circle around theplate and/or scoring might have to be adjusted a bit. The individualtargets are placed at 200, 225, 250, 275 and 300 yards.

The shooter starts at the 300 yard firing line, standing, loaded as hewould like to be, not looped up with a sling if he uses one, and anybipod folded. When the whistle blows, the shooter goes into whateverposition he chooses, and fires two rounds at the target.
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Without any further signals, he springs to 275, fires two rounds fromthe position of his choice, then again at 250 and 225. He must fire thelast two rounds at 200 yards range from the standing position.

Hits in the 10-ring count five points, in the outer ring four points, andon the paper two points, for a maximum possible score of 50 points.The rifleman (versus the cook) time for all the shooting and running isaround two minutes. Cooper said anyone who can score 40 pointsand run the course inside of 2 minutes is a good shot. I would haveto say you rate a helluva lot better than that.

Ive only tried this once and didnt come close. I got some decent hitsfrom the prone, but I had to take a long time to concentrate andsqueeze off good shots. Especially after the first couple of sprints.

You will be amazed at how quickly you start breathing hard and yourblood starts racing. By the time you waddle up to that 200 yard off-hand shot, youre panting like a steer, and wobbling all over theplace.

There now, wasnt that easy?

This first series of shooting exercises comes from the WWII BritishArmy rifle training manual. The weapon used was the legendarySMLE, Short Magazine Lee-Enfield. There was a saying at the end ofWWI that the German Mauser was the best hunting rifle, the
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American Springfield was the best target rifle, but the British Enfieldwas the best combat rifle.

If Tommy Atkins could do this in 1940 with his SMLE, can you do ittoday with your state-of-the-art glass-sighted semi-auto ubersturmgewehr?

The following practices are given as a guide:--

Practice 1.Firing and observingNo, of rounds.5.Targets.Collapsible; iron falling plates are the ideal target, tiles orbricks, 5 for each firer, placed at irregular distances and intervals.Range.Between 200 and 300 yards.

Lessons.Mutual assistance.Observation of fire.All points of weapon training.

Method of conducting.Men work in pairs, under battleconditions, as firer and observer, changing round.Points of criticism.Points of elementary training. Observationof fire. Observation must be exact.General notes.It is an advantage if the plates can beconcealed by bushes, etc. These may be pulled away bystrings as required. The device will give exercise in quick

observation.

Practice 2.Endurance and quick firingNo. of rounds.5.Targets.Any suitable figure target, preferably Fig. 4A, exposed overor around a piece of cover.Range.About 200 yards.Lessons.Concentration.

Quick accurate shooting.Method of Conducting.The targets will be exposed fives times overa period of five minutes. Each exposure of five seconds. The lastexposure to be in the last half minute. Two exposures to be in quicksuccession, i.e. three second interval. A small pit or suitable piece ofcover for the marker is required.


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General notes.The firer should be given a small area of ground tokeep under observation and the targets exposed at different places.

Practice 3.AttackNo. of rounds.10.Targets.Two figures 2 and two figures 4A (or other suitable figures)per firer.Range.From 400 to 200 yards.Lessons.Accuracy of fire after movement.Judging distance.Sight setting and all points of weapons handling.Method of conducting.Four figures will be exposed and the firer willengage them from wherever he wants.

Time limit.Three minutes to fire the 10 rounds. Targets will dropwhen hit.General notes.--

This practice must be on an individual basis as it will notbe possible to fire as a detail.

A small pit or suitable piece of cover is necessary for themarkers. If this is not possible the targets must be fixedand a limit placed on the number of rounds to be firedat each target.

Practice 4.The stalkerNo. of rounds.5.Targets.Any suitable figurefigure 4A preferably, placed in battlepositions, firing round cover, from tree, etc.Range.Not exceeding 250 yards.Lessons.Use of ground.

Accurate shooting after an advance under arduous conditions.Method of conducting.If markers pit is available, the figure

target will be exposed for a suitable period and lowered when hit. Thestalker will have the enemy pointed out to him from a position in rear,which necessitates his stalking forward about 100 yards in order o becertain of a shot to kill.

Points for criticism.Fieldcraft.Fire positions selected.


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Care of arms when advancing.Fire effect.All points of weapon training.General notes.

(a) The time limit will be dependent on the length anddifficulty of the advance.(b) If a pit or other suitable cover exists at the targetposition the stalker may be kept under observationthroughout by means of a periscope. A round of ball orblank should be fired whenever he is seen.

The ATOM ManualI have never seen good shooting and practicing for good shooting soemphasized as in the British ATOM (Anti-Terrorist Operations

Malaya) manual for Commonwealth Forces fighting there.

Short Range Shooting.The importance in Malaya of the quickdeadly accurate shot has already been emphasized. Continualpractice will be required on:--

The Malayan Range.
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The Jungle Lane.The Ambush Range.

Malayan Range.The aim of the Malayan Range is to

shoot in the standing position. To perfect the soldier for jungle thestanding and kneeling positions at fleeting moving targets. Everycompany must have a range where firing can be carried out at rangesup to 100 yards. The range should be constructed under trees toreproduce the normal operational shooting light. In order to carry outtimed practices at snap or moving targets, there must be a trench inwhich markers can move and present targets with safety. Thealternative is a system of pull-up, and moving targets operated bywire. The trench system is by far the best, because it is a morereliable way of presenting targets; and because it allows more

variation in placing them. Figure 1 shows a lay-out for MalayanRange.

X..........X........X.......X.......AX..........X........X.......X.......B100 yd 75 yd 50 yd 25 yd

Such a lay-out enables two practices to be carried outsimultaneously: one at stationary targets at A, and one at snap ormoving targets B. Both practices must be fired at the same range,and checking and pasting are done at the same time. The trenchneed not be straight but can zigzag in order to allow targets to appearin unexpected places. Details of the practices to be carried out aregiven in Appendix A.

Appendix AMalayan RangePractices

Rifle [#5 Jungle Carbine, SLR (FAL), or M1/M2 carbine]

Practice 1Grouping.5 rounds. Fig 11 target [man-size silhouette] with a1-inch square patch as aiming mark. Standard required 4-inch group.(One-inch squares? Four-MOA? Sounds like an Appleseed!) HPS[Highest Possible Score] 25.

Practice 2


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Timed.5 rounds. Fig. 11 target with rectangles 2-in. x 4-in., 4-in. x 6-in. inscribed in centre of target. Time 15 seconds. Scoring4,3,2. [4 points in smallest rectangle, 3 points in larger rectangle, 2points elsewhere on the target] HPS 20.

Practice 3Snap.10 rounds. Five differently coloured Fig. 11 targets. Ten

4 second exposures (reduced to 2 seconds as proficiency increases).Firer engages a colour as ordered by the instructor and fires oneround each time a target is named. Scoring 3,2. HPS 30.

Practice 4Snap.10 rounds. Fig. 12 target with 6-in. circle inscribed in

centre of target. Ten 4 second exposures (reduced to 2 secondsproficiency increases). One shot each exposure. Scoring 3, 2. HPS30.

Practice 5Moving Targets.5 rounds. Length of run 15 yards. Target

appears at walking speed. Firer engages with one shot and targetbreaks into running speed. Firer then fires 1 or 2 more shots. Thisprocess is repeated on the return run of the target. Scoring 3, 2. HPS15.

NOTES

a. Total number of rounds 35HPS 120b. Practices should initially be carried out at 25 yards, and

increased up to 100 yards as proficiency increases.c. In practices 3 and 5, Fig. 11 targets will be marked with two

lines 6-in. apart, forming a vital area 6-in. wide down the center ofthe target from top to bottom. Scoring3 points per hit in the vitalarea, 2 points for hit elsewhere on the target.

d. Standing position will be used up to 50 yards range, andstanding or kneeling at ranges over 50 yards.

Jungle Lane:--The aim of the Jungle Lane is to practice men in quick

and accurate shooting, at targets representing CT[Communist Terrorists], while the firers are on themove themselves down a jungle track.


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A narrow winding track must be found, or cut, in jungle.The firer advances down this track at the readyposition, as on patrol. At intervals, various types oftargets appear. There is no need for any of thesetargets to be moved or controlled by hand. Theycan be placed so that the firer turns a corner, orcomes to a certain point, the target comes into hisvision to his front or flank. If snap or movingtargets are made to be controlled by hand, aninstructor following behind the firer must operatethe wire so as to present the target at the rightmoment.

The advantage of the first method is that the firer has topick out a silent and stationary target; it is

therefore a better test of his powers of observationthan a pull-up target. The advantage of hand-controlled targets is that they can be made toappear for a definite timed exposure. The bestsolution is to have a proportion of static targets,with a variety of hand-controlled targets appearingat ground level or at a man height round the sideof a tree, or moving at any angle desired. Forscoring purposes, Figure 11 targets should havethe vital area inscribed, as on the MalayanRange, and Figure 12 targets should have thecircle in the centre. This is important, to bring outthat only a killing shot is a good shot.

CT fire can be simulated by firing a carbine or LMG in apit near the target, firing it by means of a wirecontrolled by the instructor moving behind thefirer. This is a good variation from static targets.

It is vital that scored are properly marked and recorded,so that each mans progress can be assessed.

Ambush Range.The object of having an ambush rangeis to practice fire control and shooting from an ambush position, inconditions representing, as nearly as possible, an operationalambush. The requirements, which are easy to fulfil are:--


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Ambush Position.--This should be large enough for a sectionand needs careful selection. Natural cover will berequired and therefore the position should be leftuntouched as far as possible.

Killing Ground.The killing ground should look as natural aspossible from the ambush position, but trenches need tobe dug in order that targets and markers can be movedabout. If the ground allows, there should be severaltrenches at different angles, so that targets mayapproach and withdraw from different directions. Apossible layout is shown at Figure 2.

Safety Precautions.Care must be taken to ensure thatsufficient earth is thrown up at the right places to giveample protection for the markers. If the ground does not

favour natural protection, pulley-raised targets shouldbe used.

Ingenuity.Exercises run on the ambush range depend onrealism for success. The following points are useful:--

All movement by troops in the ambush position must befully operation, e.g. position taken up silently;camouflage, and clear orders.

A wait should be imposed to introduce realism. Targetsshould appear without any warning. Once fire hasopened targets must move rapidly.

The range should be used by day and night.

Conclusion.The standard of shooting required for success inMalaya can never be set too high. This standard can be achievedonly by careful, continuous training.


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Real mountain troops, like the Gebirgsjaeger, are a true elite force,requiring physical prowess, stamina, intelligence and a high standardof marksmanship. The following is just one, and the easiest one atthat, of five exercises proscribed for Swiss ski troops while theyawaited a possible German invasion during WWII. The remaining fourcourses are much longer and more demanding, some lasting hoursand traversing a great deal of mountain terrain. Rather like a biathlonin full combat gear. The weapon used was the open-sighted K31carbine.

Training of the High Altitude Mountain Fighter.EXERCISE NO. 1
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Purpose of the exercise: Check the skill and speed of the patrol,then require a maximum of his individual over a certain trail. Theremust be a drop of from 300 to 600 feet between the beginning and

end of the course. He will have to pass between a certain number ofmarkers on the way down. Midway in the course, the man will berequired to remove his skis and crawl out onto a ledge and take uphis position with his carbine. A referee will point out to him,successively, targets A and B, which are at different distances andare of different nature.

A (about 300 to 450 feet, a G-type target or head) is an enemy whois already in position. He has revealed himself to our patrol by his firewhich had come from the direction of the floor of the valley. Our patrol

has had the good fortune to catch sight of him and surprise him. Theman will have a maximum of 2 shots and 40 seconds for hitting him.

A second enemy shows up, attracted by the first shots and desiring tocome to the assistance of his comrade. (The target is visible onlymomentarily; an E- or F-target [man-sized silhouette] is used: timeallowed 10 seconds; one cartridge only).
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Other enemies have slipped into a position at the foot of the ledge;our patrol knows they are there only by their tracks. He cannot get atthem with the fire of his carbine. Two hand grenades must be throwninto a hole approximately 6 feet in diameter.

Lastly, he sees an enemy spring up near him who probably intends totry getting possession of his skis. The man tackles him withoutweapon or pack and must put the enemy on his back in not over 30seconds. Only then can he put on his skis and continue his trip.

The trip time and combat time are measured separately. Themistakes in fire, in throwing the grenades, and in the combat areturned into penalty seconds. The man must announce himself

correctly at the start and finish. A referee will check his conduct andform.

The course may be varied as much as is desired, made easier ormore difficult according to the ability of the participants and the timeavailable for the exercises. In order to avoid serious mistakes, thecourse should be explained in detail, even traveled over in the sightof all the men so that they will understand everything fully.

There must be referees for the skiing, the firing, and the grenade-

throwing. The wrestler must be relieved by others as they finish theirtrip. This will give them a chance to observe where they themselveshave made mistakes. If there are no walls, rocks, or other objectswhich will shield a man and enable him to raise the disappearingtarget when the whistle is blown, the target will have to be fixes and acheck made of the shots after each man has finishing firing. Thecourse should be well laid out and without any unnecessarycomplications. The turn should not last more than 5 or 10 minutes atthe most. A correct record will not only show the good points but callattention to weak ones which will have to be given special attention.

CONCLUSION

So, there you have it. Once you get good enough at an Appleseed,try some of these on for field firing. Of course, you dont have to skidown the Matterhorn firing left-handed behind the back or anythinglike that. You can merely use these ideas as a guide and source of


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ideas and adapt any of these firing exercises to suit your needs orAO. For instance, you can certainly do the preceding drill on footwithout skis and snow and mountains and such. Perhaps you wouldlike to change the time limit on the Rifle Ten and low crawl undercover between firing positions. Be creative and adjust for yourshooters' abilities or for different terrain in your area. Take iteasy...baby steps. You can't expect to beat an Olympic Biathlete yourfirst time out. Start small, start short, start slow and build from there,adapting what you need.

This is just a sample of what good men with rifles can do. FIRST, getthee to an Appleseed. Then build from there. With enough time,ammunition, and practice, truly amazing things can be achieved.Without any time, ammo, or practice, you may as well go join up with

Bubba and the A-Team.

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BEYOND BLASTING BEER CANS...REAL RIFLERY