Fundamentals of Marksmanship

7/31/2019 Fundamentals of Marksmanship

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SJO1 Alex J Vega

NROI, PPSA, QCLEGC

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Marksmanship refers to the art or skill of using a firearm, such as a rifle or a pistol.

A marksman is a person who is skilled in precision, or a sharpshooter shooting,[ using projectile

weapons, such as with a rifle but most commonly with a sniper rifle, to shoot at long range

targets. The main difference between a marksman and a normal sniper is that a marksman isusually considered an organic part of a team of soldiers, whereas regular snipers tend to workalone or with other snipers. In the military, marksmen are sometimes attached to an infantry

squad where they take accurate long-range shots at valuable targets as needed, thus extending the

reach of the squad.

Another term for a marksman is a sharpshooter, which was used in the early 19th Century. It isderived from the German word Scharfschtze.

1. Dominant Eye -The dominant eye is the stronger of two eyes. The dominant eye will judge speedand range, and focus more accurately than your other eye.

Extend both hands forward of your body and place the hands together making a small triangle

(approximately 1/2 to 3/4 inch per side) between your thumbs and the first knuckle.

With both eyes open, look through the triangle and center something such as a doorknob or the

bullseye of a target in the triangle.

Close your left eye. If the object remains in view, you are right eye dominant. If your hands appear

to move off the object and move to the left, then you are left eye dominant.

2. Sight Alignment - Aiming is a combination of sight alignment and sight placement.Sight alignment is the centering of the front sight in the rear sight. The top of the front sight must

be level with the top of the rear sight.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shootinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riflehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sniper_riflehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sniperhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infantryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infantryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sniperhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sniper_riflehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riflehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting


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SJO1 Alex J Vega

NROI, PPSA, QCLEGC

2

3. Gripping - To establish a good grip, form a "V" with the thumb and index finger of strong hand.Your weapon must become an extension of your hand and arm.

In a two handed grip which is going to be your best bet in any situation, the first step is to place

the gun correctly in your strong hand. For a semi auto pistol, the gun back strap should rest ashigh in the crook between your thumb and first finger as possible. This placement in the strong

hand stays the same regardless of which type of grip you take from here.

The first and best type of handgun grip for a new gun owner and shooter is to grip the gun with

the strong hand thumb wrapped around and touching the middle finger on the grip.

The support hand is wrapped around the strong hand with the thumb lapped over the strong hand

thumb. When firing the gun the strong arm should be stiff, with the support hand pulling back

slightly against the shooting hand. This push-pull action steadies the hands and wrists and gives a

strong aiming platform for firing the handgun. This is an extremely strong style of grip and for

non-competitive shooters it is a grip that will serve you well for life.

4. Stance - The weapon should point toward the target, without effort or strain. The ideal position isattained by "natural point of aim" in which no undue muscular tension is required to keep the

sights on target.

Isosceles stance: Both arms are extended outward, with the elbows at their

natural extension. This puts the axis of recoil more or less along the centerline of

the body. The stance is so named because a path drawn along your extended armsand connecting your shoulders forms an isosceles triangle.

Weaver stance: The supporting arm is bent with the elbow pointed

downward. The firing arm is extended with the elbow and wrist locked. Then,apply forward pressure with the firing hand and rearward pressure with the non-

firing hand. This is isometric tension. Do not apply so much pressure that itcauses trembling.

5. Breath Control - In order to achieve maximum accuracy, a shooter must learn to hold his breathproperly. Take a breath, and then exhale. Right after you exhale, do you have to take another

breath right away? This momentary stop in breathing is called the natural respiratory pause.

When you are ready to take the shot, wait for the natural respiratory pause and then hold

your breath.


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SJO1 Alex J Vega

NROI, PPSA, QCLEGC

3

6. Follow ThroughWhatever your level of experience and skill, preferred pistol event, or shooting discipline,

follow through is an essential part of any successful shot release. Most beginning shooters fallinto the trap of trying to fire a shot when the sights appear to be 'spot on'. While this achieves the

release of the shot, it is unlikely to achieve a GOOD release of the shot - invariably it also

produces a multitude of 'sins': snatch, misalignment of the trigger pull direction, an associatedsudden increase in hand pressure on the grip, flinch (from anticipation of the shot release), etc.

So, what is the alternative?Following on from the discussions on Trigger Control and Area Aim, applying

increasing pressure to the trigger along a line to the shooting eye, while maintaining sight

alignment and while the pistol is aimed into the acceptable area on the target, and continuing to

add pressure until after the shot is fired will invariable lead to the shot being released without,

snatch, flinch, or whatever...

There are two more aspects that contribute to successful follow through: Continuing to

watch the sight alignment through the shot release and until the pistol has completed its recoil (as

a beginner you might not have time for this in the Rapid Fire Pistol event, but it is applicable toall other ISSF events).

Assessing the sight picture and sight alignment AFTER the shot has been fired.

Documents

Fundamentals of Marksmanship