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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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7/31/2019 Fundamentals of Marksmanship
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SJO1 Alex J Vega
NROI, PPSA, QCLEGC
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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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7/31/2019 Fundamentals of Marksmanship
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SJO1 Alex J Vega
NROI, PPSA, QCLEGC
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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.
