Training Methods
Competition Any top shooter will agree with this word of advice Shoot every match you can afford. The special conditions created by shoulder-to-shoulder competition can best be controlled by lessons learned in match experience. To learn how to apply this control to your slow fire technique is the result of continuous match competition. If numerous matches are not available, try to make your practice sessions duplicate match conditions as nearly as possible. 2. Dry Firing Developing the ability...
Ddeveloping Mental Discipline And Confidence
The continuously repeated, successful execution of a completely planned shot results in the gradual development of mental discipline. If your mental discipline has developed sufficient force you will be able to control your thoughts and exercise unhampered mental concentration. Also, your preparations and shooting routines will always be the same. 1. Response to a problem Psychologists have determined that there are four basic methods of responding to a problem. Two methods are positive and...
Function Of The Habits Of The Normal
All shooters should make a conscious effort to improve the condition of their eyes in the intervals when they are not actually aiming by allowing the habits of normal sight of function. The following will give an idea of how this should be done. There are three things that every healthy eye does Blink, center its attention (called Central Fixation) and shift. 1. Blinking, the first habit of normal sight an involuntary action. The blink is the quick, light, easy closing and opening of the eye,...
Errors Made In Trigger Control And Means Of Combating Them
The most serious and disrupting error made by the shooter is jerking - that is, the abrupt application of pressure on the trigger accompanied with muscular action of the hand and arm muscles. If Jerking was limited to abrupt pressure on the trigger, and the rapid displacement of the axis of the bore, it would cause only part of the results. a. Jerking is usually accompanied by (1) The sharp straining of all the muscles in the arm arid shoulder. (2) The abrupt tightening of the hand on the grip....
Breath Control
The correct method of breathing is an essential part of the shooter's system of control. Most pistol shooters know less about the proper method of breath control than of any of the other fundamentals. The object of proper breath control is to enable the pistol shooter to hold his breath with a comfortable feeling long enough to fire one shot slow fire five shots in twenty seconds timed fire or five shots in ten seconds rapid fire without loss of the ability to hold still or concentrate on sight...
Concentration
If the sights are incorrectly aligned, the net result is an inaccurate shot. Carelessness in obtaining correct sight alignment can usually be traced to the shooter's failure to realize its importance. Many shooters will, in the initial phase of holding, line up the sights in a perfect manner. However, as the firing progresses, and the shooter is concentrating on delivering the shot, he often loses correct sight alignment which he attained in the initial phase of his hold. Usually, when the...
Monocular And Binocular Vision
Determining which eye is dominant. a. The first shortcoming is the strain which is involved in squinting the eye and is hard for most people to endure. Another undesirable aspect is the fact that the squinting of one eye is almost always accompanied by the tension and pressure of the closed lid on the eyeball. This pressure of the eyelid upon the eyeball affects the refraction of the crystalline lens and thus has an adverse influence upon the sharpness of vision of the open eye....
The Sharpness Of Vision
The shooter is interested chiefly in the degree of the eye's differentiating sensitivity and its resultant sharpness of vision, as well as the degree of accuracy of aiming which the eye can guarantee. 1. Basically, sharpness of vision depends upon the physical properties of the anatomy of the eye. The physical condition of the eye determines primarily the greater or lesser accuracy of the image of the object upon the retina. Those anatomical and physiological conditions determine how well we...
Grip
The proper grip is one which provides the shooter with the maximum control of the weapon. To maintain a natural sight alignment, he must hold the weapon firmly and be able to apply positive, straight to the rear pressure on the trigger that will not disturb sight alignment. 1. Uniformity For maximum control, all of the requirements for a proper grip must be uniformly applied at all times. 2. Requirements The proper grip on a pistol is one that meets the following requirements a. The grip should...
Introduction
The fundamentals of pistol marksmanship embrace all of those physical factors essential to the firing of an accurate shot. Accuracy, in this sense, assumes that the weapon is zeroed, that a high degree of inherent accuracy exists in both the weapon and the ammunition, and that the firing is taking place under ideal conditions. Essentially, accurate shooting with a pistol requires no elements other than those described in the following sentence ALIGN THE SIGHTS PROPERLY ON THAT PART OF THE...
Position
When preparing for accurate shooting, it is insufficient merely to assume a comfortable and stable stance. You must be able to aim or point at your target in a natural, consistent manner. Improper position will affect your ability to establish or maintain the hold in the center of the aiming area. Before each shot or string of shots, it is necessary to check the correctness of the assumed position with respect to the target. Avoid unnecessary muscular tension in the effort to hold in the aiming...
Slow Fire Worksheet
PREPARATORY (In assembly area) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1. Squadding - Proper Relay & Target 2. Using clean weapons - Proper Caliber 3. Proper sight setting (Zeroed) 5. Ammunition, Ear Plugs & Screwdriver 6. Focus scope on proper target 7. Dry Fire for natural Position & Grip 9. Ammunition loaded into magazine 10. Mental Stimulation of Confidence PLAN DELIVERY OF SHOT (Review Shot Sequence) 11. Extend arm & breathe deeply 12. Settle into minimum arc of movement 13. Pick up sight...
Plan Shot Sequence
There must be a systematic approach to obtaining shooting control. To successfully employ the fundamentals the shooter must develop a plan of action and fix it so firmly in mind that distractions do not interfere with his ability to follow a planned sequence. Simply giving yourself the order to watch the sights hold, and squeeze is not sufficient. A shooter with natural talent may find it possible to occasionally fire good strings without having a plan of action. But regardless of his talent...
Dcommon Points Of Deficiency In Control
There are a multitude of causes for bad shots. Listed below are those most frequently found. It is not intended to be a complete list nor is it intended to provide the shooter with a convenient list of bad habits. It is, however, intended to assist the shooter in finding the source of his trouble. 1. Jerk or Heel The abrupt application of pressure either with the trigger finger alone or in the case of heeling, pushing with the heel of the hand at the same time. 2. Vacillation Lack of know-how...
Dthe Pistol Team Daily Dozen Exercises
The Pistol Team Daily Dozen was especially developed to affect those muscles used in pistol shooting. Figures 8-1 thru 8-12 will assist the instructor in understanding how these exercises are accomplished. 1. Warm Up A four count exercise done in moderate cadence. This exercise is designed to get you ready for the forthcoming exercises. Starting position is standing with feet spread approximately 12 inches apart, hands extended overhead. At the count of one, bend at the waist ant knees, reach...
Technique Of Sustained Fire
The shooter must employ a technique tailored to give him the ability to control the employment of the fundamentals under all conditions of competitive stress. The shooter must consider the following known factors which have a bearing on the control of a five-shot string of timed or rapid fire. 1. Find your aiming area on the edge of the target frame. Look directly at the faced target with your head in shooting position. Determine precisely where your aiming area is going to be when the target...
General
The habitual use of alcohol, coffee, tobacco and various drugs is harmful to the average person and in no way promotes better body function. We can be easily fooled by misleading advertisements into believing that such things are helpful. For example, an advertisement may tell us that cigarettes are an aid to digestion. Cigarette smoking after meals does cause the saliva to flow more freely and the heart to beat faster, aiding digestion. But, this may also result in overwork for the salivary...
Application Of Trigger Pressure
Positive Uninterrupted Trigger Pressure - Surprise shot method - is primarily the act of completing the firing of the shot once starting the application of trigger pressure. The shooter is committed to an unchanging rate of pressure, no speed up, no slowdown or stopping. The trigger pressure is of an uninterrupted nature because it is not applied initially unless conditions are settled and near perfect. If the perfect conditions deteriorate, the shooter should not fire, but bench the weapon,...
Point Of Focus
Correct sight alignment must be thoroughly understood and practiced. It appears on the surface as a simple thing - this lining up of two objects, front and rear sights. The problem lies in the difficulty in maintaining these two sights in precise alignment while the shooter is maintaining a minimum arc of movement and pressing the trigger to cause the hammer to fall without disturbing sight alignment. Hold is good, but front sight alignment creates error. Figure 2-3, Displacement of the Bullet...
What Is The Function Of This Druge Epistol Tablet
At one time or another some shooters have probably tried a sedative drug or tranquilizer to see what effects it would have on their shooting. Drugs affect different people in different ways, so dosage would be a problem even if they did any good toward reducing anxiety, nervousness, etc. Any time medication or drugs are used that affect the body functions, there is a chance that the side effects will do more harm than good to the shooter's performance. Some shooters no doubt prescribe certain...
Wind Shooting And Adverse Conditions
During timed and rapid fire, the shooter has to fire when the commands are given, wind or no wind. The means of overcoming this disturbing handicap are found in strenuous application of the fundamentals. Usually these efforts attain less positive results because the shooter cannot maintain his normal, minimum arc of movement in the wind. Concentration on sight alignment regardless of movement caused by wind will result in groups only slightly larger than those fired under ideal conditions. 1....
Factors Providing For The Correct Control Of The Trigger
The pressure put on the trigger must come from independent movement of the trigger finger only. The gripping fingers and the thumb do not move or tighten. Keep the grip pressure constant. Align the sight, settle into your normal aiming area and exert positive, uninterrupted, increasing pressure, straight to the rear, until the hammer falls. You must not look for a perfect sight picture combination of rear sight-front sight-bull's eye. Instead, focus your eye on the front sight, keeping it...
Trigger Control
Correct trigger control must be employed in conjunction with all other fundamentals of shooting. The physical act of applying pressure on the trigger to deliver an accurate shot may vary from individual to individual. Proper trigger control for each individual gradually assumes uniformity when the techniques of proper application are mastered. Many shooters, for example, maintain a degree of trigger control with a relatively light grip, while another shooter may use a very tight grip. Some...
The Stance
The excellence of the stance is a major factor in creating conditions for maximum control. A high degree of control is necessary for the delivery of an accurate shot. Every individual possesses a combination of individual characteristics that are peculiar to him alone. Among these are height, weight, proportion of body, development of muscle system, etc. It follows, then, that there cannot be any definite, all-purpose stance which applies equally to all shooters. Therefore, the shooter himself,...
