Project Appleseed

              Having completed my second Appleseed shoot this weekend, I have come to identify the leading factor in me not attaining Rifleman. By the time I reach the 4th stage of the AQT I was averaging a 120 score and VERY confident in my prone firing ability, especially when I am having have 5 minutes in my pocket.  I failed to score higher than a 192 this time around and this is due ENTIRELY to me jerking the trigger and having my shots wind up about an inch or so to the upper-right of the target (pretty funny to see the nearly identical location of each missed shot 4 times in a row). Whilst at the shoot, I was assisted by both BaldDragn and RomeosHero (my infinite thanks to both of you) in how to better pull the trigger, but aside from the general instruction for firing (pad of finger, not dragging wood, squeeeeze, the dummy/ball drill) I was wondering of there are any other exercises or methods of firing that may help me? ANY input will be appreciated greatly...

Grab some 'snap caps', these are plastic in the same dimensions of the real loaded round.  On the firing line at the range: Mix up real bullets and snap caps in your magazine (have somebody else load them for you is even better).  Now get in that stage 4 of the AQT, go prone for your 5 minute drill.  Focus on calling the shot.  If you are jerking you will see the muzzle movement on the snapcap(dummies).  Load a full magazine of snap caps and keep practicing at the range.

Or dry fire in position.  If at home, eliminate all ammunition, none in the rifle, magazine, on your person.  Put it all away safely.  Then go prone in a safe place, verify the rifle is factually empty, nothing in the chamber, no magazine in the rifle.  Now, practice the 6 steps of firing the shot, as well as your NPOA.

Practice builds accuracy.

Also you can use a click pen. Just think of the clicking end as the trigger. This will help you practice your trigger control, and follow through. Also you can do it anywhere, and no one will know that you are practicing.

Alex

Quote from: eaglescouter on June 05, 2009, 03:04:41 PM
Or dry fire in position.  If at home, eliminate all ammunition, none in the rifle, magazine, on your person.  Put it all away safely.  Then go prone in a safe place, verify the rifle is factually empty, nothing in the chamber, no magazine in the rifle.  Now, practice the 6 steps of firing the shot, as well as your NPOA.

And then, again, check to make sure the chamber is empty and there is no magazine in the rifle!

...

Also - make sure you hold the trigger back and don't release it immediately - and then only enough to re-engage the hammer (won't work on dry fire though as the bolt hasn't come back to move the hammer.) Releasing it immediately generally means you're moving the gun before the bullet is out of the muzzle.

You may find you "think ahead" and release the trigger early on the last shot on a target. (i.e. the 2 or 3rd shot of a stage 4 target.) I found myself doing this only by video taping myself.

As for the ball and dummy - for 22 I found once I shot two 550rd boxes of remington golden bullets I had enough duds for use in the ball and dummy drill.... an asset of Remington's poor QC is that you get several "bonus" dummy rounds in every box.  (Of course - never use these "at home" - not even snap caps for dry fire practice.) Put these aside for "dummy" rounds in the ball and dummy drill.

Quote from: Alex on June 05, 2009, 04:58:59 PM
Also you can use a click pen. Just think of the clicking end as the trigger. This will help you practice your trigger control, and follow through. Also you can do it anywhere, and no one will know that you are practicing.

Alex

I learned very well by clicking a pen. I would walk around doing it even in my classes. As you are clicking the pen make sure you stop at the "click" point and DO NOT take your finger off of it. This is something I have done at shoots too. If I see someone not doing the trigger squeeze quite right I will have them walk up and down the line doing it and it truly helps because they finally hear and feel that click.

Practice (safetly), Practice (safetly), Practice (safetly). Can't stress it enough. I find one on one time with an instructor works best. When you are at your next AS, if you haven't solved it yet, ask an instructor to work with you. I have found it works for me and those my fellow instructors help.

         -ERS

At risk of dating myself -

I imagine one of those Polaroid Instant Cameras.  You know, with the big red buttons on the front.  I visualize myself pressing that button with the fleshy tip of my finger.

When I shoot I don't think about firing a projectile.  I think of myself taking a picture of the target and using the trigger like the button of a Polaroid to place the hole on the target.

Brother

Sklar,
I had the same problem, the jerk, flinch, blink etc... While your best score of 192 blows my best out of the water, I know that I have improved with the lessons from Appleseed. Follow the above advice as they certainly know more than I do but one more opinion here, it worked for me and I did it with an Enfield #4 and Surplus Ammo  (lots of recoil!).
   Next trip to the range set up at 25M just like Appleseed so you can check each shot with bino's. Load 1 round at a time, and take your time, count the six steps slowly, tell yourself the shot is coming and force yourself to keep your eye/eyes open and to get a nice firm slow squeeze on the trigger, follow through and call the shot.
   It took me around 15 rounds to get this through my head, and it has worked pretty well for me.
  Andy

Using the pen works, but is annoying to those who can only hear frequencies in the range of that damn click. 

Another thing to try is holding your hand out in front of you and practice only moving your trigger finger.  Watch your hand, see all that movement in the other fingers? That is translated into bullet impact on the target.

Want a simple, and free way to improve your shooting that can be done anywhere? Just close your eyes and visualize the shot. Visualize every step done correctly, really focus on wht it takes to make a good shot. Do this over and over until you can visualize the shot without closing your eyes. Practice this and when you do get to the range with a rifle every step will be automatic. When you can focus on the shot and everything else fades into the background that is the "zone" you are looking for to fire a good shot.

Don't believe it works? Ask the Army Marksmanship Unit what they think of it.

Thanks a bunch, everyone, I think those suggestions will help a lot.
I had forgotten about the pen-trick, that should be handy while I am at work!

And once you're down in position DO NOT REMOVE your finger from the trigger at all. EVER!

Most training has folks yelling at you, "GET YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER!" and it's been burned into our psyche. But, precision rifle shooting is all about controlling that trigger. You should know exactly how much you have to sqeeeeze and how much slack or travel is in your trigger before it breaks. You should know how much travel it has forward before the sear resets (that "other" click) and you should be able to feel it to the point of knowing exactly where it's going to break and reset - EACH TIME.

It takes a lot of practice to get to that point. But, it doesn't take any more than 5 minutes a night. Plop down and dry fire for a few minutes, concentrate on keeping your finger on that trigger and learning it, and in a few short weeks, you'll be an expert on your trigger.

Well the best thing you can do is get a friend and do some ball and dummy. Fire team, Fire team, Fire team. When your alone though. Get in that Rifleman's bubble. focus front sight, focus front sight, squeeeeeez trigger. Doing so prevents your mind from anticipating anything. Because your way to preoccupied in the bubble.

Good advice here. Much of trigger problems are mental ones. Jerking the trigger usually means you are trying to make the rifle go off at an exact instant (usually when the sight alignment and picture is 'perfect' to get that 'V' ring). You can see what result that gives you.

Try to make the exact instant of the shot a surprise with a steady squeeze. Physically, correct straight-rearward pressure, only the trigger finger moves, no dragging wood, the rest of the hand/fingers are motionless.
Mentally, focus on the sight picture and front sight (steps 4A 4B), WITHOUT thinking about the trigger squeeze. Kid yourself into thinking that your job is only to aim, and someone else will pull the trigger for you, if you know what I mean. THINKING about the trigger pull often leads to trying to 'nudge' the shot off. If you can make the trigger function sub-conscious instead of conscious, it will just 'happen'.

If your position is very steady, and your NPOA is correctly aligned with the target, your 'wobble zone' will be small and centered on the 'V' ring, so, you should be able to fire AT ANY TIME in your wobble zone and get a 5. It should not matter exactly when the trigger breaks, your tight wobble and NPOA will get you the hit, so no need to jerk the trigger. If your wobble is too big, work on your position, chiefly shorten up the sling loop until you can barely get the buttstock in your shoulder, make sure you are relaxed, and are performing the position correctly. When your sights stay in the 5 ring naturally, having to 'time' the shot release becomes superfluous.