NPOA

[U.S.Cavalryman]

 I recently attended a marksmanship class where the instructor taught and preached NPOA. The other students had never heard of it and looked at him with great disbelief until he demonstrated. He dropped prone, did an POA check settled and fired 5 rounds. he closed his eye before firing the shot. He printed a 2 MOA group at 100 yards. But he wasn't able to explain it well enough for the others to understand.
What are some "Short" NPOA explanations you all have?

[henschman]

I introduce it by saying, "an amateur gets on target by moving the rifle onto target with his muscles.  A Rifleman takes his position so that the rifle is naturally pointed at the target when he is in a relaxed, muscle-neutral state," or something to that effect.

As for the definition of NPOA, I keep it simple:  "the direction your rifle naturally wants to point when you are in a relaxed, muscle-neutral state."

To see where your NPOA is, just close your eyes, relax, take a breath, let it out, and open your eyes.

To adjust NPOA in prone, move your hips around the pivot point of your elbow.  To adjust in sitting, scoot your butt around your feet.  In standing, move your rearward (trigger side) foot around your fixed forward foot (non-trigger side).

[Son of Martha]

Hmm..what was this class?  First time I have heard of a contemporary instructor (other than AS trained) doing such a thing.

SoM

[U.S.Cavalryman]

It was the Tigerswan 2 day Carbine(www.tigerswan.biz) and Kyle Defoor (www.kyledefoor.net) was the instructor. Kyle is currently looking at Appleseed. He mentioned " a group cant remember the name,  who teach the fundamentals really well" I sent him the my powerpoint. And will be sending him direct stuff from 17-18 April. Check him out. He does everything Appleseed style, he just doesn't know it yet

[Colorado Pete]

"NPOA is where the rifle will point when you have established your position and relaxed completely, without trying to force the rifle to point anyplace in particular with muscle. This is the place where your entire relaxed body conspires to make the rifle point. It is also where the rifle will WANT to point, and as such, where it will be the most steady. Any use of arm/hand muscle to point the rifle somewhere else will make the rifle less steady, as the rest of your body will be trying to drag it back to its NPOA.
So, you want to align your NPOA with your target so you don't use muscle to aim, as this allows EFFORTLESS AIMING and the most steady hold you can achieve."

Not real short, but covers the essentials...hope this helps...

[Son of Martha]

When you have proper position mechanics (SHFs are correct), your body will naturally point the rifle somewhere.  Adjust your position to make that somewhere the place you want the bullets to go.

Step 1:  Create a stable firing platform by using steady hold factors.
Step 2:  Adjust NPOA to coincide with target.
Step 3:  Properly apply the Six Steps.

Done.

SoM

[U.S.Cavalryman]

Pete and SoM, yep thats what i am looking for. Thanks

[jmdavis]

Hmm..what was this class?  First time I have heard of a contemporary instructor (other than AS trained) doing such a thing.

SoM

It's not a class, but my first introduction to NPOA came from one of Jim Owen's High Power books ""Sight Alignment, Trigger Control & The Big Lie". I believe he also discusses it in his electronic (online) and location classes.

The instructions in the book are detailed, and mirror appleseed for the standing and sitting positions. His windage adjustments are the same in prone, but he uses a different method of elevation shift.

[didactic]

Gabriel Suarez, in his book The Tactical Rifle, uses different words but essentially parallels the Appleseed instructional sequence.

FWIW

Must mean he's doing it right.   

[Old Dog]

I see some places/people recommending moving the support hand forward/rearward on the stock to change elevation.

That just seems odd to me since I always like to have my body contact spots the same on that rifle every time.  Maybe I'm carrying consistency/habit too far but if the rifle is just lying there in my support hand how can I be relaxed and lock that rifle into a spot beside the one where my hand is as far forward as the sling will let it go?

NPOA is IT!!

I tell this story over and over here and on other forums.  I will never forget my Appleseed.  I've always been a good shot (rifle or handgun).  Expert with M16 and M14 in the Army.  Battalion Combat Pistol Team (with a raggedy old 1911A1).  Anytime something had to be hit or the Company Commander thought something might need to be hit I was one of the 2 or 3 guys chosen for that job.

At my Appleseed (Sept. 2006 in SW VA) the shoot boss, or the guy doing the job that would become the shoot boss for you detail sticklers out there, would walk by my AQTs and say, "Hey, nice groups, any idea why they're not on the target where you want them to be?"  Of course I had no clue.  I was doing everything right (except dragging wood which Son of Martha noticed but commented that it wasn't affecting my group size) but as I transitioned across the targets in the prone stage my groups would move off the center of those targets, left, right, high, low, etc.  I'd never heard of NPOA, had no clue how to set myself up so that I wasn't (unconciously) forcing the rifle to point on the target (or what looked like was on the target).

At the Feb. 2007 RBC at Ramseur it started coming together (NPOA and breathing regulating my shots) and I was one happy camper!!

At every Appleseed I help instruct at I always take advantage of the prep times to go up and down my portion of the line carding the sights to show folks what is going on.  It works.  You'll see their performance improve and they appreciate it.

[bob 210]

This is what we teach from the Instructor Manual:

Natural Point Of Aim



One of the most difficult tasks of the RWVA Instructor is teaching NPOA. Difficult because you must teach the shooter a somewhat abstract and unfamiliar concept in the simplest terms possible. Additionally it is difficult to determine if the shooter has grasped the concept and put it to use. We cannot see what he sees, or feel what he feels. We rely almost entirely on the "talking target" to tell us if the shooter "gets it" and this takes time and ammunition.

As with all instruction, we will boil this down to its essence using simple, precise, and easy to understand terms and methods.

Explaining NPOA: To a shooter unfamiliar with the term, Natural Point of Aim may sound foreign and intimidating.

Natural Point of Aim is the place where your relaxed body would place the shot.

Think of it this way: If you take a good position and do the first three steps of firing the shot. (A concept already familiar by this time.) Close your eyes during the respiratory pause, relax and allow your body to "settle" into a relaxed state. When you open your eyes the front sight will be on your NPOA.

This is because you have removed vision from the process, and without vision you will not muscle the sights to an unnatural spot.
By following the above steps, the shooter "Found, i.e. verified, his NPOA". Notice we don't say "Got his NPOA". A shooter can no more "get" his NPOA than he can get his belly button. He already HAS both. He just has to find one of them.

Once a shooter finds his NPOA, all he needs to do is place it on the target. If the NPOA coincides with the target he can shoot a very nice group on that target, since no muscle is involved in keeping the sights on the target.

Laser Bore Sight Demonstration: One method for explaining NPOA is to use a laser bore sight to allow shooters to see the results of the proper procedure. It is best to place a bore sight in a stock without a barrel or receiver so you don't have to worry about "sweeping" anyone.

Ask an Instructor to take a solid prone position with the laser turned on. Place a "4 minute square" target in front of him, about 10 feet away with the laser dot shown a few inches to the side and a few inches high or low. Now have the Instructor shift his hips laterally to place the laser dot directly over or under the square. Next have him shift his hips to bring the dot up or down until it is directly centered on the square. Re-check the sight alignment using the NPOA drill.


Teaching NPOA: Teaching NPOA requires a method that will give the instructor immediate feedback and accuracy while teaching the shooter how to do it on his own.

"Carding the Sights" is the most efficient way to do this. Ask the shooter to take a good, solid prone position, (Another good time to reinforce the Steady Hold Factors!). Have him do the first 3 steps of firing the shot: Align the sights, place the sights on the target, take a deep breath and close the eyes, then exhale and relax into the sling. Ask him to open his eyes and tell you where the front sight is in relation to the target.

Now have him shift his position to bring the NPOA onto the target. You might want to have him do it in two steps: windage and then elevation.

Once the shooter is confident that he has his NPOA perfectly aligned on the target, place a card in front of the front sight. Have him take a deep breath and relax. Wiggle the rifle a bit to settle things.
Remove the card and have the shooter tell you where the front sight is in relation to the target. He'll likely be close, but not exactly on target.  Now ask him to shift his position to again perfectly align his NPOA with the target and when he is confident that he has verified it, card the sight again. Have him take a deep breath, exhale and relax "into the sling". Remove the card and have him tell you where the front sight is.

A couple of tries usually all it takes. Now remind him that he can accomplish the same thing by simply closing their eyes to remove vision from the process, just like they did the first time.
Have him keep that position if possible, and fire the string.

The entire line can practice this by having them verify their NPOA on a few targets in sequence. For instance, have them all place their NPOA on the far left target on the line, then one near the middle and then one near the right end. This takes very little time and drives home the idea that they must shift the position to bring the NPOA onto EACH target.

Teaching Natural Point of Aim in essence comes down to just three things: First, explain what NPOA is. Second, find, i.e. verify the NPOA. Third, bring the NPOA onto the target.


But there IS a fourth consideration... Once the shooter does this, he must TRUST NPOA.

In other words, he should not fuss the shot and try to make it perfect. The perfect is the enemy of the good. He must trust that having established his NPOA on the target, that when the sight picture is correct, the remainder of the 6 steps can be accomplished immediately!

NPOA...It's a beautiful thing!

Key phrases to use:

"Find or verify the NPOA"
"Do the first 3 steps of firing the shot and close your eyes"
"Relax"
"Shift your position"
"Place your NPOA on the target"
"Trust the NPOA"

[mtmisfit]

Hmm..what was this class?  First time I have heard of a contemporary instructor (other than AS trained) doing such a thing.

SoM

I was taught NPOA way back in Jr High when I was on a Jr National Guard smallbore team. 

I've been teaching NPOA for over 3 decades. Which is probably why the fact that AS teaches it isn't that enlightening for me.
You'll never shoot up to your full potential if you don't master NPOA.