Using Fred's Guide to Becoming a Rifleman to get you to thinking #7

[Old Dog]

The key to rapid fire is:
a.  attitude

b.  well aimed shots

c.  taking your time

d.  none of the above

[smle]

The primary answer is b. answer c would be a second. By taking your time and making well aimed shots you will actually increase your hits and your speed, with practice of course.
smle

[MANSKER]

Here's my guess-

d.  I'd think controled breathing and cadence.
Jim/Mankser

[TwoGlock]

So no one is interested in "Rapid Fire" and to think Fred says that a rifleman fires every shot "Rapid Fire"!

I vote for "D".

Rapid fire is the 6 steps executed in a short peroid of time...........

[VAshooter]

I vote for "D" because shooting more than one shot is just starting with step one when you finish your follow through (step six). You do it as fast as you can consistantly shoot good well aimed shots.

You pick up your sight alignment and sight picture as you breath. That leads into respiratory pause, focus on the front sight, hold your alignment as you put pressure on the trigger and follow through as the rifle comes back on target after recoil. Look through the front sight at the target to make sure you are lined up on your target, bring your focus to the front sight as you breath and then resiratory pause again.

When you do these things consistantly it will take the same amount of time to do them for each shot and people observing you will think you have a consistant cadence. Remember, consistant cadence comes from shooting consistantly. Shooting consistantly does NOT come from consistant cadence.

VAshooter

[Mark Davis]

I vote for G. all of the above.
A. Attitude because after much practice you know you can do it.
B. Each shot must be aimed.
C. Cadence, you have to breath to keep you vision functioning.
D. After much practice you devolop muscle memory and you can shoot well without clouding your mind with so much thinking.
F. practice practice practice
G. All of the above + much more!

[SkyDog308]

I have learned that repetitive muscle position, what I mean is that you return to a "locked" position with your body after absorption of recoil, first shot is definitely aimed, remainder fly right behind it, my cadence actually gets faster as the magazine gets closer to being empty, naturally the closer the target the faster the cadence, to a point, (don't be fooled there is a point of diminishing returns) but I find that the locked body, or my body returning to the "reset" position is what gives me SPEED and accuracy, the factor that I find working against me worst is muzzle climb as opposed to what you would naturally tend to think...it would be ("recoil"), your body resets from recoil if in the proper stance faster than you can regain "position" from muzzle climb...this is why hasty sling in my opinion is best for rapid fire in any position, in hasty I find myself "locked" yet flexible for quick recovery better than any other use of my sling.....plus I can move on to other targets quicker in hasty...that's my take..I also agree with 100% of what the gentleman right above me posted too.

You have to know your stuff.....your body, (practice)...your rifle (practice) your targets and their movement (practice)

[Mark Davis]

Hey M1A4Me,
What is the proper answer to your question?  I have not read Fred's Guide. Having spent 24 years treading the path to marksmanship, I already have a whole shelf full of printed shooting advice.
That consul, condensed into one short paragraph; Get help for the basics, practice, practice, practice. Shoot with others, keep your ears and mind open practice, practice, practice. Repeat! Repeat! Repeat!
Thanks for what you do.
                                    Clodhopper

[Old Dog]

Well, Fred's Guide to Becoming a Rifleman says the correct answer is a, b and c.  I takes all three.

Glad folks are getting something out of this.  That's what it's for.  Make you think and consider things you might not have considered prior to reading it.

Have a good one.

[Colorado Pete]

What TwoGlock said. Do everything required for a good hit, but in less time (and without mistakes).
If your position and NPA are correct (and with a tight sling) your front sight should recover right back to a correct sight picture all by itself as your body and rifle recover from recoil.  This eliminates the need for re-aiming, and all you have to do is verify the sight picture and perform proper breath and trigger management. Seems quite magical when you first see it happening.

[Old Dog]

It is almost magical.

I remember my first time.  The Feb. '07 RBC at Ramseur.  Shoot bossed by ornell and assisted by Son of Martha and Jr. Birdman.

I was shooting, and a shot was going off every breath, I could see through my scope they were going into that 4" circle at 100 yds. and that little voice in the back of my head said to me, "Hey, this is what it means!"  Funny how that little voice speaks up but never seems to disrupt what you're doing, ain't it.  At least when you're doing something right.  It's stopped me often just before I would've gotten hurt, or upset a cop.

[Dirty Bill]

Slow is smooth,smooth is fast... <