Let's make a list of the "little things" we do that help us shoot better

[Old Dog]

Some of these may show up other places but a central list might make it easier for folks to find the info.

1. I've seen one guy put some "rough" tape on his stock where his trigger finger would touch it if he was to "drag wood".  This is a physical stimuli that works for him to stop him from contacting the stock with his trigger finger.

2. If the adjusting clip on your hasty sling "rubs you the wrong way" then set it at a place on the sling where it does not contact the inside (tender skin) of your forearm.

3. I see alot of folks with ARs have a problem with riding up the back of the pistol grip with their trigger hand resulting in "dragging plastic".  Perhaps a piece of the afore mentioned "rough" tape applied to the back of the grip at the right spot might be a warning their hand is sliding too far up the pistol grip and give them a place to "lock in" their hand on it.

4.  If you use a scope on your rifle it gets your eye way up above the normal iron sight location.  On my M1A this leads to a lot of hot powder in the right eye so I wear safety glasses now when shooting (yeah I know, its always a good idea but I needed a reason to follow it).  That can get pretty distracting.

5. On my M1A I use the butt mounted shoulder rest for all 3 positions (sitting, standing and prone).  That way the rifle butt is always in the same place on my shoulder every time.  I've heard some people experience zero changes from one position to another - I don't, I wonder if having the butt at the same elevation every time helps get my eye behind the scope in the same spot as well (helping me keep the same zero).  It may not be comfortable to start with but just like practicing the prone and sitting positions - it should get easier with practice.

6.  I've heard that some folks can see the front sight better without the bright sunlight on it (so they install a hood over it).  My eyes are getting old and I've found I'm just the opposite.  I can only focus on the front sight with bright sun on it.  Once the front sight is in the shade it becomes very blurry.  Am I the only one or are their other "vision" challenged folks out there that might be able to focus on the front sight if they are out in the sunlight?


Folks, if you disagree with any of these or you have tips to add to the list please do so.  The idea is to help each other get better.

[dwarven1]

My M1 kicked me so hard that it was jumping off of my shoulder. Didn't have a shooting jacket - so I just took a piece of duct tape, put it in a "roll" so it was double sided, and put that on the butt of the rifle. Problem solved. 

[Junior Birdman]

  Maybe not shooting better, but shaving off seconds on the timed events:

  Magazine changes eat up a lot of time, and you don't have much spare time on the second, (50 sec), and third, (60 sec), stages, so here's how I do a mag change on the M14:

   First mag, of course, goes in the hip pocket since the stage begins standing.
   Second mag goes on the mat, oriented the way I will pick it up, and precisely where my hand will fall when I release the rifle, so that my trigger elbow does not move from the knee, (second stage), or mat, (third stage). I don't have to even look at it, as it is right where my hand falls.

   At the mag change, I unshoulder the rifle, taking care not to move the forward elbow, pull the rifle down, aft and pushing it against my body.
   With my trigger hand, I sweep the first mag free with one motion: The web of my hand hits the release, pushing it forward. The heel of my hand contacts the rear of the mag. My open hand pushes the mag forward and away from the well. Note that I do NOT grab or hold the mag.
   (I think most shooters are too carefull with their mags, wasting precious time taking them out and placing them on the mat) I don't love my mags, they are empty and useless to me and I simply want them away as fast as possible)

   I pick the mag up at the base, with the mag lengthwise, along my wrist, fingers folded under the base. I jam the mag home and rock it into place with a LOT of force, pushing against my chest. (I can actually see down inside the mag well from the open bolt and this helps me to align the mag quickly)
   Again, I don't baby the mag, I ram it in hard and rock into place fast.

   I then release the bolt and re-mount the rifle.

   It is also important to remember to breath. (I know this sounds rediculous) Most people will hold their breath during the entire episode. I try to maintain the same breathing cadence while reloading as I had before. Then when I remount, I just inhale, exhale, squeeze, and resume the rapid fire cadence again.

  Of course this works with any detachable magazine fed rifle, just orient the mag the way you will pick it up for smooth insertion. (Other rifles, ARs, 10/22 can be inserted straight in. Others like the AK and M14 must be "rocked" in)

   Practice your reloads in slow motion, eyes closed, becoming smooth. Smooth will become fast on it's own. 

   

[Old Dog]

Maybe I shouldn't ask this here (after all I've been Appleseeding and RBCing since Feb of this year so I ought to know it, but I didn't think of it till the other day).  In all the shooting I've done I always fired the two shots (stage 2 and 3), the bolt locked back and I did the mag change, released the bolt and fired the last 8 rounds.

Is there a reason why I couldn't load the 2 round, fire 1 round (this leaves me with an empty mag and one in the chamber), drop the mag, insert the 8 rnd mag and finish the stage?  This would save time (releasing the bolt) and it still requires the mag change.  This only works on a box magazine fed rifle (sorry M1 folks).

[Junior Birdman]

  I guess you could, but you'd have to manipulate the safety twice; the bolt only once.  JB

[kool aid]

Shooting one round and then reloading smacks of 'gaming' to me. I think what you describe is called a 'tactical' reload, also a valuable skill but not the one I would go building first. You want the default sequence to be 'emergency reload' from slide lock as it allows takes into account the fact that counting rounds is the last thing you will do in the event of the real thing. And as JB says, if you shoot till the mag is empey, when it goes it is gone and you don't have to worry about it till (later- if ever).
With a tac reload you need to retain the mag. Not a problem, unless you are in some deep doo doo. Maybe all you have is two mags with you.

Sorry to get wraped around the axel here......But train like you fight is a cleche' because it's true.
There is the storied situation where the California Highway Patrol was trained to put their empty brass in their pockets while at the range.
That is until they started finding dead Troopers at crime sceans who had been shot, and they had their hands in thier pockets, full of brass.

Or ipsc shooters at shoot outs who are so programmed to start the gunfight with their hands in front of them that when the poop hit the propeller THAT is what they did to start it for real.

Not that I haven't gamed it a time or two in my shooting life.............

No. I think the point of the way things are set up is that we want to work on that neuroplastic pathway that is necessary to recharging the rifle from 'slide lock'.

As any good zombie hunter will tell you, there is enough to worry about getting you hits and keeping the gun running besides counting rounds.

SO

I say deviating from the recipe does you a disservice.
'S a free country, but.......

The sequence of '-dismount-strip empty-insert & rock-remount-release bolt-' will save your life when the chips are down,  if it is something you don't have to think about.
And I belive that is the point of the exercise.



Great thread bro.......

[Old Dog]

It was called the "Newhall Shootout" and left 4 police officers dead because they were fighting the way they trained.

I agree that under stress you react the same way you train.  I'm not sure I look at what we do as "training to fight".  Some will disagree with me but I will not have on elbow pads (a coat maybe), I will not have a shooter's mat, I will not have a shooter's mat with my support elbow placement spot marked, I most likely won't have ear plugs, I will not load a mag with only 2 rounds or be carrying a second with only 8 rounds (unless I've got the old M1), I won't work on getting my NPOA and marking my toe spots with the empty chamber indicator and the 8 round magazine, I won't put the rifle on safe when I reload, I won't use a loop sling (don't now, but a lot of folks do - what will they do when they don't have the time required to get into it?), I won't stand/sit/lay in one spot and shoot ten rounds, etc.

In my mind I see what we are doing as waking people up so they'll get politically involved in what is going on in the country today.  I see it as teaching people the necessary basics of learning how to shoot their rifles so they can continue to improve and even pursue more advanced marksmanship techniques when they are ready.  I see it as trying to awaken people to our history and get them started down the road of trying to learn what they can about the sacrifices made in those years and maybe understand why our ancestors believed those sacrifices were necessary.

Like I said, I've never done that before.  I always fired the two, pulled the mag and inserted the new one.  Just wondered if it might help someone save some time (like marking your toe and elbow spots after getting your NPOA during the prep period.)

But that's the idea here.  Bring up the tips we use and let's talk about what works for us and we can all learn something.

Thanks for the responses.  Let's keeping it going.

[Nickle]

I remember years back of taking a couple of shots at a deer (and missing). Later that evening, I found the empty cases in my pocket.

Why?

I subconciously reloaded the rifle, and retained the brass.

The term for "train as you fight" is Battle Focused Training. The Army is a big believer in it, and so am I. You don't rise to your best under pressure, you default to your worst.

Don't game it. Do it right now, and you will do it right when the time comes for real.

[Atlas Shrug]

M1A4ME,

What you state above is all true, but those are administrative issues that you reference.  The main point IMHO is to program the subconscious and muscle memory to allow you to fight correctly.  You do this via appropriate, correct programming during training.

No, you won't think about elbow pads.  In fact, you won't think at all, you'll react.  It would be a shame if you reacted by shooting a quick round, then removing your magazine to load a fresh one when your target really needs to be shot again, and again.

IMHO you can even get in small ruts like this by always shooting things such as the AQT the same way every time.  Mix it up in practice, shoot the silhouettes in reverse order, mix up the number of shots per silhouette, etc.  Life ain't static targets, my friends.  Try shooting the AQT on the move sometime.  It's just a freakin' target, don't let it become dogma.

JMHO.  YMMV.  Insert other TLA* or FLA** here. 

* TLA Three Letter Acronym
** FLA Four Letter Acronym

[Mark Davis]

M1A4ME,
Your point #6 on the front sight,  I read in some book about painting a mark on the front sight to focus your eye on the sight. Then moving your eye up  just a bit to the top of the sight to align with the target.
                                                 Clodhopper

[smle]

A number of years ago I participated in my first garand match. Isaw a number of shooters using lighters or matches to smoke their front sights. When I asked why they did that, the most common answers were; to contrast the sight to the target and to cut down reflection. Hope that helps.
smle