MARKSMANSHIP PRINCIPLES

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MARKSMANSHIP PRINCIPLES
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You have been trained to take your place as a
Rifleman in a Commando. You can yomp 70 miles
with a 70lb pack, but unless you can shoot
accurately and effectively at the end, you do not
deserve to call yourself a Marine. Lt
Gen J M C Garrod OBE 9th October 1987
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1 The position and hold must be firm enough to
support the weapon.
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ELEMENTS OF A GOOD SHOOTING POSITION
1 Bone Support 2 Muscle Relaxation
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BONE SUPPORT When adopting a fire position, try
to avoid resting bone on bone (eg resting
your elbows on your knees) as this causes an
unstable position and will cause your position to
wobble slightly, ultimately affecting where your
rounds will go. MUSCLE RELAXATION When adopting
a fire position, try not to overstrain your
muscles. If you are gripping the weapon too
tightly or are adopting a particularly
uncomfortable position, the muscles will become
strained and can lead to minor shaking/movement
to the position, again affecting where your
rounds will go.
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FACTORS COMMON TO A GOOD FIRING POSITION
Head
Butt Placement
Right Hand
Left Hand
Left Elbow
Right Elbow
Legs
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LEFT HAND ARM The left elbow is positioned as
close as possible to a point directly below the
weapon. This ensures that the weight of the
weapon is supported by the bone of the outside
rear of the elbow joint, instead of by muscular
effort. The hand guard should be across the palm
of the hand and held with the fingers together.
The grip should be no more than a stable platform
for the weapon. No attempt should be made to
grip the hand guard tightly or pull it backwards
with the left hand. The position should be one
of support. RIGHT HAND ARM This is the
controlling hand and is a most important factor
in good shooting. The hand must be located high
on the pistol grip, with the web of the skin
between thumb and forefinger positioned at the
back of the pistol grip. The grip must be firm,
pulling back into the shoulder but taking care
not to twist the weapon away from the upright.
The forefinger should be naturally on the
trigger. The position of the right elbow is
determined after taking the correct grip with the
hand. The right elbow also serves to maintain a
consistent position for the right shoulder.
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BUTT PLACEMENT The butt should be positioned
against the muscle between the should joint and
the lower edge of the collar bone. It should not
come into contact with the bone itself. When
Combat Body Armour (CBA) is worn, care must be
taken to ensure that the butt is positioned
correctly, it is especially important to check
that it is not lower than is usual. HEAD The
cheek must not be pressed against the cheek
piece. It should rest lightly at a position in
which it can be maintained for successive shots.
The head should be upright (1) To ensure that
the instinctive sense of balance is
maintained. (2) To position the centre of the
eye straight behind the sight.
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2 THE WEAPON MUST POINT NATURALLY AT THE TARGET
WITHOUT ANY UNDUE PHYSICAL EFFORT
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3 SIGHT ALIGNMENT AND SIGHT PICTURE MUST BE
CORRECT
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SIGHT ALIGNMENT Aiming requires the alignment of
a number of different points. IRON SIGHT - The
eye The centre of the backsight aperture The
centre point of the tip of the foresight SUSAT
- The eye The centre of the aperture and
foresight tip viewed as one A perfectly
formed circle framing the clearly focused
pointer SIGHT PICTURE Correct focus is
essential to correct sight alignment. It is
important for the soldier to realize that two
objects at different distances from the eye
cannot be focused at the same time. The objects
that can be focused are IRON SIGHT - The target
or the tip of the foresight SUSAT - The target
and the tip of the pointer simultaneously.
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SIGHT ALIGNMENT
This is a 4 point relationship between the EYE
looking squarely through the REAR-SIGHT APERTURE
across the tip of the clearly focused FORESIGHT
and onto the POA.
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SIGHT PICTURE
When focusing on the tip of the foresight, target
becomes blurred
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4 THE SHOT MUST BE RELEASED AND FOLLOWED
THROUGH WITHOUT UNDUE DISTURBANCE OF THE POSITION
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SHOT RELEASE AND FOLLOW THROUGH There are three
aspects to coordinate in order to master this
principle breath control, trigger operation and
the follow through. BREATH CONTROL Breathing is
a natural body function which happens without
conscious thought on the part of the individual.
The natural process of breathing causes body
movement which must be CONTROLLED. There are
three aspects of the breathing cycle that are
important to the soldier (1) During the normal
cycle the lungs are neither completely filled
nor emptied (2) After breathing out there is a
natural pause (3) The whole cycle takes approx
five seconds It is clear that there must be a
pause in the breathing cycle so that the shot can
be released without movement. As a natural pause
occurs after breathing out, it is logical to
extend that pause to six or seven seconds to
enable the shot to be released. The pause must
not extend longer than seven seconds since any
natural impulse to resume breathing will affect
the soldiers ability to concentrate.
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TRIGGER OPERATION During the period of breath
restraint the aim must be perfected and the
trigger operated smoothly to allow the shot to be
fired without any alteration to the aim or to the
grip with the right hand. There are two
recognised methods of trigger operation DELIBERATE
TRIGGER OPERATION The finger is placed on the
trigger, whilst taking a few slow deep breaths,
the trigger slack should be taken up, the aim
perfected and a steadily increasing pressure
applied to the trigger. The pressure on the
trigger should continue to be increased as long
as the aim picture remains correct. If the aim
picture deteriorates, the trigger pressure
already taken should be held. Once the sight
picture improves pressure should be increased
until the shot is fired. Pressure must be
applied directly to the rear as this will not
disturb the natural alignment of the weapon to
the target. Once the shot has been fired it is
important that the trigger is not released but
held to the rear for a second or two. The
trigger is then released and breathing allowed to
continue normally CONTINUOUS TRIGGER OPERATION
There will be occasions when little time will be
available to deliver accurate, deliberate fire.
On such occasions the shots must be fired quickly
and as accurately as they can under such
conditions. The finger is to be placed on the
trigger, when the target appears the firer should
exhale quickly to the point of the natural pause
and take up the trigger slack. The natural
breathing pause is extended to perfect the aim
picture as best as possible, whilst pressure on
the trigger is increased the shot is fired. It
is important that the trigger is not snatched.
The pressure on the trigger is to be held
momentarily as part of the follow
through.. FOLLOW THROUGH It is important that
once the shot has been fired that nothing
influences the action of the rifle before the
bullet has left the barrel. Holding the pressure
on the trigger and remaining in the aim for about
a second after operating the trigger, the follow
through will eliminate any movement caused by
the soldier
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CONTINUOUS TRIGGER CONTROL DELIBERATE TRIGGER
CONTROL
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REFERENCE

• Infantry Training Vol II
• Pam No. 5
• The SA80 A2 (5.56mm) System
• (Rifle, Light Support Weapon and Carbine) and
  Associated Equipment - 2004

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QUIZ

• How many marksmanship principles are there ?
• a - 4
• b - 3
• c - 2

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• How many marksmanship principles are there ?
• a - 4
• b - 3
• c - 2

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• How should the weapon be held?
• a - Loose, to absorb recoil
• b - Very tight, so the weapon will not move
• c - Firm enough to support the weapon

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• How should the weapon be held?
• a - Loose, to absorb recoil
• b - Very tight, so the weapon will not move
• c - Firm enough to support the weapon

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• What is the 4 part relationship on the sight
  picture?
• a - Eye, target, foresight, rear sight
• b - Rear sight, foresight, target, eye
• c - Eye, rear sight, foresight, target

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• What is the 4 part relationship on the sight
  picture?
• a - Eye, target, foresight, rear sight
• b - Rear sight, foresight, target, eye
• c - Eye, rear sight, foresight, target

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• What are the different types of trigger control?
• a - Quick and slow
• b - Deliberate and Continuous
• c - Hard and soft

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• What are the different types of trigger control?
• a - Quick and slow
• b - Deliberate and Continuous
• c - Hard and soft

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Fill in the missing words
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FACTORS COMMON TO A GOOD FIRING POSITION
Head
Butt Placement
Right Hand
Left Hand
Left Elbow
Right Elbow
Legs
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Created by Sgt Pearce JG Platoon Weapons
Instructor