Learning How To Be a Marksman – Part 4, by Tunnel Rabbit

(Continued from Part 3. This concludes the article.)

Precision shooting is the pursuit of the ability to hit small targets at long ranges with one shot. As hits count and misses do not, given the battlefield level of accuracy that most rifles and shooters are capable of, limiting our range to 300 yards is realistic and practical. Training at 400 yards and then shooting at 300 yards will make the shooter work harder and better ensure that they can hit the first time, every time at closer ranges. Do not let the enemy get closer than 300 yards. At 200 yards you will have lost most of your advantage and battlefield superiority and the ability to fall back to the next fighting position that would be located at least 300 yards to the rear. 300 yards should be the line in the sand. The more hunting rifles and shooters that can defend that line the better. Fire all at once, and then fall back. If possible, do not become decisively engaged. Maintain the initiative and don’t allow yourself to be pinned down and out-flanked.

If your ammunition uses boattail soft points, it will have a better trajectory. .30-06 shoots best with heavy bullets, but a light bullet like a 150-grain soft point is more than adequate and flatter-shooting, making it easier to hit at 400 with a 200-yard zero. The most useful zero for high-power rifles is typically at around 250 to 275 yards, but because I do not know what ammunition you have, a 200-yard zero is the best general advice and can be applied to most of the rifles in your arsenal as their hunting scopes have and adequate range of adjustment. You can use the JBM Calculator website yourself by plugging in the velocity and bullet weight and type into this calculator. It is a good mental exercise.

Conclusion

Study first, but also practice. Dry-firing works, but it is not the real thing. Use a .22 LR rifle to start and to develop a ‘snap to’ or eye and hand and body connection. Handle the actual rifle to be used often or daily. Pack the brain full of good data and drill it in, repeat and then repeat it again and again, and then let it conjugate. It is your own God-given biological supercomputer. It will automatically do its thing and the thinking for you. The more you study, the less ammunition you’ll need to use to get it done. And then refine your eye-hand connection further by shooting at greater and greater distances that forces us to refine our breathing and in general our techniques such as adjusting the sandbag that stabilizes the butt end of the stock and how we slowly squeeze the trigger. There is no substitute for this.

The eye will at some point connect with the hand and tell it when to pull the trigger when it is done taking aim. Do not let your thoughts interfere with the process. It must be seemingly automatic, This is only achieved by practice, practice, practice and then making every round count. Again: hits count, and misses do not. Strive to be accurate, but not precise, your brain will make adjustments that are scary precise if you let it. Relax. Do not overthink it. Better yet, do not attempt to think. That means do not think. Just “Do or do not”, as the fictional Yoda said. Train like a Jedi. This echoes how the Samurai trained.

Make a cheat sheet that includes the bullet drop and just as importantly, the wind deflection numbers at every 100-yard increment, given a 10 mph crosswind. Wind that is blowing from an angle is considered a half-value wind that can be valued as 5 mph wind if the full-value crosswind is at 10 mph. If you can see the leaves on the trees moving, or the grass moving, it is likely a 10 mph wind or close enough. Even if there is no discernable wind, there is probably a low-value wind 2-3 mph wind most of the time. Wet your finger and put it up high to test the wind, or drop some dirt to see which way it blows. This cheat sheet can be taped to the buttstock. This reference is needed even if you have a photographic memory. Under stress, a man’s mind can go blank.

Also, make up a range card with distances marked on a crude map with the major terrain features that are easily identified. Make many copies and laminate them to protect them from water and dirt. One could also install range flags to help gauge the wind and locate those flags at 100-foot intervals. Learn how to prepare a ‘field of fire’ by removing cover and concealment, low spots in your clearing, or in the ‘micro’ terrain, and by denying dead zones with fencing or obstacles if an object or building cannot be cleared out of the way. Move it, burn it, or dismantle it if possible. Set yourself up for success by properly, or completely clearing a field of fire as it is the first and best move that will allow you to defend yourself with a rifle. There should be no place to hide.

Addendum

The following are some useful ballistics charts.

Chart #2

Chart #5

Chart #6

Chart #7