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Marksmanship Archives

Marksmanship is the foundation of this blog. It teaches us discipline, patience, and focus. There is no substitute for practice and experience.

A Marksman’s Guide to Natural Point of Aim

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Practicing rifle positions will take you far. You’ll be able to get in and out of them quickly, build up a stable shooting platform, and even be an effective marksman.

But getting good with your natural point of aim will make you even better.

The way to think about NPOA is that you, your weapon, and your sights are all a single unit that moves together to align with the target. You do not move the weapon in isolation.

This is the best way to ensure repeatable stability from shot to shot.
[Read Full Article »]

Chicken Wings and Getting Your Arm Shot Off

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The notorious “chicken wing” is viewed by many as a defining trait of a newbie. Tactical instructors, and the enthusiasts who follow them, will all claim it’s a surefire way to get your arm shot off in a fight.

But have we been demonizing it perhaps a bit too much? Is it ever useful? Better yet, have we induced bad marksmanship habits in our desire to not have the dreaded chicken wing? [Read Full Article »]

A Marksman’s Guide to the Standing Position

Last Updated on - By - 8 Minute Read - 7 Comments

The standing position is simultaneously the most common and least useful of the standard rifle positions. The thing is, outside of competition, if you need to use it then you need to use it right now!

We are going to look at the three main variations of unsupported standing, as well as the supported standing position. [Read Full Article »]

Resource Review: US Army TC 3-22.9 Rifle and Carbine Marksmanship

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TC 3-22.9 is the US Army manual on rifle and carbine marksmanship. Every shooter should be familiar with it and what it contains. Revised in 2016 using experiences from Iraq and Afghanistan, 3-22.9 is a fantastic starting point.

Whether or not you choose to follow it to the letter is up to you. But at least knowing what’s in it. [Read Full Article »]

A Marksman’s Guide to the Kneeling Position

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Kneeling is a moderately stable position, being better than standing but not as good as sitting or prone.

You might find it better than squatting, given the larger base on the ground, but it performs much worse for me.

Still, despite my lack of skill with it, the kneeling position is key when performing drills or quickly moving. [Read Full Article »]

A Marksman’s Guide to the Sitting Position

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Jeff Cooper, in The Art of the Rifle, stated that the seated position is the most useful for hunters. Military shooters use it less because it’s neither as low as prone nor fast like squatting or kneeling.

The sitting position is moderate to high stability, depending on your body mechanics. You will get slightly lower than kneeling or squatting but stay above most brush and grass. Kyle Lamb, in Green Eyes Black Rifles, points out that sitting is also convenient because it can be held for a long time compared to some of the others.

Properly done with a sling, I’ve found that you get almost as much stability as you do in prone. In fact, some of my best groups came from the seated position. Let’s look a little closer. [Read Full Article »]

An Introduction to Sniping 4th Generation

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The Swiss recognized the same need as everyone else. They needed infantry capable of using precision rifle fire at range. But they didn’t have the time or budget to do it the same way as other military powers who stood up designated marksman programs. Instead, they developed a system that mixed a point blank zero with designated holdover points and controlled rapid fire instead of single shots. The called this concept Sniping 4th Generation, or S4G. [Read Full Article »]

Using a Point Blank Zero for Practical Marksmanship

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Most field shooters, from big game hunters to military members, do not have the luxury of time to check distance, adjust sights, and take a precisely aimed shot. In the real world, targets don’t want to be shot and they won’t expose themselves long enough for you to go through all those steps. So the challenge for the shooter is balancing accuracy requirements against available time.

The Point Blank Zero is one of the most important methods for doing this. [Read Full Article »]

A Marksman’s Guide to the Squatting Position

Last Updated on - By - 6 Minute Read - 4 Comments

The squatting position, otherwise known as “Rice Paddy Prone,” isn’t as common as it once was. It is a moderate stability position that supports both elbows, making it more stable than kneeling yet keeping a high level of mobility. Its higher center of gravity will still be less stable than sitting or prone, though.

It was a traditionally taught marksmanship position but lost popularity after the Korean conflict. It’s been left out of military marksmanship manuals for a long time, though still taught in some shooting schools. The position returned in the 2016 edition of TC 3-22.9. [Read Full Article »]

A Marksman’s Guide to the Prone Position

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The prone position is the bread and butter of a skilled rifleman. It is the most stable position you can get using only your own body. When you attend any shooting school, you’re going to spend a lot of time in the prone. But it’s not without its limitations. Let’s take a good look at the most classic of rifle shooting positions. [Read Full Article »]

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