Part of my focus is on the gear only because I need to speak on it. If I did not have to chase this aspect of the sport, I would be more worried about my training. I focus a lot of attention to practice and still it is not nearly enough. My other responsibilities reduce my time, so I know it cuts into yours. Have a plan, stick to that plan and put effort into yourself first, the equipment after. The more you experience, the easier your buying decisions become.
Consider me your avatar on this precision rifle journey. Let’s step into the abyss of knowledge and try to break down the most relevant points for you to begin your travels.
Today, the well-rounded practical marksman will embrace alternate positions. In practical terms, prone is the rare shot, so practice getting off your belly.
Precision Rifle Marksmanship: the Fundamentals will take the reader from my beginnings as a Marine Scout Sniper to my present-day job as a marksmanship instructor.
This book focuses on breaking down the fundamentals of marksmanship in easy to understand methodology. We follow a logical order of instruction from shooter to target. There is no voodoo when it comes to precision rifle marksmanship, but there is a technique. Understanding the “why” things happen is a crucial element to learning. We take away the modifiers added over time and bring us back to original intent. The fundamentals of marksmanship are the foundation for all great shooting. See why the Marines are so famous in this area of expertise.
We are simplifying the wind. Through countless hours of teaching, we have honed our wind skills so every man can grasp, stripping away the mythology. Once you realize there is an answer upfront, you can now put this training into practice day one. Forget the case of ammo to try and figure it out on your own. One shot, one hit is the goal.
The shooter, the weapon system and the external ballistics impact the shot. We are looking for both accuracy and precision, Precision Rifle Marksmanship is here to deliver first-round success.
The Training Mindset
You see a lot of discussion referencing, “What the pros use” and every one of them focuses on the gear. Well sure, it’s easy to point to this element of the sport as most matches record the equipment used by the competitors. I know we do; we have a complete form you fill out when signing up for the Sniper’s Hide Cup, which includes equipment. But this only tells a small part of the story. I don’t want to focus on the gear, but on your personal growth around the sport of precision rifle shooting.
What do the pros use? Their time wisely. They engage in deliberate practice and many have the talent to back up their performance. This stuff is sports science 101. There are plenty of groups who study the effect of practice versus talent. So, the question you have to ask yourself is, “Can you buy success by studying what the top shooters use when it comes to gear only?” Will a Bushnell scope push you to the next level because a particular team uses it? In a few cases, sure, some of this goes to lessons learned. Picking the right combination of equipment to execute the solution needed to place well in a precision rifle competition is a valid consideration. Some stages favor a piece of gear versus other stages, but how you use it matters too. For me, the key is understanding what goes into successful precision rifle shooting, is how a person puts it all together. You cannot succeed with just your credit card. Just purchasing a book or watching a YouTube video is not enough.
Define your mission. Being successful in a precision rifle match is a goal. The mission matters when it comes to fine-tuning your training.
Let’s look at competition.
We have precision rifles competitions all over the United States with the groups branching out overseas. Competitions are great way to validate your training. They will help you move to the next level of your precision rifle journey by forcing you to operate outside your comfort zone.
It takes a certain amount of understanding of the stages you will find at a typical precision rifle match. Many of the matches have similar stages or concepts which allow the shooter to practice these skills effectively and not waste their time engaging in practice that will not yield the desired results. If you can already shoot a three-eighths MOA five-shot group at 100 yards from the prone position, it makes no sense to practice that over and over again. Instead you want to practice on the stages you struggle with. Most likely, this means shooting from alternate positions, so get off your belly. A guiding principle of training needs to be how you execute it.
The best shooters usually have barricades they practice off of more often than shooting in the prone. They are not engaging in endless load development; they have settled on a load that balances speed (muzzle velocity) and accuracy. Their dope has been boiled down, so elevation is never an issue, it is just about the wind. By using your time wisely, you can concentrate on those difficult elements. You learn how to address the obstacles quickly and effectively. It’s all about building a stable position while managing your time. With stages that average two minutes for multiple shots from multiple positions, you don’t have the luxury to waste 30 seconds building a stable position. The top shooters use their time to understand what compromises have to be made. Close shots value speed; the farther shots balance toward accuracy.
Let the author guide you on your precision rifle journey. He and his fellow instructors travel around the world teaching long range shooting, so learn from their experience.
When you attend a competition, you are no longer subject only to your rules. The match director should be working to push your limits, taking you out of that comfort zone.
We want to break the targets up into high-value and low-value shots. The high-value shots are ones you cannot miss versus the low-value shots, which have the least possibility for success. As match directors, we always build shots into the stage the majority of shooters will not make or reach under the time. Where I see the biggest issue is when shooters attempt to make it to the end of the stage, when I know it was designed not be completed. So instead of taking the shots they can hit under the time, they race to the end missing a majority of shots that should have and could have been hit. I am guilty of breaking this time-management issue myself. You have to determine what your personal limit is. Is it better to hit all the targets from the first three positions or hit only one target on all four?
The relationships made during competition can last a lifetime. Don’t be afraid to stretch your legs and travel to other venues in order to grow.
I learned a great lesson in this was when I attended the Accuracy International Long Range Classic. On day two, we repeated the day-one stages, allowing us to address the problems having learned from our mistakes the first day. It allowed you to take that hindsight we all have and put it to the test. For a new shooter attending a national-level match for the first time, you should take this opportunity as a learning experience before anything else. Instead of going into it nervous and afraid of your placement, use it as a training tool. A way to fine-tune your practice for the next competition. Try taking notes so you can then go home and practice the stages that gave you the most trouble. It requires a certain amount of discipline to record the match from a training standpoint versus any other reasoning. But the dividends it will pay later cannot be understated.