U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit - saveourguns.com

1 army Marksmanship UnitPistol Marksmanship Training GuideHere is the coveted PistolMarksmanship Training Guidepublished by the army MarksmanshipUnit at Fort Benning, Georgia. It is anexcellent source of information forthe competitive pistol it is a governmentpublication, it is public domain. Iencourage you to explore this entiremanual!TABLE OF CONTENTSFOREWORDFUNDAMENTALS OF pistol MARKSMANSHIPINTRODUCTION ELEMENTS OF pistol SHOOTINGCHAPTER I ATTAINING A MINIMUM ARC OF MOVEMENTCHAPTER II - SIGHT ALIGNMENTCHAPTER III TRIGGER CONTROLTECHNIQUES OF FIRECHAPTER IV ESTABLISHING A SYSTEMCHAPTER V - SLOW FIRECHAPTER VI SUSTAINED FIRECHAPTER VII - MENTAL DISCIPLINECOMPETITIVE PHYSICAL FITNESSCHAPTER VIII PHYSICAL CONDITIONINGCHAPTER IX - DIET AND HEALTH OF THE COMPETITIVE pistol SHOOTERCHAPTER X - EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL, COFFEE.

2 TOBACCO AND DRUGSSUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATIONANNEX II - OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF THE EYE RELEVANT TO SIGHTINGGLOSSARY - A GLOSSARY OF TERMS FOUND WITHIN THIS MANUALINTRODUCTIONThe fundamentals of pistol Marksmanship embrace all of those physical factors essential to the firing ofan accurate shot. Accuracy, in this sense, assumes that the weapon is zeroed, that a high degree ofinherent accuracy exists in both the weapon and the ammunition, and that the firing is taking place underideal , accurate shooting with a pistol requires no elements other than those described in thefollowing sentence: ALIGN THE SIGHTS PROPERLY ON THAT PART OF THE TARGET REQUIREDFOR YOUR GROUP TO CENTER IN THE TARGET AREA AND CAUSE THE HAMMER TO FALLWITHOUT DISTURBING THAT ALIGNMENT.

3 All elements of pistol shooting such as position, grip, sightalignment, breath control, trigger control, physical condition, and psychology of shooting , when perfected,simply enables the shooter to perform the action described in the above key order for a shot to be accurate, it is first necessary to make sure that the pistol will be held asmotionless as it is possible to do so during the time that the shot is being fired. The stance assumed bythe shooter must provide the greatest stability possible for both the shooter's body and the obtain a minimum arc of movement the shooter must give the pistol a definite stability of body position points the pistol directly toward the target with no tendency to drift or move to eitherside.

4 Likewise, the vertical movement of the pistol is confined to the aiming area. Breathing isaccompanied by the rhythmic movement of the chest, and in order to keep the pistol as immobile aspossible the shooter must hold his breath for the length of time required to deliver an accurate shot. Toobtain correct sight alignment, it is necessary for the shooter to grip the pistol in a manner whichguarantees that he is holding the pistol firmly and that trigger pressure is applied straight to the rear. Thedelicate balance of sight alignment and minimum arc of movement can be easily disturbed if the trigger isactivated in a manner which causes excess movement. However, since the shooter cannot achievecomplete immobility when assuming the stance and position, the trigger has to be pressed during somemovement of the pistol .

5 In order to deliver an accurate shot within his ability to hold, the shooter must notonly press the trigger evenly, but he must to so with correct sight alignment. The size of the shot groupwill, therefore, not exceed the dimensions of the arc of movement, provided the shot breaks as a surpriseand no reflex action of muscles disturbs the delivery of the help the shooter acquire the necessary knowledge to master all the factors that control his shootingwe shall analyze In detail each separate element of accurate shooting - stance, position, grip, holding thebreath, sight alignment, and control of the trigger. Also included will be certain methods of training that willaccelerate the shooter's development into a champion pistol shot.

6 This status is achieved only after theshooter has mastered the technique of executing the IAttaining a Minimum Arc of MovementIt is necessary during firing to press the trigger under varying conditions of pistol movement in conjunctionwith correct sight alignment. In order to apply coordinated pressure on the trigger, the shooter must waitfor those very definite times when all control factors are optimum and firing conditions become rule that must be observed as the first step in attaining control of your shooting is: "You must neverattempt to fire until you have completely settled into a minimum arc of movement. "In order to learn how to fire a shot at the proper time, the shooter must make analysis of the time neededto settle and the duration of the minimum arc of entire system, consisting of the shooter's body and the pistol , always undergoes a degree ofmovement.

7 This is sometimes a pulsating, swaying or erratic arc of movement during aiming and firing ashot. The cause of this movement aside from conditions such as weather, is the action of the musclesmaintaining the shooter's body in a definite position. Other action such as blood pulsation, causesmovement of individual parts of the shooter's body and the pistol . The nature and extent of the arc ofmovement changes within the time being devoted to delivering a shot. For example, when the shooter isfirst getting his sight alignment and has not yet had time to settle his body and pistol , the extent of themovement is relatively great. As the body becomes balanced and the aiming is more precise, the arc ofmovement minimizes.

8 After a certain length of time, the minimum arc of movement begins to increase,because the muscles begin to fatigue, and the shooter does not have enough air in his lungs to continueholding his breath. If we record the arc of movement, we will see a wavelike line with varying amplitude ofoscillation (Figure 1-1).Figure 1-1. Basic Scheme of Minimum Arc of is obvious that under such circumstances the shooter must begin his smooth pressure on the triggerwhile not devoting too much attention to the arc of movement as long as it remains at the to apply pressure on the trigger and intensely concentrate on keeping the sights in resulting five to seven second period is the most favorable time for firing an accurate into consideration the direct relationship between accuracy of shooting and the degree ofimmobility of the pistol when the shot is being delivered, the marksman must give greatest considerationto the selection of a stance, a position, a grip.

9 And a means of breath control which will guarantee thegreatest stability to both the pistol and the body. The relatively small degree of movement thus obtainedprovides a stable foundation, permitting use of the other THE excellence of the stance is a major factor in creating conditions for maximum control. A high degreeof control is necessary for the delivery of an accurate shot. Every individual possesses a combination ofindividual characteristics that are peculiar to him alone. Among these are height, weight, proportion ofbody, development of muscle system, etc. It follows, then, that there cannot be any definite, all-purposestance which applies equally to all shooters. Therefore, the shooter himself, on the basis of his ownparticular configurations, must find the variation of stance which provides the greatest degree of stabilityfor his The Main Requirements of the Stance: The assumed stance is the position of the human body tosupport a pistol aimed at a target.

10 Despite the great number of physical differences encountered inany cross-section of shooters, the stance must provide for:a. The greatest possible degree of equilibrium and stability in the body-weapon system with theleast possible strain on the shooter's A head position which will allow for the most efficient use of the shooter's eyes throughout thesighting and aiming the process of training it is necessary, therefore, for the shooter to exercise special carein the selection of a stance. The development of a poor stance should be detected and correctedearly in the training program. Otherwise, it may require the breaking of deeply ingrained habits the role played by the muscles, bones and ligaments in the creation of stability in theshooter's stance, it is necessary for the shooter to understand the makeup of the human body.