Session 2
-Safety. Position and Support
Safety
The Law governing the use of Firearms
Club members may use the Club firearms on our range on Club
nights without the need for a Firearms Certificate. No one should handle firearms without instruction or confirmed previous experience e.g. at another
Club or in the Armed Services or Police.
Probationary members must complete a course of instruction and be judged
competent in handling firearms before becoming a full member of the Club.
Long Range Danger
The need for safe, yet
confident handling of the rifle cannot be over-stressed. During the last
session you were shown the effects of a .22 LR bullet. This example was shot at comparatively
short range, 25 yards. It must be
appreciated at this stage that a similar effect will still occur at far greater
distances. The extreme range of
the .22 LR bullet is almost 1 ,500 yards when fired at an angle of 30
degrees. Even at that distance it has sufficient remaining energy to inflict
injury. The path of the bullet, particularly at long range, is not straight but
follows a curved trajectory.
From the shape of
the trajectory it can be seen that the bullet is able to rise over a small
feature and fall out of sight of the firer. This is of no practical use in
target shooting, but a fatality at a place called BARR BEACON was due to this
characteristic.
The Barr Beacon Incident
Approx Muzzle
velocity 1100 fps Remaining velocity
at 700 yds 433 fps Angle of elevation 10 deg. Remaining energy at 700 yds 16.6 ft/lbs.
The shooter fired at
an object in a tree, the angle of his rifle being 10 degrees. Beyond the tree
the ground rose some 5 to 600 yards away. Behind the crest, about 700 yards
from the shooter a family was picnicking. The bullet cleared the crest, and
then in the downward flight struck the husband in the head killing him.
The family could not be seen from the shooter's position. The other details are
not relevant at this point but the incident should show that shooting a rifle
other than on a properly constructed range can be dangerous. Secondly it proves
that the .22 LR round is not only lethal at short range.
Position and
Support
The second essential for accurate shooting is
- Achieving
a comfortable and consistent firing position
This is the objective of this session.
The only effective position is that which affords support of the rifle
without strain. We use a sling to form
a triangle of forces with the left upper and lower arms and thus provide
support for the rifle without muscular effort.
Where the Rifle naturally points when one is perfectly relaxed in position is defined as
the “Zero Point”.
The prone position
Prone is the most stable of all the shooting positions, with a large
support area and an absolute minimum use of muscles. Relaxation and minimum
muscle use are the keys to success.
The position as
recommended is based upon the pre-war Estonian position; which consisted of
most of the weight on the left hand side of the body and left elbow, with a
drawn-up right knee position.
(1) Basic Position. The shooter lies at
an angle of approximately 5-15 degrees to the right of the line of fire, with a straight spine.
(2) Left Leg. Approximately parallel to the line of the spine with the toes pointing inwards to reduce strain. The leg is relaxed.
(3) Right leg. Angled at up to 45 degree to line of spine
with lower leg roughly parallel with left leg.
Toes outwards and heel on the ground. The reasons for this position of the
right leg is to raise the diaphragm to facilitate easier breathing and reduce pulse beat. It also locates the right shoulder nearer to
the centre of the position. The final position of the right leg will be
determined by experiment to suit the shooters build.
(4) Left Arm. The left elbow is set slightly to the left of the rifle, with
the left hand and wrist straight with the fingers not gripping the rifle. The stock is over the heel of the hand
and not the fingers. The hand
stop is positioned to suit the length of the shooter’s arm, provided the arm is
positioned at an angle of at least 30 degrees from the horizontal. General
guide to begin with, the distance from trigger to butt is equal to distance
from trigger to hand stop.
The sling may be set high or low on the arm provided it supports the
weight of the rifle. The position chosen should be one that results in a
minimum of pulse beat but high is generally preferred.
(5) Right Arm. The right elbow is
placed in a comfortable position from the body -not too close, as this
raises the shoulder and gives an unstable position. Right hand may grip the
stock, but whatever degree of pressure
is used must be consistent for each shot. Usually lighter grip for lighter
trigger. No attempt should be made to guide the rifle with the right hand.
(6) Positioning Rifle in Shoulder. Butt plate should fit snugly into
shoulder using the adjustable butt-plate. A hook butt plate may be used to ensure the same position for the
butt for every shot.
(7) Head Position. Head should be erect and rifle
positioned and adjusted so that no exertion is required to look through the
sights. Cheek pressure should be
consistent from shot to shot and reasonable eye relief maintained. The rifle
should be brought to the head and not the head taken to the rifle.
The basic position can
be modified to suit the individual physique of the shooter, but once a stable
position has been obtained any further changes should be carried out ONE at a
time and the effect of the change noted over a number of shoots before deciding
upon another.
It is very useful
in obtaining consistency to position the shooting mat and one’s elbows in the
same way every time. If this is done
correctly and the position “settled into” without looking through the sight it
will be found that the “Zero Point” is on or near the target leaving only minor
adjustments to be made.
Testing, adjusting and confirming the position
To adjust laterally:
Keeping the left elbow still, move the body in the opposite direction to
that required for position adjustment i.e. If the sights are pointing to the
left of the aiming mark,(required adjustment is to the right), the body should
be moved to the left. Minor
adjustments can be made by moving the legs only.
To adjust vertically:
Keeping the left elbow still, again move the body to make the adjustment
i.e. If the sights are pointing above the aiming mark, (requiring to be
lowered), the body should be moved forward.
If below move the body back.
When adjustment is required both
laterally and vertically, it is suggested that each be corrected separately
e.g. lateral first then vertical.
Practice
This sessions practice will be to achieve a consistent and reasonably
comfortable position, to practice taking up the position, making adjustments
and then live firing to achieve consistent grouping.
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Learning to Shoot 
