Fundamentals of rifle marksmanship?

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N3rday

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I've been doing some light Googling, and I've found plenty of how-to's regarding shooting EQUIPMENT (rifles, scopes, etc.), but not very many articles or web pages on actual shooting technique (breathing, trigger control, shooting stances, etc.)

Are there any good web pages or books that can help? I've primarily been shooting a scoped pellet gun (RWS 34) in my backyard, and just acquired a 10/22 I plan to take out and shoot soon. I haven't shot the 10/22 yet, but I can definitely tell I am not shooting up to my pellet gun's potential accuracy and I'm sure it will be the same way with the .22.
 
You could go the US Army route: FM 3-22.9 https://rdl.train.army.mil/soldierPortal/atia/adlsc/view/public/24979-1/FM/3-22.9/toc.htm

Start with Chapter 4: Preliminary Marksmanship Instruction

Millions of recruits, many who have never handled a gun have become marksman over the years using this strategy, so its not a bad place to start.

I would also encourage you to check out Appleseed. 2 days shooting under competent instruction is better than years of book learning.

Good luck.
 
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http://www.archive.org/details/Rifle_Marksmanship_with_M1_Rifle_Part_1

Watch this video (and part 2) when you have time.

Then do the (non-firing) drills along with the video

You will want a sling for that 10/22, you can learn a great deal about aimed fire with that little Ruger and good iron sights. In fact, you can get a great deal of training out of a pellet gun so long as it is consistent (I know jack about pellet guns, so I won't venture an opinion on your pneumatic hardware)

After getting what you can out of self-study, look for an Appleseed event and consider upgrading your sights to an aperture setup (I like Tech-Sights for my 10/22) and/or moving up to centerfire or a fancier rimfire setup.

Baby steps are the key, ignore the high-power snobs who will tell you that nothing less than 30.06/.223/.308 at 500 yards is worth the trouble and work out slowly as your skill progresses and your hardware permits.
 
Order a set of Tech Sights and a GI sling, a couple extra magazines and attend an Appleseed. It's the best-spent $70 you'll ever part with!
 
N3rday,

Check out the NRA Training department and see if there is an NRA rifle course near where you live. The NRA basic rifle class goes over everything you need to start a lifetime interest in rifle shooting. The fundamentals of shooting are: position (start at the benchrest), sight alignment, sight picture, trigger control, breath control, and follow through. Each are skills that need to be learned correctly, all influence accuracy.
 
Does anyone else get an untrusted connection warning when accessing essaysons21 link?
 
while nothing can substitute a real time instructor, I learned a lot from Jon Plasters 'Ultimate Sniper'. I think the title can hide some of the great fundamental rifle shooting techniques within. IIRC, two seperate chapters are devoted to marksmanship.
 
I've been doing some light Googling, and I've found plenty of how-to's regarding shooting EQUIPMENT (rifles, scopes, etc.),
Click to expand...

Our society is saturated with commercials. Apparently with the right shoes you can play as good as Michael Jordan, with the right hair style and body wash you can be a champion football/baseball player. :barf:

I just don’t have enough money to buy excellence, so I have been compensating for my lack of purchasing power by shooting at the range.

The CMP site is not letting me into the sales area, but the AMU has several excellent books on shooting. And then there are these tips:


http://www.odcmp.com/usamu/shooting_tips.htm
 
Thanks for the responses so faR! Yes, I definitely plan on getting tech sights for the 10/22. Looking down the stock sights, I can already tell they are awful, hard to figure out what sight picture they were going for, and the front post just isn't visible enough.

If anyone has any other book recommendations, let me know. Thanks for the literature so far, gives me a good place to start, I will start the reading and see what I can do!
 
take a look at the Jim Owens seriers of books on jarheadtop.com.

Jim is not only a great shooter but a great teacher. His books are very easy to ready and are great. They also cost less then 20 bucks each.
 
N3rday, you won't be disappointed about the tech-sights, they're easy to install and easy to use.

That archive.org video I posted focuses on shooting with aperture sights, so the TS package will help. I forgot to mention that it will also focus on reloading with en-block clips for the M1 Garand, feel free to skip those parts, they're mostly only for historical curiosity or antique collectors. The sling info, however, is totally legitimate and should get serious information.

klineia, yeah, me too. On the other hand, you could probably find the US Army marksmanship manual a lot of other places, I have a Garand-era one saved somewhere if N3rday (or anyone else) can't find one on their own.
 
If there's one thing I could recommend learning, it would be proper use of a sling. If your 10/22 doesn't have swivels, install them and buy a sling (and learn to use it). You'll be amazed at how much your shooting improves.
 
I ran into the same problem. Try The Art of the Rifle by Jeff Cooper. The special color edition is nice.
 
The 'M-14/Garand' forum at "milsurps.com" have some decent old videos on shooting.

People often take .22 semi's to Appleseeds, because the instruction seems to request that you have at least 300 (?) rds or more available.
 
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