Chapter ix rules of shooting with a sniper rifle. Basics of Marked Sniper Shooting Telescopic Sight Shooting Rules

The sniper is in a special position among all modern soldiers. The very name of this military profession inspires respect that borders on fear. This man with a gun is able to do what is inaccessible to others, namely, to hit a target with pinpoint accuracy from a long distance. Sometimes, when the target itself does not even suspect that it is at gunpoint.

And here, I think, a small reservation should be made. Sniper sniper strife. Who is considered a sniper? For example, in soviet army a sniper was available in every motorized infantry squad. That was the name of the position in the staffing table. An SVD sniper rifle was assigned to one of the fighters, but in the future, this fighter did not undergo any special training, except for the shooting course. An equally sad situation was observed in the landing force, and only in GRU units the situation was better.

Afghan, and then Chechnya made their own adjustments. Now in Russian army, and after her in some others, they began to approach the training of snipers more responsibly. Allocate separate time at the shooting range, conduct tactical exercises. But, not all of these "men with a gun" can be called a sniper. Formally, there were many snipers, in reality - not everyone met the standards. Therefore, in the future, in this article we will refer to a professional as a sniper who has made the sniper craft his profession.

Translated from English "sniper" means "well-aimed sniper shooter." In reality, no matter how cruel it sounds, the sniper is a hunter of people, invisible, elusive and merciless. The sniper is a representative of a special breed of people. He does not have that boorish routine, ready to turn into a scandal for any reason, so appreciated in sergeants and corporals, whose task is to keep the soldiers in obedience, every second dripping on their brains. A sniper is a very calm and balanced person, not prone to loss of self-control and the manifestation of negative emotions. Even if a nervous, impulsive, resentful, irritable person, prone to panic and loss of composure, shoots well and has excellent physical characteristics, he will be eliminated already at the initial stage of selection. It makes no sense to train a person who, due to the natural abilities of character, can admit a nervous breakdown and fail a combat mission. In addition, the sniper must have an intelligence level above average, as well as good physical training, but if physical training can be tightened to the desired level, then the character can no longer be corrected. As they say, blood is a great thing.

So, at the initial selection, people are taken as snipers:

• who can shoot well
• with good eyesight (preferably one hundred percent)
• responsible, disciplined, emotionally balanced
• have no health contraindications

Training of snipers is carried out both individually and as part of a tactical assault group.

The main skill required is the ability to shoot accurately.

Without this skill, everything else loses its meaning. First of all, the cadet is taught to shoot from a prone position with a support. Since in practice the sniper has to shoot from different positions, he is taught to shoot prone without support, shooting from his knee, shooting while standing and sitting.

The instructors set the technique - teach the correct aiming, teach how to hold your breath and set the correct descent technique. Eliminate technical errors, such as blinking at the moment of a shot, delaying aiming (aiming), excessive tension of certain muscle groups and other flaws.

Below we present one of the programs for improving marksmanship.

Exercises for training accuracy

Exercise 1
Cold barrel shot

Shooting is carried out at two head targets at a distance of 100 meters from a prone position / from a stop. The sniper may use a weapon belt, bipod, sandbags, or other property that he may have during the operation. After the command, the sniper has unlimited time to fire a shot at the center of the left target, reload and shoot at the right target. During the operation, the sniper does not have the opportunity to make a sighting or test shot, thus, a shot from a cold barrel checks both the shooter and his weapons and their ability to hit the target from the first shot. The second shot is designed to train the sniper to reload the weapon and fire a shot automatically if the target does not fall after the first shot.

Exercise 2
Group

While in the same shooting position (prone / from a support), the sniper has unlimited time to shoot a group of five shots. The target should have a small but clearly visible aiming point during this exercise. It is designed to test the stability of the rifle, scope, ammunition and shooter.

A group with a radius of more than 2.5 cm should alarm a good shooter with excellent weaponbut for a beginner shooter with a medium weapon, a result of less than 5cm is quite satisfactory. It is necessary to strive to ensure that the radius of the group is less than 2.5 cm

Common causes of spread are loosened screws in the sight mount and mechanisms, barrel imbalance, malfunctioning firing mechanism and insufficient shooter skills in making a shot.

Exercise # 3
Lying without support

During this exercise, snipers must fire five shots from a prone position without support (without bipods and sandbags) at a reduced silhouette target. During the exercise, we observe the ability of snipers to fire using a belt. During an operation, a sniper's firing position may not always allow the use of a stop.

Experienced snipers with properly fitted belts, gloves and shooting jackets are able to shoot a group with an accuracy of less than 7.5 cm. Less experienced shooters may be satisfied with a result of less than 15 cm. Convenience of position and control of breathing play an important role in this exercise.

Exercise 4
Shooting on command

The shooters load five rounds and fire one shot at the head target for each team. This exercise is performed from a prone position / from a support, while the sniper must fire within a second from the moment the command was given. At the moment of giving the command, the sniper is already in position and aims at his target.

The instructor monitors a stable hit to the center of the target on command. And again, good shooters must fit into a circle of 5 cm. At the same time, bullets hitting a circle with a diameter of 10 cm will lead to the "death" of the enemy.

Exercise 5
Volley shooting

Each arrow in the line is assigned a target (paper or 3D head target). A countdown is given from 5 to 1. On count 1, all snipers must fire one shot at the same time. This exercise is repeated five times.

All targets must be hit with five shots to the center and each volley must sound like one loud shot. The instructor observes the shooting in order to identify shooters who shoot too early or, conversely, too late. Such shooters “don't know their descent”.

Volley fire is important in ambushes and in situations where multiple terrorists must be killed immediately. A premature shot can warn criminals and they will have time to take cover or start killing hostages.

Exercise 6
Shooting 200 meters

After moving to the shooting area at a distance of 200 meters, snipers should prepare prone / stop positions as soon as possible. Using well-known scopes or aiming out points, snipers fire five shots at the head target. Shooting can be carried out with a time limit or on command

An acceptable result is hits in the center of the head with a dispersion diameter of 7.5 - 10 cm. Some shooters will be satisfied with just hits to the head, while others may get a dispersion group less than 5 cm in diameter.

Exercise 7
Shooting at 300 meters

After moving to the shooting area at a range of 300 meters, snipers fire five shots, aiming at the chest area. Shooting position - prone / from a support. Snipers must be given sufficient time to fire an accurate shot. The firing range of 300 meters is practically the limit for a police sniper due to the fact that identification of a target by the face at long ranges is very difficult.

When shooting under ideal conditions at a distance of 300 meters, the standard is a group of hits in the center of the chest with a diameter of 12 - 15 cm.The wind speed of 18 km / h (5 m / s), blowing at an angle of 90 degrees to the firing plane, deflects the bullet by 12 - 17 cm from the aiming point when shooting at a distance of 300 meters.

Exercise 8
Shooting after load

A popular exercise is shooting after exercise. The shooters run at a fast pace 100-300 meters to the firing line, after which, again, at a fast pace, they fire at the target. Push-ups, prone raises, and rope climbs can also be used to increase breathing and heart rate.

When the shooter is "ripe" to work in difficult conditions, they switch to special types of shooting, such as

• Shooting at a limited time at a normal pace (rapid fire)
• High-speed shooting with the transfer of fire to depth
• High-speed shooting with the transfer of fire to the front
• High-speed shooting with a dash
• High-speed shooting with a dash in extremely limited time, the so-called "turmoil".

Regardless of shooting experience, each sniper must periodically re-pass the marksmanship course. Even experienced snipers at times lack the basics of marksmanship as a result of other skills and abilities.

Disguise

Another important skill is the ability to camouflage on the ground.

A sniper is a hunter, and therefore must be invisible. Working without disguise, the sniper himself becomes a victim from a hunter. Positions often have to be selected and equipped close to enemy positions. Therefore, the disguise of the sniper's position should naturally and not stand out from the surrounding landscape.

Positions should only be occupied and equipped at night. And you need to crawl into position. When equipping a position, one cannot become anything other than full height, but even on all fours.

In the army in peaceful time snipers sometimes devote more than half of their time to arranging and disguising the shelter, both the main and the backup. In addition, they necessarily train to covertly and imperceptibly overcome distances of 200-300 meters on their bellies, squeezing into the folds of the terrain. Training of selection, equipment and masking positions at night is mandatory. During the day, a visual display of the errors, errors and shortcomings of such masking is made.

Such training takes place in different places - in the field, in the forest, at the intersection of ravines, on the outskirts of abandoned villages, dumps, construction sites, in any ruins, at different times of the day and at different weather conditions... Training sniper work in a constantly changing environment with the obligatory receipt of a real result develops tactical thinking in the sniper.

The developed tactical thinking of snipers of all types of troops - both the military and the operational special forces - allows you to quickly navigate in an unfamiliar environment, aggressively take the military initiative into your own hands and not let it go in the most unexpected turns of events.

Sniper work as part of a unit

During tactical exercises, snipers practice actions as part of subunits, and also learn to perform specific combat missions, such as:

• destruction of the enemy's command personnel
• disruption of the organization of the enemy's front line
• sniper terror and demoralization of the enemy
• observation of events on the side of the enemy, study of the location of his fire weapons, observation, correction and command posts and other tactically important objects.

Snipers can operate alone, in pairs, in small sniper groups, or as part of a unit.

For example, Chechen militants during the first and second chechen wars used small tactical groups, which included a sniper, machine gunner or grenade launcher and several machine gunners. While the machine gunners and the machine gunner were firing tightly, the sniper hit the selected targets, and the grenade launcher hunted for the equipment.

In a sniper attack, the enemy's sniper is hit first, then the officer, signalman and machine gunners. After that, the enemy unit becomes uncontrollable for some time.

As part of police units, snipers have a slightly different task than army snipers. Destruction of terrorists, hunt for snipers of terrorists, operational cover for the police or military, and so on, depending on the operational situation and instructions "from above". In addition, police snipers sometimes have to justify their actions in court.

Wherever a sniper is serving, by his unique combat profile he is a special forces fighter. A clever commander provides snipers with almost complete freedom of action, of course, with careful coordination of the tactical aspects of solving a common task. And then, on the neutral zone, behind enemy lines or in the city, the sniper acts independently, at his own peril and risk. The brutal necessity of life forces the sniper to work on the principle of "one shot - one dead".

Points to remember when there is a potential sniper threat

• the sniper usually acts as part of a group
• at night, snipers use night vision devices that can detect targets up to 500 meters
• the first stage of a sniper's work is to detect (detect) a target, so equip 2-3 firing positions and change them more often
• in the city, the sniper occupies dominant heights, being located in the building, selects a firing position in the depths of the room, which makes it difficult to detect
• sniper firing under cover of fire small arms
• indirect shooting from small arms may indicate the beginning of a sniper's work
• sniper groups with a cover group provoke return fire, forcing fire weapons to reveal themselves
• harassing fire can only be fired from camouflaged firing positions
• the favorite tactic of snipers is to act from an ambush, secret, at night, along previously prepared (targeted) areas of the terrain
• use active night vision devices with caution
• the sniper often uses the wounded as "live bait", to whom they will definitely come to the rescue. In such cases, it is necessary to use limited visibility, smoke of the area, body armor, military equipment
• when looking for a sniper among the local population, remember that distinctive feature sniper - characteristic bruises on the shoulder
• in a sniper war there is no rear, flank and front, you can expect the enemy from everywhere (during the day he is a civilian, and at night he is the killer of our soldiers)

Read the continuation in the article

Javascript Disabled Detected

You currently have javascript disabled. Several functions may not work. Please re-enable javascript to access full functionality.

SECTION 2. PRACTICAL RIFLE SHOOTING TECHNIQUE

Precision combat weapons - fittings and rifles - appeared several centuries ago. Almost simultaneously with the advent of precision weapons, shooters began to notice that shooting is better at certain positions of the body, arms, legs, head position, etc. More and more attention was paid to all this, and pretty soon the basic principles of long-barreled weapon shooting were outlined, that is, how to lie, stand, sit when shooting, what and what to press and press, in which direction to deviate to maintain the shooting balance, how you have to breathe and look through the scope. In short, the correct classical postulates of accurate and accurate shooting have been developed, which are the same for all shooters. Unfortunately, in practice, many of them are very inconvenient and even painful to perform, but no one has yet come up with a better one. The correct position of the shooter when shooting is called the ready position, and deviation from the classic postulates of shooting positions leads a beginner to a dead end. Static rifle designs, in which you have to stay for hours, are difficult for beginners to tolerate. There is no newbie who would not like to do something his own way, so that it is not so boring and painful. The instructor's task is to put the cadet in the correct position, that is, to give his body a position in which he will really hit the target, and not the one the cadet wants, in which he himself will not be able to understand why he cannot shoot and followed by unexplained slip after slip. Yes, cadets have individual anatomical and psychophysiological characteristics, but it is possible to change the readiness to adapt to them only after the student has acquired solid practical shooting skills. In any case, such things are done with the advice of the instructor and under his supervision. The telescopic sight is easier to hit, but harder to shoot. Therefore, shooting training with optics is started only after the cadet reaches heap shooting with a conventional open sight.

Shooting prone from support

This main method of sniper shooting is used both in training beginners and venerable snipers. The method provides a very large, almost absolute stability of the weapon and is used by snipers of counter-terrorist units for particularly accurate and responsible shooting in the case when it is necessary to "separate" the terrorist from the hostage without catching the latter.

When shooting prone from a stop, the shooter lies on his stomach and, so that the body falls less to the right and left, presses his legs with his knees to the ground. The heels are pressed tightly to the ground at a distance from each other 1.5 times wider than the shoulders. During combat firing, heels must be pressed to the ground. Firstly, in this way the shooter is more in contact with the ground, respectively, the support area is larger, and secondly, in a combat situation, the raised heel, not pressed to the ground, will immediately be demolished by a splinter or a bullet.

If you look at the arrow from above, it should look as shown in diagram 33. It is allowed (if the shooter cannot do without it) bending the right leg at the knee and hip, but not much. The rifle is on a support at a certain angle to the axis of the spine and an angle to the line of the shooter's shoulders (Diagram 33) as far as it will be convenient for him to aim. Scheme 33. When shooting prone, the shooter's spine axis forms an angle a with the shooting plane (axis); the line of the shoulders forms an angle with the firing plane b The position of the body during prone shooting must be even, without stress and bends along the axis of the spine. The latter cause unnecessary muscle tension, and at the same time the correct position of the hands is disturbed, breathing becomes difficult and the spread of bullets increases. If the shooter needs to adjust the direction of shooting, he does so by moving his legs to the right and left. The ribcage of the arrow is raised as much as the height of the stop requires, and the arrow rests on the left elbow, regardless of what position the left hand takes.

There are two ways to shoot from a stop. The first is that the rifle lies freely on the support, and the left hand holds the butt near the shoulder, giving it a uniform stable position in the shoulder (photo 108). This method is used by machine gunners when firing from light machine guns. It is also recommended for beginners.

Those who have acquired stable aiming and triggering skills shoot with the support of the left hand at the rifle forend (photo 109). In any case, the rifle must not be placed directly on the firm rest. Between the stop and the rifle there must be something soft - a hat, a mitten, a quilted jacket, etc. Otherwise, when fired, the vibration of the weapon will throw the rifle on the stop and take the bullet up, and quite far. Correct use of the stop is very important. To find out the influence of the stop when firing a rifle, at one time the gunsmith-test engineer N.M. Filatov conducted a number of experiments. The stops were taken of different rigidity (stone, sod, earth), and the place of their application was changed. The average results of experiments when shooting prone at a distance of 100 meters are shown in table. five.

As can be seen from the table, the change in the height of the rifle battle when using different stops and their application in different places can be very significant. Moreover, this phenomenon is observed not only when shooting from combat rifles, but also from small-caliber rifles. In all cases, with the use of a more rigid stop, the rifle breakage increases. The difference in height with stops closer to the chamber or further from it, to the muzzle, is 7-8 cm.

In the educational process, practicing shooting techniques with an emphasis is valuable because in a calm stable position the shooter quickly acquires the correct skills of aiming and triggering. And even experienced shooters do not hesitate to return to shooting from a stop from time to time. Why are they doing that? If a person fired for a long time without using a stop - standing, from a knee or lying with a belt, then when shooting from a stop he suddenly clearly discovers errors in the work of his finger on the descent, which in other shooting positions he became accustomed to and therefore invisible. The shooter may ascertain with surprise that he pulls the trigger, or even pulls it to the side, or the trigger does not stretch at all. Knowing your mistakes helps you correct them.

As already mentioned, the shooter's chest is raised and the body rests mainly on the left elbow if the shooter shoots in a way of supporting the forend, or evenly on both elbows if the shooter maintains the correct position of the butt in the shoulder with his left hand.

To ensure the consistency of the fight, the emphasis must be in one specific place and have a constant rigidity close to the rigidity of the hand. And the place of application of the stop should correspond to the place of application on the rifle of the left hand when shooting without a stop. Therefore, it is recommended to cover the hard stop with a roll of an overcoat, turf or something else soft.

When shooting by gripping the forend of the weapon with the left hand, the shooter does not so much support the rifle as fixes it and presses it against the soft stop. Note that the left hand of the shooter is wearing a glove (Plate 109). This is necessary so that the pulsation of the hand is extinguished with a soft glove and does not affect the weapon.

The stock should be pressed tightly against the shoulder. The recoil of both magazine and automatic rifles is great and substantial. If the stock is pressed firmly against the shoulder, the rifle will push hard back when fired. Will push, but not hit. And if the stock is not pressed, then it will hit, and quite tangibly. The butt should be placed on the shoulder in the region of the shoulder notch, neither to the right nor to the left. It is impossible to place the butt in the shoulder too low: by recoil, the weapon can knock back, down from under the shoulder, and break the arrow's nose or bridge of the nose with an optical sight. Such cases with newbies are not uncommon. It is also not necessary to put the butt too high - it is inconvenient. The stock is placed neither too low nor too high.

The place where the butt rests on the shoulder has big influence to the position of the midpoint of impact. If the butt rests against the shoulder with its upper part, the fight of the weapon decreases; when the lower part rests, an increase in the battle is observed. Therefore, the position of the butt in the shoulder must be constant in height. It is impossible to "play" with the butt up and down: there is a variation in height, and significant at that. To achieve consistency of combat requires a uniform preparation for shooting. Violation of this monotony leads to a change in the forces acting on the weapon when fired, and thereby to a change in the midpoint of impact.

It happens (and very often) that the incorrect position of the butt in the shoulder (usually low) causes a spread not only vertically, but also horizontally. This phenomenon is explained by the fact that the rifle barrel vibrating when fired receives a displaced fulcrum, which is why these vibrations are sharply increased. With a correctly defined place of the butt rest on the shoulder, the accuracy of the weapon's battle is restored as if nothing had happened.

When shooting from a stop, the wide stance of the elbows violates the stability of the weapon. In this case, the shooter is unnecessarily straining and tired. When the elbows are set tightly, the ribcage is compressed excessively, making breathing difficult. All this degrades the quality of shooting. Some shooters constantly move the left elbow, while bullet separation will be observed up and down.

Beginners quite often, for fear of a shot at the moment of triggering the trigger, instinctively raise the stock with their right shoulder, while the breaks are left and down. In the same direction, the bullets go if the beginner excessively "pushes" on the butt cheek. It happens that, due to the fear of a shot, a beginner instinctively removes his cheek from the butt when pulling the trigger, and he does this before the drummer breaks the primer and the powder charge goes off. In this case, the bullets go to the right.

Shooting prone without support using a belt

It is not easy to find a suitable emphasis in a combat situation. Carrying it with you is hard. In the practice of mobile combat as part of a reconnaissance sabotage or huntsman-search group, it takes a long time to adapt a rifle for shooting at an emphasis, and there is nowhere to take it in a moving fire contact. Therefore, snipers of the old formation, who had to shoot with paces and dashes, falling, rising for an instant jerk of 40-50 meters and falling again, instantly being prepared for shooting, practice the sports method of shooting while prone from a belt. The emphasis for this method of shooting is an ordinary general-purpose tarpaulin weapon belt.

The preparation for this type of shooting is different from shooting from a stop. Of course, the emphasis itself is missing. The rifle belt, which plays its role, covers the shooter's arm between the elbow and shoulder. The belt is chosen of such a length that it is stretched during production and the weight of the weapon falls on it (1 in photo 110 and photo 111 - right and left).

Take a close look at these photos. The center of gravity of the weapon is on the left gloved hand, and the general support of the weapon is on the left elbow. The weapon naturally pulls forward from the shooter. But the strap, overlapped by the arm above the elbow, prevents him from going forward (2 in photos 110, 111). With a long belt, the weapon will be pushed forward; if it is too short, it will overly rest on the shoulder and will not fit into the position.

On a bent arm with a strap of optimal length selected for a particular shooter, the rifle can "stand" motionless for at least two hours, as if on a support.

The belt is attached to the weapon with a separate belt (3 in photos 110, 111). You can also use the standard belt in its standard mount, throwing it over the elbow and adjusting it to the required length (photo 112). In this case, the left hand holds the rifle, grabbing it by the grooves on the stock.

This fabrication turned out to be the only correct one, but it has its own inconveniences. Look how steeply, at an angle strictly 90 °, strictly vertical under the rifle is the left hand of the shooter (photo 113). This is how she stands when shooting, not deviating either to the right or to the left. This is inconvenient and even painful. To make it easier for the hand to support the rifle in this way, the strap feels like the shooter is pulled up or down. Deviations of the hand from the vertical are unacceptable - in which direction the hand deviates, the spread will be determined there.

Rifles are balanced in such a way that the position of the stop must match the application of the left hand grip without a stop. The left hand grip of the rifle is always designed close to the center of gravity. On rifles, this place is indicated by recesses on the stock (7 in photo 112). Under this place, the left hand grips the forend tightly. As seen in the photographs, the left supportive hand is gloved.

As already indicated, the glove dampens pulse fluctuations - without a soft grip, they become very noticeable. Shooters-sportsmen put on thick fur mittens with fur inside to neutralize the pulse on the left hand.

In the left hand, the rifle should not lie on the fingers, but on the palm, which should be turned with four fingers to the right. In this case, the rifle is held by the grip of the thumb on the left, and the other four - on the right. If the rifle rests on the fingers "to the side" of the palm, then this causes it to "stall" to the right. The breaks will go in the same direction.

If the left elbow, bearing the bulk of the rifle and the raised ribcage, is pushed forward excessively, the barrel of the rifle will rise. If you push it back, it will go down. ; Therefore, the shooter himself chooses its optimal position. Since the left elbow is strictly under the rifle, and the stock is pressed against the shoulder, the chest is naturally raised. The main support, as already indicated, is on the left elbow, the right elbow supports the ribcage on the right side, but the force is applied to it half as much as on the left elbow. The rifle is held only with the left hand and shoulder, and never by the efforts of the right hand and right forearm! Otherwise, there will be uncontrolled horizontal tears.

For all the above reasons, the angle between the axis of the weapon along the barrel and the axis of the shooter along his spine increases (Photo 114, Scheme 33). This angle is greater than when shooting with a stop. This is a completely natural phenomenon, and shooters usually shoot with the body and legs turned to the left towards the firing plane. Photo 115 shows a normal, natural prone position with a belt. With the correct preparedness and the supporting left elbow, located strictly under the rifle, the arrow should not "fall" to the right and left. In this case, the right elbow is further from the firing plane, to the right of the butt, and the supporting force of the chest on it is insignificant. With the left elbow (which still strives to go to the left, and the rifle to the right), shifted to the left, the body falls to the right, and the right elbow takes on an increased effort. In this case, the right hand is included in the holding of the rifle. From all this, the rifle begins to "float" horizontally and "tear off" bullets to the right and left.

The instructors working with the cadets are aware of this and constantly correct the negligent. It is not enough for a cadet to explain why and why it is necessary to do it this way and not otherwise. The instructor is obliged to "put" the cadet in the correct position of the arms, legs, body and elbows, and put it in such a way that the cadet remembers it with muscle memory.

The left hand grip on the forend of combat rifles tends to slide forward due to play between the holding hand and the attachment strap. On sporting rifles, the hand, when firing, directly rests on the belt attachment point and is thus fixed. On combat systems, such a unit is not provided, so the shooter has to control this unwanted moment all the time. It depends on the position of the hand covering the forend whether the work will be high or low. The supporting hand "moving" forward makes the position lower. If you are too low, your eyesight gets tired quickly. The shooter in this position piles on the chest and squeezes it. This makes it difficult to breathe. If the position is too high, the silhouette increases for oncoming defeat. The shooter becomes overly stressed and gets tired faster. The muscles of the left arm supporting the weapon receive additional tension, which impairs shooting accuracy.

With a strong belt tension, the effect of the pulsation on the weapon sharply increases - it begins to literally "jump" even in a very thick mitten. In addition, the hand starts to feel numb.

With a weak belt tension, the shooter experiences a "weapon-down-empty" sensation. The weapon falls into this void all the time, and as a result, it is impossible for beginners to develop the correct triggering skills.

As the Honored Master of Sports in Shooting V. Shamburkin said: "The rifle strap ties the rifle and the shooter into one whole." But the left hand, tied with a belt on the rifle, must be relaxed: then it, together with the belt, will replace the firm stop, and the quality of shooting of a more or less trained shooter with a belt is noticeably higher than with a firm stop. As already mentioned, when firing, the rifle "bounces" on the stop: on the hard one to a greater extent, on the soft one to a lesser extent. Therefore, paradoxically, for experienced shooters, shooting with a belt gives better results than using a stop. In addition, it is easier and more convenient to shoot at running targets "from the belt". Snipers who are accustomed to shooting from a belt, as a rule, do not like to shoot with an emphasis and, if possible, shoot from a belt even in a calm, non-maneuverable environment.

But this design also has its drawback - a slightly raised silhouette. Therefore, in the event of a combat necessity of a low silhouette, everyone fires at a very low position, putting a rifle on what they find at the scene.

Shooting from the knee using a belt

This type of preparation is forcedly used in cases where it is impossible to shoot from a prone position - in ruins, at construction sites, from tall grass and small bushes.

The essence of the method of shooting from the knee is that the shooter sits on his right foot, or rather, on the heel of his right boot (photo 116). The body weight support is distributed over this heel and the right knee (photo 117), set aside and deployed at an angle of 60-80 ° to the firing plane. Practically the knee is separated from the left supporting leg by a distance equal to one and a half shoulder width. In this case, the total support area is quite large. On left leg accounts for the weight of the left hand holding the rifle. The strap connects the shooter and the weapon into a single whole, and the principle of its use is exactly the same as when shooting in a prone position. The weight of the rifle is taken on a tensioned belt. But in the position from the knee, the belt is usually slightly released and the left hand is moved to support the weapon closer to the muzzle of the rifle. But it depends on the individual anatomical features of the shooter. Most snipers are accustomed to shooting both prone and from the knee with a belt of equal length and with the left hand grabbing the stock in the same place. The belt is put on the left elbow in exactly the same way as in the prone position. And the left elbow is located strictly vertically under the rifle, in the same way as it is located when shooting prone (photo 118). The lower leg of the left supporting leg, which takes the weight of the entire front part of the shooter's system - the weapon, is in the firing plane strictly vertically under the left hand holding the rifle, forming a straight and strictly vertical line with it. Deviation from this vertical will result in horizontal spread.

If you look at the shooter shooting from the knee from the side (Photo 117), you can see that the left supporting leg is set approximately vertically. This is a desirable but not mandatory provision. According to the anatomical features of the shooter, the left leg can be extended forward or even slightly pulled back, the left foot is turned to the right to the shooting plane as much as it is convenient for a particular shooter. Usually, the shooter's elbow is placed on the patella, but for specific anatomical features, it can be moved forward or backward from the patella as far as is convenient for the shooter.

The shooter's body is turned half-round to the firing plane. If possible, the shooter's head is kept straight. The body is slightly tilted forward. The right hand, covering the neck of the stock or lying on the pistol grip, is lowered with the elbow down and is in this state, forming a natural angle for the shooter with the body of 20-40 ° (photo 119).

As mentioned, the shooter sits on the heel of the right boot. Athletes in a kneeling position put a special roller under the lift of the right leg. Snipers will have nothing to put in a combat situation, so they train to sit with an emphasis on the flat unbendable sole of the boot or directly on the instep of the right leg. This is inconvenient and unpleasant, but there is no other way out. According to the instructions, the heel stop is made in the right buttock, but some shooters shoot with the heel stop in the tailbone: who is more comfortable and who feels more stable. In the kneeling position, the shooter must balance himself with the weapon: the mass of the shooter system - the weapon, which pulls forward, must balance with the mass that pulls back. An arrow that hunches down will pull forward; accordingly, the tears will go down. For a shooter who sits overly upright and leaning back, the breaks will go up. Therefore, in the pose of the shooter working on the knee, there must be complete balance.

When shooting from the knee, the sight moves away from the shooter's eye and the position of the butt should be slightly higher than that which was lying. In this case, it is necessary to correctly select the tension of the belt, which brings together all the production elements located above the belt. In this case, the shooter, working from his knee, hits the same way as he hits when shooting in a prone position.

It takes patience to learn the kneeling position. The position of the body is very static and unusual. Beginners feel numb and sore in the right leg on which they are sitting and the left hand holding the rifle. There comes a nasty tension in the back: you always want to bend it. Instructors force beginners to "sit" on their knees with a rifle and work idle for 40-50 minutes, then they are allowed to get up and stretch. The old-time standard prescribed a trained sniper to sit on his knee for one hour, while directly holding the target with a front sight or an aiming hemp of an optical sight.

When firing from the knee, the rifle should rest on the left hand, as if on a support, and be kept from moving forward by tightening the belt. With the left hand, the rifle is gripped and held in exactly the same way as in the prone position. The left hand should occupy such a natural position and the sniper should be so naturally oriented towards the target from his position that corrective movements with the left hand to the right and left are excluded. To do this, the shooter aims the rifle at the target, then closes his eyes and shakes the rifle left and right. In this case, by natural tension of muscles and ligaments, the weapon is set in some position away from the target. The shooter opens his eyes and checks himself. If the rifle, for example, "looks" to the right, the shooter turns around with his legs and body to the left and checks himself again. And so on until the rifle is naturally aimed at the target. This position of the shooters tries to remember with muscle-spatial memory and in the future to accept it automatically, without hesitation.

A common "disease" of beginners when practicing a kneeling position is excessive stress on the shoulder and right arm. Straining the shoulder causes it to thicken, which in turn causes shooting to the left. Moreover, some shooters even "moonlight" with their shoulder to the butt. The shooter needs to be taught to keep the right shoulder under control. To do this, the instructor, being behind the shooter, feels his shoulder near the back of the butt. Muscle tension, if any, is felt very well. The instructor teaches the shooters that no matter how well the rifle stands, if the right shoulder or arm is tense, they cannot shoot.

Shooting from his knee, the shooter holds the rifle in the direction of the target not so much with the efforts of the left hand as with the correct, balanced position. The left hand, on which the rifle rests, must not be strained. When properly prepared, the rifle rests on the left hand, like on a pillow. Tension in the left arm or shoulders is a sign of improper fit.

Remember! The muscles of the left arm and shoulder girdle should be relaxed when shooting from the knee. The slightest muscle tension in the left arm, shoulder girdle and especially the right shoulder immediately leads to separations. If only the shooter felt the tension of the above muscle groups, he should put aside the shot and relax, taking several deep breaths and exhalations.

Knee shooting is perhaps the most difficult and technical shooting position. But a sniper needs to be able to work from the knee. In battle, you always come across places where there is nowhere to lie (for example, you are waist-deep in a river or in a swamp) and there is nothing to put a rifle on for an emphasis, but you have to shoot. And you can't stand up to full height, and there is nothing to rely on. And then, shooting from the knee with a certain level of training differs little in accuracy (and sometimes does not differ at all), which is achieved when shooting prone - with support or without support. Therefore, the instructors at the old Zhukovsky (in memory of Marshal Zhukov) courses put the cadets in preparation for kneeling in the most harsh and merciless way. The old instructors used the right technique: if the cadet stubbornly did not succeed in shooting from the knee, the belt was removed from his rifle and forced to work without a belt, paying attention to the correct positioning of the left hand, left elbow, body and other things, achieving an absolute natural fit, in which the shooter was so balanced that he was not pulled either to the right or to the left, or forward or backward. The results jumped sharply. The fact was that the newcomers, feeling how firmly the rifle was on the belt, literally "hung" on it, resting on the rifle and giving it forward. At the same time, they instinctively unloaded the right foot, on which they had to sit for 40 minutes prescribed by the instructor. But the center of gravity shifted forward, the now left leg began to feel numb and began to ache, which took on the weight of not only the arms with the weapon, but also the body. The shooter began to fall forward and to the right, stability was lost, in search of which the novice began to hunch down, which made him "hung" on the rifle even more.

Having put the cadet in the correct position without a belt and having brutally accustomed the cadet to it, the instructor then "tied" all the elements of this correct position together with a sufficient belt tension. The results were amazing.

Shooting while standing

Whether the sniper wants it or not, he will have to shoot while standing in a combat situation sooner or later. There will be a need to shoot while standing from tall bushes, from basement and attic windows, from broken buildings, where it is impossible to get close to the windows. Not to mention the fact that during the exercises you have to work on unfinished construction sites, contaminated to such an extent that there is not something to lie down, but even nowhere to kneel. Nobody goes hunting in the forest.

The standing position is the most difficult to shoot. It requires devilish patience, self-control and endurance from the shooter. When firing from a standing position, the rifle "walks" more on the sides, up and down. He makes a lot of static effort to keep the weapon in the area of \u200b\u200bthe aiming point. A shooter with a heavy rifle in the aggregate represents a system called a shooter - a weapon, and in order for this system to shake less, it must be positioned in such a way that it is in natural balance and is not "pulled" in any certain direction. The man is not iron, and the rifle in his hands will fluctuate in one way or another. But with proper manufacturing, these fluctuations can be minimized, and then completely made random.

When shooting while standing, the shooter is forced to hold a heavy rifle. And to make it easier for him to do this, he supports it with his left hand near the center of gravity, and rests the elbow of his left hand against his side, against the ribs (photo 120). Since the weight of the weapon pulls the shooter forward, it deflects the body slightly back and towards the back of the head - this is clearly visible in photos 121, 122. This deviation starts from the buckle on the belt. The legs are set evenly and symmetrically so that the weight of the system of arrows - the weapon falls equally on each of them. The elbow of the left holding hand is placed strictly under the rifle (photo 123). If this condition is not met, separations begin to the right and left due to a decrease in the stability of the weapon horizontally. The shooter is turned towards the target by about a quarter turn (Photo 120). The feet are set with heels approximately shoulder-width apart, the toes are unfolded symmetrically as it is convenient for a particular shooter. It is impossible to spread the legs too wide: at the same time they "loosen up" in the pelvic region and the "wobbling" of the pelvic region begins. It is also not recommended to put your feet too close - this reduces the total area of \u200b\u200bsupport. Legs should be absolutely straight; bent legs also "loosen up", and this instantly affects stability.

The shooter's back should bend slightly not only to the side opposite to the rifle, but slightly back and "to the back of the head" (photos 121, 122). Why do all this need to be done and done exactly as described here? A shooter with a rifle aimed at a target must be absolutely balanced so that he is less pulled somewhere in one direction (breaks will go there too) and, accordingly, less rocking. For the same purpose, the shooter's head is placed as straight as possible, not leaning too much forward and not too leaning back. The head is a kind of counterweight. The center of gravity of the shooter system - the weapon should be somewhere in the middle of the support area. Correct standing position keeps the shooter in static balance. If there is no such balance, the shooter has to tense some specific muscle groups, and this leads to premature fatigue. The balance position is the basic and reliable base for standing shooting. That is why the left elbow must be strictly under the rifle (photo 123).

In a standing position, the sights move closer to the eye and the rifle is naturally overstated. At the same time, the butt rests not on the shoulder fossa, but on the shoulder hump or the place to the right of it, where the shoulder passes into the arm, near the biceps (although it is more convenient for some shooters to shoot, resting the butt against the shoulder fossa, as they shot lying down and from the knee) ... The stock is fully attached and tightly pressed against the shoulder, and it is much more raised than when shooting from the knee and prone. In this case, one way or another, a great inconvenience is created to hold the rifle with the left hand. The weapon has to be supported with the left hand very high, and the arm's length is clearly not enough for this. With the usual grip of the forearm with the left hand, the position is so low that the shooter has to bend his head in order to look into the sight (photo 124). Even the high setting of the sight does not save the situation. Although some shooters, due to their anatomical features (short neck, long arms), still shoot, and quite successfully. Long-handed shooters grip the rifle very firmly by the magazine box. By grabbing the left hand under the magazine and intercepting the belt, they shoot through it while standing from the SVD rifle (photo 125). In order to raise the rifle in the left hand, special devices are provided for and allowed by the rules of the competition on the sporting weapon: the so-called "champignon mushrooms". Sniper combat weapon such devices are not provided in any way: they make the overall weight heavier, increase the size of the weapon and irritate the authorities. Therefore, from time immemorial, snipers have learned to shoot, holding the rifle on the fingers of a closed hand (photo 126): precisely on the fingers tightly pressed together with the thumb against the trigger guard. This technique was used by Russians, Finns, and Germans. At the same time, the rifle was raised 10 cm higher, which allowed the shooter to put his head straight and not tilt it forward, knocking off balance. To beginners, this method has always seemed frail, unstable and anecdotal. Therefore, in the old days, the instructor suggested that they invent something better in the middle of a bare polygon, and when they didn’t succeed, he punished those who doubted.

The vertical position of the forearm under the rifle is a very difficult condition to fulfill. Therefore, some arrows, in order to give the left hand better support, push the left hip forward. Some people bend their right leg slightly at the knee. But with this setup, the center of gravity falls more on the left leg and the shooter gets tired faster.

When shooting while standing, the right hand is usually lowered with the elbow down to 25-30 ° (see photo 122), as it is convenient for a particular shooter. Some shooters resting the butt against the arm between the shoulder and bicep keep it raised to the ground at a 90 ° angle, but this causes additional fatigue. This method is used when shooting in a bulletproof vest.

A shooter who has taken a balanced position while standing should definitely check himself in the correct static orientation. To do this, he closes his eyes, relaxes the body and shakes the rifle left and right until it stops in a natural position for her by natural tension of muscles and ligaments. It is this natural position of the weapon that is very valuable for shooting because it does not "pull" the rifle either to the right or to the left. If the weapon "pulls" somewhere, then the breaks will necessarily be in this direction. Having opened his eyes after checking, the shooter, by moving his feet, turns the system of shooters - weapons on the target. It is necessary to turn on the target only by moving the feet and in no case by twisting the body, and even more so by the efforts of the arms or shoulders. The correctly chosen position of the arrows is remembered by the muscular-orientational memory, and then, as it is trained, it takes it automatically, without hesitation.

After a beginner has acquired sufficient stability in the process of several trainings, he is allowed to use a rifle belt for shooting while standing as a stop. Usually a regular rifle belt is used, thrown over the elbow in the same way as when shooting prone (photo 127). In this case, the weight of the weapon falls on the tensioned belt. The belt can be "released" and thrown over the shoulder and back (photo 128). With this method, the tensioned belt dampens the vibration of the rifle. This technique is often used when the wind is from the left side, which significantly "wiggles" the arrow to the right.

In contrast to the prone and kneeling positions, where the shooter is generally contraindicated to use force, especially to the left hand, on which the rifle should lie, as if on a support, when shooting while standing, you have to "rest." The rifle must be held in the standing position. The backward tilt of the body must be controlled. For this you need to apply force. The mistake newbies make is that instead of calmly applying force, they tend to tense. As soon as the shooter begins to tense up, shivers immediately appear. In this case, the shot must be set aside and rest.

In the photographs of this manual, the shooter is shown in summer uniform. This is done specifically for clarity of showing individual moments of production. In fact, everyone - riflemen, snipers, and sportsmen - shoot in combat conditions and train in a shooting range wearing thick wadded jackets. Why? The thick quilted jacket noticeably reduces natural body vibrations and dampens pulsation, which negatively affects shooting accuracy. In addition, the padded jacket, which is tightly belted with a hip belt, greatly increases overall stability when standing. In addition, a pouch is put on the waist belt, on which you can rest the elbow of your left hand when shooting while standing. At sports competitions, all this is prohibited, but in combat practice everything that is useful is applicable.

Rifle fittings for shooting prone, kneeling, standing are the same for snipers and sports shooters. The only difference is that in sports practice the weapon is adjusted to match the shooter, and in live firing the shooter is adjusted to the weapon made to fit the shooter with an average anatomy, with minimal orthopedicity.

And when setting optical sights, the shooter generally adapts as best he can: his eye is "tied" at a distance of 6 - 8 cm from the sight eyepiece and must be on its optical axis. Look at the photos: it would be nice for the shooter to fix his head with his cheek on the stock, but the scope is too high and the head has to be fixed with his chin. The neck is very tired from this. You just need to get used to this head position. For this purpose, the SVD rifle has a special "cheek".

Correct preparation is the basis of accurate shooting, a kind of foundation for an accurate shot. And therefore the preparation should be monotonous. If the shooter empirically, through trial and error, has chosen a set of successful positions of body parts for shooting prone, standing, from his knee, then he should remember how he did it, and continue to take such a good position automatically. And if he took a position for shooting, for example, lying down completely differently from how he occupied him in the previous training session, let him not be surprised that he cannot get to the place where he fell before.

Development of stability

Shooters know exactly what is called "weapon stability". What it is? This is the shooter's ability to hold the weapon with sights in the area of \u200b\u200bthe aiming point without deviations, and the longer the better. Resilience is developed by long idle workouts. In order not to break the mechanism of the weapon, a training cartridge or a spent cartridge case is inserted into the chamber. Each blank descent is executed like a live round! At first, the shooters are not given ammunition at all and are forced to practice the correct position in the prone position to achieve solid aiming and triggering skills. The development of stability is necessary even in such a seemingly capital shooting position, like prone. When shooting from the knee, the struggle for stability increases. But really the arrow begins to "swing" in a standing position.

As already mentioned, in a combat situation a sniper cannot avoid shooting either from his knee or standing. It has been established by centuries of practice that standing shooting - with rifles and pistols - is better at people with a well-developed sense of balance - cavalrymen, fencers, sailors and pilots. These people feel the banks and are able to perceive and feel the balance of the weapon, its fluctuations and deviations in an undesirable direction. Moreover, people with a developed vestibular apparatus subconsciously, instinctively and quickly correct these unnecessary deviations. In the old days, aristocrats, to develop a balance, forced their young sons to walk with a glass of water filled to the top on an outstretched hand, and mercilessly flogged them for every drop of water spilled on the floor. Quite quickly, the boys practiced walking with glasses filled to the brim on two outstretched arms, then they put the glasses on the backs of their outstretched hands, and then even on their shoulders and head. And only after the young offspring could freely and quickly move from room to room with all this household, he was given a firearm. With a perfect balance of the highest level, the skills of correct aiming and triggering were taught very quickly. Not so long ago, such methods of strength development of stability were still remembered. Old instructors told the author how, before and after the war, in special schools of the NKVD, cadets were forced to dance a waltz ... with a chair on outstretched arms, and the chair was held by the front legs in an upright position. After a month of such exercises, shooting from a pistol and rifle in any of the most unexpected and uncomfortable positions seemed child's play. In our time, balance is practiced by any available means.

Try skateboarding - rollerblades for a couple of months - and you'll see how the quality of shooting has improved. Walk a couple of months on the usual boom on the obstacle course: the results of shooting will grow much faster than during normal training without mobilizing internal reserves. Standing shooting requires strength. Any set of dumbbell gymnastics will have the most beneficial effect on the quality of shooting. And still main factor while developing shooting stability - rough training work and purposeful patience.

You should carefully study the instructions for this type of your device and, following it, coordinate your further actions.

there is general characteristicsthat need to be considered when installing, configuring and using, we will learn about them.

Installation

The main requirement for installation is height as the best option is a low installation.

When installing, make sure that the front sight does not interfere with the operation of other elements. Be extremely careful and careful when installing, follow the recommendations clearly in the instructions.

When assembling, the correction input mechanisms are set to the middle position, if you rearrange the optics from another instrument, then you must again set everything to the middle position.

To adjust this distance, slide it all the way. Take the gun and take a position to shoot. Then move the sight towards you when you see a clear image, fix the position and see further instructions.

If you have a short-barreled, then the setting is as follows: take the weapon in your hand and stand with your arm extended forward. Then start adjusting the scope. Everything affects the focus distance and focus of the aiming mark.

After you have fixed the optics in the longitudinal position, we set them clearly along the line of the barrel. Then take the position for shooting and adjust the axis very accurately so that the line (vertical) coincides with the vertical axis of the weapon. Then tighten the screws very carefully.

Focusing

Attaching your weapon to reliable support, aim the lens at the target, it should be monotonous and light. Look through the eyepiece, at a distance of 10 cm from the eye you will see a clear reticle. Get the clarity you want, if necessary.

It is necessary to adhere to the following rules if the Lippers sight has an eyepiece with a retaining ring:

• Taking it in hand, rotating counterclockwise, it is necessary that the retaining ring does not touch it. After that, to move away, you need to rotate clockwise.
• With farsightedness, turn counterclockwise a couple of turns, with myopia - a couple of turns clockwise.
• On a light background, look through the eyepiece, now the image is blurry and very different from the previous one. Then rotate until you achieve a clear contrasting image.
• Then lock by rotating.

When there is no retaining ring, all adjustment takes place on the eyepiece. If you are not satisfied, then also regulate it.

Zeroing and its types!

Zeroing is divided into three types: preliminary - cold zeroing, which requires a collimator sight; traditional sighting; final - sighting in groups of three shots.

"Cold" sighting. Many laser devices are used for it. Before making horizontal adjustments, you need to make horizontal adjustments to the base of the bracket.

Traditional sighting. Secure the weapon, remove the bolt and squint so that the center of the target coincides with the axis of the barrel. After you have adjusted the correction mechanism to align the center with the center of the target.

Final - sighting in groups of 3 shots. The weapon is secured. Fire one shot. If you hit a couple of centimeters further from your target, then you should adjust the mechanism so that the center coincides with the center of the target. Then fire three shots in succession. When adjusting, lean towards the center of the hits you receive.

Lipers optical sights have different mechanisms for entering corrections. Despite this, each model has clear correction intervals, which are well marked for understanding.

Lippers s optical sights are perfect for those who want to adjust the range of the image, especially when changing the weapon model or choosing new ammunition.

How to use the optical sight is detailed in the instructions that come with it, so we are not lazy and read. Do not use like binoculars or look at other people or objects through them. Remember, safety comes first.

Shooting is a great way to keep fit and develop habits that will ensure stability and accuracy. Read on to find out about the tricks the pros use to hit their targets.

Steps

Part 1

Work on sustainability. In the army, soldiers who undergo rifle training must hold their rifle steady enough to see the scope straight ahead, even if the hammer falls on the barrel. Once you have mastered this basic basic technique, you should be able to keep your weapon steady.

• Practice different positions to find the one that works best and is also most comfortable for you. The sitting position is comfortable for many, but inconvenient for shooters with weak hips.
• If you are right-handed, your “shooting hand” is right and your “non-shooting hand” is left and vice versa.
• However, the dominant eye is also a major factor. As a rule, you should lean on your shoulder on the side of the dominant eye to fire a rocket weapon. This is true even for cross-dominant shooters - people who can shoot with both left and right hands regardless of the dominant eye.

1. The hand should be in a stable position. The rifle should be in a V-shaped position between the thumb and forefinger. The grip should be light, like a poor handshake and the wrist should be with straight fingers naturally resting around the forend.

   • The hand must hold the rifle steady, like in basketball when you need to stabilize the ball with your hand. Most of the rifle supports should come from your shooting style and your position, but your arms should be steady without firing.
   • Make it a rule that your hand should always be kept away from the range of the rifle and projectiles.

2. Place the stock firmly on your shoulder. Make sure it is well supported on the shoulder, on the fleshy part of the armpit, or on the collarbone.

   • Keep the rifle steady despite the recoil force that must be absorbed by your entire body and do not place it back on your shoulder, as this will make the next shot painful and inaccurate.

3. Grasp the handle on the firing side. Depending on the type of rifle you are firing with, you will either grip the pistol grip fully or the shotgun clutch. Regardless, your hand should be firmer on it than on the non-firing side, it should be more like a business handshake. You should pull the rifle back, placing it firmly on your shoulder. This ensures that when you are ready to fire by pulling the trigger, your rifle will not move or lose its accuracy.

   • Keep your trigger finger straight. Do not twist forefinger around it until you are ready to fire. Place it on the outside of the trigger guard or use it with other fingers to grab the magazine.

4. Keep your elbows down and in, although their position will depend on whether you are sitting or standing, but all positions require your elbows to be under the rifle to support its weight. Your elbows and hips should be in line, extending towards your center of gravity.

   Relax your neck and let your cheek rest naturally on the shop. This position can be obtained when your nose is almost glued to the charging handle on some rifles. In this position, your eyes are guaranteed to line up for a natural angle of view and you won't have to use your peripheral vision to target.

   Relax your body. Proper technique requires you to be able to relax your body and maintain a calm breathing rhythm. You must hold the rifle firmly without being tense. If you use your muscles to hold the rifle, they will eventually fatigue and your accuracy will fluctuate. A comfortable, relaxed position is the best way to shoot accurately.

   Part 2

   Shooting accuracy

   1. Check your target point. After orienting yourself in the general direction of the target and in a relaxed stationary position, the rifle should be aimed at the target without any effort on your part. This is called your "natural target point" and is a sign of correct technique.

      • When you relax your muscles in a stable position and your hand is on the magazine, you must expend some energy to get into a comfortable body position for direct vision of the target. This is a sign that you need to change something yourself. Change your position and realign yourself properly.

   2. Align the rifle scope. The base of a rifle's diaphragm (i.e., there is no volume on the rifle) is often referred to as a scope. It consists of two parts, a front sight or ball near the tip of the rifle barrel and a hole about halfway up the barrel. Before worrying about hitting a target, you need to align the ball in the fold to ensure the rifle sees the target. Any misalignment increases the chances of not hitting the target as the bullet leaves the pistol.

      Concentrate your attention. Align your sight with the front sight. When you try to balance your elbows and knees and breathe evenly, as well as hold on firmly and focus on a tiny ball in a small hole 45 meters away, you can fail. What are you focusing on? The short answer is: the ball is not your target! Make sure you are in the correct position, relaxed and focused on the ball.

      • If you are in the correct position and the scope is aligned, your target should be the hole, and while it will look blurry, targeting the ball will ensure that you maintain correct posture while shooting, resulting in more accurate shooting.

   3. Check your vision picture. A correct aimed shot has front sight, aperture, target, and your eyes are perfectly aligned (or if using a sphere, cross out the target). This is called the "vision picture". Move focus back and forth for a few seconds between the target and your gaze, ensuring that everything aligns.

      • After all, the more you practice with purpose, the more you will be able to do so without changing your focus, which tends to strain your eyes. Practicing correct cheek and magazine position and aim alignment will ensure that your eyes don't strain too much as you aim for a target.

   4. Control your breathing. Shooting is the skill of using millimeters, you will see how your breathing affects your target as you train your vision. But it is important to breathe naturally and deeply. Holding your breath causes discomfort and inaccurate shots. In your breathing, learn to notice the moment immediately after exhalation, when you completely empty your lungs of air, but before you become uncomfortable, you need to breathe. It's a split second, but it's the most stable and perfect moment to pull the trigger.

      Pull the trigger. All your careful alignment and positioning will go to waste if you pull the trigger like you would to shift gears. Instead of pulling the trigger as if your finger joined a fist, completing a firm handshake business, you squeeze the trigger too gently.

      • Before pulling the trigger, many arrows swing to avoid kickback. This must be avoided and stayed straight right away, since you got a comfortable rifle and this is the only way to shoot accurately. Take some time to tune in and learn to relax. This is the foundation.

   5. Hold on until the end. Just like basketball or golf, proper positioning and balance must be maintained until the very end of the shot. Flicking your head up to see if you hit the target is the best way to get into milk. Keep your muscles relaxed, your cheek pressed against the magazine, the stock close to your shoulder, and your eyes focused on the front sight. A few breaths and you are ready to either test your attitude or fire again.

   Part 3

   Development of precision from any position

   1. Fire from a prone position. Make a line with your leg and elbow that points 25 to 30 degrees to the right of your target. Place the rifle in the crook of your shoulder with the muzzle pointing towards the target. Keep the stock high enough on your shoulder so that your head remains upright as if you were standing. Use your left hand to bring the rifle to the target level.

      • The prone position is the most stable of all standard firing positions because the shooter's elbows and rifle weight are supported by the ground. You can also use a bipod, sandbags, or other convenient support.
      • Be careful with hot liners. Because when you bend over, the hot cartridge can fly off your skin or fall onto your body, but this applies to shooting from any position.

   2. Shooting from a sitting position. In this position, you will be sitting cross-legged, oriented 90 degrees towards the target. Place your elbows on each knee, keeping your back as straight as possible to improve hitting accuracy.

      • This position is very comfortable for some shooters, but breathing is significantly faster. Maintain good breath control when shooting in this position.

   3. Shooting from a standing position straight, feet shoulder width apart. Keep your hip slightly forward, pointing in the direction of your target. You want the rifle's weight to be evenly distributed over both legs for the most accurate shot, so keep your elbows down and your weight balanced against your hips.

      • Anchor the rifle securely by forming a straight line of support with your body. The rifle should be comfortably balanced on the upper body, requiring only minimal muscle use.

   4. Shot while kneeling. Pro shooters use something called a "kneeling roll" to cover the ankle, but you can also use a rolled shirt or other support. Get on your knees keeping your ankle in a comfortable position with the firing side straight up to the knee. You can rest with the rifle on your elbow or knee, or use your knees as a modified standing position and hold the rifle that way. Either way, keep your elbows down while supporting the weight of the rifle.

      • If you rest your elbow on your knee, make sure you avoid unstable bone-to-bone contact. Instead of resting your elbow on your knee, try placing your knee against your left triceps a couple of centimeters above your elbow, and then, with minor changes, find the most stable and most comfortable position for you.
   • Knowing the recoil of a rifle is essential to accurate shots, you will be able to act more aggressively once you correctly assess the given rifle.
   • Strong winds can also affect the target. Again, this effect increases with distance.
   • If your shots go off target, but you are sure you did it right, your rifle may be out of balance. Either fix it (see: How to aim correctly) or, if you can, change your aim.
   • Distance compensation. Your gun scopes are usually set for a specific range of ranges, optimized for the pistol ammunition you are using. Different loads are designed for specific distances. 22 lr is not as accurate at 90 meters as 7.62x34 is, and not as accurate as 223 is etc. Take this into account when aiming. What works for a target at 45 meters will not work for a target at 90 meters. This deviation increases the range from the target.

   Warnings

   • Always, always, always handle weapons safely. Using a weapon with carelessness can be fatal. Always check to see if the pistol is loaded, even if you think it is not. If you're not 100% sure how to handle a weapon safely, read our WikiHow article on safe use. firearmsbefore continuing.
   • Never leave a loaded weapon unattended. Lock the bolt or cylinder to the open position if you must leave your weapon. Thus, even if you pull the trigger, the bullet will not fly.
   • Most rifles, in particular semi-automatic weapons, are designed to eject spent cartridges from the side of the pistol. If you are left-handed or right-handed, make sure the sleeves do not fall off the side of your face.
   • Never press your eyes close to the rifle-mounted frame when shooting, as a blow can damage the eye orbit and could at least reward you with a black eye, and at worst, you will be hospitalized.
   • Always wear hearing protection and eye protection when using firearms.
   • Follow safe range techniques and regulations at all times.

With correct aiming with an open sight, the front sight (7 in diagram 39) must be in the center of the rear sight slot (2 in the diagram) strictly vertically (axis A in the diagram), and its top is set strictly at the level of the rear sight (axis B in the diagram). This is called a straight front sight. All military weapons are, according to the regulations, shot in the center, that is, the bullet must "fall" on the tip of the front sight (7 in diagram 40). But this is the ideal. In reality, the human eye is not able to clearly see three objects that are one after the other, that is, a slot, a front sight and a target. One of these points will always be vague. It has been established by centuries of practice that the best shooting results are achieved when the slot and mane are vague, and the front sight and target are clearly visible. In reality, this is exactly what the overwhelming majority of shooters do (Scheme 41). Horizontal errors are not affected by the same blurring of the cut on both sides, and the shooter instinctively and correctly sets the front sight in the middle. The vertical spread is affected: one shooter has more "horizontal blur" of the rear sight (7 in diagram 41), while the other has less. To different people nature gave different vision. As a result, the front sight is taken either higher or lower. Therefore, in the army, a specific number of weapons is assigned to a specific serviceman.

Scheme 39. Open sight device. Smooth front sight:

1 - front sight; 2 - slot; 3 - mane; 4 - rear sight body; A - vertical axis; B - horizontal axis

Scheme 40. Aiming with an open sight "in the center":

1 - the aiming point coincides with the hit point

Scheme 41. A clear front sight, a clear target and a blurry slot and rear sight mane

The height of the front sight with a vague mane of the rear sight should be taken somewhere in the middle of this blurred horizontal strip, and during the subsequent shooting, observe exactly this position.

When shooting at a distance of 100 meters at a height (and even at a chest) target, you can still clearly select the aiming point on the silhouette of the target with the front sight of the open sight. With very good eyesight, you can do this at a growth target, shooting even at 200 meters (a well-known command is to aim at the belt). And at a distance of 300 meters, it will be problematic for you to aim clearly at the belt: the target will merge with the front sight.

Therefore, for the best guarantee of hitting, you will have to shoot at the target so that it is on the front sight or even higher with a small gap between the front sight and the target. What is a gap for? The black front sight merges with the dark target, and the shooter "crashes" the front sight into the target and often simply "loses" it. The presence of a small, "by a hair's breadth" clearance allows you to control the position of the front sight relative to the target and not "crash" the front sight into the target. So it is better to control the position of the target relative to the front sight. To prevent the bullets from going too low, the scope must be raised, and you will have to refer to the tables of exceeding the average trajectories for a specific weapon (see below). When firing from the SVD at 200 meters with an open sight at the head protruding from the trench, aiming "under the head" with a gap (Scheme 42), it is necessary to set the sight "3". At a distance of 200 meters, the excess of the trajectory is 17 cm (see the table of excess for the SVD rifle). If you aim at the Adam's apple, under the chin, you will hit the bridge of the nose. At a distance of 150 meters, aim in the same way - if you get 1 cm higher (see table), the effect will be the same. At a distance of 100 meters, if you aim in the same way, under the sawn-off shotgun with a "2" sight, you will hit the enemy 3 cm below the bridge of the nose. This technique is used in fleeting street battles, when targets suddenly protrude from behind cover at short distances.

Scheme 42. Shooting at the head with an open sight with a gap with a front sight attached to the horizon of the shelter:

1 - lumen

Under such circumstances, "cling" the front sight to the horizon of the shelter and do not particularly "aim": the target has got out above the front sight - "push down" the descent. The main thing is not to pull the trigger. Rehearse this moment when shooting at sports pistol target No. 4, set at a distance of 200 m. The diameter of this target is 25 cm, and it was not chosen that way by chance - this is the diameter of a human head.

When shooting at a distance of 300 meters at a growth target, you can "tether" the tip of the front sight to the horizon and the enemy's heels. In this case, the silhouette of the growth target will be perfectly and clearly visible from above the front sight (Scheme 43). But to prevent your shooting from going too low, set the scope "5". According to the table of exceeding the average trajectories on the SVD rifle (see table below) with a sight "5", at the indicated distance with the aiming point along the horizon (in heels), the excess of the trajectory will be 70 cm, that is, the bullet will hit somewhere in the buckle on the stomach. Sight "5" at this approximate "estimated" distance with a sight on heels is a very good thing. At a distance of 250 meters, the bullet will also hit 70 cm higher than the heels, 200 and 350 meters higher by 64 cm, that is, almost where it should be. And even at distances of 150 and 400 meters at a half-bent running enemy, shoot at his heels with a sight "5" - you will hit him above his knees. All this is very good, practical and quickly obtained in maneuverable fleeting combat in the city and in the forest, when there is no time to set the sight, but you need to catch the target with the fly and press the trigger more often. Thus, you can shoot from any long-barreled weapon. Of course, for this you need to look more often in the trajectory exceedance tables in advance.

Scheme 43. Aiming "at the feet on the heels" when firing a direct shot with a sight "5-from a distance of 300 m with the" binding "of the front sight along the horizon:

1 - horizon line

At low (chest and shoulder) targets, shoot in the same way, aiming along the horizon under a target with a clearance. On a low target of a khaki, it is very difficult to select the aiming point "in the center", aiming with the front sight of an open sight. In this case, set the sight "P" (permanent) - it usually corresponds to a distance of 300 meters. If you get 10 cm higher or lower, it doesn't matter. The main thing is that you hit at least 1 cm above the horizon line of the cover behind which the target is located (Diagram 44).

Scheme 44. Aiming along the horizon with a clearance during combat firing at low (chest and shoulder) targets with a direct shot with a "P" sight (permanent)

In all the cases described above, never take a large gap - it should be barely visible.

The open sight must be respected and one must be able to work with it. With broken (or "knocked down") optics, an open sight is the last hope. Practice shooting with him from time to time. As practice shows, a shooter who has been working with a telescopic sight for a long time sometimes needs to re-adapt his sight to work with an "open" front sight. In this case, sometimes unexpected things are observed: snipers forget how to keep an even front sight. Errors from this are visible on diagrams 45-47.

Scheme 45. Large front sight. Bullets will go up

Scheme 46. "Small" front sight. The bullets will go down

Scheme 47. With lateral displacement of the front sight, the bullets will go towards the displacement

On many old systems (three-line rifle produced before 1930, the German Mauser 7.92 rifle, the Japanese Arisaka), triangular pointed front sight and, accordingly, triangular slots were used for more accurate aiming (Scheme 48). Indeed, with a pointed front sight it is easier to select an aiming point directly on the target and "fix" for it, but this can be effectively done by well-trained shooters with excellent vision. For shooters with conventional data, with a triangular front sight, an even higher dispersion in height is obtained, since it is difficult for them to control the sharp top of the front sight flush with the blurry mane of the rear sight.

Scheme 48. Triangular front sight

In some cases, so-called diopter sights are used. The essence of the dioptric sight is that from above a blurred rear sight with a semicircular slot is, as it were, covered by the same blurred one with the same slot. The result is a round hole that spreads evenly around the edges (Scheme 49). In the middle of this hole, a clearly visible front sight is held easily and accurately. The shooter's eye instinctively places the front sight strictly in the center of the diopter hole (diopter) and fixes only two clearly visible points - the front sight and the target. The firing accuracy with a diopter sight is incomparably higher than with an open sight. But the diopter sight has a drawback - in poor lighting (even in cloudy weather) nothing becomes visible in its small hole. The situation is not saved by large interchangeable diopters. In addition, in combat conditions, when the heightened earth and liquid mud fall from top to bottom at the most unpredictable moments, the diopter holes are easily clogged and difficult to clean. Therefore, in the barbaric conditions of Russia, diopter sights on military weapons did not take root. In addition, the field of view is reduced in this sight, which reduces the aiming speed and is especially disadvantageous when firing at moving targets.

Scheme 49. Dioptric sight

The target illumination greatly affects the shooting accuracy. When shooting with an open or diopter sight, if the sun is shining, for example, from the right side, a reflection may appear on the right side of the front sight, which the shooter takes for the side of the front sight. In this case, the latter will be deflected to the left, which is why the bullets will deflect to the left. For the same reason, if the sun is high or "the light is higher", the bullets will go lower. In bright sunlight, dark targets appear smaller. In this case, it is more difficult for the front sight of an open sight to "catch" on the center of the target, and if you shoot "under the edge", then, despite the clearance taken between the front sight and the target, the bullets will still go much higher. Optical sights, allowing you to clearly see the dimensions of the target in any lighting, are free from these disadvantages.

The new issue of the series "History of Aviation Technology", prepared on the basis of materials from foreign press, continues to acquaint readers with combat aircraft during the Second World War and is, as it were, an appendix to the second part of the monograph "Aircraft Engineering in the USSR" published by TsAGI and is completely devoted to the history of the creation of Soviet aircraft during the Great Patriotic War.

As you know, until recently, there were practically no sufficiently complete publications in the domestic press about the aircraft of our allies and enemies. And although the need to publish such a work has long been ripe, we only recently got the opportunity to take it seriously.

The collection presented to your attention consists of three parts, published sequentially and reflects the development of aviation science and technology in Japan from the mid-thirties to its surrender on September 1, 1945.

The R-38 Lightning became the first fighter in the world with a tricycle landing gear with a nose support, the first all-metal fighter with 100% riveting in the skin, the first fighter with hydraulic boosters in the control system, and finally the first fighter with a turbocharger to enter service. For its time "Lightning" was the fastest and longest fighter in the world. All these qualities allowed "Lighting" to become the best fighter in the Pacific theater of operations. At the same time, operational problems became the flip side of technical innovations, and the unsatisfactory organization of supplies did not allow to fully realize the potential of such a very non-trivial airplane as the R-38 Lightning.