CORRECT FORM
In the preparation of men for work on the range, one point, the most important, seems to be entirely neglected. This is the "form," or technique of holding. In every game of skill, and in every manual art, a study is made of the position of the hands and body, which is imperative. Yet with the rifle this is perfunctorily passed over, too often, with a general explanation. The shooter is allowed to take any position he thinks proper, which is the wrong one, in nine cases out of ten. In this I do not mean that his position will be entirely wrong, but that he will in several points fail to take the position which is the best. His work in consequence is impaired. Motion studies of each position will show that there is a fixed position of the hands and body that gives maximum results. All others are less efficient. This position is in general not the one that a beginner will choose. In many cases it requires some patience and skill in making this position seem natural and comfortable.
The position and aiming drills, as laid down in the small arms firing regulations, do not cover the ground. As carried out they fail to do all that they should.
For instance, the prone position, the most useful, is the hardest to teach, and is left generally for the range. Drill grounds are generally dirty. Officers hesitate to give this drill when the men are in clean uniforms, as it dirties the clothes. Yet this drill is the most important of all, and should be held ten minutes daily, at least a month preceding the firing on the range. A month is none too long. Each individual must be taken in hand and trained until the correct position is taken each time. No other but the correct one should be permitted, however hard he protests that he can do better in another position.
Men are allowed latitude in the prone position, too often, on the ground that their arms are too short, or that they have rheumatism. They are allowed to shorten in and slide the left hand back under the balance. If persisted in, they could have easily taken the correct hold with their left hand out to the lower band.
Operating the bolt from the shoulder is another obstacle, which many men find difficult to overcome, but which is easy, if the proper form is followed. Here again will be heard the man with stiff muscles, and short arms. It will require some firmness to prevent the piece from being taken from the shoulder in order to operate the bolt. The reason here again is the failure to master the "form," without which, speed and facility in operating the bolt are impossible. For instance, if the right elbow is too far to the rear however good the position is otherwise, the firer will be unable to reach the bolt while the piece is in the shoulder. By moving the right elbow forward an inch or two it becomes easy. These drills are often left to instructors who have missed the vital points, and fail to instruct. When the men arrive on the range they are so badly grounded in the fundamentals of firing that a much longer time is required in their instruction practice.
The time that can be spared on the range for the individual is too short at best, as the exigencies of the service in the marine corps do not permit men to be absent from their stations for an extended period of time.
Much of the time is generally taken in instruction that should have been given at their home stations weeks before being sent. One week is not sufficient, nor two. The instruction in the positions should be a part of the daily drills for more than a month preceding range practice.
The sighting drills are easily taught, and once understood are not forgotten. A man quickly sees and understands the principle of sighting, and once understood, no more instruction is necessary. But the position, being a manual training, must be carried out systematically, until a high degree of dexterity is attained. The muscles must be trained, so that the correct position is the only comfortable one.
We spend hours teaching this same thing with the manual of arms, until uniformity and precision are attained, and all through a man's service this is kept up. But with the firing positions, little or no attention is paid, beyond a general hit or miss plan. This allows hundreds of variations of the hands and body, to suit each individual's conception of what is proper. It seems in some cases, that if the rifle is pointing in the direction of the target, the conditions of instruction are fulfilled.
The first exercise consists in taking the prone position, adjusting the sling and snapping a few shots at marks, great care being taken in getting the position correctly from the beginning. After this is mastered, the men should be practiced in getting up and lying down, taking the prone position. The next step is operating the bolt from the prone position without removing the rifle from the shoulder. Finally, when all are proficient in this, the regular exercise of taking the prone position and snapping five shots at a mark in 20 seconds should be commenced and carried out each day, until the men go on the range.
This same procedure should be taken with all other positions, after the prone one is mastered, but the prone must be continued with the others, so that when the men go on the range, they will be in prime condition. This leaves the coaches free to devote all their time to the subjects that properly belong to range training. Therefore no delays on the firing point will be caused by the improper handling of the piece.
Gallery practice instruction in sighting, and the rules for elevation and windage should be carried out as well. But the position exercises fill the gap that is not covered by either of these useful forms of instruction.
The cooks and messmen, who do not get this exercise, will be far behind the other men, although they had received plenty of gallery instruction. They will lack the manual dexterity, and most of the failures to qualify will be from these men.
While not a part of this subject, flinching is the only thing that cannot be prevented or overcome without days of shooting on the range. All beginners and many men throughout their service flinch. In fact, many qualified men flinch but not sufficiently to take them off the target. This flinching is the bane of shooting. It seems inherent in every man, and can be overcome only by patient coaching and striving on the part of the shooter. This limits the speed in which the individual can be put through the course of instruction and record practice, for until this is overcome no progress can be made. There is a limit to the number of shots that can be fired each day without increasing instead of diminishing this fault. Still I believe, that the position drills do help this in a small degree by hardening the muscles and preventing the firer from being hurt by the kick of an improperly held piece.
This set of drills embodying these ideas will be of great assistance in the preparation of men for the range or for field firing. If made one of the garrison drills to be held at least three times a week during the spring, and oftener during the month preceding target practice, a larger percentage of qualifications will be the result, with less time employed actually on the range.
To be successful, however, the "correct form" should be the basis of these drills, and should be striven for, first, last, and always.
POSITION AND AIMING DRILLS
FIRST EXERCISE
The squad being deployed to two paces, sling properly adjusted as to length, and ready to place on arm.
"Prone Position."—Each man half faces to the right, slips left arm through sling, high up on arm and tightens with keeper, grasps piece with left hand against lower band, kneels with right hand outstretched and lowers body to the ground, lying at an angle of about 45 degrees, left elbow extended to the front, as far as can be reached, and well to the right, butt of piece on the ground, barrel up, right hand at the small of the stock, grasping locking piece between thumb and forefinger, ready to unlock piece (Fig. 1).
POSITION EXERCISE (1)
Unlock the piece, slide right hand back to butt with palm against butt plate, raise right shoulder and place butt in position (Fig. 2), slightly rolling body to the left.
(2) Slide right hand forward to small of stock, right forefinger around trigger, at second joint, so that the tip of the finger touches the stock on left side, right elbow to right and well to the front, so that the hand can reach well forward of the bolt with ease (Fig. 3).
(3) Align sights on object, and when piece is steady, squeeze trigger until firing pin is released.
(4) Grasp bolt handle between thumb and forefinger, completely surrounding the knob with forefinger, thumb uppermost (Fig. 4), turn the piece to right with left hand, lowering the muzzle with a quick rolling motion, and draw back bolt to rear quickly (Fig. 5), close bolt and assume the first position.
Four counts are given in this exercise in order that the instructor may easily explain the numerous details and see that all are carried out correctly before a new position is taken. Care should be exercised in having the slings of proper length, so that when the left hand is as far forward as the lower band, will permit firm pressure exerted by the sling against the shoulder (Fig. 11). Unless the left elbow is stretched well to the front, the tendency will be to point the piece downward and the beginner will be unable to aim as high as the target (Fig. 7). He will attempt to slide his left hand back to remedy this defect (Fig. 10), but should not be allowed to do so. By sliding the elbow farther forward and lowering the right shoulder, the muzzle can be raised to the necessary height. This is the hardest point in the exercise, and is the basis of the correct position. Poorly instructed men invariably have their hands far back from the proper place. The second difficulty will be found in reaching the bolt handle while the piece is in the shoulder. This is caused by the incorrect location of the right elbow, which is generally too far to the rear (Fig. 8). By sliding it farther to the front this trouble disappears, and new men with very short arms can work the bolt with ease. The quick rolling motion to the right, given by the left hand, gives a leverage to the right in overcoming the first motion of reloading the piece. This knack comes easily, once understood, and is of great importance in rapid fire.
RAPID FIRE EXERCISE
(1) Execute the first and second positions of the prone position exercise; (2) Align the sights, and without undue deliberation pull the trigger, operate the bolt rapidly, as in fourth position, four times, keeping the piece in the shoulder.
In this exercise the men should be taught to fire slowly, to take careful aim, and as soon as the piece is fired, to operate the bolt, going through the loading motions as rapidly as possible, emphasizing the fact that every second gained in loading leaves so much more time to be utilized in sighting, which should always be carefully done.
These exercises teach the men to fall in the positions quickly and correctly, and to operate the bolt with all the speed that can be desired. In fact these positions have proved to be the fastest positions. They improve rapid fire and skirmishing, and are applicable to the new firing regulations (1914), as well as those now in force.
Men instructed thoroughly in the above, do not experience difficulty in loading during a skirmish run, nor do they have difficulty in getting off all their shots within the time limit, in timed, or rapid fire.
The average man has little difficulty in becoming proficient quickly, but in every hundred men there are from four to ten who, for various reasons, have much trouble in overcoming the difficulties of all the positions.
These are due to stubbornness, stupidity, being muscle bound, poor condition of muscular system, and old age. But by persistence, all can be taught and the results on the range are well worth the extra time and patience expended.
INCORRECT POSITIONS AND THEIR REMEDIES
Sling not properly adjusted and not placed high enough on arm, and allowed to slip down on elbow. Provides little or no support. A common error with beginners (Fig. 6).
Left elbow too far to rear. This does not permit of proper elevation of the piece, making it impossible to point up as high as the target. By sliding the left elbow about 3 inches farther to the front remedies this fault. But some practice is necessary in some cases, before all stiffness of the arm disappears and the position becomes comfortable (Fig. 7).
Right elbow too far to rear. Impossible to operate the bolt from shoulder, as the hand cannot reach the bolt. Also trigger finger cannot reach to proper position around the trigger. Remedied by sliding elbow forward, until bolt handle is easily reached. It may be necessary to lengthen sling as this tendency is partially due to too tight a sling (Fig. 8)
Piece not resting in palm of hand, but on fingers, causes unsteady hold and tends to cant as wrist becomes tired (Fig. 9).
Incorrect position of left hand and most common fault.
Left hand slid back to take up slack, in improperly adjusted sling. Increases leverage of muzzle of rifle for lateral unsteadiness, raises body too high on both elbows, and gives uneven "jump," due to
frequent changes in the exact location of the hands (Fig. 10).