The number of shooting sports and applications is absolutely dizzying. At first glance an IPSC champion has very little in common with a big game hunter. However, at its most fundamental core all shooters want one thing: to hit their target. The four fundamentals of marksmanship transcend shooting disciplines and apply in one facet or another to all types of shooting. Mastering these fundamentals is what seperates decent shooters from great shooters.
Stable Platform
The of the four fundamentals of marksmanship is building a stable platform. Most people immediately think of shooting prone or off of a bench when a stable platform is mentioned. While those are both stable positions, this is not what is meant by a stable platform.
Instead, building a stable platform is about finding the most stable position for the shooting situation at hand. For example, a hunter in standing in tall grass does not have the option to go prone. Likely, he must build a stable platform offhand. Pistol shooters often have to shoot standing due to time constraints. That doesn’t mean they can’t form a stable platform.
There are a few key components to building a stable platform. First of all is finding a comfortable position from which to shoot. Shooting with tense muscles is less repeatable and can cause tremours from fatigue. Supporting the firearms weight on a prop or with skeletal structure will be more accurate than muscling an awkward position.
Another important concept is natural point of aim. When holding a firearm there is a natural point that your body will want it to point. A good way to find this point is to shoulder your rifle with your eyes close and relax. When you open your eyes your rifle will be pointing at your natural point of aim. Instead of forcing the rifle towards your target, adjust your body to shift your natural point of aim. This promotes repeatable accuracy even from less stable positions.
Sight Alignment
Next, the second fundamental of marksmanship is sight alignment. All this means is that you must align the sights properly and more importantly, consistently every single time. For iron sights this means a consistent sight picture. In the academy they harped “equal height, equal light” while shooting iron sighted weapons systems. Resist the temptation to look at the target and focus on the front sight.
For optical sights this is also important because of parallax. Many optics have a fixed parallax, so an inconsistent sight picture will actually shift your point of impact even if the crosshairs are over the target!
An often overlooked component of a consistent sight picture when shooting long guns is a solid cheek weld. This is only possible if the firearm has been properly fitted to the shooter. Taking the time to adjust the cheek piece and length of pull seems like a hassle, but it will have profound impacts on practical accuracy. Proper rifle fit lets you harness the precision a rifle shows from a lead sled and translates it into real world accuracy.
Respiratory Pause
The third fundamental of marksmanship is the respiratory pause. This is probably the least important of the four fundamentals but it still bears mentioning. When shooting from a good stable platform with quality sight alignment, a shooter can watch the effect of their breathing on the point of aim. The crosshairs should rise and fall consistently, lowering on the inhale and rising on the exhale.
The concept of a respiratory pause is to find a point to halt this motion due to breathing by holding your breath. The most common way to do this is to pause after an exhale but before an inhale. The body has a natural break in motion at this point and one can steady one’s crosshairs for a few seconds.
The reason that I list this as the least important is that in many real world shooting scenarios it is often the target and not the shooter that decides when it is time to pull the trigger. In many tactical, competitive, and hunting applications the shooter may not have enough warning to have time to complete a breathing cycle before firing a shot. In these cases, it is important to be aware of the size of your target and oftentimes it is more important to be accurate enough instead of ultimately precise.
Trigger Control
Last, but certainly not least, is trigger control. This is the fundamental of marksmanship that is the least intuitive to develop. Jerking triggers and flinching are quite possible the most common reason for a shooter to miss. Muscle memory and regular practice go a long way to overcoming these problems.
One of the most prevalent myths in gun culture is that “the trigger should surprise you when it goes off”. This is ridiculous and unsafe. The shooter is responsible for every round they send down range and should know exactly when it is going to fire. Dry fire practice and familiarity with one’s rifle will teach the shooter the feel of each specific trigger.
Instead, you want to smoothly apply steady pressure to the trigger until it breaks cleanly. The pressure should be applied directly backwards into the firearm and not at an angle. This is easier to do if you pull the trigger slowly, but top competition shooters can pull the trigger very quickly while remaining smooth. When the trigger breaks, you shouldn’t see any movement in your sight picture.
A great way to improve your trigger pull is to shoot double action handguns such as revolvers. Shooting the S&W 5946 extensively taught me a lot about trigger control. The heavier trigger is much less forgiving and offers more feedback than a crisp and light rifle trigger does.
Closing Thoughts
Regardless of how one enjoys firearms, from hunting to recreational plinking, hitting the target is a common goal. By applying the fundamentals of marksmanship a shooter can effectively engage their target of choice. Stable Platform, Sight Alignment, Respiratory Pause, and Trigger Control all play key roles in accurate shooting. Understanding and practicing the four fundamentals of marksmanship improves practical accuracy and enjoyment of the shooting.