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Originally Posted by NousDefionsDoc
Roger Brother Gene, as usual we agree more than disagree.
I think you are absolutely correct in your analysis and will only offer this in response - yes, I no longer have to think about them - unless I miss. When I do miss, it is my fault and I can usually trace it back to one of The Eight. I don't know of another way to get to unconscious competence than starting from the beginning and working through The Eight until they can be applied without conscious thought. If you have suggestions, please, pleeease share. 
Stance - I don't kick feet after the first 1 minute. In fact, I will make them change their stance (strong foot forward, feet parallel, etc.) to show them they shoot from the waist up and they don't have to worry about where their feet are. The Eight are relative - The Stance doesn't have to be a book stance, as long as you have a relatively stable platform - but you do have to have a Stance. Does that make sense? Good firing position to me means being able to engage from the best possible position for the situation. Not specific degrees and angles.
The ability to pull the trigger means to me the ability to pull the trigger correctly. When he sees the barrel pointing at the target means he sees the barrel by way of its component part the front sight.
Speed, efficiency, economy of motion and the combat application of The Eight - all of which I call elegance - can only come from hours of repetitions as far as I know. But in order to get good solid hits under stress time after time - consistency - the fundamentals have to be applied. To do it in a fight, they have to be applied unconsciously
Breathing is a good one. A lot of people say it doesn't apply in combat shooting. I agree it doesn't apply to the individual shot the way we do with sniper shots. But I do breath when shooting. And I try to get breath control taken care of outside. A couple of deep ones and then a rhythm. And then another big one when done for the moment.
SFAUC, SFARTEAC, no combat shooting school in the world will give one the level of competence of which we are talking. They will give one the basics. competence will only come from hours and hours of practice. With a coach where possible - alone if not. Shooting is an individual skill to me. |
NDD:
Seems to me you are using the eight factors to your advantage. They are your foundation and you know when to use them. I don't think you can go wrong with them. I just caution fellows who are working with 'new shooters' to be careful with what you put into their heads. Kind of like when some moron introduces 'Spin Drift' into the heads of shooters whose performance doesn't match that of their rifle and ammo. Shooters who are having difficulty tend to use such things as an excuse for poor performance or focus themselves on things that have no meaning.
I really like your methods concerning body position. I believe the same way but just have different words for it. I view the barrel aligned via sights to the eye as an 'aligned system' of eyes and sights. This system one shifts around his lower body much like a tank turret and main gun. To a point of course and then you shift your whole body. I really stress eye sight alignment and developing this aligned system of eyes and sights as anything to allow one to see a sight picture more clearly and to pull the trigger more consistently are good things. As for trigger control, I could care less if the guy straightens out the trigger on an M-16, as long as the barrel remains pointed into the middle of the target when he does so. You have said the same thing -- just a different way of communicating it. To the Army, this is called position. I even call it position and it is a position. The issue seems to be what does a position do for the shooter? Well, to me a position points the aligned system of sights and eyes and lets the shooter move his trigger consistently and perfectly.
I view breath control as something done in order to see the sight picture better, and as a relaxation tool. Guys who are relaxed tend to have more consistent trigger control. Most leaders and even most Joes still view breathing as the ill for failing to have the barrel pointed into the target when the shot is fired. We both know what breathing through a string of rapid fire can do to shots. But only if the shots are fired higher or lower than center. No, I don't advise guys to breath as they fire the shot but nothing says one can't do this and still hold perfect shots. I prefer to do like you describe with short hard breaths and holds followed by deep breaths when possible. I also could care less if a guy takes multiple shots on one breath. Some guys are pretty fast, particularly with the M-68.
I like presenting guys with a few concepts concerning marksmanship and then coach them on using the concepts to achieve marksmanship goals on static and tactical ranges. Today's Four Marksmanship Fundamentals are concept oriented and are actually pretty good. Unfortunately, it takes guys who really know what they are doing in terms of all aspects of training and communication to transform these fundamentals into productive results with large groups of soldiers.
My big issue with the Army in terms of marksmanship training is that the Army focuses on short term solutions instead of long term progress. We try to give the soldier concepts to apply with an opportunity to apply them so he can learn how to train himself when he gets the opportunity to fire.
Your last comment on competence is right on the money. Takes a whole bunch of discipline and patience for a guy to develop into a top of the line shooter.
Now another 299 pages and I have my book!
He, he, he.
Gene