Marksmanship Fundamentals RBT

SKILLS YOU REALLY NEED WHEN IT REALLY COUNTS

The Fundamentals of “Combat Marksmanship” and Reality-Behavior Based Combat Marksmanship

• Trigger Control• Breath Control• Follow-Through

• Grip• Stance• Sight Alignment• Sight Picture


The Fundamentals of Marksmanship

GRIPControlling the weapon while shooting and through recoil with pressure and friction and leverage.

STANCE A body position that allows effective movement, fighting, and shooting, with control of recoil.

SIGHT ALIGNMENTThe relationship between the front and rear sights. (Gun-wrist-body alignment for point shooting)

SIGHT PICTUREThe placement of the aligned sights or weapon on the target or exact aiming point. Combined with sight alignment = “Sight Package”

TRIGGER CONTROLIndependent movement of the finger on the trigger moving it straight back until the gun fires with minimal movement of the sights and gun.

BREATH CONTROLA method of controlling breathing to minimize gun movement as the body expands and contracts during inhalation and exhalation.

FOLLOW THROUGHConsciously maintaining the shooting fundamentals for a brief time after the shot is fired. Preparing to fire the next shot.


Grip

GRIP: Controlling the weapon while shooting and through recoil with pressure and friction and leverage.

Grip is reality based- under duress you will probably squeeze the weapon hard. Get used to the convulsive grip in training.

At close range against sudden encounters, shooting will often be done with one hand.

It is quicker and allows the other hand to be used for grasping items and for balance. The strong side thumb can be straight or curled down for better contact and control.

For Marksmanship, Two hands are better than one, and a firm grip with the support and a lighter grip with the strong hand will allow better trigger manipulation and is the most desirable for accuracy.

This will most likely require anticipation and control of duress.


Grip: Strong Hand

Initial “Vee” placement- gun directly in line with forearm. Trigger finger on frame.

Web of hand high up on backstrap with no space showing. Middle finger tight under trigger guard- no space.

Thumb rests on frame or ‘rides’ safety. Thumb can be straight or bent for better pressure.


Grip: Support Hand

Second hand always comes from the rear- thumb pointed forward fingers down at 45 degrees.

Thumbs and trigger finger point along slide. Notice change in wrist angle

Second hand fills the gap; strong side thumb rests on top of support hand, or ‘rides’ safety. No space under trigger guard.


Stance

STANCE A body position that allows effective movement, fighting, and shooting, with control of recoil.

Reality Based Combat Stance is based on the instinctive response to threats- facing, flinching, fighting:• Toes to threat• Lower the center of gravity• Toes Straight• Bent knees• Back Straight• Head, Shoulders forward• Strong, tight base• Aggressive forward lean

• It is also an important part of aiming as the body aligns and points the weapon and the eyes simply verify it is on target with minor correction

• Traditional marksmanship will direct shooters to bring the gun to their eyes. We teach dropping into the fighting stance as the gun is brought up because that will be your natural reaction under duress.


Sight Alignment:Wrist-Gun-Body Alignment

SIGHT ALIGNMENTThe relationship between the front and rear sights. (Gun-wrist-body alignment for point shooting)

One of the most important parts of point shooting is the alignment of the gun to the body, via the bend in the wrist

Initially the gun is grasped and aligned parallel to the forearm, but as the gun is brought to the center of the body, the wrist must lock and bend to keep it oriented directly to the threat

The gun is oriented perpendicular to the upper body along the center line or dominant eye based on the shooters dominance

If the upper body and lower body are squared to the threat, point shooting will be much easier

If the body must turn, the triangle between the arms and the body still must project the gun straight out from under the dominant eye/center line. This will take more practice.


Sight Alignment:Full Sight Aimed Alignment

FULL SIGHT AIMED FIRE “Sight Picture”

• “Equal Height”• “Equal Light”• Final focus on the top part of the front sight• Rear sights and target aligned but blurry

• Set up with combat breath control during the respiratory pause

• Mostly useful in pro-active and offensive situations with the ability to fully anticipate the need for the shot

• Front sight should not move during trigger pull• Check using dime and washer and unknown

empty gun anticipation drill

Equal on both sides


Sight Alignment:Wrist-Gun-Body Alignment

Peripheral Vision-When learning the technique, it helps to verify your wrist-gun-target alignment based on the outline of the weaponErrors:• The side of the slide is showing

in either direction• The front sight is not visible at

all• The top of the slide is showing

too much- (greater than half the width of the back of the frame outline)

TopRear


Sight Picture:Sight Package

SIGHT PICTUREThe placement of the aligned sights or weapon on the target or exact aiming point. Combined with sight alignment = “Sight Package”

‘Sight Package’ includes the level of aiming verification that takes place before shooting

Sight package in reality based shooting is based on:

1. Primarily the level of duress of the shooter (immediate survivability)

2. Secondarily on • The accuracy needed to hit the

target; combined with (target profile)

• The situational concerns (situation)

Sight package involves the entire body and weapon- not just the sights- and the related target

It is uncommon for anyone at any level of training to take the time to verify their sights when directly and immediately under close range threat. This is primarily due to the instinctive stress response requiring clear visual focus on the threat.


Sight Picture/Sight PackageContinuum

Continuum of sight package:1. Index Shooting (body point)- no to little visual verification of the gun. Indexed by body posture, body

part, or on the target itself. Gun may be partially visible in field of view.2. Target Focused Point Shooting- only peripheral and eventually subconscious rough alignment towards

the target. Top edges of slide form a ‘Runway” to the target below line of vision.3. Target Focused Flash Sight Picture- rough visual alignment of the sights/weapon while primarily focused

on the target. Front sight anywhere above rear sight is sufficiently accurate.4. Full sighted fire- lining up the sights completely as in traditional marksmanship. Front sight centered

and level; final focus on front sight.

1 2 3 4


Sight Picture:Sight Package

Point Shooting Sight Package

• We want to practice while being focused on the threat as much as possible, with only peripheral verification of the sight package

• The amount of peripheral verification will be slowly reduced over time until it is subconscious

• The primary shot zone is high center mass- the top part of the sternum. It contains vital organs, is at or above the edge of body armor, and gives the best combination of a wide target area for misses and severity of injury.

• With precision, we want to be focused on a small part of the threat: “Aim small, miss small.”

• We are looking for “railroad tracks” or a “runway” along the edge of the outline of the sides of the gun’s frame straight to the target like a perspective drawing.


Trigger Control

• TRIGGER CONTROL- Independent movement of the finger on the trigger moving it straight back until the gun fires with minimal movement of the sights and gun

• Trigger control is probably the greatest source of error in pistol marksmanship

• The trigger must be pulled or squeezed straight backward to avoid pulling the weapon out of alignment during the shot

• Ideally a shooter wants to squeeze the trigger back slowly until there is a “surprise break” and the shot is fired

• Trigger control and grip work together to eliminate shot anticipation

• Finger placement on the trigger is highly individualistic, and can greatly affect marksmanship. (A) may be too much trigger for some and may push shots to the left. (B) is the preferred point, but not best for every person


Trigger Control

• The trigger should be released only far enough so a “click” is felt and heard, which indicates the trigger has reset

• Trigger reset is part of good follow up

• After the final shot, always prepare to take one more

• For combative marksmanship, the trigger and gun are often squeezed convulsively. This requires a harder grasp on the weapon to keep it steady

• Single shot- Shot is fired with a single sight picture with careful and full follow through as if firing another shot (always prepare for one more during follow through practice)

• String (Tap)- Each shot is fired separately with a new sight picture, but with minimal time between shots. As shooters improve, they are able to do this rhythmically and quickly.

• Burst (Hammer)- One sight picture is acquired and weapon is fired as fast as the weapon can be controlled, useful only at very close range

Fully Forward

Reset

Fully Back


Breath Control

BREATH CONTROLA method of controlling breathing to minimize gun movement as the body expands and contracts during inhalation and exhalation.• Ideally, one should shoot during the respiratory pause

after exhaling while the body is the most motionless

• If the shot is not made in time, another full breath with release should take place

• Combat breathing should start as soon as you are alerted to the potential need for violence

• Against a spontaneous threat, you will most likely hold your breath while shooting; stop doing this as soon as you recognize it and make breathing part of your tactical response and follow through

• If you make the deliberate decision for a perfect shot, you should set up the breath, which sets you up mentally for the fundamentals of marksmanship; The skill is to snap into position, breath out, and take a deliberate fully aimed shot as quickly as possible

Example: Run, Stop, ShootOfficer chases and armed bad guy until he gets a clear shot, the officer stops quickly, forces out a quick exhalation, finds the sights fully and shoots in a compressed time frame.


Follow Through

• FOLLOW THROUGH- Consciously maintaining the shooting fundamentals for a brief time after the shot is fired. Preparing to fire the next shot.

• In real-life situations, this will only happen if taking one perfect shot, otherwise it will be highly compressed

• Combat follow through is shooting the threat until it is no longer a threat- typically to the ground and/or with weapon dropped

• Next the shooter follows the threat down and assesses, while still aimed in and ready to shoot

• If the threat does not need to continue to be shot, the shooter should place the finger on frame, compress the weapon, and scan his surroundings

• If the shooter is more comfortable staying extended, it is not a major error. The purpose of the compression to a ready position is to break tunnel vision and protect it from a potential attack

• The shooter should scan “left, middle (back to check the threat), right, middle (checking the threat one last time)- this can be done on the move

• The shooter should then “take off” and “take cover” getting behind cover or moving to a flank while checking the rear for un-expected threats

• Other “T’s” are Talk, Top off, or Take care of injuries

• Verbal commands should initially be “Don’t move” or “Stay down”

FAST-5

FightAssessScan

Take offTake CoverTalkTop OffTreat injuries

FAST- 5 From Randy Harris

Suarez International Staff Instructor


Differences Between Combat Marksmanship and Reality-Behavior Based Combat Marksmanship

FUNDAMENTAL “COMBAT” MARKSMANSHIP REALITY-BEHAVIOR BASED COMBAT MARKSMANSHIP

GRIP Heavy squeeze support hand; light squeeze strong hand

Strong ‘convulsive’ grip with both hands

STANCE More upright; gun brought to eyes Combat Crouch, body dropped as gun brought up

SIGHT ALIGNMENT Focus on front sight perfectly centered in rear sight

Focus on threat; body-wrist-gun forms runway to the target under eyes

SIGHT PICTURE High upper chest (when available); again final focus on front sight; target blurry

High upper chest (when available); focus on small part of target; gun in peripheral vision

TRIGGER CONTROL “Controlled Surprise Break” “Convulsive grip” and straight rearward pressure if possible

BREATH CONTROL Respiratory Pause Combat breathing before and after, or forced exhalation for a fast shot

FOLLOW THROUGH Preparing for the next shot Preparing for the next shot and tactical response

Marksmanship Fundamentals RBT

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