UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS

2D MARINE DIVISION DIVISION TRAINING CENTER PSC BOX 20003 CAMP LEJEUNE, NORTH CAROLINA 28542

STUDENT OUTLINE
SIGHT, AIM, AND TRIGGER CONTROL

PRE SNIPER COURSE 02/26/2007 LEARNING OBJECTIVES FOR THIS LESSON a. ENABLING LEARNING OBJECTIVES.
(1)

Given a pencil and paper, describe sight alignment in accordance with MCWP 3-15.3. (8541.01.04e) (2) Given a pencil and paper, describe sight picture in accordance with MCWP 3-15.3. (8541.01.04f) (3) Given a pencil and paper, list the two types of trigger control in accordance with MCWP 3-15.3. (8541.01.04g) (4) Given a pencil and paper, identify breath control techniques in accordance with MCWP 3-15.3. (8541.01.04h) STUDENT INFORMATION OVERVIEW: The purpose of this period of instruction is to give you the proper techniques for aiming, trigger and breath

control. I will do this by covering sight alignment, sight picture, and aiming and breath control. CLASS PREPARATION: OUTLINE. 1. AIMING TECHNIQUES. Read this handout prior to class.

a. Line Of Sight. Line of sight is the optical axis that runs through the center of the lens and the intersection of the crosshairs. The cross hairs and the image of the target are in the focal plane of the lens. The focal plane is the plane which passes through the lens focus perpendicular to the optical axis. The shooters eye sees the cross hairs and the image of the target with identical sharpness and clarity. To aim with a telescope, the shooter must position his head at the exit pupil of the telescope ocular lens so that his line of sight coincides with the optical axis of the telescope. He then centers the cross hairs on the target. b. Aiming Process. The shooter begins the aiming process by aligning the rifle with the target when assuming a firing position. (1) The shooter should point the rifle naturally at the desired point of aim. If his muscles are tense while adjusting the rifle to his point of aim, his muscles will automatically relax as the rifle is fired. This will cause the rifle to drift off target. (2) Since this movement occurs at the same time the rifle is firing, the rifle moves before the bullet leaves the muzzle. This results in displaced shots with no apparent cause because the recoil of the weapon disguises this movement. (3) To achieve a true natural point of aim, the shooter must recheck and readjust his shooting position as needed so that the weapon and his body become a single unit. (4) Once the proper position has been established, the sniper must next aim the weapon at the target. (5) The three components of aiming are eye relief, sight alignment, and sight picture.

c. Eye Relief. When a shooter looks through a telescopic sight his eye must be the proper distance from the ocular lens. Otherwise, he will not be able to see the target properly. (1) If the shooters eye is to close or to far from the ocular lens the image will appear smaller and finding the target becomes increasingly difficult. (2) The distance from the shooters eye to the ocular lens, which provides optimal, viewing, is called the proper eye relief. d. Determining Eye Relief. For high powered rifles like the M40A3 the eye relief should be at least 2 preferably 3. (1) The proper eye position is that from which the entire field of view can be seen clearly from edge to edge. (2) If the eye is moved more than from this optimum position either toward or away from the ocular lens there will be a marked reduction in field of view. (3) Because the exit pupil is located precisely at the point where the eye must be to maintain the optimal field of view the distance from the scope to the location of the exit pupil is the same as the eye relief. This is an excellent method of measuring eye relief with great precision. (a) Place the rifle on a good steady rest. (b) Take a flashlight, turn it on and place it over the objective lens. (c) Place an index card in front of the ocular lens. (d) Move the card until the spot of light coming through the scope is in sharp focus. (e) Take a ruler and measure the distance between the ocular lens and the card. (f) The distance between the card and the scope is your eye relief. e. Exit Pupil. The light rays coming out of the ocular lens of a scope converge and all rays pass through a small

circular area behind the ocular lens. This is called the Ramsden circle or exit pupil. (1) It is the image which the ocular lens forms the aperture of the objective lens and is located where the eye of the shooter must be placed to obtain the largest field of view and the greatest brightness over that field. (2) Exit pupil size is used as a measure of the amount of illumination of this instrument. (a) With any given magnification power, the larger the objective lens and erector tube, the more light gathered and the larger the exit pupil will be. (b) With any given size objective lens, the greater the magnification power the smaller the exit pupil. (3) A rule to remember is that the diameter of the exit pupil is equal to the unobstructed diameter of the objective lens divided by the magnifying power of the scope. (a) The objective lens should have a diameter in millimeters of not less than the magnifying power of the scope multiplied by 5, with 6 times the magnifying power as a probable optimum. Thus a 4x scope would need an objective of at least 20mm diameter, a 6x scope a 30mm objective or larger, and an 8x scope 40mm objective. f. Sight Alignment. Sight alignment is the relationship between the reticle and a full field of view as seen by the shooter. (1) The shooter must place his head so that a full field of view fills the ocular lens. This view should be without dark shadows or crescents, which cause misplaced shots. (2) The shooter centers the reticule in a full field of view ensuring the vertical crosshair is straight up and down so that the rifle is not canted. (3) Center mast and a quartered target is easier for the shooter to locate and allows for consistent reticle placement. (4) Sight alignment is the most critical factor in aiming. An error in sight alignment increases proportionally with range and will result in increased misses.

g. Sight Alignment Error. When sight alignment and sight picture are perfect and all else is done correctly the shot will hit center mass on the target. However, with an error in sight alignment the bullet displaces in the direction of the error. Such an error causes an angular displacement between the line of sight and the line of bore. (1) This displacement increases as range increases. The amount of bullet displacement depends on the size of the alignment error. (2) Close targets show little or no visible error. Distant targets can show great displacement or can be missed all together due to severe sight misalignment. (3) When a shooter varies his head position and eye relief from shot to shot he is apt to make sight alignment errors while firing.

h. Scope Shadow. During aiming, the sniper must ensure that there are no shadows in his field of view. He should see a clear black circle inside the scope. If the eye is too far away, too close, off to one side, too high or too low, the shadows will appear. This will throw off shots fired. If a crescent shaped shadow is present the eye is off center in relation to the scope. The shadow will have the effect of pushing the bullet in the direction opposite of the shadow. The sniper must adjust the position of his head until the shadow disappears.

2.

SIGHT PICTURE.

a. With telescopic sights, sight picture is the relationship between the reticle and full field of view and the target as seen by the shooter. (1) The shooter centers the reticle by quartering his target in a full field of view. (2) When aiming the shooter concentrates on the reticle not the target. (3) It is critical to detect any errors in sight alignment whish is more important than sight picture. b. Sight Picture Error. An error in sight picture is an error in the placement of the aiming point. This causes no displacement between the line of sight and line of bore. The weapon is simply pointed on the wrong spot on the target. (1) Because no displacement exists as range increases close and far targets are hit or missed depending on where the reticle is when the rifle fires. (2) All shooters face this kind of error every time they shoot. Regardless of firing position stability, the weapon will always be moving. (3) A supported rifle moves much less than an unsupported one but both still move in what is know as vertical or horizontal bounce.

(4) The shooter must adjust his firing position so that his vertical and horizontal bounce is as small as possible and centered on the target. (5) With the proper adjustments the sniper should be able to fire a shot while the reticle is on the target at or very near the desire aiming point. (6) The distance the reticle is from the desired aiming point when the shooter fires, is the amount of sight picture error all shooters face. (7) The shooter should not attempt to aim for more than 4 to 7 seconds without blinking. This will be an additional strain on the eye and will burn the sight alignment sight picture into the retina. This will cause minor changes in sight alignment and sight picture to go unnoticed.

3.

TRIGGER CONTROL.

a. Definition. Trigger control is the skillful manipulation of the trigger that causes the rifle to fire without causing the weapon or the reticle to move when sight picture is at its best. The most important marksmanship fundamental is trigger control.

(1) Trigger control is the last task to be accomplished before the weapon is fired. (2) Trigger control becomes more difficult when using a telescope or when the shooter has an unstable firing position. (3) Shooters tend to miss the target when the aiming point is disturbed right before or as the bullet leaves the muzzle. This is a result of flinching, bucking or jerking. (4) The shooter can correct these errors by understanding and applying proper trigger control. b. Trigger Finger Placement.

(1) Proper trigger control occurs when the shooter places the pad of his trigger finger 1/3 down on the trigger clearing the trigger guard, thereby achieving maximum mechanical advantage.

(2) The shooter engages the trigger with that part of his firing finger that allows him to pull the trigger straight back to the rear. (3) A firm grip on the rifles stock is essential for trigger control. If the shooter begins his trigger pull from a loose grip, he will squeeze the trigger and the stock at the same time and lose trigger control. (4) To avoid transferring movement of the finger to the entire rifle, the shooter should press the swell of the pistol grip of the stock into the palm of the firing hand. This should be done with the last 3 fingers of the firing hand. At the same time he should rest the thumb of his firing hand just behind

where the back of the receiver meets the stock. This grip allows the trigger finger to work independently. (5) The shooter should shift his grip higher or lower on the pistol grip of the stock until his trigger finger can be placed naturally on the trigger. (6) The shooter should daylight between the trigger and the stock as he squeezes the trigger straight back to the rear. To ensure a well-placed shot, the shooter should fire the weapon when the reticle is on the desired point of aim. c. Two Types of Trigger Control. (1) Uninterrupted Trigger Control. (a) This is the preferred method of controlling the trigger. (b) Once trigger pressure is applied, firing of the shot is completed. The shooter is committed to an unchanging rate of pressure, no speeding up, slowing down, or stopping. (c) Initial trigger pressure is rapidly applied to take up most of the weight of the trigger. As the hairs are aligned, the remaining trigger pressure is taken up and the shot is fired without disturbing sight picture. (2) Interrupted Trigger Control. (a) This method of trigger control is used in extremely windy conditions when the weapon will not settle, forcing the shooter to fire the shot when the target comes into his aiming point. (b) The shooter takes up initial pressure and begins normal trigger control. He then holds his position until he focuses his cross hairs. He then moves the trigger until the shot breaks. (c) The shooter should not force his rifle by steering it into his aiming point. He should let the rifle move naturally toward and away from the target. 1 If the rifle is moving towards the target, the shooter continuously applies trigger pressure.

the shooter back toward trigger. If towards his call.

2 If the rifle is moving away from the target, holds his position until the rifle starts drifting his aiming point. He then applies pressure to the the shot breaks, as the cross hairs are moving aiming point, the shot will normally be inside his

d. Errors In Trigger Control. Trigger control is not only the most important fundamental of marksmanship but also the most difficult to master. The majority of shooting errors are directly or indirectly from improper application of trigger control. Failure to hit the target frequently results from the shooter jerking the trigger or applying pressure on both the trigger and the side of the rifle. Either of these actions can produce a miss. Some of the indications of proper trigger control are listed below. (1) Flinching. Flinching is the shooter's reaction to the anticipated recoil of the exploding round. The shooter moving his head, closing his eyes, tensing his left arm, moving his shoulders to the rear, or a combination of these, indicates it. (2) Bucking. Bucking is an attempt by the shooter to take up the recoil just before the weapon fires, by tensing his shoulder muscles and moving his shoulder forward. (3) Jerking. Jerking is an attempt by the shooter to make the rifle fire at a certain time by rapidly applying pressure on the trigger and disturbing the alignment of the rifle. e. Follow Through.

(1) Follow through is the continued application of the fundamentals after each round has been fired. (a) The shooter does not shift his position. (b) The shooter does not move his head. (c) The shooter does not let the muzzle of the rifle drop until a few seconds after the rifle has been fired. (d) The shooter keeps his finger on the trigger all the way to the rear. He only releases the trigger after all recoil has stopped.

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(2) Follow through ensures that there is no undue movement of the rifle until after the round is fired. (3) In combat, follow through allows the shooter to observe the strike of his bullet in relation to his aiming point, enabling him, if necessary, to adjust his aiming point and fire a second round. 4. BREATH CONTROL. Breath control is important to the aiming process. If the shooter breaths while trying to aim, the rise and fall of the shooters chest will cause the rifle to move periodically. Sight alignment is accomplished while the shooter must be able to hold his breath to complete the aiming process. a. Natural Respiratory Pause.

(1) To properly hold his breath the sniper inhales and exhales normally and stops at the moment of natural respiratory pause. If the shooter does not have correct sight picture at his time, he must change his position. (2) Natural respiratory pause is the point where the shooter is completely relaxed in his respiratory cycle. The respiratory cycles last 4 to 5 seconds. Inhalation and exhalation require about 2 seconds. Thus between each respiratory cycle there is a pause of 2 to 3 seconds. This pause can be extended to 12 to 15 seconds without any special effort and unpleasant sensation. However, the maximum safe pause is 8 to 10 seconds. The shooter must fire the shot during an extended pause between breaths or start the process over again during the respiratory pause when the diaphragm is relaxed.

(3) The shooter should assume his position and breath naturally until his hold begins to settle. If the hold does not settle sufficiently enough to allow the shot to be fired then the shooter assumes normal breathing and repeats the process.

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(4) This natural tendency of the weapon to rise and fall during breathing allows the shooter to fine tune his aim by holding his breath at the point in which the reticle rests on the aiming point. b. Techniques For Natural Respiratory Pause. techniques for natural respiratory pause. (1) Normal Breathing. (a) The shooter breathes normally, and as he approaches taking the shot, he pauses, gets his aiming point, applies trigger pressure, and takes the shot. It is easier to obtain a good sight picture when breathing stops because the movement in the shooter's chest, abdomen, and shoulders stops. (b) Achieving the aiming point, applying trigger pressure, and taking the shot all occur during the shooter's natural respiratory pause. A shooter who is in good physical usually prefers this type of breathing control condition because he can hold his breath longer with ease. (2) Decreased Breathing. (a) The second technique for breathing control is good for shooters that have trouble extending their natural respiratory pause. There are two

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(b) As the shooter approaches taking the shot, he applies initial trigger pressure and decreases his breathing. He starts getting his aiming point as his breathing decreases to a pause. He can achieve his proper aiming point during shallow breathing because he is not moving as much. He then pauses, obtains a good sight picture, and applies continual pressure to the trigger until the shot breaks. c. Cardiopulmonary Pause. As the heartbeat is transmitted through the body, it causes a corresponding movement in the rifle. This is particularly apparent in an unsupported position and affects shooting at long ranges. The heartbeat is noticeable by the vertical movement of the cross hairs in the scope. To shoot effectively, the sniper should strive to fire the rifle so the trigger breaks at the lull of the heart beat for each shot. REFERENCES: NUMBER MCWP3-15.3 NOTES: TITLE Scout Sniping PAGE All

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