Advanced Marksmanship Always wondered this; how far off the target is your reticle after getting settled in

[TheGerman]

Let's go through the basic prone approach.

- point the rifle/reticle at the target
- adjust bipod/rear bag/rifle
- stand behind rifle, straight
- get down on knees, then move weight forward while spreading legs out
- get your 'hands' on the rifle in that you bring your shoulder to it, keeping as straight as you can, pulling the slack out and then release your weight forward


ok, so lets say we did this all perfectly. How close is your reticle still to the EXACT spot you had it aimed to before all this? I'm normally on the target somewhere or on the board/backer/whatever, but then make the fine needed adjustments with the rear bag and my support hand and then recheck NPOA.

I've always wondered about this with other people. In my mind its doable but impossible to do consistently. With the changes in the way your rear bag lays, the terrain, bipod height, the way you pull the rifle back, the way your shoulder lays, etc I say on the target is as good as it gets.

 

[ShtrRdy]

Once you place your body into the rifle, it will likely be pointing off target. You need to do some fine adjustment when checking NPA to bring your body and the rifle to pointing to the target.

 

[BOLTRIPPER]

this all depends weather or not i had my morning constitutional......

 

[RobertB]

I always lay down straight to the target and then move my rifle in to the target. Always works great for me.

 

[kraigWY]

If when you get all settled down in a total relaxed position, your NPA should be lined up perfectly with the target. You should NOT be off at all. If you are then you don't have a proper position. Again it must be relaxed, meaning it required no muscle movement to push the sights on target. This needs to be at the longest natural pause of your breathing cycle (which will be after exhale).

If you reach this point, and you're not perfectly lined up on your target (NPA) then adjust your position.

You should never have to muscle your sights on target. If you do, your follow through will suffer. A simple test is get your perfect position, perfect NPA, close your eye, breath (naturally) a couple times. Dry fire, open your eyes and see where the sights are lined up. If they're not lined up on the target, adjust your position and try it again.

 

[david8989]

When I initially lay down behind the rifle i'm usually no more than a couple feet off target. Thats when the NPOA tweaking comes into play though. Like others have said, once you have your NPOA correct your rifle, relaxed body, and crosshairs should line up perfectly on target.

 

[Sterling Shooter]

When I shoulder the rifle I do not let the target distract me, that's to say, I do not look at the target. I do not look at the target, to avoid unconsciously muscling to it while shouldering the rifle. If I unconsciously steer to the target I will not have a natural point of aim; and, it will be difficult to get a natural point of aim since that would mean abandoning the sight picture which my brain will resist. I find it is better to just let the rifle point where ever it wants to point when shouldered, which I hope will actually be off the target, and then adjust NPA for the desired sight picture.

One more thing, when using artificial supports like a bipod, it is difficult to understand natural point of aim since the bipod dulls the sense of it. With a dulled sense, recoil resistance will be inconsistent from shot to shot and groupings will be bigger than what could be possible. Practicing with a sling support rather than bipod will allow for better recognition of muscular relaxation; and, after having comprehended muscular relaxation from use of the sling or even bone alone, the concept of NPA will be better grasped when using the bipod.

 

[todd]

Thanks, Sterling. I know what I'm working on this week...

 

[McCrazy]

Kraig is pointing you in the right direction.

I always tell people to move their hips and keep their body inline instead of shifting their shoulders or applying muscular force to change their point of aim. Once you apply muscular strain you no longer have a NPOA, just a POA.

Shifting your hips with your entire body as a unit will take care of left and right adjustments. Adjusting your bipod/rest will take care of elevation adjustments.

The rear bag helps make the final small corrections needed to get the sight picture you want.

 

[Mike_Honcho]

For me there is always some. Uneven ground and magnum calibers exacerbate the issue. On a square range, prone on concrete w/ a .22 @ 100 @ 75% of the time I will see absolutely no movement off of POA (black dot in the center of a 1" orange plaster) and a big movement might be @ 1/3 MIL. However, w/ a .308 @ say 600 on a UKD range in the middle of the woods (not exactly a pristine place to go prone) It is pretty common for me to fire the round and watch the impact down range with the reticle @ 1/2 MIL high and a 1/2 MIL right of the POA. .308, on concrete, 100 yrds, it is going to top right edge of the 1" orange plaster. It is very rare for me not to watch the impact of every round fired. While watching the impact in real time doesn't equate to a perfect position, it's a pretty reasonable start. All I can do is keep working on it.


ETA: Chuck's Indoor Training Aid, a mirror, etc help, but only have so much time in the day....

 

[orkan]

My thoughts on the subject: Primal Rights ? Primal Rights -- Precision Rifle Marksmanship - Zero Force Firing Position