Manual of Military Training, James A. Moss [books under 200 pages .TXT] 📗
- Author: James A. Moss
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The odd numbered hundreds of yards (300, 500, 700, etc.) are on the right branch of the leaf.
The numbers rest on top of the lines to which they refer.
So, if you want to fire at a target 800 yards away, set the rear sight at 8; 1,000 yards, at 10; 1,200 yards, at 12, etc.
With the fly leaf up, ranges from 100 to 2350 yards can be obtained through the peep hole, K; from 100 to 2450 through the lower peep notch, J; and from 1400 to 2750 yards through the upper peep notch, G.
There is a horizontal line on the drift slide, across the peep hole, K. If the peep hole sight is used the sight is set by this horizontal line, which is set opposite the proper graduation (line across branch of leaf).
If the peep notch, J, is used, the sight is set by the short horizontal line—that is, on a line with the top of the notch.
If the peep notch, G, is used, the sight is set by the top of the slide, C, which is set on the proper graduation.
Care must be taken not to use one of the peep notches when the sight has been set for the peep hole, or not to do the reverse, without first changing the sight.
The sighting notch, A, used when the range is 2850 yards, is hardly ever used, because the rifle is very, very seldom, if ever, fired at that range.
By battle sight we mean the position of the rear sight with the leaf down, and it corresponds to a sight setting of 530 yards. The notch, H, that is used when the leaf is down is called the battle sight notch. The battle sight is the only one used in rapid fire. In unexpected, close encounters the side that first opens a rapid and accurate fire has a great advantage over the other.
[17] Wooden stoppers or plugs that are put into the muzzles of rifles and other arms to keep out dirt and water.
(Based on Small-Arms Firing Manual)
1344. Object of system of instruction. The object of the system of rifle training and instruction employed in our Army is two-fold:
To make of INDIVIDUALS, shots who in battle will make hits instead of misses. To make of ORGANIZATIONS, pliable, manageable MACHINES, capable of delivering in battle a volume of EFFECTIVE fire.1345. To make of INDIVIDUALS shots who in battle will make hits instead of misses. This is accomplished by INDIVIDUAL training and instruction whereby the skill of the soldier as a rifleman is so developed as to be up to the capabilities of his rifle, which is probably the best and most accurate rifle in the world,—that is to say—
Effort is made to so develop the shooting skill of the soldier that he will be able to make his rifle do the things that it is capable of doing.
To accomplish this end the soldier is put through a course of individual instruction that divides itself into three main phases or stages, viz:—
Preliminary drills. By means of preliminary drills in the form of sighting drills; position and aiming drills; and deflection and correction elevation drills, he is taught the theoretical, fundamental principles of shooting. Gallery practice. Having been taught the theoretical, fundamental principles of shooting by means of the preliminary drills mentioned in the proceeding paragraph, the soldier is then shown how to apply them in a simple, elementary way by being put through a course of gallery practice with the .22 Cal. Gallery Practice Rifle, using reduced charges. This practice may be called the transitory phase or period of individual instruction, during which The soldier passes from his acquisition of the theoretical, fundamental principles of shooting to their application to actual firing, on the target range, with the regulation Army rifle. Range practice. Having gone through the course in gallery practice, the soldier then fires on the target range, applying and putting into practice, with the regulation Army rifle; the theoretical principles of shooting taught him during the preliminary drills, and in the application and practice of which he was also instructed during the gallery practice.1346. Other Instruction. While the above phases embody the principal subjects in which a soldier is trained and instructed in developing his skill in shooting, he is also instructed in other matters that are necessary to round out and complete his skill in marksmanship,—for example, the care of the rifle, estimating distances, the effect of light, wind, and temperature, etc.
1347. To make of ORGANIZATIONS pliable, manageable MACHINES, capable of delivering in battle a volume of EFFECTIVE fire. This is accomplished by collective training and instruction, in which a number of soldiers (for example, a squad, platoon, or company), under command of a leader, fire, under assumed tactical situations, at targets which simulate the appearance of an enemy under conditions approaching those found in war. This kind of training and instruction is called, "Combat practice."
In combat practice the individual is trained in firing as part of a tactical unit,—that is to say, in coöperation with others,—and the commanders of the tactical units are taught how to direct and control the fire of their units,[18] obtaining the maximum efficiency of fire by coördination of the skill and efforts of all the individuals of the unit.
PROGRAM OF INSTRUCTION1348. The following outline of the program of instruction gives a sort of bird's-eye view of the system:
1. INDIVIDUAL INSTRUCTION 1. Sights and Sighting. (a) Theory of sighting. (The trajectory; The line of sight; Sighting or aiming.) (b) Kinds of sights. (Open; Peep; Battle.) (c) Kinds of sight. (That is, amount of front sight taken.) (Normal; Fine; Full.) 2. Preliminary drills. (a) Sighting drills. (Importance and purpose; Point of aim; Triangle of sighting.) (Verifying the triangle; causes of errors.) (b) Position and aiming drills. (Objects [3]; Position exercise; Aiming exercise; Trigger-squeeze exercise; Rapid-fire exercise; Kneeling, sitting down, and prone.) (c) Deflection and elevation correction drills. 3. Gallery practice. (Object and importance.) 4. Range practice. (Instruction practice; Range practice.) 5. Other Instruction. (Use of sling; Designation of winds; Zero of rifle; Estimating distances [with the eye, by trial shots, and by trial volleys]; Wind; Temperature; Light; Mirage; Care of rifle, etc.) INDIVIDUAL INSTRUCTION Sights and SightingTheory of Sighting
1349. The trajectory. As the bullet passes through the air it makes a curved line something like this:
This curved line is called the trajectory.
The resistance of the air and the force of gravity (the force that pulls all bodies toward the earth) are the two things that make the path of the bullet a curved line, just the same as they make the path of the baseball thrown by the player a curved line.
The resistance of the air holds the bullet back and the force of gravity pulls it down, so that the two acting together make the bullet's path curved.
The longer the range the more will the path of the bullet (the trajectory) be curved, as shown by the following drawing:
1350. Sighting or aiming. Now, on the rifle there are two "sights,"—the front sight and the rear sight,—which enable the rifleman to regulate the path of the bullet, as the ball player regulates the path of the ball.
If the ball player wants distance, he throws the ball high (raises the path, the trajectory), using his eye and guesswork, and likewise if the rifleman wants to shoot at a distant target, he, too, shoots the bullet high (that is, he raises the muzzle of his rifle), but he doesn't have to depend upon guesswork. It is all worked out for him by experts and all he need do is to set the rear sight for the proper range,—that is, for the distance the object is from him.
Aiming or sighting a rifle consists in bringing into line three objects: The target, A, the front sight, B, and the rear sight, C.
The rifle is so made and the sights placed on it in such a way that when the piece is held in such a position that the target, the front sight and the rear sight are in line, and the trigger is pulled (squeezed) the bullet will strike the target.
You raise the muzzle of the piece by raising the rear sight,—that is, raising the rear sight has the effect of raising the muzzle, for the higher you raise the rear sight the higher must you raise the muzzle in order to see the front sight and get it in line with the object aimed at and the rear sight.
This is shown in the following illustrations:
The rear sight, C, the front sight, B, and the bull's eye, A, are all on a line with the eye, D, the rear sight being set for 200 yards.
Suppose we wanted to shoot at 2000 instead of 200 yards. We would raise the slide up to 20 (2000 yards) on the sight leaf.
In order to see the bull's eye through the notch sight at 2000, we must raise the eye to the position, D. We now have the rear sight, the bull's eye and the eye in line, but we must bring the front sight in line with them, which is done by raising the muzzle of the piece, giving the result shown in Fig. 4a.
1351. Line of sight. With the open sight the line of sight is determined by a point on the middle line of the notch of the rear sight and the top of the front sight.
With the peep sight, the line of sight is determined by the center of the peep and the top of the front sight.
Kinds of sights1352. (See Fig. 3, par. 1343, giving rear sight leaf in detail.)
The different kinds of sights are as follows:
(a) Open sight. By open sight is meant the use of any one of the sighting notches.
To use the open sight:
1. Look through the sighting notch at the target. (Fig. 5.)
2. Bring the top of the front sight on a line with the top and in the center of the sight notch, the top of the front sight being just under the bull's eye.
Because of its wide field of view and its readiness in getting a quick aim with it, the open sight is the one that is generally used in the later stages of battle, or when fire is to start immediately.
(b) Peep Sight. By peep sight is meant the use of the peep hole in the drift slide.
To use the peep sight:
1. Look through the peep hole at the target. (Fig. 7.)
Correct
2. Bring the top of the front sight to the center of the peep hole, the top of the front sight being just under the bull's eye. (Fig. 8)
Incorrect
Be sure to get the top of front sight, as in Fig. 8, and not the bull's eye, as in Fig.
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