jeffdorr recently mentioned reduced range targets to improve one's shooting here in this thread. As he said there, I did a thread on my own forum awhile ago about this. In the interests of promoting marksmanship, I'll repost that thread here for you all.
In summary, I believe that marksmanship is the top priority for shooters, but has been lost over the years. A lot of people here will say "well duh!" but I'm here to tell everyone that slapping a scope on a rifle and poking holes in targets is almost never true marksmanship in the way that most people do it. Most shooters use the scope as a crutch to make up for their inadequacies and shortcomings.
Ask yourself this question: can you reliably hit a man-sized target at 300 yards using only iron sights?
Most people cannot. And that's why I created this thread on my own forum. If we are to be responsible shooters, true to ourselves and for the Americans, true to the Second Amendment, it's high time we see a return to the skills of our grandfathers.
The problem however, is increasing restrictions on where we can shoot. Back in the era of WW2 and Korea, which in my opinion, marked the height of marksmanship in America, it was easy enough to find a 500 yard range, or even a 1,000 yard one. You just went out in the sticks somewhere and shot! And while it's still legal in the United States to shoot anywhere outside of city limits with the property owner's permission, we shootin' Yanks have seen one of the downsides of our expansionism...There's just fewer places to shoot unless you know someone with land.
Thus, most of us are stuck with developed gun ranges, which are usually limited to 100 yards. For some, they're even limited to 50 yards or less! I don't know how many times I've seen guys here complain about being stuck with a 100 yard or less length range.
Enter the reduced target!
The idea behind a reduced target is to simulate the size of a man sized target as it would appear at a greater distance. For example, a man may appear to be a few inches high at 300 yards, so to simulate the size of a target at that distance, we simply do some basic math and make a target a few inches high to be placed at a shorter distance--commonly 25 or 50 yards/meters.
Doing so allows the people who are limited to pistol or 100 yard ranges to practice their long range marksmanship skills. Additionally, and perhaps most importantly, it allows practice without the effects of wind, drop, elevation changes and other variables that can make learning something exactly very difficult. Shooting reduced targets lets the shooter know when they made the mistake themselves and the missed shot was not caused by an environmental factor. Essentially, it's perfect feedback.
So I have gathered together several reduced military targets for the 25 and 50 yard/meter ranges. As Marines are the renowned marksmen of our Armed Forces, included are Marine Corps targets.
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Instructions: Fire 20 rounds in two minutes from any position, including from a bench. The rifle can only be supported by your hands--no rests, bipods, sandbags, etc. Slings are allowed and are encouraged. Magnification cannot be used, and it is preferred that only iron sights are used; non-magnified optics, such as red dots, are acceptable.
These targets were meant for the AR-15 platform, but one may shoot these with whatever rifle they have as long as they follow the above rules.
Use these instructions for the following targets:
USMC 300 yard E2 silhouette -- reduced for 25 meters (for yards, move it 6 feet closer)
USMC 300 yard E2 silhouette -- reduced for 50 yards
USMC 200 yard slow fire qualification target -- reduced for 25 yards
USMC 300 yard rapid fire qualification target -- reduced for 25 yards
USMC 300 yard rapid fire qualification target -- reduced for 50 yards
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For the next target, follow the same rules as the above, with one exception: fire 10 rounds in up to 10 minutes from the prone position.
USMC 500 yard qualification target -- reduced for 50 yards
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When printing these from Adobe Acrobat, be sure set "Page Scaling" to "None" on the print dialog page. Like this:
To be sure your targets are printing at the correct size, a 50 yard target will measure approximately 5.5" from top to bottom, and a 25 yard target will measure approximately 2.75" from top to bottom. If your targets are a different size, you will not have the correct simulated distance at the specified yardage.
Here is how the majority of "good" shooters will do at first:
Here are the desired result, after practice:
As I said above, shooting these targets will eliminate all variables except the guy behind the gun.
When pursuing any skill with the goal to achieve it to a high degree, one must proverbially crawl before they can run. Knowing how to range, compensate for bullet drop at distance or any value of wind are advanced considerations and all absolutely worthless if you don't posses basic marksmanship skill.
So I issue the challenge: anyone take any of the targets and follow the instructions for shooting at them. Scan or photograph your targets and post them here. If you can meet the criteria without aid of scopes or rests, using only your iron sights and body support in any position, you will earn the esteem of everyone here. There are no prizes and no expiration date; shoot the challenge whenever and as often as you like. This challenge is only for the honor of being able to shoot well.
So try it. It's not as easy and useless as it seems, and once you attempt this, you'll see exactly what I mean. It will be a humbling experience for most, and even frustrating. But only through accurate measurement of current skill can anyone expect to get better in the future.
Good luck!
ETA: I forgot to mention...Print the 25 yard target out and tape it up on the wall in your house so you can use it for dry fire practice. Dry firing is without a doubt, the single best way to improve your shooting skills, whether it be with rifles, handguns and whatever. Modern firearms can withstand having the firing pin dropped on an empty chamber, but bolt guns and old guns really ought to have a snap cap.
When you dry fire, please remember the following:
* MAKE SURE THE GUN IS UNLOADED! Check it, double check it, and check it again!
* Keep all ammo and loaded magazines away from the firearm when dry firing! It's second nature for a lot of us to just grab the mag and insert it without thinking about it.
* If possible, put the dry fire target on a wall that doesn't have anything behind it that really ought not get shot. ie: a wall adjacent to your neighbor's bedroom probably isn't the best place!
* If you leave the dry fire practice area, leaving your firearm unattended, then return, check your firearm's chamber again!
Dry fire practice is perfectly safe providing you use your brain and understand the potential destruction after a lapse in thinking!
In summary, I believe that marksmanship is the top priority for shooters, but has been lost over the years. A lot of people here will say "well duh!" but I'm here to tell everyone that slapping a scope on a rifle and poking holes in targets is almost never true marksmanship in the way that most people do it. Most shooters use the scope as a crutch to make up for their inadequacies and shortcomings.
Ask yourself this question: can you reliably hit a man-sized target at 300 yards using only iron sights?
Most people cannot. And that's why I created this thread on my own forum. If we are to be responsible shooters, true to ourselves and for the Americans, true to the Second Amendment, it's high time we see a return to the skills of our grandfathers.
The problem however, is increasing restrictions on where we can shoot. Back in the era of WW2 and Korea, which in my opinion, marked the height of marksmanship in America, it was easy enough to find a 500 yard range, or even a 1,000 yard one. You just went out in the sticks somewhere and shot! And while it's still legal in the United States to shoot anywhere outside of city limits with the property owner's permission, we shootin' Yanks have seen one of the downsides of our expansionism...There's just fewer places to shoot unless you know someone with land.
Thus, most of us are stuck with developed gun ranges, which are usually limited to 100 yards. For some, they're even limited to 50 yards or less! I don't know how many times I've seen guys here complain about being stuck with a 100 yard or less length range.
Enter the reduced target!
The idea behind a reduced target is to simulate the size of a man sized target as it would appear at a greater distance. For example, a man may appear to be a few inches high at 300 yards, so to simulate the size of a target at that distance, we simply do some basic math and make a target a few inches high to be placed at a shorter distance--commonly 25 or 50 yards/meters.
Doing so allows the people who are limited to pistol or 100 yard ranges to practice their long range marksmanship skills. Additionally, and perhaps most importantly, it allows practice without the effects of wind, drop, elevation changes and other variables that can make learning something exactly very difficult. Shooting reduced targets lets the shooter know when they made the mistake themselves and the missed shot was not caused by an environmental factor. Essentially, it's perfect feedback.
So I have gathered together several reduced military targets for the 25 and 50 yard/meter ranges. As Marines are the renowned marksmen of our Armed Forces, included are Marine Corps targets.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Instructions: Fire 20 rounds in two minutes from any position, including from a bench. The rifle can only be supported by your hands--no rests, bipods, sandbags, etc. Slings are allowed and are encouraged. Magnification cannot be used, and it is preferred that only iron sights are used; non-magnified optics, such as red dots, are acceptable.
These targets were meant for the AR-15 platform, but one may shoot these with whatever rifle they have as long as they follow the above rules.
Use these instructions for the following targets:
USMC 300 yard E2 silhouette -- reduced for 25 meters (for yards, move it 6 feet closer)
USMC 300 yard E2 silhouette -- reduced for 50 yards
USMC 200 yard slow fire qualification target -- reduced for 25 yards
USMC 300 yard rapid fire qualification target -- reduced for 25 yards
USMC 300 yard rapid fire qualification target -- reduced for 50 yards
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For the next target, follow the same rules as the above, with one exception: fire 10 rounds in up to 10 minutes from the prone position.
USMC 500 yard qualification target -- reduced for 50 yards
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When printing these from Adobe Acrobat, be sure set "Page Scaling" to "None" on the print dialog page. Like this:
To be sure your targets are printing at the correct size, a 50 yard target will measure approximately 5.5" from top to bottom, and a 25 yard target will measure approximately 2.75" from top to bottom. If your targets are a different size, you will not have the correct simulated distance at the specified yardage.
Here is how the majority of "good" shooters will do at first:
Here are the desired result, after practice:
As I said above, shooting these targets will eliminate all variables except the guy behind the gun.
When pursuing any skill with the goal to achieve it to a high degree, one must proverbially crawl before they can run. Knowing how to range, compensate for bullet drop at distance or any value of wind are advanced considerations and all absolutely worthless if you don't posses basic marksmanship skill.
So I issue the challenge: anyone take any of the targets and follow the instructions for shooting at them. Scan or photograph your targets and post them here. If you can meet the criteria without aid of scopes or rests, using only your iron sights and body support in any position, you will earn the esteem of everyone here. There are no prizes and no expiration date; shoot the challenge whenever and as often as you like. This challenge is only for the honor of being able to shoot well.
So try it. It's not as easy and useless as it seems, and once you attempt this, you'll see exactly what I mean. It will be a humbling experience for most, and even frustrating. But only through accurate measurement of current skill can anyone expect to get better in the future.
Good luck!
ETA: I forgot to mention...Print the 25 yard target out and tape it up on the wall in your house so you can use it for dry fire practice. Dry firing is without a doubt, the single best way to improve your shooting skills, whether it be with rifles, handguns and whatever. Modern firearms can withstand having the firing pin dropped on an empty chamber, but bolt guns and old guns really ought to have a snap cap.
When you dry fire, please remember the following:
* MAKE SURE THE GUN IS UNLOADED! Check it, double check it, and check it again!
* Keep all ammo and loaded magazines away from the firearm when dry firing! It's second nature for a lot of us to just grab the mag and insert it without thinking about it.
* If possible, put the dry fire target on a wall that doesn't have anything behind it that really ought not get shot. ie: a wall adjacent to your neighbor's bedroom probably isn't the best place!
* If you leave the dry fire practice area, leaving your firearm unattended, then return, check your firearm's chamber again!
Dry fire practice is perfectly safe providing you use your brain and understand the potential destruction after a lapse in thinking!