OT: Gun Question

[headquarters]

I guess getting the closest possible to the rifle you will work with in the service is a prudent choice -if you consider this the main objective in training with it .

But the basics of marksmanship and the "second nature "feeling of confidence/ability to handle weapon safely/ about handling loaded weapons in all sorts of situations comes from long practice -regardless of make or model .

So I repeat that you should get a 200 dollar .22 semi auto and 800 dollars worth of .22 LR rather than a 1000 dollar rifle and 50 dollars worth of ammo.

(But I also hear that a hicap EBR -evil black rifle might be a good investment over there now ??hehe)

No doubt there are many finer weapons than the 10/22 .But until you get the money and maybe -the need for a better one - start of with something basic.Its accurate enough for starting up , and when I read that someone could get rounds for 5 cents here,my jelaousy flared up .That is plenty cheap .

And a .22 LR is a potent round -no doubt .Yes there are many that out -perform it .But not many that match the price and the negible recoil and wear on the gun .

The reason I recommend the 10/22 is its true and tested and functional operating system .Also its got a gazillion doohikeys to pimp it up .

In the end - if serious about shooting start up with the basics , and as in most things progress to what you feel like after some period of time .You could always sell your 10/22 when you feel the need to move on .

I got mine 10-12 years ago .Still havent sold it .Cant ever remember having a jam with the factory mags -although had a few misfires due to the ammo -AFTER it was chambered though .

Someone said "if it isnt accurate it isnt interesting " .That might be true for some -but imho its more like "if it isnt functional it isnt interesting".

The 10/22 could be used for self defense,for plinking,hunting,marksmanship training -although not the best in either category -it does do all of them.

No- I dont have a dealership for RUGER if someone wondered

If there was another start up rifle out there that could match its durability and versatility I would recommend that too.

Other than that -there are a few gunsmiths on the boards that can help you out .

Best of luck to you on the purchase.

[kalos72]

Wow this thread went all over the place didnt it?

I think I will just stick with getting the .22 and start with that.

Another thing I seem to remember that was a problem for me was "seeing" the pop ups while looking down the sights.

I was thinking that once I got comfortable with shooting again I could practice sighting the target off the rifle and making a quick aimed shot.

I had problems with re-acquiring the target and getting a good shot off in time.

[Legbreaker]

You're better off ensuring your body is positioned properly and you're holding the rifle correctly. If you get that right, each time you fire a shot, the sights should return to the same aimpoint.

Our qualification shoots in the Australian army involved both deliberate, where we could take as long as we wanted between shots, and rapid, where we had a limited amount of time to fire a sent number of rounds. Once I'd set myself properly, I'd fire the deliberate just as fast as rapid - take too long and your arms get tired and your accuracy will suffer.

As long as you follow the "Principles of Marksmanship", your skill will continue to improve. They are:

1. Position and hold must be firm enough to support the weapon.
2. The rifle must point naturally at the target without any physical effort.
3. Sight alignment and aiming must be correct.
4. The shot must be released and followed through without any disturbance to the position.

Even before you fire the first shot you should "test and adjust". Line up on the target, close your eyes, open your hands so the rifle just sits loose and relaxed in them, then grasp the rifle firmly again, open your eyes and see where the sights are now lining up. Then, move your body around as you think to make the sights line up and repeat until you're happy with the result.

One of the methods of dry firing is simply an extention of the above, with your "shots" marked on paper a few feet away each time you open your eyes (obviously you need a friend to help).

[pmulcahy11b]

I go slightly off the Principles of Marksmanship in that my trigger finger is my middle finger. Always has been. I can't even hit a damned thing with my index finger as a trigger finger. But that's just a personal quirk.

[TiggerCCW UK]

In a similar fashion I struggled, particularly with the SA80 family being bullpup, because I'm right handed but left eye dominant. I was usually the guy in the range with a patch stuck to my shooting glasses

[chico20854]

What Kalos is referring to is the standard U.S. Army rifle qualification course, which has a number of targets from 50m to 300m scattered over an area about 25m wide and 300m deep. The targets pop up and only stay up for a little bit of time, depending on the distance - the 50m is only up for 1.5 seconds or so, the 300m for 5 seconds, and sometimes you'll have 2 up at the same time. They come up in random order, so you need to have your eyes actively searching the area for the targets (they are dark green but usually the area near them is fairly shot up, so you look around for the dirt areas in the vegetation) and then need to shift your eyesight and body to point the weapon at the correct target and get off an accurate shot before the target goes down. (There is an alternate paper-only qualification course, but the pop-ups are by far the preferred.) All qualification courses are timed, and require magazine changes. You fire 20 shots total (in 2 10-round loaded magazines) from a foxhole and 20 rounds (also in 2 magazines) from the prone unsupported. You need to hit (I think, somebody who's sure correct me if I'm wrong) 24 out of 40 at a minimum on the pop-ups, 28 out of 40 on the paper. (You can imagine the joy on my chief's face every time we called out "Bolo" after he hit 8 or 9 for each of 5 times in a row on a particularly unpleasant February day!)

To practice for this on a civilian range, I'd see if the range master will let you string up targets at multiple distances on the range. Have a friend stand/sit next to you and call out which target to engage next, and have him randomly assign times for you to engage (i.e. "Left 100m"... wait 4 seconds.... "Stop"). Or just hope that your new unit uses the paper targets a lot - many guard and reserve units don't have access to a pop-up range on a regular basis. (You can tweak the system/cheat on the paper targets by shooting all 20 rounds from the foxhole at the longer-range targets and fire the 20 from the prone unsupported at the shorter-range, larger targets. This would be morally wrong, however!)

[kalos72]

Chico is right on there...

But I will be going full time if I re-enlist so the unless they changed the qualifications, I will be dealing with the pop-ups again.

I know this may sound funny but, if the problems I have in FPS games are the same as the ones I will encounter on the range, then it might not be finding the target, but aiming. I play HALO alot and can find the target quickly but cant seem to get the target sighted in quickly if that makes sense.