Universal Concepts - Marksmanship

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The FM outlines our core skills, policies and guides to ensure every member stands ready for the mission ahead.

Adjust your aiming point vertically relative to the target by:

• estimating the distance to the target visually
• adjusting based on previous shot impacts

Adjust your aiming point horizontally, relative to the target, by:

• estimating the target speed visually
• estimating the distance to the target visually
• adjusting based on previous shot impacts

Hold your breath when pulling the trigger to ensure steady aim.

Follow these principles for more effective breath control:

• Be efficient and keep the held duration short to avoid getting winded.
• Time your hold in the brief respiratory pause at the bottom of the movement cycle to better predict placement.
• Learn to compensate for respiratory sway, as situations may arise that expose this technique as privileged for time.

When aiming your rifle, remember that at close ranges bullets will hit lower than what your sight is indicating because the sight is mounted above the barrel. This effect is even more pronounced if you are using the backup sights on a scope.

Above: Sight line vs Bore line

Every shooting stance has advantages and disadvantages.

Standing

• most visible shooter target profile
• likely to clear ground-based obstacles with line of bore
• quickest to assume
• least stable, hardest to take long-range shots

Kneeling

• makes use of ground-based cover such as rocks and low structures
• reduces shooter target profile in the open
• quick to assume
• stable enough for extended-range shots
• versatile

Sitting

• low profile
• useful to clear obstacles low to the ground, such as grass, that otherwise hinder prone shooting
• low mobility, rendering reaction to fire delayed
• very stable

Prone

• lowest profile
• low mobility while still allowing lateral reactions to fire by combat rolling
• capable of shooting underneath obstacles, including cars by adjusting stance down or left / right
• most stable

Use an appropriate shooting stance for the engement while taking into account available cover, sight stability and mobility requirements.

The range card provides ready access to some of the most frequently required information for placing measured shots at distance. The first and largest variable to account for in all ballistic solutions is bullet drop, or the effect of gravity on a bullet in flight over time. Auto-populated for your unique combination of rifle and optic in hand, the range card dedicates a majority of its data to accurately accommodating this first variable in a ballistic solution.

Using a range card

The coloured columns under the range card’s “Bullet Drop” section display different sets of adjustments to accommodate the effects of temperature on bullet drop. As temperature affects both muzzle velocity and air resistance, the differences between cold and warm climates can have a significant effect on how far a bullet will fall due to gravity at any given range. Be sure to have a rough estimate of the temperature in hand to help decide which temperature column to read.

With an appropriate temperature column picked out, all of the below values will display how far your bullet will drop for the given “Target Range”, found on the far left side of the sheet. These drop values are measured in milliradians, or MRAD. For example, a value of “-4.5” (reading the 15°C temperature column at a distance of 500m) describes that your bullet will fall 4.5 milliradians below your crosshairs at that distance. To counteract that negative drop value, we need to either hold the crosshairs 4.5 MRADs above the target, or dial our scope up 4.5 MRADs to bring the bullet impact back up to our crosshair level.

Advanced considerations

In a similar fashion, the range card also provides information for use with wind accommodation, engaging moving targets, and for calculations requiring general equipment information. This data, however, is seldom required in the opening marksmanship roles where simplicity encourages speed, and speed is our most valuable asset.

At the highest level of marksmanship roles, it should be noted that the populated BDA information is limited to temperature and equipment considerations only. Displayed drop values do not account for changes in altitude, pressure or humidity variables, as default Arma values are assumed. This under extreme conditions may compromise all drop, wind and moving target information, requiring manual data collection or calculation.

• Look up the vertical deviation caused by gravity using the range to target and a range card
• Integrate the calculated value into the final ballistics solution

The tools and knowledge available to a Squad Designated Marksman enable him to quickly place accurate fire against a target in the intended range. However, tolerances in calculations, time constraints, environmental factors and incoming fire - all work against the marksman, meaning that first shots do miss. A competent marksmen will quickly adjust their fire to hit the intended target.

Adjustment of fire - Visually estimating offset

If you have a non-milliradian sight, the only method of adjustment available is to:

1. Observe the existing impact point - Easier with tracer rounds, look for evidence of impact on the ground or on an object behind the target. 
2. Estimate the offset from the aim point (when your reticule crosshairs were pointing) - e.g. in the example below, the impag point was approximately two body widths to the left, and half a body higher.
3. Adjust your fire by aiming the reticule by an equal amount in the opposite axes - e.g. in the same example, aim two body widths to the right, and half a body lower

This method is quick, often accurate enough and can be used with any weapon/scope.

Adjustment of fire - Measuring offset in mrads

If you have a milliradian scope, as most modern-era marksmen will do, you can more accurately calculate the adjustment using the mildots on your scope. 

1. Observe the existing impact point.
2. Measure the offset in mrads - in the example below, the impact point is 2.5 mrads left and 1 mrad up from the centre of the reticule.  
3. Adjust your fire…
   1. By aiming the reticule by an equal amount in the opposite axes - e.g. in the same example, aim 2.5 mrads to the right, and 1 mrad lower, or…
   2. By dialling in the necessary adjustment - e.g. dial 2.5 mrads to the right, and 1 mrad lower

Visual adjustment vs Scope adjustment

Visual adjustment is quicker but potentially less accurate - even if you know exactly what the adjustment should be, making a visual adjustment is less reliable than putting the centre of the reticule on the target. Dialling in the adjustment into the scope, takes a little extra time, but then you just need to centre the reticule on the target.

If you have multiple targets in a similar area, it may be worth the investment to adjust your scope, or at least the lateral adjustment - wind and other lateral effects are likely to be similar when aiming in a given general direction. However if your targets are spread widely apart, the adjustment will be different for each shot, thus visual adjustments might be preferred.

Above: Scope view showing the impact point offset from the reticule

Adjust for misses by correcting for the observed impact through any of the following core principles:

• with any sight, estimating the impact offset and holding its inverse,
• with a milliradian sight, reading the impact offset in mrad to hold the inverse of that exact amount,
• with a milliradian sight, reading the impact offset in mrad to dial in the inverse of that exact amount on the scope.