The Plattsburg Manual: A Handbook for Military TrainingGarey, E. B. (Enoch Barton)
History
The Plattsburg Manual: A Handbook for Military Training
Garey, E. B. (Enoch Barton)
Military training camps -- United States; United States. Army -- Handbooks, manuals, etc.
No. 1. Gun is canted to the right. Sling is on the outside of the arm.
Right thumb is across small of stock which is the cause of bruises and
sore lips. Left elbow not well under. Eye too far from rear sight piece.
No. 2. Legs not straight. Gun canted to right. Left elbow not well under
gun.
No. 3. Legs are in an improper position. Body is twisted to the left.
Sling. Your ability to hold the rifle steadily in any required
position will be greatly increased by the proper adjustment and use of
the sling. Indeed, you cannot hope to hold the rifle steadily unless the
sling is properly used. The following photographs illustrate the correct
way to get into the sling.
[Illustration: No. 1.]
No. 1. Notice that the left arm is slipped in between the sling and the
gun from the left side. It is then run through the sling from the right
side of same. Notice how gun is held against leg. Notice that the muzzle
of the gun is pointing up, not down. The bolt should be drawn back while
you get into the sling. This is to avoid accidents. Notice that the
sight leaf is down.
[Illustration: No. 2]
No. 2. Notice that the sling has been slipped up and over the large
muscles of the upper arm. Also the left hand after being run through the
sling is grasping the gun to that the sling is to the right.
By turning back now to the photographs illustrating the correct body
positions you will see how the sling is used.
2. Aiming. An error of one one-hundredth of an inch in the amount of
front sight seen, at the instant the gun is fired, will cause you to
completely miss a man 500 yards away. Hence, the eye must be trained
unless the firer has at all times a mental picture of how the sights and
the bull's-eye look when properly aligned. You should acquire this
mental picture during your aiming exercises and by the time you go on
the range you should have the eye so trained that you will focus it
properly on your sights and target without mental effort.
3. Trigger Squeeze. If you convulsively jerk the trigger to discharge
the rifle, you disturb your hold and aim and the mark is missed; this
is the recruit's most common error. To properly squeeze trigger observe
the following suggestions:
(a) As you place your rifle to the shoulder, take up the loose play in
the trigger (called the creep).
(b) When the gun is properly aimed, don't endeavor at that particular
moment to fire it but be content to apply additional pressure to the
trigger and then hold this pressure until the gun is again steady and
properly aimed when a little more pressure is added and so on until the
gun is discharged. By using this system, the firer does not know the
exact instant the gun is to go off and the common faults, namely,
flinching and jerking the trigger are unconsciously avoided.
(c) Fill lungs full, that is take a deep breath, let a little out, and
then stop breathing to fire.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account