Manual of Military Training Part 109

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 1]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 2]

The bolt (Fig. 2) consists of the _handle_, A; _sleeve_, B; _safety lock_, C; _c.o.c.king piece_, D; _safety lug_, E; _extractor_, F; _extractor collar_, G; _locking lugs_, H; _extractor tongue groove_, I; and _gas escape hole_, J.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 3]

=1343. Rear-sight leaf; drift slide; wind gauge.= The ill.u.s.tration on the opposite page shows the _rear sight leaf_ (raised), the _drift slide_ (E), and the _wind gauge_ (F, L.). It is most important that the soldier be thoroughly familiar with the use of these parts, for otherwise it is impossible for him to sight correctly and use his rifle properly.

The leaf is graduated from 100 to 2850 yards. The lines that extend the whole way across the two branches of the leaf, mark 100 yard divisions; those that extend about half way across, mark 50 yard divisions, and the shorter lines mark 25 yard divisions.

The _even_ numbers (4, 6, 8, etc.) on the _left_ branch of the leaf, indicate 400, 600, 800, etc, yards.

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.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 4]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 5]

FOOTNOTES:

[17] Wooden stoppers or plugs that are put into the muzzles of rifles and other arms to keep out dirt and water.

PART IV

RIFLE TRAINING AND INSTRUCTION

(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:

1. _To make of INDIVIDUALS, shots who in battle will make hits instead of misses._

2. _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:--

1. _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.

2. _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 pa.s.ses 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.

3. _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 princ.i.p.al 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 a.s.sumed 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 cooperation 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 coordination of the skill and efforts of all the individuals of the unit.

PROGRAM OF INSTRUCTION

=1348.= The following outline of the program of instruction gives a sort of bird's-eye view of the system:

1. INDIVIDUAL INSTRUCTION

{ (a) Theory of sighting. (The trajectory; { The line of sight; Sighting or aiming.) 1. Sights and Sighting. { (b) Kinds of sights. (Open; Peep; Battle.) { (c) Kinds of sight. (That is, amount of { front sight taken.) (Normal; Fine; Full.)

{ (a) Sighting drills. (Importance and purpose; { Point of aim; Triangle of sighting.) { (Verifying the triangle; causes of errors.) { (b) Position and aiming drills. (Objects 2. Preliminary drills. { [3]; Position exercise; Aiming exercise; { Trigger-squeeze exercise; Rapid-fire exercise; { Kneeling, sitting down, and p.r.o.ne.) { (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