Academy 0/500: Fit for the "Rifleman"

The ability to deliver a precise shot with a rifle can be trained and tested with the exercise "Rifleman". This can be done using a small caliber rifle, a repeater rifle, or a self-loader. The exercise originated in a US citizen movement called Project Appleseed, see Waffenkultur Nr. 13. There, it is used under the name "Red Coats". The silhouette of the prone shooter on the original target medium has been replaced with triangles of very similar dimensions for the "Rifleman" variant. You can purchase the target at Sierra-313.

Procedure

The distance to the target is 25 meters. The shooter fires three shots into each triangle plus a bonus shot into the rectangle. He starts with the largest triangle. The shooting position is freely selectable. In the advanced stage, the user should be able to start at the first triangle in the standing position using a shooting strap and adopt a deeper, and therefore more stable position for each subsequent triangle: kneeling, sitting, and finally prone. As a beginner, the exercise can be entirely shot lying down supporting with a backpack. "Rifleman" should generally be performed with open sighting; i.e. using the front and rear sights. 13 shots are required for one round. According to the instructions, 60 seconds are available for this. Including evaluation time, one round should take five to ten minutes.

The Aim

The triangles on the target correspond to a true-to-scale reduction for distances of 100 yards, 200 yards, 300 yards, and 400 yards, as well as 250 yards for the rectangle. The rectangle therefore has a real width of 18 cm, and the triangles of 59 cm. The target includes a short set of instructions. The fundamental training in rifle shooting is a central part of the exercise. The focus is on building a stable shooting platform, maintaining the natural aiming point, and applying basic skills such as sight picture, aiming point, trigger control, and follow-through. Also, the correct use of a shooting strap, if applicable.

Possible Progression

In the simplest implementation, "Rifleman" is shot supported by a backpack. The difficulty increases when shooting from the unsupported prone position, or using only a shooting strap instead of a backpack. Another progression occurs when the triangles are shot from different shooting positions. The 100-yard triangle standing, the 200-yard triangle kneeling, the 300-yard triangle sitting, and the 400-yard triangle and Morgan's Shingle prone.

ACADEMY 0/500 on the Internet: http://0-500.org