What Rifle?

[Sterling Shooter]

If the goal was to develop marksmanship skills to an extraordinary level, that's to say become a really good shot, what rifle and competition venue, if any, do you perceive would allow for a complete learning experience? I have a thought on the matter, but would like to hear from browsers here.

 

[Chiller]

Re: What Rifle?

Wow Charles care to ask a more open ended question?

I suspect the next question will be what is the meaning of life? (The answer is 42)

I have been noodleing through your question and have been trying to come up with a good answer for myself. There is part of me that wants to come back to the .22LR. Assuming we are discussing rifle marksmanship the .22 appears to be the most challenging as we go out in range. Crappy BC, limited velocity, limited weight, wind issues, etc all the things that are NOT going in your favor. Yet I have seen evidence that people can drill a single hole at range with a .22. If they can do that when things are “crappy” I would have to imagine that their skill set is compensating for all the ballistic short comings.

I am interested to hear your thoughts.

 

[DMann]

Re: What Rifle?

NRA 3 Position Smallbore (.22 rimfire).

 

[Lindy]

Re: What Rifle?

I'll have to answer with Supernaw's Law: "The only correct answer to any non-trivial question is - 'it depends'."

If you mean the ability to apply the fundamentals of marksmanship, I'd probably say across the course competition. At a relatively inexpensive price for gear, you get a competitive venue which emphasizes them.

However, as Jacob Bynum noted, "Successful application of the precision rifle is a lot more about thinking than shooting."

Once the fundamentals are mastered, tactical competition offers the competitor the chance to fine-tune the fundamentals but includes skills like UKD targets which are not covered in XTC, as well as a venue which emphasizes the thinking aspects.

But no competitve venue I can think of really tests all the aspects of marksmanship. One will also want to include some drills like the Rifle Bounce.

(See: Jeff Cooper's Commentaries - scroll down the page.)

 

[Lburt]

Re: What Rifle?

I agree with Dman; no better way to learn safety and outstanding shooting skills than NRA 3 position shooting. I wish I still had my old 52D.