SJO1 Alex J Vega NROI, PPSA, QCLEGC

Marksmanship refers to the art or skill of using a firearm, such as a rifle or a pistol.
A marksman is a person who is skilled in precision, or a sharpshooter shooting,[ using projectile weapons, such as with a rifle but most commonly with a sniper rifle, to shoot at long range targets. The main difference between a marksman and a normal sniper is that a marksman is usually considered an organic part of a team of soldiers, whereas regular snipers tend to work alone or with other snipers. In the military, marksmen are sometimes attached to an infantry squad where they take accurate long-range shots at valuable targets as needed, thus extending the reach of the squad. Another term for a marksman is a sharpshooter, which was used in the early 19th Century. It is derived from the German word Scharfschtze.
1. Dominant Eye -The dominant eye is the stronger of two eyes. The dominant eye will judge speed and range, and focus more accurately than your other eye.
Extend both hands forward of your body and place the hands together making a small triangle (approximately 1/2 to 3/4 inch per side) between your thumbs and the first knuckle. With both eyes open, look through the triangle and center something such as a doorknob or the bullseye of a target in the triangle. Close your left eye. If the object remains in view, you are right eye dominant. If your hands appear to move off the object and move to the left, then you are left eye dominant.

2. Sight Alignment - Aiming is a combination of sight alignment and sight placement. Sight alignment is the centering of the front sight in the rear sight. The top of the front sight must be level with the top of the rear sight.

SJO1 Alex J Vega NROI, PPSA, QCLEGC

3. Gripping - To establish a good grip, form a "V" with the thumb and index finger of strong hand. Your weapon must become an extension of your hand and arm. In a two handed grip which is going to be your best bet in any situation, the first step is to place the gun correctly in your strong hand. For a semi auto pistol, the gun back strap should rest as high in the crook between your thumb and first finger as possible. This placement in the strong hand stays the same regardless of which type of grip you take from here. The first and best type of handgun grip for a new gun owner and shooter is to grip the gun with the strong hand thumb wrapped around and touching the middle finger on the grip. The support hand is wrapped around the strong hand with the thumb lapped over the strong hand thumb. When firing the gun the strong arm should be stiff, with the support hand pulling back slightly against the shooting hand. This push-pull action steadies the hands and wrists and gives a strong aiming platform for firing the handgun. This is an extremely strong style of grip and for non-competitive shooters it is a grip that will serve you well for life. 4. Stance - The weapon should point toward the target, without effort or strain. The ideal position is attained by "natural point of aim" in which no undue muscular tension is required to keep the sights on target.

Isosceles stance: Both arms are extended outward, with the elbows at their natural extension. This puts the axis of recoil more or less along the centerline of the body. The stance is so named because a path drawn along your extended arms and connecting your shoulders forms an isosceles triangle. Weaver stance: The supporting arm is bent with the elbow pointed downward. The firing arm is extended with the elbow and wrist locked. Then, apply forward pressure with the firing hand and rearward pressure with the nonfiring hand. This is isometric tension. Do not apply so much pressure that it causes trembling.
5. Breath Control - In order to achieve maximum accuracy, a shooter must learn to hold his breath properly. Take a breath, and then exhale. Right after you exhale, do you have to take another breath right away? This momentary stop in breathing is called the natural respiratory pause. When you are ready to take the shot, wait for the natural respiratory pause and then hold your breath.

SJO1 Alex J Vega NROI, PPSA, QCLEGC

6. Follow Through Whatever your level of experience and skill, preferred pistol event, or shooting discipline, follow through is an essential part of any successful shot release. Most beginning shooters fall into the trap of trying to fire a shot when the sights appear to be 'spot on'. While this achieves the release of the shot, it is unlikely to achieve a GOOD release of the shot - invariably it also produces a multitude of 'sins': snatch, misalignment of the trigger pull direction, an associated sudden increase in hand pressure on the grip, flinch (from anticipation of the shot release), etc. So, what is the alternative? Following on from the discussions on Trigger Control and Area Aim, applying increasing pressure to the trigger along a line to the shooting eye, while maintaining sight alignment and while the pistol is aimed into the acceptable area on the target, and continuing to add pressure until after the shot is fired will invariable lead to the shot being released without, snatch, flinch, or whatever... There are two more aspects that contribute to successful follow through: Continuing to watch the sight alignment through the shot release and until the pistol has completed its recoil (as a beginner you might not have time for this in the Rapid Fire Pistol event, but it is applicable to all other ISSF events). Assessing the sight picture and sight alignment AFTER the shot has been fired.