CHAPTER ^'III. 



TARGET PRACTICE. 



Section 1. Preliminary training- in marksmanship. 



Effective rifle fire is generally what counts most in battle. 

 To have effective rifle fire, the men on the firing line must be 

 able to HIT what they are ordered to shoot at. There is no 

 man who can not be taught how to shoot. It is not necessary 

 or even desirable to begin instruction by firing on a rifle range. 

 A perfectly green recruit who has never fired a rifle may be 

 made into a good shot by a little instruction and some pre- 

 liminai'y drills and exercises. 



Before a man goes on the range to fire it is absolutely neces- 

 sary that he should know — 



1. How to set the rear sight. 



2. How to sight or aim. 



3. How to squeeze the trigger. 



4. How to hold the rifle in all positions. 



If he does not know these things it is worse than useless for 

 him to fire. He will not improve; the more he shoots the 

 worse he v/ill shoot, and it will become more difficult to teach 

 him. 



Section 2. Sight adjustment. 



Men must be able to adjust their sights correctly and 

 quickly. An error in adjustment so small that one can 

 scarcely see it on the sight leaf is sufficient to cause a miss 

 at an enemy at 500 yards and over. 



Notice your rear sight. When the leaf is laid dow^n the bat- 

 tle sight appears on top. This sight is set for 547 yards and is 

 not adjustable. When the leaf is raised four sights come into 

 view. The extreme range sight for 2,850 yards at the top of 



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