Few thoughts came to my mind while participating in the "Recommended scopes for Mini-14" and other threads that I thought are worth discussing in a separate one.
It specifically concerns people without prior combat or military experience or training who plan to use Mini-14 - or AR, for that matter - as a paramilitary weapon in SHTF, also known as EOTWAWKI scenario - some/complete breakdown in civil order with army and law enforcement unable to protect the citizens with possible armed bands of predators prowling around.
I have serious problem when I see such people's messages - discussing what kind of bells and whistles they intend to install on the rifle based on their hunting experience, target practice, variously acquired misaprehensions of combat, movies, etc. I wish to share some ideas which I hope nobody ever needs in practice that may prevent bad things happening.
Shooting people, specifically people who can and will shoot back rather than avoid confrontation, even more specifically shooting such people in a situation not of your own choosing - requires very different considerations regarding the whole process. A sniper or a deer-hunter (shooting dangerous game at close range is different) can take his time aiming. A man in combat has many things to occupy his mind on which his life depends. One cannot afford to lock one's attention on one target, let alone the aiming process. You have to see what his buddies are up to, memorize where they hid, imagine where they could crawl and pop up while out of sight, layout of the terrain, notice what your buddies are doing and communicating, plan what to do next, etc.
It's like driving a car against the traffic. If you have to think about driving, you are done.
Most of the time such confrontation would be at relatively close ranges - otherwise you would probably be able to avoid it.
The way I see it, having a streamlined, unencumbered rifle that can be brought to bear quickly is essential. Iron sights are perfectly fine at the distances involved. Bullet drop is immaterial or can be compensated slightly by shifting the point of aim. Having clear field of view and situation awareness is very important. Weapon should be serviceable after you roll with it, fall on it, drop it, bounce it or drag it. I would strongly advise against optics, especially one obscuring the iron sights.
The weapon must be reasonably accurized to about 2" groups at 100 yards with no outflyers - as much as the light barrel allows - and feed is reliable, everything else depends on the shooter. Which is essential. And which requires a lot of work on user's part and not the one we all like - tinkering with mechanical stuff.
One should be able to hit a target without shouldering a weapon at the range below 100 yards. One should be able to shoulder a weapon in a fraction of a second with sights already perfectly aligned without concious though involved. Both are possible. Both require quite a lot of regular practice to achieve.
I have very good experiece with a blow pipe and throwing stones as a teenager and shooting cases of stolen ammo with my AK-74 during military service to dispell the guard duty boredom and finally shooting a longbow. Also shooting the tank weapons - one does not shoulder them but the principle is the same. Each took a lot of practice but eventually there was no concious process of aiming - where there even was anything to aim with. Just think it hit, and down it goes...
I'd suggest two things to train for. First - shouldering a weapon so the sights are already aligned.
Aim the the rifle, hold still and memorize the body position, how it feels. Then bring the weapon up very slowly, trying to have sights aligned by the moment the rifle is shouldered.
Once it seems to work, try closing your eye when the rifle is 3/4 way up and opening it once the rifle is in place - hopefully getting the sight picture you expect. Do it once in a while - to avoid developing a habit of closing the eye.
Do it a lot of times, faster as it gets better and the process of aiming will become quick and automatic.
I think the best time to do so is the time wasted while watching TV.
There are drawbacks to using TV picture itself as a target and there are some creative uses how it could help with some aspects of tactical training, but I do not want to spend time on it now.
Second - learning to aim without shouldering a rifle. A cheap lazer sight or even a laser pointer temporarily attached to the barrel and aligned with the bore can be used to swing a rifle, press a button and check where it's pointed. One should be able to aim the rifle by feel from any position and in any direction.
Once you can do that, shoot at the range. Due to recoil, etc. the impact may be away from the point of aim, but once you achieve consistency, it's remedied by shifting the imaginary point of aim. Same for the bullet drop. The laser helps you get a feel where the barrel is pointed. The rest should be as natural as throwing a stone.
I am not sure how practicing with different weapons affects the results. A person with talent and a lot of practice can certainly become natural with any rifle - like people who can throw any kind of a knife. I'd start with one and one only.
Anyone else cares to comment, add, refer to good resources on the subject - web, books, magazines? Not the Special Forces practices, not the sniper lore - stuff a regular self-trained guy could use.
Voruzon
It specifically concerns people without prior combat or military experience or training who plan to use Mini-14 - or AR, for that matter - as a paramilitary weapon in SHTF, also known as EOTWAWKI scenario - some/complete breakdown in civil order with army and law enforcement unable to protect the citizens with possible armed bands of predators prowling around.
I have serious problem when I see such people's messages - discussing what kind of bells and whistles they intend to install on the rifle based on their hunting experience, target practice, variously acquired misaprehensions of combat, movies, etc. I wish to share some ideas which I hope nobody ever needs in practice that may prevent bad things happening.
Shooting people, specifically people who can and will shoot back rather than avoid confrontation, even more specifically shooting such people in a situation not of your own choosing - requires very different considerations regarding the whole process. A sniper or a deer-hunter (shooting dangerous game at close range is different) can take his time aiming. A man in combat has many things to occupy his mind on which his life depends. One cannot afford to lock one's attention on one target, let alone the aiming process. You have to see what his buddies are up to, memorize where they hid, imagine where they could crawl and pop up while out of sight, layout of the terrain, notice what your buddies are doing and communicating, plan what to do next, etc.
It's like driving a car against the traffic. If you have to think about driving, you are done.
Most of the time such confrontation would be at relatively close ranges - otherwise you would probably be able to avoid it.
The way I see it, having a streamlined, unencumbered rifle that can be brought to bear quickly is essential. Iron sights are perfectly fine at the distances involved. Bullet drop is immaterial or can be compensated slightly by shifting the point of aim. Having clear field of view and situation awareness is very important. Weapon should be serviceable after you roll with it, fall on it, drop it, bounce it or drag it. I would strongly advise against optics, especially one obscuring the iron sights.
The weapon must be reasonably accurized to about 2" groups at 100 yards with no outflyers - as much as the light barrel allows - and feed is reliable, everything else depends on the shooter. Which is essential. And which requires a lot of work on user's part and not the one we all like - tinkering with mechanical stuff.
One should be able to hit a target without shouldering a weapon at the range below 100 yards. One should be able to shoulder a weapon in a fraction of a second with sights already perfectly aligned without concious though involved. Both are possible. Both require quite a lot of regular practice to achieve.
I have very good experiece with a blow pipe and throwing stones as a teenager and shooting cases of stolen ammo with my AK-74 during military service to dispell the guard duty boredom and finally shooting a longbow. Also shooting the tank weapons - one does not shoulder them but the principle is the same. Each took a lot of practice but eventually there was no concious process of aiming - where there even was anything to aim with. Just think it hit, and down it goes...
I'd suggest two things to train for. First - shouldering a weapon so the sights are already aligned.
Aim the the rifle, hold still and memorize the body position, how it feels. Then bring the weapon up very slowly, trying to have sights aligned by the moment the rifle is shouldered.
Once it seems to work, try closing your eye when the rifle is 3/4 way up and opening it once the rifle is in place - hopefully getting the sight picture you expect. Do it once in a while - to avoid developing a habit of closing the eye.
Do it a lot of times, faster as it gets better and the process of aiming will become quick and automatic.
I think the best time to do so is the time wasted while watching TV.
There are drawbacks to using TV picture itself as a target and there are some creative uses how it could help with some aspects of tactical training, but I do not want to spend time on it now.
Second - learning to aim without shouldering a rifle. A cheap lazer sight or even a laser pointer temporarily attached to the barrel and aligned with the bore can be used to swing a rifle, press a button and check where it's pointed. One should be able to aim the rifle by feel from any position and in any direction.
Once you can do that, shoot at the range. Due to recoil, etc. the impact may be away from the point of aim, but once you achieve consistency, it's remedied by shifting the imaginary point of aim. Same for the bullet drop. The laser helps you get a feel where the barrel is pointed. The rest should be as natural as throwing a stone.
I am not sure how practicing with different weapons affects the results. A person with talent and a lot of practice can certainly become natural with any rifle - like people who can throw any kind of a knife. I'd start with one and one only.
Anyone else cares to comment, add, refer to good resources on the subject - web, books, magazines? Not the Special Forces practices, not the sniper lore - stuff a regular self-trained guy could use.
Voruzon
