Iron Sight Sniping

[rjinga]

Ok, I know some people would simply consider this regular marksmanship, but “Regular Marksmanship” isn’t a cool thread title. Also, to anyone who is genuinely offended by the fact that I shot at shades of white and gray that your mind perceives at a person, I do sincerely apologize.

I was shooting PPU ammunition, through a Century Arms C308 rifle, off of a table rest. The targets are life-size.

[rjinga]

100 yd targets.

[5thShock]

Good stuff, thanks for posting your targets.
The Finn sniper Simo Häyhä wrote that he didn't like scopes as they (the scopes and mounts they had) put his head up too high.
The Russians validated his technique when they called him White Death.

[4V50 Gary]

There's a great story about a truck mechanic who during the Battle of the bulge was pulled out of the rear echelon and sent to the front as a replacement. No one want to talk to him and this was normal as veterans didn't think much of the replacements and wanted to shelter themselves from losing any more friends. During a pause in a firefight, he realized that his rifle wasn't sighted in and so he asked his buddy to spot for him while he did some sighting shots. Anyway, everyone realized then that he knew how to adjust his sights.

During one patrol they crept up to a hilltop and saw a German staff car pull up and an officer step out. All the Germans ran out of their foxholes to salute the officer. The lieutenant told the replacement to shoot him. Estimating the distance, he adjusted his sights, looked again, made final ajdustments and fired. The German officer went down. The patrol then scattered back as the Germans retaliated with shellfire. He was lagging behind and the lieutenant grabbed him by the cartridge belt to drag im along. Thereafter there were very aggressive German patrols that sought to avenge their officer.

Having proven himself, his fellow soldiers finally accepted him as their own. One day they're sitting around eating chow when one man returned from patrol laughing uncontrollably. He couldn't stop laughing and went up to the replacement and slapped him very hard on the back. Everytime he tried to talk, he broke out in laughter again and slapped the replacement hard on the back.

Finally when he calmed down, he told them that they had captured a German soldier who had been on one of those aggressive patrols. The German soldier told them that the Germans were angry because the officer who was shot down was their pastor and that he was shot through both cheeks! Everyone broke out laughing and the replacement was pounded with more friend slaps on the back. Anyway, after that the replacement was called the Iron Sighted Sniper.

Read the story in the defunct magazine, The Tactical Rifle. I miss it and now its parent magazine, Precision Rifle is out of print.

[rjinga]

I've got a new rifle, and some more photos:

[45_auto]

25 and 50 yard shots are extremely short ranges for "sniping".

The effects of the return fire at those ranges wouldn't be pleasant.

[DMK]

There used to be a site named ironsightaction.com. The guy running it (Thed), made up a bunch of 50y silhouette targets that were reduced to simulate an enemy soldier at 200m to 450m. He also had some 75m and 100m hostage targets for a 25y range and even a 25y simulated 500m tank silhouette where you had to take out the gunner standing in the top hatch.

The idea of course was to set these targets up and practice shooting from field positions with your Garand, Enfield, M39 Mosin Nagant, Swiss K-31, etc. Iron sights only of course.

Good times.

[Chris Karma]

25 and 50 yard shots are extremely short ranges for "sniping".

yes 45_ , he added this disclaimer

Ok, I know some people would simply consider this regular marksmanship, but “Regular Marksmanship” isn’t a cool thread title.

I believe one should be able to hit a man sized target ( with a battle rifle ) out to 600 yards with iron sights

[rjinga]

Originally Posted by Chris Karma

I believe one should be able to hit a man sized target ( with a battle rifle ) out to 600 yards with iron sights

I'm so envious when I see the videos of folks out west shooting at targets set hundreds of yards away. I hope to help clean up, and shot at, my buddy's 200 yd range this spring.

[Deaf Smith]

Read up on 'The Book of The Sharps' and the 1920s.

With good eyes and good aperture sights, 1000 yard shots are no problem.

Deaf

[Chris Karma]

ooh!
thanks!
"book of the sharps" ... do you have any more info?
author? ISBN ? publisher?
I tried google but need more info

[4V50 Gary]

Chris - it's probably Frank Sellers' Sharps Firearms. There are other books, but that's what is in my bookcase.

[Deaf Smith]

It was an old book I read many years ago. 600 yard 5 inch groups using those black powder guns, laying on the ground in a supine fashion. Yes they had photos and drawings of their positions and groups.

Yes eyeballs at 600 and 1000 yards.

Wish I still had that book but when you are 20 things like that just don't matter all that much.

You know, people think we have invented so much 'right now' and if you don't have those gizmos you are a mossback that can't chew gum and walk strait. But the truth is all optics do is make things clearer. They don't increase alignment accuracy one bit.

Deaf