And He Was Asking Me?

by Hap Rocketto

When I was a young cub chasing Distinguished there were many of my fellow shooters who looked upon my quest as a life misspent. One who would give me an occasional good natured jab about the barbaric nature of the life of a high power competitor was my friend Jay Sonneborn. Jay and I go back a long way and we even traveled to Camp Perry to shoot smallbore one year. Jay, a bit older and more experienced, took a good part of the 12-hour drive trying to get me to see the error of my ways. Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show had nothing on Brother Jay’s preaching to the pagan on Interstate 80 West. As it turned out all was for naught as Jay went his way and I went mine.

Twenty-five years later the both of us had met most of our shooting goals. Jay had become Distinguished with the smallbore rifle in both prone and position, been on several Dewar Teams-including coveted appointments as both Coach and Captain of that prestigious team, won the 2001 NRA Intermediate Senior Three Position Smallbore Rifle Championship, and retired after a long and successful career as a banker. On the other hand I had become Distinguished with the service rifle, the smallbore rifle in position, been a line coach on several Dewar Teams, won the 2002 NRA Intermediate Senior Three Position Smallbore Rifle Championship, and retired after a long and successful career as a teacher. I am seeking my final leg on prone Distinguished, the all important Perry leg and Jay is looking for his first service rifle leg. We had both come 180 degrees.

I confess to a little surprise at Jay’s hunt for Distinguished. However, it made sense for him to do so as he was a smallbore shooter who had nothing more to prove to himself in that game and was seeking a new challenge. Much to my astonishment he came to me for advice. Little did Jay know that my minor successes in shooting, greatly magnified in my retelling, came in spite of myself. For some reason I am viewed as some sort of Grand Panjandrum of shooting when in reality I am more like the Great Oz, a magnificent façade hiding a less than imposing reality.

He wanted to know how to deal with 300-yard rapid fire. Knowing that Jay had the best of equipment and hand loaded his ammunition with the precision of a bench rest shooter the answer had to have him focus on the few remaining aspects of the position and its mechanics. I first reminded him that 300 yards is shot prone and was rewarded with a well-deserved tart look saying, “What do you take me for, a fool?” Jay is no fool, and I know that, but the first step to solve the problem is it to put the 300-yard stage in perspective. Jay knows prone.

“The National Match Course is 60% prone and you are an excellent belly shooter” I reminded him. “Your knowledge of the position and wind doping is extensive. For 300 rapid prone you need a high tight sling to keep your position from breaking up through the magazine change, to maintain your natural point of aim, and to negate the effects of recoil.”

“A regular cadence, with a short “dog pant” breath taken between each shot, will insure that each shot is executed in a consistent manner. Additionally the regular breathing will insure that you have sufficient air in your lungs to keep your vision clear and your nerves calm.” All of this is important, I reminded him, but it is mechanical and should become second nature through correct training.

“The most important thing in rapid fire, in my humble opinion,” I pontificated, “is how you deal with the sights. With good position sight alignment becomes automatic. Once eye, rear sight, and front sight are in line the next issue is sight picture and it is possibly the most important thing in rapid. Once you establish either a “Navy” hold, favored by shooting legend Gunner D.I. Boyd, or a pumpkin on the fence post picture, you must concentrate on keeping the post in focus.”

“Your eye cannot focus on two points simultaneously. If you switch focus back and forth you have introduced inconsistency into your sight picture, and inconsistency is the kiss of death in shooting. If you keep the post in focus you go a long way to insuring that your sight alignment will not change. It is OK to have the bull look like a blur, you still will shoot Xs and tens, but to loose sight alignment is disaster.”

“That all there is to it” I concluded. “Now what advice can you give me to be a success at shooting smallbore prone?” I asked, expecting just as elaborate and detailed directions down the road of success as I hade given him.

Jay, my favorite banker, cut right to the point, “Don’t shoot nines.”