Always aim below the bull's-eye. Never let your front sight appear to touch the bull's-eye in aiming. Try to see the same amount of white target between the top of the front sight and the bottom of the bull's-eye each time. The eye must be focused on the bull's-eye or mark and not on the front or rear sight.
Look at figures 1 and 2 until your eye retains the memory of them, then try to duplicate the picture every time you aim. Aim consistently, always the same. Never change your aim; change your sight adjustment if your shots are not hitting in the right place.
Section 5. Battle sight.
The battle sight is the open sight seen when the leaf is laid flat. It is adjusted for a range of 547 yards. It is intended to be used in battle, when you get nearer to the enemy than 600 yards. Always aim at the belt of a standing enemy, or just below him if he is kneeling, sitting, or lying. On the target range this sight is used for rapid fire. With it the rifle shoots about 2 feet high at ranges between 200 and 400 yards, so you must aim
| Figure 2. |
below the figure on the target "D." Find out in four instruction practice just how much you must aim below to hit the figure.
Section 6. Trigger squeeze.
Use the first joint of the fore finger to squeeze the trigger. It is the most sensitive and best controlled portion of the body. As you place the rifle to your shoulder squeeze the trigger so as to pull it back about one-eighth of an inch, thus taking up the safety portion, or slack, of the pull. Then contract the trigger finger gradually, slowly and steadily increasing the pressure on the trigger while the aim is being perfected. Continue the gradual increase of pressure so that when the aim has become exact the additional pressure required to release the point of the sear can be given almost insensibly and without causing any deflection of the rifle. Put absolutely all your mind and will power into holding the rifle steady and squeezing the trigger off without disturbing the aim. Practice squeezing the trigger in this way every time you have your rifle in your hand until you can surely and quickly do it without a suspicion of a jerk.
By practice the soldier becomes familiar with the trigger squeeze of his rifle, and knowing this, he is able to judge at any time, within limits, what additional pressure is required for its discharge. By constant repetition of this exercise he should be able finally to squeeze the trigger to a certain point beyond which the slightest movement will release the sear. Having squeezed the trigger to this point, the aim is corrected, and, when true, the additional pressure is applied and the discharge follows and the bullet flies true to the mark.