INDIVIDUAL TARGET COACHING CARDS

INDIVIDUAL TARGET COACHING CARDS.

REQUENTLY on the target range an officer is dum- F I founded at finding a soldier who has, in spite of his thorough preliminary instruction, completely forgotten how to adjast his carbine sight for elevation as well as for windage. lor having fired, fails upon subsequent occasions to remember the adjustment. The accompanying card is submitted, hoping that it may Iremedy. some of the trials of the range, and promote Ekch carbine has its own individuality-different in dif-fererit men's hands. A graphical record of the carbine that I had last Season I found a valuable aid in my own shooting. Ib is also a noted fact t h e ideas vary as to what 5 , IO, 20. or 40mile winds are, as well as their effects. This system concerns only effects. Where the winds are inconstant in in-tensikp they must be mentally averaged ; the system is simply a rough, though valuable method of jogging the memory. Rarely does a man shoot his preliminary and record shots when the winds and the light are the same, and even if he did. he would find it difficult to recall the exact pre- .vioas settings of the sight. The windage taken at all ranges is the same for one position of the range flags. hence. by keeping a record of the windage and elevations as indicated by the sight, &he man will, in a few days, have a complete graphical record of the effects of certain winds as indicated by tbe fbg, and certain lights as indicated by his record of them, to guide him in his shooting. He should keep his card by his side while shooting, frequently consult it, and bet& individual results. I

TARGET COACHING CARDS.

69 , make his notes thereon under the proper flag, when he finds himself satisfied that he has the proper setting for wind, light and range. The forms on the card, furthermore. contain information that will assist the fine shot probably more than the poor J Fig.1. one. The card may be simply a half sheet of foolscap paper, and when not in use, kept on an ordinary bill file, and taken to the range with the other troop records. This represents the flag in the various positions that we see them on the range, numbered for convenience I, 2, 3, 4. 5,6, 7, 8 and g, When the wind is of greater intensity than that just. sufficient to extend the flags to the position occupied by flags Nos. I and 9. the shooter must estimate for himself, or learn by experience how much windage to take. The diameter of the circle below the target represents, first, the horizontal' projection of the jection of the horizon. The circumference of the circle is used to indicate the position of the sun, and the character of the light. Fig. I. target in vertical position; second, the vertical pro- .- @ e E3 i3 €I To illustrate: The circle in the first circumference indicates a bright sun, unobscured by clouds, at sunrise; the corresponding position at the other extremity of the diameter representing sunset; intermediate points on either circumference or diameter representing hours corresponding to the time of day that The position With would find the sun in that position. of the circle corresponds to the XI1 on the clock dial. a The second indicates a. bright sun at noon. U e, 1 ' 1- 60

TARGET COACHING CARDS.

reference to the plane of the target it is observed that the sun is behind its horizontal projection, hence, the sun shines on the back of the target. The third indicates a sun overhead at noon (for the tropics). The next indicates a bright sun unobscured by clouds, at g A. H.; the sun shining on the face of the target, hence represented as passing over the lower semi-circle, the middle point of w6ich would represent noon. 4 I The last indicates a cloudy day, about 3 P. M. td w 1 2 3 4 5 9 2 3 4 5

I I Tbis is a refinement that probably most men will not at first grasp, but it shows the possibilities. This record of time ,and sun should be connected with the record of elevation and windage, by a line or by an alphabetical reference, as shown on the individual range card submitted. Figure 2. This form represents a sight-leaf on a carbine, and 4 windage-circle. and, when marked by pencil or ink on 1 I I l I / I the qnge. as on tlie accompanying card, will plainly indicate the e ewation and windage taken at the time, and under the cond k 'ons represented; it is especially valuable to record elev3iom. In my experience of seventeen years I have not

TARGET COACHING CARDS.

61 found one carbine that in shooting I adjusted according to the marked elevations on the sight ; and this experience extends from sea-level at Batangas, P. I., to the ranges gt Wingate and Bayard, N. M., over 5.000 feet elevation. This represents the sight of the new weapon -being a blank form, the figures representing the ranges, and the center line indicating the windage taken, being inserted on the range by the man firing. This contains empirical information, in the absence of the man's own. These figures are the result of my own shooting. Thus, I find that, when the wind is a little stronger than that indicated by the flag occupying the Figure 3. Figure 4.

W I N D A G E

L E F T

PO NTS

RIGHT

--- --7 G T ; ' - : 4 i ~ c l 1 1; 1:

FIG. 4.

sixth position, I take no windage, either to the left or right. (See ranhe card on page 63.) The next stage of wind from the right, shown by the flag (7). immediately caused me to take five-sixths of a point of windage to the right, whereas no wind at all as shown by flag (s), necessitated windage to the amount of one half point to the left. Likewise, a little more wind from the left, flag 4. necessitated no more windage; flag 3, however, caused a jump to one point. A wind indicated by flag 6 would necessitate one.third point of windage to the left. I observed on the range that the long flags supplied by the Ordnance Department, plainly indicated by the number of their folds, or the absence of them, decided difference in wind velocities Those shown in the diagram are enough to note ; they mark successive noticeable steps. The windage 'valuations are my own for one carbine. If they do not suit another person, he should cross them out. and substitute such others as he finds correct. In using this stamp care must be exercised to have the extreme bracket ends embrace

TA RGE T COA CHING CARDS.

TARGET COACHZNG CARDS.

the outer flags; shifting it to the right or left makes the data incorrect. This contains the range indications and the value an the target of olle point of windage, twenty-five Figure 5. Winda8e Left Points Right - I ;7RI 1% 1 -ua va HI0 SA, 1% I ’ w Ij -- I ‘ a.

INCHES.

INCHEB.

I( Q 5 !i - 12 \ \

\ I I I I

1 \ I I I

I I I

I \ I I I I I I I I I I. I I I I I I I I6 1 12 -1- 26 ’ 16 40 i 20

FIG.

6. I I I & - ;% I I 1 I I yards elevation, and the allowance for fouling at the various ranges. These figures are taken from Laflin & Rand’s table, and Lieutenant Mumlqa’s pamphlet. This record should be kept on a separate pad by some one detailed to keep it. It should record accurately the ldcatioa of the individual shots. Attention to this will prevent men sleeping and lounging on the range when there is a possibility of their learning some- + thing. Figure 6. (See page 60.) I & 600 3t 800 4 - _ __

ISDIVIDUAL

RASQE CABD.