How to Set Up and Use Your Bolt-Action Rifle Sling

By Ian Kenney

Let’s talk about bolt-action rifles and their slings. Many times at classes and competitions, I’ve noticed that shooters simply took the sling off their AR-15 and used it with their bolt gun. Depending on the circumstances that’s perfectly fine as there are slings specifically designed for precision shooting that can bring a lot to the table. So, I’m going to approach this subject from the perspective of “that’s okay, but this is better”.

The “OK” Solution

A two-point sling taken off an AR and used on a bolt gun is probably going to be an acceptable solution for most situations. I tried it by taking my sling off the SAINT Victor and attaching it to the Model 2020 Waypoint, and by coincidence the length of the sling was just right.

This won’t always be the case and, while it’s unlikely I would carry the Waypoint like an AR, I could use the same methodology to make the carbine sling work. The body mechanics are largely the same and I want the sling to pull tension across my back to help anchor the rifle in my shoulder and use bone support to steady my shot.

A Better Solution

When it comes to being as stable as possible with a sling, I find AR slings to be lacking with heavier bolt guns or precision rifles. I like to have a sling that is still easily adjusted with one hand and uses some sort of quick disconnect feature, but is also wider than a typical AR sling. The adjustability makes it easier to compensate for different shooting positions or clothing items being worn.

In years gone by, dedicated precision rifle slings took some trial and error to get set up and even then were only good for use in one or two positions. I also want it to have a shooter’s loop that I can pass my arm through and cinch down to help get it even more stable. For me personally, using the shooter’s loop stabilizes the rifle much better than if I was just using the sling pulling tension across my back. 

Looping Up

Sadly, learning to loop up in a sling is a dying art outside of specific shooting disciplines, but it’s a worthwhile skill to pick up in my opinion. The Waypoint has sling attachment points on both sides of the stock and the bottom if you add an M-LOK QD mount.

If you’re a right-handed shooter and the front is connected on the left side or the bottom of the stock, the sling needs an outward twist before passing your arm through the sling loop. This is so the sling runs flat across the hand; otherwise it will have a twist in it. If the sling is connected to the right side of the stock, then it’s not necessary to give the sling any twist, just pass the arm through the loop.

Get the sling as high up on the bicep as possible and then tighten the loop. Some slings tighten automatically as you push the gun outwards, some slings require a keeper to be slid down — it just depends on the design. The added width of the sling is more comfortable around the arm and back of the hand in my experience.

Adjust the tension to the point where it takes a little effort to get the rifle into the pocket of the shoulder. I know I have good sling tension when I can let go of the grip and the rifle stays in place without input from my muscles.

Shooting With the Sling

Prone: You can loop up to shoot from a prone position, but most modern long-range rifles have a bipod so it’s not usually necessary. A sling can be helpful in those instances where you may have forgotten your rear bag, because I’m sure most shooters have done that at one time or another. It’s a simple technique.

Grab the sling at the rear connection point and hold it firmly so that the stock rests in the “V” formed between your thumb and fingers. Gripping the sling helps anchor the stock to my hand and for me, it’s better than having no bag at all.

Sitting: When using the shooter’s loop the sitting position can be very stable, and there are variations on this position depending on the situation and your flexibility. If the terrain is pretty flat and I need to go into a sitting position, I like to use a crossed ankles position.

This position gets me low and allows me to get my support-side elbow forward of my knee for good bone support. For some extra stability, I’ll put my rear bag under my right leg to take up some of the dead space between it and the ground.

In rolling terrain where I may have to shoot uphill or downhill, I’ve found that an open-legged sitting position works pretty well. The legs are spread about shoulder width apart and the elbows are either rested against the inside of the knees or forward of them to get bone support.

Tripod Shooting

Tripods have become popular tools for the long-range hunter and marksman, while probably also contributing in part to the decline of the sling being used as a shooting aid. The sling can be a supplemental accessory that makes shooting off of a tripod more stable from most positions.

One technique is to wrap the sling around the tripod leg opposite the front attachment point at least two times. When I’m in position, I can use my support hand to twist the sling tighter around the leg and suck the gun down into the tripod. This helps to reduce my wobble zone and be very stable, even for a standing shot. 

This next technique will depend on how far the loop portion can be run out, but if the loop can extend from the front connection back to the recoil pad, it’s probably long enough. Take a climbing-style carabiner and attach it to the belt, not the belt loop as it’s not strong enough. I used a Velcro strap from an Armageddon Gear bag to do this, but even 550 cord will work.

Clip into the loop on the sling and squat a little to pull the gun down, tightening the sling as necessary. I’ve found this method also works well in situations where the gun needs to be at a weird height that wouldn’t allow for normal sitting, kneeling or standing shooting position. 

Basically, my weight is partially supported by the rifle since I’m connected via the sling, which can take some of the stress off my legs as I crouch, while also sucking the gun down into the front support. It’s not for every occasion, but I have been successful in hitting small pepper poppers at long distance using this method.

Storing the Sling

Just like with an AR-15, there are times when you want to keep the sling attached to the rifle but need to keep it tidy so it doesn’t snag on everything. The easiest way is to S-fold the sling, using a rubber band to hold it together, and finally tightening the sling so it stays tucked into the rifle. Just like with the AR, the rifle is still usable and the sling is ready for use with a quick tug.

Closing Thoughts

The sling is a traditional tool and, like many traditions of late, they seem to be going by the wayside for more modern solutions. That doesn’t mean the sling has become antiquated; it still has a lot of value for those that choose to maximize its utility and potentially lead them to be better shooters.

The techniques I’ve discussed in this article are somewhat universal; they’ll work with everything from historical military rifles or modern-day sporting rifles. I encourage all shooters to learn how to shoot with a sling and even if you only need to use it once to make a shot, it would’ve been worth it.

30-06 vs 308 Winchester

Banana Ballistics • May 30, 2023

Banana Ballistics

Banana Ballistics is a YouTube channel based around firearms related content. Whether videos involve penetration testing, cartridge breakdowns, or anything else firearms related, Banana Ballistics is dedicated to making the content as entertaining and educational as possible.

The Best Pistol Zero: What It Is & What Goes Into It

IT IS YOU, NOT THE GUN

A frequent topic of discussion and the occasional internet shitstorm is that of the pistol zero. Let’s peel back a layer and examine what it is and what goes into it.

In the simplest terms, when you zero a gun, you adjust the sights or optic so your point of aim matches your point of impact at a specific distance. This convergence is the zero; the intersection between your line of sight and bullet trajectory. Bullets aren’t laser beams like in the movies and are subject to gravity. If your bore and sight lines were both perfectly parallel, their paths would never cross, and thus no zero could be obtained. Instead, it’s like throwing a football — the bullet travels up and back down again.

Fundamentally, the role of a zero is the same regardless of the weapon: to make it easier to hit where you aim.

AN OLD TOPIC WITH A NEW TWIST

Dots on serious pistols are a relatively new phenomenon, but one that has rapidly matured and democratized. We effectively have both brand-new and experienced shooters learning about dots together.

With pistol iron sights, this discussion is often more academic than applicable. Unless you’re rocking an adjustable tangent sight or similar, refining your pistol zero sometimes requires a punch, file, hammer, and other tools. While mounting a miniature red-dot sight (MRDS) might take a torque wrench and thread locker to perform properly, once installed the windage and elevation are easy to adjust — no hammer required. This means you can more-easily tailor and personalize your pistol zero.

WHAT ARE YOU SHOOTING & WHY ARE YOU SHOOTING IT?

Target size and distance are our primary considerations when it comes to a zero. You want a zero that gives you the most range with no need to aim high or low, within your accuracy standard. Here we define that as no more than 4 inches above or below our sightline. This is roughly the size of a human heart as well as the brain when viewed from the front, but you can choose any arbitrary standard.

This doesn’t mean that all of our shots will always be in a tiny group, and the ever-enlarging human torso is certainly much larger, but this defines our desired limits when it comes to the ballistic path.

SCIENCE IT OUT

All the same, variables affect and apply to the pistol as the rifle, but there are many we can safely ignore. Speaking practically, pistols are short-range, low-accuracy weapons that are harder to shoot compared to rifles. You don’t have to concern yourself with the rotation of the Earth.

You can always get as nerdy and granular as you want, but with handguns we’re primarily concerned with velocity and projectile weight, with sight height and ballistic coefficient as bonuses. Because we’re not talking tiny groups at a kilometer, it’s OK to copy someone else’s work from the internet … at least to get started.

While it’s always nice to have a dedicated ballistic calculator and chronograph, it’s really not needed here. There are plenty of free online tools that can get you started. Here we went with 124-grain Federal Tactical HSP 9mm with data collected from a carry gun.

ZERO DISTANCE

Here’s where the biggest debate happens, and we’ve seen people advocate for everything between 5 and 50 yards. To be clear, the largest variable anytime you pull a trigger is you, the shooter — by a ridiculous margin. Any angular deviation of the muzzle has an exponential effect downrange. The learning curve of a pistol is much higher than a rifle, but red dots can help straighten it out a bit.

Find an initial range where you can comfortably zero. Shoot a three- to five-round group clustered closely enough to discern how much adjustment is required. If that range is your desired zero range, all the better. If not, use that closer distance to lock in your windage and adjust from there.

Many people like a 25-yard zero, because it’s both accessible and more difficult to perform. Twenty-five yards is the most common length of an indoor range — so most anyone can find a way to make it happen — and shooting a group small enough to make fine adjustments is much harder. It demonstrates a level of proficiency, and with that sometimes comes some boasting.

As a practical matter with trajectories, we find 5 yards to have more curve than we’re comfortable with, but the others really only drift far apart at distance. Someone who drills out B8s at 25 yards can zero wherever they please, as the most important thing is making your hits.

You’re responsible for every round out of your gun, so make them count. Even a rough zero within the confines of your skill level is better than none.

PISTOLS AT 100 PACES

Even if you’re not shooting tiny groups or anticipating taking long shots, there are still advantages to shooting at distance. Pistols are really hard to shoot because any deviation of the muzzle is exacerbated with range. Stretching out to 100 yards and beyond may not be terribly practical (though it’s been done in the field), but it’s an excellent way to expose weaknesses in your grip, trigger pull, and follow-through as well as to practice your target holdovers.

It’s also not as difficult as it initially appears, especially with a red-dot sight, causes you to think, and can be a tremendous confidence booster. It’s also just fun as hell.

ON PAPER FASTER

When you first pair a dot with a pistol, like any new marriage, the next steps can be either smooth or rough. You want to ensure your dot is at least a semblance of reality close to your bore. The good news is that most manufacturers of OEM-dot-equipped pistols have finally realized it makes sense to at least make sure it’s pointing straight. Similarly, when you have a factory-fresh quality pistol dot, normally everything is centered up — but not always.

If you have any other sighting systems on your pistol that are zeroed, such as a laser or iron sights, you can perform a rudimentary alignment. We’re also fans of using laser bore sights as an aid for your initial alignment.

TIPS

If possible, turn down your dot so you have a more refined point-of-aim.

If you can shoot a tight enough group to identify your adjustment direction off-hand, then you’re strongly encouraged to do so. But sandbags or other supports aren’t shameful at all, since you’ll always be the cause of the largest variance with every shot. A rolled-up range bag can work too.

The major downside to most support systems for handguns is that they’re awkward and uncomfortable to use. You find yourself in a half-squat at the firing line or holding your pistol in a funky way when seated. A ransom rest will do a great job, but it’s totally overkill for most practical applications. And to top it off, regardless of your method, you should double-check it offhand anyway.

Our common advice is to zero with your carry ammo and train with the cheap stuff. They won’t always precisely track with each other, especially as range increases, so be mindful. You can also purchase or roll your own ballistically matched training ammo.

Many of the problems with pistol dots result from improper installation–a dot that works loose won’t hold zero, and you’ll have a bad time.

LOOSE ROUNDS

A pistol zero isn’t a one-and-done evolution. Your zero can and will shift with environmental factors, impacts, and a host of other situations. It may not shift much, but the best way to tell is to confirm and adjust regularly.

The best-calculated chart in the world doesn’t mean a damned thing if it doesn’t represent reality. After you eyeball charts and perform your zero, the most important thing to do is check your work. Any chart, including the one published here, is just a starting point. These are just aids — none of them are replacements for getting out on the range and confirming for yourself.

So long as you can actually hit what you want to hit, where you want to hit it, you’re well ahead of the curve.

Aiming – Sight Alignment, Sight Picture and Focus

Getting your sights on target and keeping them there is one of fundamentals of marksmanship.

Aiming is a fundamental marksmanship skill that is essential to consistently shoot accurately with a firearm. Properly aiming a rifle or a pistol with iron sights consists of two distinct steps or processes. The first step is creating proper sight alignment. The second is obtaining a correct sight picture. Most pistols are outfitted with Patridge-style sights, which have a thick front blade for the front sight and a square notched rear sight. For the purpose of this article I will be referencing Patridge Sights. 

First Up: Sight Alignment

The first step, sight alignment, is achieved when the front sight of the firearm is centered in the square notch of its rear sight. Depending on the type of firearm that is being used, the front and rear sights may be shaped a bit differently, but the purpose of the sights will remain the same. 

Once proper sight alignment is achieved, the second step in the aiming process is acquiring a proper sight picture. A proper sight picture is when the front and rear sight of the firearm are properly aligned and oriented onto the target correctly to produce an accurate hit. In essence, it is sight alignment, with the target added into the equation. It is what a picture will look like if taken from the shooters eyes just before and during the firing process.

It is important to note that the perfect sight picture for your Glock G17 could be different for your 1911 if each firearm is not outfitted with adjustable sights. There are many different reasons for this, but one common reason is the front and rear sights from varying manufacturers differ in sight height in relation to the bore of the firearm. The solution to this problem is using what is called a hold.

Get A Good Sight Picture 

To determine the correct hold for your firearm you should fire a series of shot groups at a target from varying distances. For example, when I acquire a new handgun that I am unfamiliar with, I will set up a blank paper target at 10 yards with a 1 inch square pasty affixed to the center. I will then fire a grouping of 5 rounds using a bench rest position. The use of a bench rest allows the shooter to maximize bone support and allow muscle relaxation which minimizes unwanted movement and in turn creates a stable shooting position that will allow for consistent accurate shots. Once I have studied the shot groups I can quickly identify the proper hold I should be using to hit my intended target. I will start extending the range of my target out to 25 and then 50 yards. There will be no need for a 1-inch pasty at these extended distances. I will use a pie plate circle target at 25 yards and an IPSC body target at 50 yards.

When I use a rifle I will do the same process but shoot at extended distances. As I extend my range, my holds will change and be elevated on my target. Extending the range of the target allows me to fine tune my holds and begin to create an accurate mental chart for where my rounds will impact the target. I would suggest that the shooter also keep a data book for their firearm and make notes that include a drop chart and the correct holds to be used so that the shooter can reference it at a later date. This is very important data to know and understand because we as shooters are responsible for every bullet we fire down range. The only way we can truthfully ensure accurate shot placement is to intimately understand the aiming process of our firearms.

Lastly, it’s important to understand that focus is vitally important to the fundamentals of aiming. When it comes to our eyes focusing on an object, they are limited to only being able to focus on one object at a time. Because of this limitation, it is impossible for our eyes to focus on the entire sight picture. The good news is we do not need to focus on the entire sight picture. As shooters, we need to be concerned with putting all of our focus on the front sight at the time of the shot. Our peripheral vision will aid us in sight alignment and where we place our front sight in relation to the target. One of the biggest mistakes a beginner shooter will make is focusing on the target and not on the front sight when they engage a target. If a shooter is focused on the target and not the front sight they will have a tendency to shoot around the target. A lot of time I find myself bouncing my focus from the front sight to the target and then back to the front sight. This is acceptable to do, however, it is critical that when we take up the last bit of slack in the trigger, we need to have all of our focus on the front sight when the trigger breaks and the firing pin strikes the primer. 

Start It All Over With The Next Shot 

After the shot breaks the shooter should make a mental snapshot of the sight picture and where their front sight was in relation to the target when the firearm was fired. This can be done with meaningful practice and become second nature after a short bit of time. This is a critical habit to get into and one that competent shooters will master. Calling your shot each and every time will help you focus on the front sight and help you build correct training habits. It will also aid the shooter in self diagnosing marksmanship errors. For example, if a shooter is anticipating his or her shots, the front sight will dip down just before the firearm is fired. If a right handed shooter is jerking the trigger, the front sight will be pulled to the right just before the firearm is fired. A left-handed shooter will pull the front sight to the left. If the shooter is properly focusing on the front sight and calling their shots they will see the front sight moving out of alignment and be able to self diagnose their marksmanship error and in turn, correct it.

Maintaining sight alignment and sight picture for multiple shots is only done by applying all of the fundamentals of marksmanship. The shooter needs to have a proper stance to control recoil and orient the firearm to create natural point of aim. There are no shortcuts to becoming an accurate shooter. One must practice regularly and correctly to build solid fundamentals.

Red Dot Hacks [The ONE Zeroing Tip You Need To Know]

3/23/2022 - Primary Arms Staff

New gun-owners, and even those who have been shooting a long time, can easily get confused and frustrated when trying to sight in their rifles. It’s not quite as easy as it seems like it should be.

We’ve got the answer for you, though. Here’s the simple, easy to remember hack that’ll save you time when sighting in your red dot sight.

 

MOVING THE POINT OF IMPACT

You’ve probably seen that, on any rifle optic, there will be a direction marked on the scope turrets. Usually little arrows placed next to a U for “Up” and an R for “Right” on the elevation and windage knobs, respectively. This indicates where your point of impact will shift when you turn the turret in that direction. That’s the ONE thing that confuses more people than anything else.

In a sense, it’s easier to think about it as if you’re using your turrets to steer the bullet hole on the paper to the target’s center.

If you’ve got your reticle centered on the paper target, and your bullets are hitting low, you want to turn in the direction indicated for “Up” to move the point of impact higher. If you are hitting to the left, turn in the direction indicated for “Right” to move the point of impact to the right.

It’s that easy. Just remember that you’re shifting the bullet’s point of impact and you’ll save a lot of frustration.

Here’s some more tips to maximize your range time when sighting in a red dot.

HOW TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS

Make sure to bring a simple, medium sized flathead screwdriver with you. The flat blade matches up with the shape of the slot better than a coin or cartridge rim does, allowing you to feel each turret click and reducing the chance that you will damage the turret or scratch up the housing. Just take our word for it, it’ll save you heartache. Throw one in your range bag and don’t worry about needing to remember it ever again.

Because the internals of these turrets are very finely machined and tiny components, you should protect them by making your clicks smoothly and slowly. If the turret stops turning, don’t try to force it. You’ve reached the end of the turret’s travel and something is probably wrong with how the optic has been mounted to the rifle, accounting for the need for extreme turret adjustments. Trying to force additional point of impact adjustment beyond the turret’s travel will only break your red dot’s internals and ruin your day. Don’t do it!

ADJUST ONE DIRECTION AT A TIME

Fire a consistent 3-shot group and then decide whether you want to adjust elevation or windage first. Try to make all your adjustment at once.

Marksmen unsure of their click values or the math involved will often just count three or four clicks and shoot again, slowly working their way towards the center of the target in a long string of bullet holes.

While it’s fun to shoot through a lot of boxes of ammo, this high volume of fire method can heat up your rifle barrel, causing a point of impact shift issue. Once the barrel cools off again, the point of impact returns to a slightly different location and your rifle isn’t as perfectly sighted in as you originally thought. Instead, measure the difference between your shot group’s location and your point of aim, and divide it by the distance covered by each turret click.

1 Minute of Angle (MOA) covers 1.047 inches at 100 yards, with most users preferring to round that figure off to just 1 inch. Most red dots feature either 1 MOA or 0.5 MOA-per-click turrets, so at 100 yards a 1 MOA-per-click optic will shift its point of impact about 1 inch per click, and a 0.5 MOA-per-click optic will shift its point of impact about half an inch per click. You can use a sight-in style target featuring a 1-inch grid pattern or bring a tape measure and measure the distance between your point of aim and your shot group’s point of impact to determine how much adjustment is needed.

If you’re sighting in at less than 100 yards, some easy division will help you determine how far one click will shift your bullet’s point of impact at, say, 25 yards. You are 1/4th as far away from the target at 25 yards as you’d be at 100 yards, so your adjustment clicks will be 1/4th as “effective” at moving your point of impact. If a 1 MOA adjustment at 100 yards is roughly an inch, at 1/4th the distance it’ll be 1/4th of an inch. No brainer.

Here's a couple of quick reference charts that provide the number of clicks needed to move the point of impact 1 inch given a certain MOA Click value and distance, as well as the distance in inches, roughly, that one click will move the point of impact given a certain MOA click value and distance.

Get the accuracy you want out of your rifle and red dot sight. It’s not hard, just take it slow, shoot as accurately as you can, be safe and have fun!

Matching twist rate and bullet weight in rifles

The are many benefits to understanding and matching the twist rate of your barrel with the projectile weight you are using. Primarily, accuracy. This article is a high-level overview of the subject, and as such, a few concepts and terms are simplified. If you want a truly in-depth study of the subject – get Brian Litz’s series of books from Applied Ballistics. If you want functional information, read on.

Too fast a twist rate and the projectile can potentially damage the projectile jacket as the excessive force separates the jacket from the core. As we get faster and faster twist rates – this is becoming more of an issue. I personally know a few guys with 1:7.5 Creedmoors that are having the Hornady Match projectiles spinning their jackets off on them mid-air.

Twist rates and bullet weight are often understood, but there are some simple and practical guidelines.

But first, a little background.

TWIST RATE

You can read an expanded article on twist rate over here – but in summary, a twist rate is the number of times your rifling (the groove in your firearm barrel) makes a full revolution over a set distance – this is generally expressed in inches – so a “1 in 10” makes one revolution of rifling every ten inches of barrel length.

BULLET WEIGHT

Bullet weight has increased as we are reached out further and further with our rifles.

A heavier projectile (more grains) will often come with a better (higher BC) – that is, the ability of the projectile to buck wind – they fly truer, for longer.

However, it’s not just as simple as putting the heaviest bullet you can down the barrel. More weight requires more powder to move – and speed is still a priority as a slow-moving bullet spends more time in the air, has more time to be affected by the wind, and in the understanding that everything drops at the same speed (thanks, gravity!) the faster it moves, the further it can reach with less ballistic drop.

MATCHING TWIST RATES AND BULLET WEIGHT

So, in very simple terms, the heavier the projectile (it is actually a function of bullet length and sectional density, but we are simplifying things here), the faster (lower number) twist rate you are likely to want to utilise.

I know, I know, just tell us already – what do I put in my rifle?

Well – here is a very basic chart that will set you off on the right foot. Like all things reloading, there are always exceptions.

8 Best Charge-Stopping Bear Cartridges

When it comes to recognizing and responding to a bear attack, few people have as much experience as Alaska’s Steve Nelson, a former research geologist for the U.S. Geological Survey who’s spent the last 41 years teaching bear defense courses in the Last Frontier. As a geologist, Nelson has killed four bears in defense of life and property (DLP), including two black bears and two grizzlies. Nelson continues to teach a bear defense course in Alaska, instructing geologists and representatives from other government agencies how to operate a wide variety of firearms platforms in a bear defense situation.

In terms of firearm selection, Nelson said it’s really about delivering a few well-placed shots on target in a short timeframe. The more energy and penetration the better, provided you don’t select a firearm that’s too powerful for you to adequately manage. As the bear charge drill in his course demonstrates, the average bear attack will happen at 50 yards or less with an 800-pound animal moving at 30 mph. At that distance, a shooter has roughly four seconds to make a charge-stopping shot, which requires a steady hand under intense pressure.

Among firearms platforms, a rifle delivers more energy and is effective to greater distances, making it the first choice. A 12-gauge shotgun and slug will deliver impressive energy and is effective to moderate ranges. A handgun is worn on your person, however, and is invaluable because it stays with you, whether you’re answering nature’s call or stopping to field dress a game animal. Like the Spartan’s xiphos blade, the handgun is a much shorter secondary weapon intended for up-close-and-personal encounters.

Over the decades, several cartridges have proved themselves as worthy against the nastiest bears North America has to offer. Here’s a look at the eight best charge-stopping bear cartridges ever made.

1. .45-70 Government
First adopted by the U.S. military in 1873, the .45-70 Government has been one of the longest-standing big-game cartridges of all time. It’s also been incredibly popular among Alaskan hunters and guides, especially in lever-actions like Marlin’s 1895 Guide Gun, which is compact, fairly lightweight and highly maneuverable in close quarters. It’s also capable of sending a massive projectile, like Buffalo Bore’s 430-grain hard-cast bullet, at roughly 2000 fps and 3,600 ft.-lbs. from the muzzle. Talk about stopping power.

2. .454 Casull
Developed by Dick Casull and Jack Fulmer in 1957, the .454 Casull is a dangerous game hunter’s dream come true. One of the more powerful handguns available today, the .454 is capable of pushing a 300-grain Buffalo Bore bullet at 1650 fps with 1,813 ft.-lbs. of energy at the muzzle. Nelson killed one of his charging grizzlies with a .454 Casull, which he says is one of his favorite choices for bear defense. Ruger chambers the .454 Casull in both the Super Redhawk with a 4-inch barrel and the Alaskan in a 3-inch variant, both of which are compact and easy to draw when things get up close and personal. Is it fun to shoot? Not at all. Nelson says after about 20 shots, his wrist starts to swell and he can no longer shoot. The beauty of the .454, however, is that you can practice with .45 Colt rounds and save yourself a bit of recoil trauma.

3. .44 Remington Magnum
Considered by many to be the minimum for big bear defense rounds, the .44 Remington Magnum was first introduced in 1955 for revolvers and gained widespread popularity in the 1970s thanks to Dirty Harry. While some may consider it the minimum, it’s plenty powerful enough to stop an onerous bear. A 240-grain +P Buffalo Bore projectile carries roughly 1,600 ft.-lbs. of energy at 1550 fps, which is more than double that of the 10mm and four times more energy than the 9mm. Available in shorter versions like the Smith & Wesson 629 with 4-inch barrel, the .44 Mag. has a well-deserved reputation as a charge-stopper.

4. .375 H&H Magnum
One of the original belted, rimless magnum rifle cartridges, Holland & Holland’s .375 is not only considered one of the best cartridges for hunting Africa, it also has a proven track record for lethality on large-bodied game in Canada and Alaska, including moose and bear. Popular among Alaskan guides and hunters, the .375 is capable of launching a 270-grain bullet at 4,300 ft.-lbs. and 2700 fps, thus delivering massive energy on target. As Nelson points out, the first shot may end the charge but doesn’t always kill the bear, which means it’s handy to have a rifle that can make the longer follow-up shot.

5. .50 Alaskan
Taking a .348 Winchester case and necking it out to accept a .510-inch, Alaskan Harold Johnson was able to successfully convert a Winchester Model 1886 rifle into a .50-caliber, bear-killing machine. The result, of course, was the .50 Alaskan. Buffalo Bore produces several loads for the .50 Alaskan, including a 450-grain bullet that delivers a whopping 4,400 ft.-lbs. of energy from the muzzle. As a wildcat cartridge, it hasn’t seen the widespread use of other rounds on this list, but that hasn’t stopped many guides and hunters, Nelson included, from converting Marlin lever guns for its very effective use.

6. 12-Gauge Slug
According to Nelson, the 12-gauge slug gun is by far one of the most popular choices for bear protection in the Alaskan bush. While it is extremely effective, the main reason it’s been so widely-used is because shotguns like the Remington 870 and Mossberg 500 are a fraction of the price of bolt-guns and, in turn, that’s what the government has provided to its employees. Based on ballistic testing and field use, Nelson recommends Brenneke’s Black Magic Magnum or DDupleks’ Monolit 32 solid steel slug. The Black Magic Magnum is a 602-grain slug that carries 3,000 ft.-lbs. of energy at 1500 fps, while the 495-grain DDupleks leaves the muzzle at 1410 fps with 2,180 ft.-lbs. of energy.

7. .338 Winchester Magnum
The favorite among Alaskan guides as a backup gun, the .338 Winchester Magnum was released in 1958 as belted, rimless cartridge. Based on the .375 H&H, the .338 will send a 300-grain Barnes bullet out the barrel at 2500 fps with a devastating 4,100 ft.-lbs. of energy. Considered by many to be the most versatile North American big-game cartridge, the .338 Win. Mag. has killed its fair share of charging bears. It’s chambered in nearly every major manufacturer’s rifle and has a plethora of ammunition choices as well.

8. .357 S&W Magnum
While some folks claim the .44 Magnum is the minimum for charging bears, many others have opted for a Glock 20 in 10mm Auto and, interestingly enough, passed right by the .357 S&W Magnum. Several folks have even successfully killed bears with a 9mm. While a well-placed shot from a 10mm can no doubt do the trick, the .357 Mag. has 780 ft.-lbs. of energy, while the 10mm has about 728 ft.-lbs., both with a 180-grain Buffalo Bore bullet. As Nelson has seen in bear defense training, many shooters have cycling issues with the 10mm due to the “limp-wrist syndrome,” something that isn’t an issue with a revolver and is the last thing you want to happen during a bear charge. The .357 is also available in smaller-framed revolvers that fit smaller hands, making it ideal for women and less experienced shooters. Any way you slice it, the .357 has proven itself as a worthy close-range bear stopper.

 

But without them, your gun is not much more than a wall decoration. Rifle and handgun magazines are consumable products—they don’t last forever. They have a certain service life, often quite long, but never indefinite, after which they need to be rebuilt or replaced. Most of us have the good fortune to live in a world where that process is as simple as going online and ordering a few new ones straight to your door.

Sadly, in this era of politics and polarization, not everyone has this option for standard capacity magazines. Many of us may be running out of time to buy mags, staring down the possibility of indefinite bans.

For others, time has already run out, but as we saw in California a few years ago, new opportunities do present themselves every now and again.

Whether you’re finding yourself in one of these scenarios or you just want to be prepared for whatever may come down the road, keeping a stockpile of spare magazines is never a bad idea. To help with that, we’ve put together a brief guide on how to shop for, store, and maintain your trusty rifle and pistol magazines.

Buying Magazines

If you’re looking to be prepared over the long haul, it’s important to start by buying the best magazines you can afford. When getting a new magazine is as easy as popping down to your local sporting goods store, it’s easy to justify buying cheap, especially for training or plinking mags.But should there ever come a time when new mags are harder to find, you may wish you bought the best. When bans are a real possibility, service life is everything, and you shouldn’t hesitate to drop an extra couple bucks if it means the mag lasts four times longer.For these reasons, we recommend buying the best magazines you can afford. For handguns, this usually means buying magazines made by the original manufacturer of your firearm, but there are cases where aftermarket mags surpass OEM ones. A quick Google search can usually tell you which is the case for your specific firearm.

For common rifle magazines, such as those for an AR-15 or AK-pattern rifle, “best” is harder to define. There is a plethora of top-quality magazines available for both platforms, often at a variety of price points. For these firearms, it’s not so much about buying the best as it is about buying the best for you.

Most high-quality rifle magazines will feed reliably and last for years. Unless you’re looking for specific features like windowed sides, the primary difference between magazines comes down to the material.

Polymer mags are the most popular option for most users. They’re lightweight, extremely durable, and very resistant to environmental factors. However, if you break a polymer magazine, it’s usually irreparable.

Aluminum magazines are more flexible. The weight difference between aluminum and polymer is negligible, and aluminum mags are plenty resistant to corrosion and heat. However, aluminum magazines are substantially more likely to suffer from feed lip bending if dropped on the ground repeatedly and can develop reliability issues if allowed to suffer dings and dents to the body. Should these things happen, though, you can usually bend the aluminum mag back into shape.

If you’re looking for something heavier still, steel magazines are the very definition of ‘rugged’. Steel magazines are extremely tough, and in the rare event that they are damaged, you can usually repair them. This durability comes with trade-offs though.

Steel magazines are more susceptible to rust, which makes them a riskier investment in wet climates. Steel mags are also considerably heavier than either polymer or aluminum, and at a time where everyone is streamlining their kit, steel magazines are falling out of favor. That said, you’ll have no problem finding steel surplus magazines for AK platforms or rifles like the FAL or HK G3. For AR15s, we recommend checking out E-Lander or DURAMAG for newly manufactured steel mags.

At the end of the day, which magazines are best for you will come down to your individual needs; users in Arizona may be fine with steel mags in the dry heat, but those same magazines might fare poorly in the Pacific Northwest unless carefully preserved.

Storage

This brings us to storage. If you’re planning to pack a few magazines away for a rainy day, it’s important to make sure they’ll still be functional when you unpack them.

The biggest enemy of magazines is rust. For steel surplus magazines, this is obvious, but even polymer and aluminum mags are vulnerable to rust with their stainless-steel springs. Stainless steel does a pretty good job of fighting corrosion on its own, but if left in an inhospitable environment, rust is very real possibility.

For this reason, you’ll want to do some prep on your magazines before putting them away for more than a year. First and foremost, find a proper storage container. We recommend MIL SPEC ammo cans, but anything that seals out environmental moisture will do.

 

It doesn’t need to be waterproof—anything capable of keeping the moisture in the air away from your mags is fine. In a pinch, even a plastic bag will work for short-term storage, but that shouldn’t be more than a stopgap.

Next, you’ll want some desiccant. Silica gel is the most common form; you’ve probably seen little packets of it in bags of beef jerky.

Desiccant is important because when you seal your magazines inside an ammo can or plastic bag, the moisture in the air is sealed in with them. The desiccant absorbs that moisture, drying out the air and reducing your chances of corrosion.

Lastly, if you’re going to be packing your mags away for a long, long time, we recommend a coating of grease on the springs, or on the entire magazine for steel mags. Oil can be used but tends to drip off or dry out over time. Grease stays in place and provides an extra layer of defense against rust.

If you do grease up your magazine springs prior to storage, remember you’ll need to degrease them before use. Grease does a great job at preventing corrosion, but it also acts as a magnet for dirt, sand, and gunshot residue during use.

Maintenance

For magazines in storage, the only maintenance you’ll really need to do is to check on them every year or two to make sure rust hasn’t set in, and maybe change out the desiccant. Magazines you’re actively using are a different story.

Proper maintenance can go a long way towards maximizing the service life of your magazines. The biggest contributor to premature magazine wear is the practice of “rotating” magazines; that is, unloading your mags and reloading the ammo into a different set of magazines periodically.

The rationale behind this practice is to take the strain off the springs and allow them to rest. Theoretically, alternating between two sets of magazines in this manner should extend the life of all the mags. In practice, though, it does the opposite.

Leaving magazines loaded does not place any additional wear on the springs, but constantly unloading and reloading the springs does. Each time the spring is compressed, a small amount of wear is incurred by the metal, but leaving it loaded does not create additional wear in high-quality modern springs.

Similarly, some users raise concerns about feed lip damage in polymer magazines left loaded for too long. Evidence for this is limited, at best, in older generations of magazines, and completely non-existent for modern, quality magazines.

The short and long of it is this: whether you prefer to store them loaded or empty, your mags will be fine, as long as you leave them be. Repeatedly loading and unloading them without purpose does nothing but wear them out.

Still, even if the only time you load your mags is to shoot at the range, magazines are a consumable good. They will wear out eventually. For most magazines, components such as the body and floor plate will outlive the firearm they feed.

Springs and followers, on the other hand, can wear out over time. Luckily, even in jurisdictions with more restrictive laws, replacement parts such as these can usually be ordered online and shipped to your house without hassle.

Nonetheless, if you have a set of magazines you use particularly frequently, a couple spare springs and followers certainly aren’t going to hurt.

Summary

Following these tips will help you make the most of your magazines and keep you shooting for a long, long time. We live in uncertain times, and the freedom to buy a new magazine whenever you happen to need one might not always be available for all gun enthusiasts.

If you’re thinking of stocking up, whether to prepare for upcoming legislation or just to take advantage of good prices, add some proper storage and maintenance materials to your cart to protect your investment. When you open your boxes years down the road to find your mags looking shiny and new, you’ll be glad you spent the few extra dollars.

I’d have to say the Barret M-99.

The reason is not because of the rifle itself but rather the caliber it fires.

The first real development of an ultra long range sniper cartridge was the .408 Cheytac.

Cheytac M-200 Rifle chambered in .408 cheytac (above)

Barret M-99 rifle chambered in .416 Barrett (above)

Because the .408 was first to really dive head first into the ultra long range category it has developed a kind of mythical status, shows like future weapons and and the movie shooter added to this reputation. The .408 and the rifle that fired it are an outstanding combination. However, in the years since the .408’s development some competitors have overtaken it. Even if only by a slight margin.

The most notable is from Cheytac themselves. They further necked down the cartridge case to .375 caliber to produce the .375 Cheytac. It is unequivocally ballistically superior to its bigger older brother.

We can thank California for the .416 Barret. Cali outlawed the .50 bmg cartridge so Barret necked down the .50 bmg case and loaded a .41 caliber projectile in it in order to comply with California laws. It only took 3 years to develop a gunpowder compound capable of taking advantage of the combination. Despite having significantly less powder and recoil than the big 50 the more aerodynamic 41 caliber bullets were capable of staying supersonic to incredible ranges (Around 2200 yards). The .416 has been shown to make first round hits out to 2500 yards or so. Compare this to the .50 that goes subsonic around 1500.

An indicator of the effectiveness of the .416 is to look at the what the pros use. There is a marksmanship competition called “The King of Two Mile.” That’s correct, 2 miles. Below is a list of what the top 10 competitors used.

Two out of the top three were the .416 Barret. The number 2 slot is a modified .375 Cheytac case. The .408 is not on the list.

The .375 and .416 are absolute bruisers as you can see from the picture. They are not for the faint of heart and require more than the average marksman is trained to do.

In order to take advantage of their maximum ranges you need very high quality range finders and ballistic computers with the ability to accurately determine the correct environmental conditions. At those ranges a miscalculation in your density altitude can make a big difference in whether or not you hit the target.

They also require the use of projectiles with little to no variability in weight, length and shape.

At any rate, if I had one cartridge to pick for an ultra long range shot and had to do it with a factory rifle it would be an M-99 firing the .416 Barret.

I selected the Barrett M-99 chambered in the .416 Barrett cartridge as the rifle with the most capability for striking targets at the longest possible range. This would not indicate that the M-99 is always or even ever the best option for a sniper to carry. The .416 Barrett cartridge is an absolute beast. It’s performance is incredible but as with all engineering endeavors there is always a give and take.

This is a formula one race car. Arguably one of the highest performing vehicles on the planet. It’s also extremely technical to drive, requires incredible maintenance, a very well trained operator and probably costs more than the average home. It’s a very purpose built machine.

The .416 cartridge is similar in some ways. It’s performance is incredible. In order to take advantage of that performance potential the cartridges it fires must be loaded with very precise measurements of powder with a very specific burn rate. The projectiles must be weighed to very close tolerances and seated in the case to exacting depths. The operator must be flawless and they are very expensive to operate. Some of these problems are common to any cartridge if you are attempting to shoot at extended ranges. The problem of encountering ballistic inconsistencies at the ranges the .416 is capable of shooting are intolerable compared to most other target engagement distances. The difference between 1,000 and 3,000 meters is not three fold in complexity. The increase in difficulty is exponential. Take the .308 for example, with an effective range of around 1,000 yards. Some small variation in chamber pressure may not manifest in a miss. At 3,000 yards even with a .416 a minor variation in chamber pressure may manifest in missing by meters. The fact that anyone can do it, let alone in adverse combat conditions is more than impressive.

So, to explain why I chose the .416 in a little more detail.

In order to hit a target at extreme ranges you have to be able to accurately predict the flight path of the bullet. In any long range shot the rifle is not pointing at what you are aiming at. The barrel has to be aimed above the target. This results in a parabolic flight path to the target. Much like throwing a football.

You must have an accurate ballistic coefficient in order to predict how high above your target you need to point the muzzle.

Ballistic coefficient is defined as “a constant in ballistics that represents the efficiency of a projectile in overcoming air resistance.” The instant a bullet leaves the muzzle it is acted upon by gravity. If you fired one bullet on a perfectly level trajectory at ten feet above the ground, and simultaneously dropped a bullet from a height of ten feet they would both hit the ground at the same time. The bullet fired would have just travelled some distance. Gravity is constant. If rifle bullets were capable of maintaining a constant velocity the math would be fairly simple. Bullets however immediately begin to decelerate due to atmospheric friction. The energy required to move air molecules out of the way slowly robs the bullet of energy. The .416 leaves the muzzle at roughly 3,300 feet per second/ 1,006 meters per second, or Mach 3. At these speeds air almost acts like a fluid. A bullet with poor aerodynamic qualities would decelerate extremely fast at those speeds.

Ballistic coefficients are determined by measuring their aerodynamic efficiency against a standard model. For modern rifle shaped bullets the most accurate drag model is referred to as the G-7. This model is produced and extensively tested. Then when a manufacturer makes a new bullet it’s ballistic coefficient can be calculated mathematically by comparing its shape to the model.

Standard G-7 ballistic model.

This calculation is only a starting point. Every rifle is slightly different. Even two rifles produced by the same manufacturer may produce slightly different velocities or characteristics due to almost imperceptible variations. While a calculated ballistic coefficient will get you very close, you must fire your desired rifle/ammunition combination and observe it’s real world performance in order to develop a truly accurate ballistic coefficient.

For more details on ballistic coefficients and drag models:

There are many factors acting on a bullet besides drag and gravity but a bullet with a high ballistic coefficient coupled with a high muzzle velocity minimizes the the work the shooter has to do in order to compensate for these factors.

A more aerodynamic bullet retains its velocity better, which means it takes less time to get to the target. This in turn means that gravity has less time to work on it. So the shooter doesn’t have to adjust for as much elevation. Wind also does not have as much time to deflect the bullet resulting in less lateral correction.

Stability is also an important factor. Modern rifle bullets don’t naturally want to fly pointy end forward. The nature of their shape places their center of gravity closer to the tail end of the bullet. This inherent instability is addressed by imparting spin on the bullet by cutting rifling into the barrel. A series of grooves are cut into the inside of the barrel causing the bullet to spin at a prescribed rate

The twist rate is determined by many factors but essentially the longer the projectile and the smaller the diameter, the faster the twist needs to be. The bullet is a gyroscope in flight and the angular momentum from rotation is greater than it’s inherent desire to want to fly heavy side first.

A bullets rotational speed is directly connected to its forward speed. A twist rate of one revolution for every foot travelled would be listed as 1:12 or (one revolution for every 12 inches). This may not sound like that much spin until you convert it to RPM’s. The 416 for example would require a 1:9 twist for a 500 grain bullet that will be stable through transonic speeds. That comes out to 1.25 revolutions for every foot travelled. The 416 leaves the muzzle at about 3,300 feet per second, that’s 247,500 rpm’s. This is more RPM’s than is required to stabilize the projectile but it is needed so that the bullet will remain stable at range when it has significantly slowed down. Imagine a spinning top on a table. When it slows down and it’s angular momentum becomes less than gravity it will start to wobble and then fall over, a bullet will do pretty much the same and when you reach that distance all accuracy is lost

So again, a bullet with a high ballistic coefficient will retain its speed and therefore its stability for a longer distance.

Ballistic coefficient is only one factor in a long list of what makes an accurate long range bullet. It is one of the most important though and has a huge impact on many of the other factors.

I will compare the 416 Barrett cartridge to the .375 Cheytac (which I consider the very close second). The .375 can on the high end fire a 400 grain (25.92 grams) projectile at around 2850 feet per second. The 416 can fire a 500 grain (32.39 grams) projectile at 3,300 fps.

I picked one bullet manufacturer that makes exceptionally aerodynamic bullets for each bore diameter. The company is called Cutting Edge bullets. They have a product line called the lazer. The bullets are the same form factor for each bore diameter.

The 400 grain .375 caliber Cutting Edge lazer bullet lists a G-7 ballistic coefficient of .445

The 500 grain .416 caliber Cutting Edge lazer bullet list a G-7 Ballistic coefficient of .491.

500 grain .416 caliber Cutting Edge Lazer bullet.

While the .375 is an AMAZING cartridge and is capable of remarkable things. The higher ballistic coefficient coupled with significantly higher muzzle velocity of the .416 Barrett makes it the winner in my mind, if ultra long range hit probability was the primary deciding criteria.

Shooting Uphill and Downhill

By Chuck Hawks

The hoary old question of where to aim when shooting up or down hill regularly rears its head. It seems that many hunters understand that shooting at a steep angle changes the point of impact, but can’t remember why or in which direction.

The correct answer is to hold lower than normal when shooting steeply up or down hill at long range. (At gentle angles you can ignore the problem altogether over the maximum point blank ranges of hunting rifle cartridges.)

This seems odd to many, and they insist on making the problem more difficult than it needs to be. But the reason is simple. Trajectory, the bullet’s flight path, depends on the horizontal (level) range to the plane of the target, not the line of sight range up or down hill. Your eye sees the line of sight (slant) range from your position to the target, which is longer than the horizontal range.

Remember that it is gravity working on the bullet during its flight time that causes it to drop. If you were to shoot straight down, say from a tethered balloon, the bullet would have no curved trajectory, it would travel toward the earth in a straight line, just as if you simply dropped it. Likewise, if you shoot straight up, the bullet travels up in a straight line until its momentum is expended. Again, there is no curved trajectory.

You can infer from this that the farther from the level position a rifle is held when a bullet is fired, the less the bullet’s drop will be over any given line of sight distance, whether it is fired up or down. Since your sights are set to compensate for bullet drop, and there is less bullet drop when shooting at an up or down angle, you must hold lower than normal to maintain the desired point of impact. For example, if you are shooting up or down at a 40 degree angle and the line of sight range is 400 yards to the target, the horizontal range is only 335 yards. 335 yards is the distance for which you must hold.

The Leupold RX-III rangefinder that I reviewed for Guns and Shooting Online includes among its many features a mode that automatically compensates for up and down angle shots. Leupold calls this “true ballistic range” and you can set the RX-III’s main readout to display the horizontal distance to the target, which is the distance you need to worry about in terms of trajectory. In the lower left corner of the display it also tells you the angle at which your are ranging and the line of sight range from your position to the target.

For example, if I range the top of a tall fir tree some distance from my house the line of sight range is 151 yards and the angle is 19 degrees of elevation, while the horizontal range–the true ballistic range–is only 130 yards. It is a neat rangefinder and a little time spent with one drives home the reality that, in terms of bullet trajectory, it is the horizontal, not the line of sight, range that matters.

Gun Skills: Setting Up Stoppage

There are, of course, many kinds of stoppages you might encounter in shooting semi-automatics, but ultimately they boil down to two basic types: simple and son-of-a-!!!

That is, most stoppages are fairly easy to clear, but some are more complex and thus take more time to resolve (and frequently involve some creative language use).

A non-operational firearm isn’t much help in a self-defense scenario (beyond the sight of a gun being a deterrent in itself), so it’s worth your time to practice clearing stoppages. One of the problems here is fooling your mind—you’re setting up the stoppage, so you know it’s coming, but you must practice as if you don’t. Even if you’re working with a friend, you know you’re working on stoppage drills, so you might expect issues more than usual. The only solution is to focus on your practice as if you had no idea the problem was coming.

Follow all NRA safety rules throughout this and all exercises, of course; particularly, be careful to keep your muzzle pointed in a safe direction and your finger off the trigger any time you’re working the action to clear a stoppage.

Simple Stoppages Setup
Simple stoppages include failures to feed, misfires (dud rounds) and failures to eject (stovepipes). Failure to feed means a round didn’t go into the chamber even though the slide closed, often because the magazine wasn’t seated well enough or perhaps because of a tired spring in either the gun or the magazine. A misfire is when the cartridge went into the chamber but didn’t fire for some reason—such as insufficient powder or a dead primer in reloaded ammunition. A failure to eject (stovepipe) is when a piece of brass doesn’t eject from the chamber all the way, thus stopping the action from cycling again.

All three of these can usually be cleared with an immediate tap-and-rack. To set up both a failure to feed (or a stovepipe if you prefer) and a misfire round for the same practice session:

1. Load a magazine as normal except for putting one dummy round somewhere in the mix. Leave the magazine out of the gun for now.

2. Close the slide, and then load the magazine into the gun. (Leave the slide closed without racking it.) If you prefer to set up a stovepipe instead of a simple failure to feed, insert a used piece of brass in the ejection port as you close the slide.

3. Now perform any standard shooting drill. Keep your focus on your fundamentals and on your time to engage, as usual.

4. When you encounter a dead click, as you will at the beginning of, and sometime during, the drill, take your finger off the trigger.

5. Instructors disagree with each other here about whether to take immediate action or assess the stoppage. Assessing takes a moment when you could be clearing, and that moment could be all it takes for a bad actor to get the upper hand. You make the determination about what’s best for you, but I submit that you can do both—assess even as you clear.

6. If the stoppage is not a double-feed, tap and rack: give the magazine a good thump to seat it fully and then rack the slide to cycle the action.

7. Get back on target immediately and fire the next set of shots for the drill.

Complex Stoppages Setup
Now for the stoppages that require more time to resolve—usually double-feeds. A simple tap-and-rack can clear a double-feed if you’re very lucky, but in many cases, it can make the situation even worse. This is why some instructors argue for assessing first. “There are symptoms and there are solutions,” NRA Training Counselor Doug Davis likes to say. Either way, at some point, you’ll need to realize your stoppage needs more than just a tap-and-rack.

1. Load a magazine as normal and put it into the gun. Do not close the slide.

2. Insert a round directly into the gun’s chamber.

3. Close the slide. The gun should try to load one round from the magazine into the chamber, but of course a round is already there, so now you have a double-feed.

4. Perform any standard shooting drill, keeping your focus on your fundamentals and on your time to engage, as usual. (Remember, you’re trying to train as if you didn’t know a stoppage was coming.)

5. When you encounter the stoppage, as you will at the beginning of the drill, take your finger off the trigger. Identify the double-feed. Move to cover, if possible.

6. Lock the slide open and remove the magazine.

7. With the magazine out (and your finger off the trigger), quickly rack the slide three times. This should dislodge any obstruction.

8. Insert either a fresh magazine or the one you previously removed. If you retained the magazine you previously used, quickly look to ensure the top round is still seated correctly before re-using it.

9. Rack and roll: Cycle the slide and get back on target immediately to fire the next set of shots for the drill.

The very best scenario for these complex stoppages still has you losing several seconds as you clear and reload. That’s a bad thing in a self-defense scenario, and no amount of creative language will save you. So keep your gear as close to perfect as you can get it and practice, practice, practice clearing stoppages to decrease your response time.

As an instructor, one of the most difficult concepts for me to teach students is the FSP. One of the reasons is because it is difficult to relate to them exactly what they will see in that 1/10 second. Even pictures lack the ability to give a true example. Only an animated video stands a chance of providing a clear example.

When target shooting or casually plinking, you take your time and align the front and rear sights. This allows you to make accurate hits in tight groups. It is easy to analyze whether the student understands the concepts of sight alignment and sight picture during slow, aimed fire.

Proper Sight Picture

The concept of which is accomplished by placing the front sight in the center of the rear sight with equal space on either side. The sights must be aligned across the top. The top of both the front and rear sights must be at the same level. This is what we refer to as proper sight alignment.

Proper sight alignment is essential for precise shooting, especially at longer distances. It is easy to analyze whether a student understands the concept by examining their target. If the groups are small and placed with precision, they get it. If not, they don’t. By analyzing their groups, I can usually tell what they are doing wrong and offer instruction to correct it without much difficulty.

Sight alignment is more important than sight picture when shooting fast at close range. If the sight alignment is correct, even if the sight picture is partly off, the target will be hit. In essence, when the target is big and close, you can get by with fairly unrefined alignment of the gun on the target and still get an acceptable hit. When the target size is smaller or it’s farther away, you need more precise alignment.

For the concealed carry holder, the odds are that any ‘defensive shooting’ situation he or she will be involved in will be close-up. According to FBI statistics, the encounter will normally be at 21 feet or less. At that distance, during a rapid violent attack, there is no time for the perfect sight picture and precise sight alignment.

A quick response and center-mass hits are what is needed. It is not important that all center-of-mass hits are not arranged in a tight group. One could argue that multiple hit locations have the potential of causing greater damage to the attacker from dispersion and expansion, but I’m not so sure.

Flash Sight Picture

During the creation of what has become known as The Modern Technique of Pistol Shooting, Jeff Cooper invented a sighting concept called the “Flash Sight Picture (FSP).” This part of the modern technique has been refined over the years. The basic idea is to get your sights on the target quickly with multiple effective hits.

Colonel Cooper analyzed the sighting process and realized that you only need about a tenth of a second to recognize where the front sight is. Through repetitive training stressing the proper grip, you train the muscle-memory responses of the shooter to align the sights on the target without the delay of the slow, time-consuming, conscious alignment of sights. For this to work, it is imperative that the shooter’s grip be correct. A good way to practice this is in front of a mirror.

Ensure the firearm is unloaded and no ammunition is in the area. Start with your handgun holstered. Slowly execute your presentation bringing the gun to eye level. It should be pointed directly at its reflection. If the sights are perfectly aligned, without any adjustment needed, your grip is correct. If your sights are not properly aligned, make adjustments to your grip and repeat.

Continue repeating the exercise and adjusting the grip until it is correct. Do not worry if you are seeing the two images aligned, that is another problem and takes another lesson to correct. Once you can repeat the grip on demand, slowly increase the speed of the presentation in front of the mirror. Remember, they say it takes 500 perfect repetitions to build the muscle memory needed to learn an action.

What you want to do is take advantage of your innate ability to point at things the way you have your entire life. Remember your mother telling you not to point because it was impolite? Well now it’s not, and we want to be impolite. So, point away to your heart’s content.

The technique to obtain the FSP is to first look at your target, focus on center mass, present your firearm — bringing it from the low-ready position to eye level — and move toward the target while maintaining focus on the threat. When you see the front sight in line with the target, transfer your focus to the sight.

When the front sight hits the A-Zone, press the trigger. You should be rewarded with good center mass hits. Of course, this assumes competent trigger control, which is something you have already mastered. Trigger control is, after all, a critical fundamental skill for shooters to concentrate on, regardless of the technique used.

Point Shooting

Something needs to be mentioned now and that is the difference between the FSP and Point Shooting. When Point Shooting, the pistol is drawn from the holster and fired from the level of the hip or forward of the hip. You do not bring the gun to eye level nor are the sights being aligned.

Some research statistics and studies indicate that being in a gunfight and shot or killed, you stand an 80% chance that it will happen at 21 feet or less. So, using a method to aim and shoot that is instinctual, fast, and accurate — such as FSP shooting — makes sense to me, especially for close engagements. If you have been trained in proper sight alignment, then it should be an easy transition to learn to use the FSP method.

Understand however, that it is a technique you must practice, study, and decide when, if, and in which situations it will work best for you. Again, do not use this technique without lots of practice. Remember, to safely practice bringing the gun up and on target quickly — without ammo in the area designated for dry-firing in your home.

When you go to the range and engage in live fire, you will be rewarded by the number of A zone hits and how quickly you are able to get them. With Flash Sight Picture shooting at seven yards, you should be able to get consistent hits in the A zone almost every time — even when the front sight is not in perfect alignment. If you are out of the A zone, slow down a bit, and check/adjust your grip until you are on target.

The key to all things shooting is to practice often, beginning slow and then increasing the speed slowly. The speed will come on its own as you master the skill. As the good Colonel used to say, “Ride hard, shoot straight, and speak the truth.”

Although the pictures show perfect sight alignment, that will not always be the case with a Flash Sight Picture. The concept is about getting a quick sight picture that is accurate enough to land a critical hit to the threat — before the threat lands a hit on you.