Basic Marksmanship of the M16A2 Rifle
review by: Forest
I recently received a couple of copies of Basic Marksmanship of the M16A2 Rifle by D. Scott Griffin. Originally this book stated out as some notes on zeroing the M16, Scott then continued to add notes and refine it. The final result was a manual on Marksmanship for the 16/AR15 rifle. What Mr. Griffin has done is to take the marksmanship information from a variety of military manuals (Army & Marine), draw all new (original) pictures, added new photos, and published it into one book. This book is geared toward shooters new to the AR-15, and to rifles in general. It is printed in the style of a military FM manual, down to the “Rifle, 5.56mm, M16A2” and “For Training Only” stamped on the cover. The difference is this is a civilian publication and much easier for the average Joe (and Josephine) to buy than the elusive FM23-9.
The book comes in two sizes a large, easy to read, version ($9.95), and a smaller unabridged version ($8.95) perfect for the range box or BDU cargo pocket. The manual starts out by discussing basic ballistics (the trajectory of the battlesight zeros) then quickly moves into zeroing the rifle using the new Marine Corps method of zeroing A2 rifles at 36 yards for a 300 yard battlesight zero. That is right this book works in yards and not meters! After zeroing the book moves into estimating (and compensating for) wind speed and distance. The book discusses things like breath control, natural point of aim, and shouldering the rifle. The book even covers common shooting problems and how to diagnose them. There is a section at the rear that discusses the differences between shooting an A2 rifle and the A2 rifle, the M4 carbine, and using a detachable carry handle. In the back are charts of how much the sights change the point of impact at various distances for a variety of AR15s and A2 type rear sights.
The pictures, diagrams and tables are very well done; they alone make this a book worth having. The chart on wind adjustments should be laminated and taped on the buttstock, or kept under your hat. The writing is fairly straightforward, though there were a few places I found myself re-reading to make sure I got it right. I also thought advanced topics like wind and range estimation should have been near the rear of the book, while bringing things like position and breath control to the front. As pointed out this book started as a series of notes beginning with Zeroing – so the book follows the original order of ideas (get the rifle zeroed, how to engage targets, then notes on various marksmanship topics). The methods advocated seem biased toward the Marine methods, and KD (Known Distance) target shooting. This is evident when cheek weld is discussed (no mention of nose-to-charging handle method) and in the zeroing procedures.
With the copies of the book I received two copies of the 36 yard zeroing target, one for carbines the other for rifles (there is a full size copy of the rifle target in the back of the large manual which can be photocopied). Targets can also be purchased separately from Mr. Griffin. The target worked well, especially after I went over the outline with a wide black marker per Scott’s instructions (future versions of the target will already have a thicker outline). Adjust the sights so point of impact = point of aim and you have a nice 300 yard zero. The only issue I had with the targets is with the rifle target. At first I thought the targets were marked incorrectly until Mr. Griffin pointed out my error (I didn’t read the ‘fine print’ as they say). The Carbine target’s grid is set up so its 1 click of front sight elevation and 3 clicks of windage per square (like the military 25M targets). However, the rifle target is 2 clicks of elevation and about 6 clicks of windage per square; this is what threw me. Personally I prefer smaller squares (with the 1 Elevation/3 Azimuth clicks per square), as I find it easier to count the number of clicks I need to adjust. I did find one inconsistency in the book, in the ranging section he lists the front sight as being the width of a man at 300M; in FM 23-9 (appendix B) its listed as the width of a man at 175meters (that corresponds with my observations and calculations). Mr. Griffin got this info straight out of the Marines manual MCRP 3-01A. However in order for the front sight to be the width of a man at 300M you would have to be using a Match (.052” wide) front sight, and have a cheek weld about 4” behind the common nose-to-charging handle cheek weld (i.e. you would have to be of small stature). I would also disagree with the author's conclusion that there is no significant advantage of the 20" rifle over the carbines, but this 'conclusion' does not factor into the marksmanship lessons.
Don’t let my nit-picking make you hesitate. Basic Marksmanship of the M16A2 Rifle is a gold mine of useful marksmanship information and tips. Overall I give this book a ‘thumbs up’, and a “must have” for all new shooters.
Added 16 April 2002: I just got a note from Scott that the current versions of the book has the relationship of the front sight to the width of a man corrected.
Added 14 Mar 2003: I talked with Scott in December, he has taken down his website. Despite lots of interest in his book, he was having a hard time finding the time to take care of the orders and respond to correspondance. However, he does have manuals left so if you e-mail him directly you can probably still get one.
Added 11 Aug 2003: Received an e-mail from Scott. He's printed up a batch of the smaller version of the manual and each manual comes with a free zeroing target. Booklet is $9.95 plus $1.75 shipping. Contact Scott to order one at SCOTTGRIFFN at AOL dot COM
