Nearly every shooter understands the basic principles of marksmanship: position, grip, sight alignment, breathing, trigger control and follow-through. But something not frequently talked about outside of highly competitive or specialist training circles is the concept of natural point of aim (NPOA).
Have you ever felt like you were working against your gun to get it back on target after every shot, even though you thought you were in a stable position? The most likely reason is that you did not take the time to establish your NPOA. So what is it?
US Army TC 3-22.9 Rifle Marksmanship defines the natural point of aim as, “the point where the barrel naturally orients when the shooter’s muscles are relaxed and support is achieved.” A good visualization once given to me by writer Todd Dow was those little green Army Men we had as kids. They are fixed, and the only way to get them to aim at something else was to move the entire body; the rifle and body are a fixed system.
The best instruction I ever received on this came from attending a Project Appleseed rifle shoot several years ago. The instructors emphasized picking a fixed pivot point, such as a foot or elbow supported on something, and then moving the rest of your body around that point to adjust the NPOA.
To test if you’ve got it, place sights on your target, relax a little bit and give your body a little “shimmy” to see where the sights settle. If they settle back on the target, you’re good to go! Related to that, sniper instructor and author John Simpson recommends against closing your eyes when you do this NPOA test, as your pupils will dilate and change the way your eye perceives light.
